--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great many men - some comparatively…" description: "\"A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if put in the right position, would be Luthers and Columbuses.\" — Edwin Hubbel Chapin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png" --- # A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if… ![“A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if put in the right position, would be Luthers and Columbuses.” quote by Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png) > “A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if put in the right position, would be Luthers and Columbuses.” [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Given the right circumstances, ordinary people can become transformative leaders like Luther or Columbus. **In simple terms:** Right context can turn average people into great leaders. Key Takeaway Create enabling environments. Themes leadership potential historical impact Mood inspirational historical Type motivational leadership When to use this quote - education - political office - community projects Key Concepts social mobility visionary thinking Questions to Reflect On - What conditions foster greatness? - How can you identify hidden potential? A Different Perspective Not everyone will seize the chance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luther/) [Luthers Columbuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luthers-columbuses-5836037/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Comparatively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-comparatively-3699400/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Position Luthers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position-luthers-5836038/) [Small man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-man/) [Small Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-men-416062/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [You cannot help the small men, by tearing down the big men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-small-men-by-tearing-down-the-big-men/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [I do date quite small men. And one large man! Just one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/i-do-date-quite-small-men-and-one-large-man-just-one/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [I do, and I hunt. I like small horses best. They're like small men. They have more to prove so they take all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sienna-guillory/i-do-and-i-hunt-i-like-small-horses-best-they-re-like-small-men-they/) [Sienna Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sienna-guillory/) > [Small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/small-men-seeking-great-wealth-or-power-have-too-often-and-too-long/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Optimism is the content of small men in high places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/optimism-is-the-content-of-small-men-in-high-places/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [They were evidently small men, all wind and quibbles, flinging out their chuffy grain to us with far less interest than a farm-wife feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-were-evidently-small-men-all-wind-and-quibbles-flinging-out/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-cannot-help-small-men-by-tearing-down-big-men/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [It is the small men and not the great who hold their noses in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-the-small-men-and-not-the-great-who-hold-their-noses-in-the-air/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [The end of the day is near when small men make long shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-end-of-the-day-is-near-when-small-men-make-long-shadows/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/impossible-is-just-a-big-word-thrown-around-by-small-men-who-find-it-3/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [“Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/most-men-even-in-this-comparatively-free-country-through-mere-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Real greatness has nothing to do with a man’s sphere. It does not lie in the magnitude of his outward agency, in the extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/real-greatness-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-man-s-sphere-it-does-not-lie/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/most-men-even-in-this-comparatively-free-country-through-mere/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Man was sent into the world to be a growing and exhaustless force. The world was spread out around him to be seized and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/man-was-sent-into-the-world-to-be-a-growing-and-exhaustless-force-the/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [“It is very queer that the unhappiness of the world is so often brought on by small men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-is-very-queer-that-the-unhappiness-of-the-world-is-so-often/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## More by Edwin Hubbel Chapin > [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Life, whether in this world or any other, is the sum of our attainment, our experience, our character. The conditions are secondary. In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/life-whether-in-this-world-or-any-other-is-the-sum-of-our-attainment/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [No man knows the genuineness of his convictions until he has sacrificed something for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-man-knows-the-genuineness-of-his-convictions-until-he-has/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Our life is what we make it. An insignificant game or a noble trial; a dream or a reality; a play of the senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/our-life-is-what-we-make-it-an-insignificant-game-or-a-noble-trial-a/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Setting is preliminary to brighter rising; decay is a process of advancement; death is the condition of higher and more fruitful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/setting-is-preliminary-to-brighter-rising-decay-is-a-process-of/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Life itself suggests a higher good than life itself can yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/life-itself-suggests-a-higher-good-than-life-itself-can-yield/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-true-man-never-frets-about-his-place-in-the-world-but-just-slides/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is but a slight difference between the man who may be said to know nothing and him who thinks he knows everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-is-but-a-slight-difference-between-the-man-who-may-be-said-to/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-bosom-can-ache-beneath-diamond-brooches-and-many-a-blithe-heart/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Can you conceive of anything that so represents the glory, and truth, and marvelousness of God's nature as the idea of peace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/can-you-conceive-of-anything-that-so-represents-the-glory-and-truth/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The gospel has but a forced alliance with war. Its doctrine of human brotherhood would ring strangely between the opposed ranks. The bellowing speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-gospel-has-but-a-forced-alliance-with-war-its-doctrine-of-human/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-language-can-express-the-power-and-beauty-and-heroism-and-majesty/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [It is not enjoined upon us to forget, but we are told to forgive, our enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/it-is-not-enjoined-upon-us-to-forget-but-we-are-told-to-forgive-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Think for a moment of the great agents and engines of our civilization, and then think what shadowy ideas they all once were. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/think-for-a-moment-of-the-great-agents-and-engines-of-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is a sweet anguish springing up in our bosoms when a child's face brightens under the shadow of the waiting angel. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-is-a-sweet-anguish-springing-up-in-our-bosoms-when-a-child-s/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) [Explore all 219 Edwin Hubbel Chapin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) ## More Columbus quotes > [I think at Ohio State, we're professional athletes in Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/i-think-at-ohio-state-we-re-professional-athletes-in-columbus/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) > [“Columbus was not the first person to discover America, but the last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/columbus-was-not-the-first-person-to-discover-america-but-the-last/) [Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [I'm a Buckeye at heart. I spend more time giving concerts in Ohio than I do in any other state - perhaps more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jarreau/i-m-a-buckeye-at-heart-i-spend-more-time-giving-concerts-in-ohio-than/) [Al Jarreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jarreau/) > [I remember my first run-in with cops. It took me really getting to hang, well after that, with cops who were cool, and realizing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/i-remember-my-first-run-in-with-cops-it-took-me-really-getting-to/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Chris Columbus was really interesting to watch how he works with children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-ellis/chris-columbus-was-really-interesting-to-watch-how-he-works-with/) [David R. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-ellis/) > [ We see it \[the as-yet unseen, probable new planet, Neptune\] as Columbus saw America from the coast of Spain. Its movements have been felt,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-herschel/we-see-it-the-as-yet-unseen-probable-new-planet-neptune-as-columbus/) [William Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-herschel/) > [Columbus discovered no isle or key so lonely as himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/columbus-discovered-no-isle-or-key-so-lonely-as-himself/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-are-more-american-indians-alive-today-than-there-were-when/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It is the striving after perfection that makes one an artist. It is the sense that one is imperfect, unfulfilled, unfinished. One attempts by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/it-is-the-striving-after-perfection-that-makes-one-an-artist-it-is/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Bunkum and tummyrot! You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/bunkum-and-tummyrot-you-ll-never-get-anywhere-if-you-go-about-what/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Force was the factor in the government of the world when Christ was born, and force was the source and exercise of authority both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/force-was-the-factor-in-the-government-of-the-world-when-christ-was/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [“If Captain Cook was not the first of European navigators to discover the Hawaiian Islands, he was at least the first to chart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-david-kalakaua/if-captain-cook-was-not-the-first-of-european-navigators-to-discover/) [King David Kalakaua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-david-kalakaua/) [Browse all 284 Columbus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if put in the right position, would be Luthers and Columbuses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edwin Hubbel Chapin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-small-men-now-if-put-in-the-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Columbus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-small-men-now-if-put-in-the-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_columbus_a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-smal_1557589.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great many men - some comparatively small men now - if put in the right position, would be Luthers and…” — Edwin Hubbel Chapin", "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": "Edwin Hubbel Chapin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great many men - some...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-small-men-now-if-put-in-the-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-great-many-men-some-comparatively-small-men-now-if-put-in-the-right/#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 } } ] } ```