--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not races but individuals that are…" description: "\"It is not races but individuals that are noble and courageous or ignoble and craven or considerate or persistent or philosophical or reasonable. The ra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/edwin-way-teale-15465_class_it-is-not-races-but-individuals-that-are_2173948.jpg" --- # It is not races but individuals that are noble and… ![“It is not races but individuals that are noble and courageous or ignoble and craven or considerate or persistent or philosophical or reasonable. The race gets credit when the percentage of noble individuals is high.” quote by Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/edwin-way-teale-15465_class_it-is-not-races-but-individuals-that-are_2173948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/edwin-way-teale-15465_class_it-is-not-races-but-individuals-that-are_2173948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/edwin-way-teale-15465_class_it-is-not-races-but-individuals-that-are_2173948.jpg) > “It is not races but individuals that are noble and courageous or ignoble and craven or considerate or persistent or philosophical or reasonable. The race gets credit when the percentage of noble individuals is high.” [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual character defines virtue, not group identity; the collective reputation depends on the proportion of noble people. **In simple terms:** Character matters more than group labels. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth and virtue. Themes ethics individualism character morality Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - leadership - team building - community development - education Key Concepts virtue ethics social identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess character beyond group stereotypes? - Can a society thrive if only a few are truly noble? A Different Perspective Collective judgments can overlook individual nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Courageous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courageous/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Percentages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percentages/) [Persistent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persistent/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Races](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/races/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [Many of us, whether in the jungles of Asia or on the streets of Chicago, had discovered that noble causes can lead to ignoble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-grant/many-of-us-whether-in-the-jungles-of-asia-or-on-the-streets-of/) [Linda Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-grant/) > [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/) > [If there is no point in the universe that we discover by the methods of science, there is a point that we can give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/if-there-is-no-point-in-the-universe-that-we-discover-by-the-methods/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/he-who-joyfully-marches-to-music-in-rank-and-file-has-already-earned/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [To conquer oneself is the best and noblest victory; to be vanquished by one's own nature is the worst and most ignoble defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/to-conquer-oneself-is-the-best-and-noblest-victory-to-be-vanquished/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Men were created for something better than merely to make money. A close application to business, until a competence is gained, is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/men-were-created-for-something-better-than-merely-to-make-money-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There is nothing truly beautiful but that which can never be of any use whatsoever; everything useful is ugly, for it is the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/there-is-nothing-truly-beautiful-but-that-which-can-never-be-of-any/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [“Javert, though hideous, was not ignoble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/javert-though-hideous-was-not-ignoble/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to the animals, for they are without sin, while you, with all your greatness, you defile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-do-not-pride-yourself-on-your-superiority-to-the-animals-for-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is perhaps common in the world for individuals and nations to suffer for their noble qualities more than for their ignoble ones. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/it-is-perhaps-common-in-the-world-for-individuals-and-nations-to/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [Yet, every now and then, there would pass a young girl, slender, fair and desirable, arousing in young men a not ignoble desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/yet-every-now-and-then-there-would-pass-a-young-girl-slender-fair-and/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Meaning lies in the confrontation of contradiction - the coincidencia apositorum. That’s what we really feel, not these rational schemes that are constantly beating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/meaning-lies-in-the-confrontation-of-contradiction-the-coincidencia/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/man-isn-t-a-noble-savage-he-s-an-ignoble-savage-he-is-irrational/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/far-from-the-madding-crowd-s-ignoble-strife-their-sober-wishes-never/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [No one can expect a majority to be stirred by motives other than ignoble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/no-one-can-expect-a-majority-to-be-stirred-by-motives-other-than/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) ## More by Edwin Way Teale > [“It is those who have compassion for all life who will best safeguard the life of man. Those who become aroused only when man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/it-is-those-who-have-compassion-for-all-life-who-will-best-safeguard/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [The seasons, like greater tides, ebb and flow across the continents. Spring advances up the United States at the average rate of about fifteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/the-seasons-like-greater-tides-ebb-and-flow-across-the-continents/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [It is morally as bad not to care whether anything is true or not...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/it-is-morally-as-bad-not-to-care-whether-anything-is-true-or-not/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [Any fine morning, a power saw can fell a tree that took a thousand years to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/any-fine-morning-a-power-saw-can-fell-a-tree-that-took-a-thousand/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [To the lost man, to the pioneer penetrating a new country, to the naturalist who wishes to see the wild land at its wildest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/to-the-lost-man-to-the-pioneer-penetrating-a-new-country-to-the/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [Freedom from worries and surcease from strain are illusions that always inhabit the distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/freedom-from-worries-and-surcease-from-strain-are-illusions-that/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [A man who never sees a bluebird only half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/a-man-who-never-sees-a-bluebird-only-half-lives/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [If man can take care of man, nature can take care of the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/if-man-can-take-care-of-man-nature-can-take-care-of-the-rest/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [“Time is the river. We are the islands. Time washes around us and flows away and with it flow fragments of our lives. So,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/time-is-the-river-we-are-the-islands-time-washes-around-us-and-flows/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/for-man-autumn-is-a-time-of-harvest-of-gathering-together-for-nature/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals 'love' them. 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Our spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/our-minds-as-well-as-our-bodies-have-need-of-the-out-of-doors-our/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [I see, when I bend close, how each leaflet of a climbing rose is bordered with frost, the autumn counterpart of the dewdrops of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/i-see-when-i-bend-close-how-each-leaflet-of-a-climbing-rose-is/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [How strangely inaccurate it is to measure length of living by length of life! 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