---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every man is a reformer until reform…"
description: "\"Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.\" — E. W. Howe"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png"
---

#  Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.

![“Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.” quote by E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png)

> “Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.”

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People are reformers until change becomes personally inconvenient.

**In simple terms:** Reform stops when it hurts.

Key Takeaway

Plan for sustainable change.

Themes

change reform human nature

Mood

critical realistic

Type

analytical observational

When to use this quote

- policy implementation
- organizational change
- social movements

Key Concepts

political science behavioral economics

Questions to Reflect On

- What makes you resist needed?
- How can reforms be made less burdensome?

A Different Perspective

Reforms may be abandoned due to fatigue.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Man Reformer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-reformer-3110063/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Peer pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peer-pressure/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) [Reform Tramps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform-tramps-3110065/) [Reformer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformer/) [Reformer Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformer-reform-3110064/) [Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers/) [Toes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toes/) [Tramps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tramps/)

## Related quotes

> [The most agreeable thing in life is worthy accomplishment. It is not possible that the idle tramp is as contented as the farmers along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/the-most-agreeable-thing-in-life-is-worthy-accomplishment-it-is-not/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but-it-will-never-arrive-at-2/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [“ Robert Ingersoll 's character was as nearly perfect as it is possible for the character of mortal man to be... none sweeter or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spalding-thomas/robert-ingersoll-s-character-was-as-nearly-perfect-as-it-is-possible/)

[Charles Spalding Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spalding-thomas/)

> [I was always a reformer. My father and mother were progressives, and they believed in the universal vote, vote for women, land reform, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-was-always-a-reformer-my-father-and-mother-were-progressives-and/)

[Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/)

> [A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/a-reformer-is-one-who-sets-forth-cheerfully-toward-sure-defeat/)

[Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/)

> [Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/power-in-the-hands-of-the-reformer-is-no-less-potentially-corrupting/)

[Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/)

> [The first generation of school reformers I talk about - nineteenth century education reformer Horace Mann, Catharine Beecher - they are true believers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goldstein/the-first-generation-of-school-reformers-i-talk-about-nineteenth/)

[Dana Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goldstein/)

> [If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like his dream, we call him a crank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-we-like-a-man-s-dream-we-call-him-a-reformer-if-we-don-t-like-his/)

[William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/)

> [“The history of progress is a history of freaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-history-of-progress-is-a-history-of-freaks/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-reformer-has-enemies-in-all-who-profit-by-the-old-order-and-only/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [“He was an awkward mixture of strong moral impulse and restless aesthetic curiosity, and yet he would have made a most ineffective reformer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-was-an-awkward-mixture-of-strong-moral-impulse-and-restless/)

[Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/)

> [“Injustice is not allowed on my watch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/injustice-is-not-allowed-on-my-watch/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [King Abdullah is a reformer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-waleed-bin-talal/king-abdullah-is-a-reformer/)

[Al-Waleed bin Talal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-waleed-bin-talal/)

> [We will meet our challenges head on and we will do it by rejecting the politics of mediocrity and corruption. You voted for change;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-blagojevich/we-will-meet-our-challenges-head-on-and-we-will-do-it-by-rejecting/)

[Rod Blagojevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-blagojevich/)

> [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

## More by E. W. Howe

> [There is always a type of man who says he loves his fellow men, and expects to make a living at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/there-is-always-a-type-of-man-who-says-he-loves-his-fellow-men-and/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [I believe in grumbling; it is the politest form of fighting known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/i-believe-in-grumbling-it-is-the-politest-form-of-fighting-known/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [A theory is no more like a fact than a photograph is like a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/a-theory-is-no-more-like-a-fact-than-a-photograph-is-like-a-person/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [Few men progress, except as they are pushed along by events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/few-men-progress-except-as-they-are-pushed-along-by-events/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [Men are a good deal better collectively than they are individually. Many a man will do that privately which he will denounce in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/men-are-a-good-deal-better-collectively-than-they-are-individually/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [The modest person is usually admired, if people ever hear of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/the-modest-person-is-usually-admired-if-people-ever-hear-of-them/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [The greatest thing in the world is for a man to be able to do something well, and say nothing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/the-greatest-thing-in-the-world-is-for-a-man-to-be-able-to-do/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/no-man-would-listen-to-you-talk-if-he-didn-t-know-it-was-his-turn-next/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [People never have confidence in a Big Talker. They know his statements must be cut down, but they can never tell how much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/people-never-have-confidence-in-a-big-talker-they-know-his-statements/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [The only gambling tip which amounts to anything is to keep out of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/the-only-gambling-tip-which-amounts-to-anything-is-to-keep-out-of-the/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [One has fear in front of a goat, in back of a mule, and on every side of a fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/one-has-fear-in-front-of-a-goat-in-back-of-a-mule-and-on-every-side/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [No man's credit is ever as good as his money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/no-man-s-credit-is-ever-as-good-as-his-money/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [Some men storm imaginary Alps all their lives, and die in the foothills cursing difficulties which do not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/some-men-storm-imaginary-alps-all-their-lives-and-die-in-the/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [There is something in the red of a raspberry pie that looks as good to a man as the red in a sheep looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/there-is-something-in-the-red-of-a-raspberry-pie-that-looks-as-good/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

> [Love affairs have always greatly interested me, but I do not greatly care for them in books or moving pictures. In a love affair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/love-affairs-have-always-greatly-interested-me-but-i-do-not-greatly/)

[E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

[Explore all 149 E. W. Howe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/)

## More Every man quotes

> [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/)

[Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/)

> [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/)

[Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/)

> [All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-for-every-man-must-get-to-heaven-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/)

[Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/)

> [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/)

[Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/)

> [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/)

[David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/)

> [Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. And if what that man did in his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ultimate-warrior/every-man-s-heart-one-day-beats-its-final-beat-his-lungs-breathe-a/)

[The Ultimate Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-ultimate-warrior/)

[Browse all 3,342 Every man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "E. W. Howe"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tramps-on-his-toes/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Every man"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tramps-on-his-toes/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/e-w-howe-2815_every-man_every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tra_1943421.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Every man is a reformer until reform tramps on his toes.” — E. W. Howe",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "E. W. Howe",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Every man is a reformer until...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tramps-on-his-toes/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/every-man-is-a-reformer-until-reform-tramps-on-his-toes/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
