--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man's vanity may well approach the…" description: "\"“Man's vanity may well approach the infinite in capacity but his knowledge remains imperfect and howevermuch he comes to value his judgments ultimately..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/cormac-mccarthy-181_judgments_man-s-vanity-may-well-approach-the-infin_2370852.jpg" --- # Man's vanity may well approach the infinite in capacity… ![“Man's vanity may well approach the infinite in capacity but his knowledge remains imperfect and howevermuch he comes to value his judgments ultimately he must submit them before a higher court. Here there can be no special pleading. Here are considerations of equity and rectitude and moral right…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/cormac-mccarthy-181_judgments_man-s-vanity-may-well-approach-the-infin_2370852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/cormac-mccarthy-181_judgments_man-s-vanity-may-well-approach-the-infin_2370852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/cormac-mccarthy-181_judgments_man-s-vanity-may-well-approach-the-infin_2370852.jpg) > ““Man's vanity may well approach the infinite in capacity but his knowledge remains imperfect and howevermuch he comes to value his judgments ultimately he must submit them before a higher court. Here there can be no special pleading. Here are considerations of equity and rectitude and moral right rendered void and without warrant and here are the views of the litigants despised. Decisions of life and death, of what shall be and what shall not, beggar all question of right. In elections of these magnitudes are all lesser ones subsumed, moral, spiritual, natural.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human vanity is limitless, yet knowledge is flawed; ultimate judgment belongs to a higher moral authority. **In simple terms:** Pride exceeds knowledge; higher justice prevails. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of personal judgment. Themes vanity knowledge justice ethics humility Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - legal decisions - political elections - personal dilemmas - ethical debates Key Concepts moral philosophy human fallibility authority equity Questions to Reflect On - What constitutes a “higher court” in personal ethics? - How can we temper vanity with humility? A Different Perspective Higher authority may be ambiguous or contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Judgments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgments/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) ## Related quotes > [“Moral law is an invention of mankind for the disenfranchisement of the powerful in favor of the weak. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [The judgments our enemies make about us come nearer to the truth than those we make about ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-judgments-our-enemies-make-about-us-come-nearer-to-the-truth-than/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“R.E.A.L. conversation: Recognize judgments. Express thoughts neutrally. Ask questions. Listen for verbal & non-verbal messages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stoker/r-e-a-l-conversation-recognize-judgments-express-thoughts-neutrally/) [John Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stoker/) > [My responsibility is to make judgments about hard, complex issues that I believe to be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/my-responsibility-is-to-make-judgments-about-hard-complex-issues-that/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [I'm not in charge of judgments in Iran. 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The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. 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Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Judgments quotes > [We have to make judgments on the individual players and we're not always going to be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-depodesta/we-have-to-make-judgments-on-the-individual-players-and-we-re-not/) [Paul DePodesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-depodesta/) > [Aesthetic judgments, rather than abstract reasoning, guide and shape the process by which we all come to know what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/aesthetic-judgments-rather-than-abstract-reasoning-guide-and-shape/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [People make judgments about Scientology, but often they don't know what they're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-travolta/people-make-judgments-about-scientology-but-often-they-don-t-know/) [John Travolta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-travolta/) > [I see men's judgments are A parcel of their fortunes; and things outward Do draw the inward quality after them, To suffer all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-see-men-s-judgments-are-a-parcel-of-their-fortunes-and-things/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“All of God’s judgments are aimed at whatever interferes with love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/all-of-god-s-judgments-are-aimed-at-whatever-interferes-with-love/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [I'm not in charge of judgments in Iran. The judicial system in Iran is an independent body of its own, and it follows the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/i-m-not-in-charge-of-judgments-in-iran-the-judicial-system-in-iran-is/) [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/) > [My responsibility is to make judgments about hard, complex issues that I believe to be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/my-responsibility-is-to-make-judgments-about-hard-complex-issues-that/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [“R.E.A.L. conversation: Recognize judgments. Express thoughts neutrally. Ask questions. Listen for verbal & non-verbal messages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stoker/r-e-a-l-conversation-recognize-judgments-express-thoughts-neutrally/) [John Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stoker/) > [The judgments our enemies make about us come nearer to the truth than those we make about ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-judgments-our-enemies-make-about-us-come-nearer-to-the-truth-than/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“It may not be fair that people make judgments so quickly, usually within a few seconds of observation, but it's unrealistic to expect that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/it-may-not-be-fair-that-people-make-judgments-so-quickly-usually/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Make no judgments where you have no compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/make-no-judgments-where-you-have-no-compassion/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [“Getting rid of human judgments altogether—even those from highly experienced and credentialed people—and relying solely on numbers plugged into formulas, often yields better results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcafee/getting-rid-of-human-judgments-altogether-even-those-from-highly/) [Andrew McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcafee/) > [I think that unless you can take judgments of right and wrong like an automaton, you must have emotions because that is our only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-think-that-unless-you-can-take-judgments-of-right-and-wrong-like-an/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [there is no best and no worst, ...those judgments have no real meaning because there is only what is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/there-is-no-best-and-no-worst-those-judgments-have-no-real-meaning/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I feel like there is always a rumor that I'm dating someone that I never met before. People have their judgments and ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-london/i-feel-like-there-is-always-a-rumor-that-i-m-dating-someone-that-i/) [Lauren London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-london/) [Browse all 119 Judgments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Man's vanity may well approach the infinite in capacity but his knowledge remains imperfect and howevermuch he comes to value his judgments ultimately he must submit them before a higher court. Here there can be no special pleading. Here are considerations of equity and rectitude and moral right rendered void and without warrant and here are the views of the litigants despised. Decisions of life and death, of what shall be and what shall not, beggar all question of right. 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