--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men were created for something better…" description: "\"Men were created for something better than merely to make money. A close application to business, until a competence is gained, is one of the chief vir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_application_men-were-created-for-something-better-th_275776.png" --- # Men were created for something better than merely to make… ![“Men were created for something better than merely to make money. A close application to business, until a competence is gained, is one of the chief virtues; but to continue in trade long after this result is obtained, is one of the signs, not to be mistaken, of a sordid and ignoble nature.” quote by Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_application_men-were-created-for-something-better-th_275776.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_application_men-were-created-for-something-better-th_275776.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_application_men-were-created-for-something-better-th_275776.png) > “Men were created for something better than merely to make money. A close application to business, until a competence is gained, is one of the chief virtues; but to continue in trade long after this result is obtained, is one of the signs, not to be mistaken, of a sordid and ignoble nature.” [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human purpose exceeds mere profit; using business as a learning tool is virtuous, but persisting solely for gain reveals moral decay. **In simple terms:** Work should serve higher purpose, not just money. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond profit. Themes purpose ethics work virtue Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical inspirational When to use this quote - career development - entrepreneurship - financial planning - personal growth - community service Key Concepts humanism moral philosophy intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - What higher purpose can your work serve? - How do you balance profit with principle? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on profit can erode integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-better/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [It is easy to be proud & harsh & selfish - so easy. But we have been created for better things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-easy-to-be-proud-harsh-selfish-so-easy-but-we-have-been-created/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/we-re-not-completely-happy-here-because-we-re-not-supposed-to-be-2/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [The problem with Myspace was always that it was never as strong a product as it needed to be. It left itself vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-birch/the-problem-with-myspace-was-always-that-it-was-never-as-strong-a/) [Michael Birch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-birch/) > [“Surely the Women were created (...) for some better end, than to labour in vain their whole life long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-sophia-fermor/surely-the-women-were-created-for-some-better-end-than-to-labour-in/) [Lady Sophia Fermor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-sophia-fermor/) > [“i wasn't made but i was created for the better intention i know my time is coming”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/futty-fuze/i-wasn-t-made-but-i-was-created-for-the-better-intention-i-know-my/) [Futty-fuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/futty-fuze/) > [Steve Jobs had something like a 90% approval rating from his employees. You hear stories about him being this short-tempered, aggressive person, which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/steve-jobs-had-something-like-a-90-approval-rating-from-his-employees/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [Life is indeed either a rich possession or a poor, according as it is made subservient to noble aims or ignoble pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/life-is-indeed-either-a-rich-possession-or-a-poor-according-as-it-is/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Men created God in their own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-created-god-in-their-own-image/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In spite of what Thomas Jefferson wrote, all men may be created equal, but not to all women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/in-spite-of-what-thomas-jefferson-wrote-all-men-may-be-created-equal/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [“First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/first-is-the-danger-of-futility-the-belief-there-is-nothing-one-man/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [For all the great dreams profitlessly invested in the digital computer, it is nonetheless true that not since the framers of the American Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/for-all-the-great-dreams-profitlessly-invested-in-the-digital/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [All men are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/all-men-are-created-equal/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Over the years, the stories that men created became more important and influential than the men themselves. Hence born are the religions and many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiruman-archunan/over-the-years-the-stories-that-men-created-became-more-important-and/) [Thiruman Archunan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiruman-archunan/) > [All men are created Equal. Some just have more Splenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/all-men-are-created-equal-some-just-have-more-splenda/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More by Christian Nestell Bovee > [What is taken from the fortune, also, may haply be so much lifted from the soul. The greatness of a loss, as the proverb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/what-is-taken-from-the-fortune-also-may-haply-be-so-much-lifted-from/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The next best thing to being witty one's self, is to be able to be able to quote another's wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-next-best-thing-to-being-witty-one-s-self-is-to-be-able-to-be/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-ceremonious-bows-that-repel-one-like-a-cudgel/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are some weaknesses that are peculiar and distinctive to generous characters, as freckles are to a fair skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-some-weaknesses-that-are-peculiar-and-distinctive-to/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A genuine passion is like a mountain stream; it admits of no impediment; it cannot go backward; it must go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-genuine-passion-is-like-a-mountain-stream-it-admits-of-no/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A good thought is indeed a great boon, for which God is to be first thanked; next he who is the first to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-good-thought-is-indeed-a-great-boon-for-which-god-is-to-be-first/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/we-should-not-so-much-esteem-our-poverty-as-a-misfortune-were-it-not/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [He has but one great fear that fears to do wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/he-has-but-one-great-fear-that-fears-to-do-wrong/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Six traits of effective leaders: 1. Make others feel important 2. Promote a vision 3. Follow the golden rule 4. Admit mistakes 5. Criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/six-traits-of-effective-leaders-1-make-others-feel-important-2/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [In a contest with a weaker party it is more honorable to yield than to force concession. Magnanimity becomes the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-a-contest-with-a-weaker-party-it-is-more-honorable-to-yield-than/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Wit is better as a seasoning than as a whole dish by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/wit-is-better-as-a-seasoning-than-as-a-whole-dish-by-itself/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [To cultivate a garden is. . . to go hand in hand with Nature in some of her most beautiful processes, to learn something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/to-cultivate-a-garden-is-to-go-hand-in-hand-with-nature-in-some-of/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is with a company as it is with a punch, everything depends upon the ingredients of which it in composed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-with-a-company-as-it-is-with-a-punch-everything-depends-upon/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is not the number of facts he knows, but how much of a fact he is himself, that proves the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-not-the-number-of-facts-he-knows-but-how-much-of-a-fact-he-is/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) [Explore all 310 Christian Nestell Bovee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## More Application quotes > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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I'm really excited about the partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-ve-been-in-real-estate-for-a-long-time-and-i-always-try-to-stay-on/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“...why don't you take a picture of yourself next to a fucking job application? How about that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wolf/why-don-t-you-take-a-picture-of-yourself-next-to-a-fucking-job/) Josh Wolf > [Everything for us is a system. We don't think about it discretely as just as a piece of hardware, or discretely as an application...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosain-rahman/everything-for-us-is-a-system-we-don-t-think-about-it-discretely-as/) [Hosain Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosain-rahman/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [Without application of the mind; there is no drive for taking affirmative action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/without-application-of-the-mind-there-is-no-drive-for-taking/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. 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