--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great man is not so great as folks…" description: "\"The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference in our estimates of men lies in the f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/elbert-hubbard-510_able_the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-t_60059.jpg" --- # The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull… ![“The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference in our estimates of men lies in the fact that one individual is able to get his goods into the show-window, and the other is not aware that he has any show-window or any goods.” quote by Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/elbert-hubbard-510_able_the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-t_60059.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/elbert-hubbard-510_able_the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-t_60059.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/elbert-hubbard-510_able_the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-t_60059.jpg) > “The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference in our estimates of men lies in the fact that one individual is able to get his goods into the show-window, and the other is not aware that he has any show-window or any goods.” [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception of greatness is skewed by visibility; those who showcase themselves appear superior, while unnoticed talent remains undervalued. **In simple terms:** Visibility distorts reputation. Key Takeaway Public exposure shapes perceived worth. Themes perception status humility visibility bias Mood ironic reflective Type aphor observation When to use this quote - evaluating leaders - team hiring - marketing personal brand - recognizing hidden talent - media coverage Key Concepts social perception self-awareness reputation Practical Applications - leadership development - brand strategy Questions to Reflect On - How does visibility affect our judgments? - What talents might we overlook? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The unstable estimates of men crowd to him whose mind is filled with a truth, as the heaped waves of the Atlantic follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-unstable-estimates-of-men-crowd-to-him-whose-mind-is-filled-with/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Dull would be the man who should merely tolerate this plan of social industry. Weak would be the position of him who should take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/dull-would-be-the-man-who-should-merely-tolerate-this-plan-of-social/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [Dull indeed would be the man that did not feel the thrill awakened by the first glimpse of brilliant color in the orchard, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-cleveland-bent/dull-indeed-would-be-the-man-that-did-not-feel-the-thrill-awakened-by/) Arthur Cleveland Bent > [“I am probably a dull man. Emotionally I have had no complications. I was engaged to a pretty girl, a neighbor, when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-am-probably-a-dull-man-emotionally-i-have-had-no-complications-i/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Anger will make a dull man witty, but very little money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i-tudor/anger-will-make-a-dull-man-witty-but-very-little-money/) Elizabeth I Tudor > [It is widely held that too much wine will dull a man's desire. Indeed it will...in a dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-widely-held-that-too-much-wine-will-dull-a-man-s-desire-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Labour is good for a man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/labour-is-good-for-a-man-bracing-up-his-energies-to-conquest-and/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-dull-man-who-is-always-sure-and-the-sure-man-who-is-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No man's brain is so dull, and no man's eye so blind, that they cannot catch food for dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-g-mitchell/no-man-s-brain-is-so-dull-and-no-man-s-eye-so-blind-that-they-cannot/) [Donald G. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-g-mitchell/) > [I'm actually a rather dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/i-m-actually-a-rather-dull-man/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [Somehow love gives even to a dull man the knowledge of his lover's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hope/somehow-love-gives-even-to-a-dull-man-the-knowledge-of-his-lover-s/) [Anthony Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hope/) > [Only a very dull man spells a word the same way twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-very-dull-man-spells-a-word-the-same-way-twice/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [God must have a weird sense of values, and if there's a Judgment Day, as some folks think, He's going to have a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-appleman/god-must-have-a-weird-sense-of-values-and-if-there-s-a-judgment-day/) [Philip Appleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-appleman/) ## More by Elbert Hubbard > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-highest-reward-that-god-gives-us-for-good-work-is-the-ability-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Art is nothing; it's a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/art-is-nothing-it-s-a-way/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/so-long-as-governments-set-the-example-of-killing-their-enemies/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [If I supply you with a thought, you may remember it and you may not. But if I can make you think a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-i-supply-you-with-a-thought-you-may-remember-it-and-you-may-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/1-2-3-4-5-a-conservative-is-a-man-who-is-too-cowardly-to-fight-and/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Every knock is a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-knock-is-a-boost/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What boy well raised can compare with your street gamin who has the knowledge and the shrewdness of a grown-up broker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-boy-well-raised-can-compare-with-your-street-gamin-who-has-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What people need and what they want may be very different… Teachers are those who educate the people to appreciate the things they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-people-need-and-what-they-want-may-be-very-different-teachers/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Men who sit back and pride themselves on their culture haven't any to speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-sit-back-and-pride-themselves-on-their-culture-haven-t-any-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The artist needs no religion beyond his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-artist-needs-no-religion-beyond-his-work/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Explore all 506 Elbert Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. 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