--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of the thousands who have paid homage to…" description: "\"Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely one has thought to inspect the pedestal on which it stands.\" — Frances Wright" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png" --- # Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely… ![“Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely one has thought to inspect the pedestal on which it stands.” quote by Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png) > “Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely one has thought to inspect the pedestal on which it stands.” [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People honor virtues but rarely examine the foundations that support them, risking unexamined authority. **In simple terms:** Question the basis of praised virtues. Key Takeaway Investigate the origins of celebrated values. Themes virtue critical thinking authority integrity reflection Mood inquisitive analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - education curricula - leadership evaluation - policy analysis - personal moral development Key Concepts philosophy ethics historical context Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your admired virtues? - Who benefits from the pedestal? A Different Perspective May overlook cultural context of the pedestal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Homage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homage/) [Homage Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homage-virtue-5277684/) [Inspect Pedestal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspect-pedestal-5277686/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Paid Homage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid-homage-1135155/) [Pedestal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedestal/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Barely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-barely-5277685/) ## Related quotes > [There's a lot of art and comics and movies being paid homage to by game designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/there-s-a-lot-of-art-and-comics-and-movies-being-paid-homage-to-by/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [No matter what you set out to do and how you set out to do it, you ultimately have to be who you are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/no-matter-what-you-set-out-to-do-and-how-you-set-out-to-do-it-you/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [That Moorish architecture is all over the place, of course. It affects me everywhere I see it, as it does so many people. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/that-moorish-architecture-is-all-over-the-place-of-course-it-affects/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) > [I feel, as never before, how justly, from the dawn of history to the present time, men have paid the homage of their gratitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/i-feel-as-never-before-how-justly-from-the-dawn-of-history-to-the/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“This was a respect in which he paid due homage to the wise old spirit of the late Emiel Kroger, that romantically practical Teuton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/this-was-a-respect-in-which-he-paid-due-homage-to-the-wise-old-spirit/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Religion may be defined thus: a belief in, and homage rendered to, existences unseen and causes unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/religion-may-be-defined-thus-a-belief-in-and-homage-rendered-to/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Mission 31 pays homage to my grandfather's work and all aquanauts who have since followed his lead in the name of ocean exploration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabien-cousteau/mission-31-pays-homage-to-my-grandfather-s-work-and-all-aquanauts-who/) [Fabien Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabien-cousteau/) > [President Bush paid homage Wednesday to World War II veterans of Normandy at the D-Day Memorial. Later that night, his twin daughters paid a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/argus-hamilton/president-bush-paid-homage-wednesday-to-world-war-ii-veterans-of/) [Argus Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/argus-hamilton/) > [As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders - in the industry in particular - who have paved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-vine-joy-randolph/as-a-woman-of-color-i-always-pay-homage-to-my-ancestors-and-elders-in/) [Da'Vine Joy Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-vine-joy-randolph/) > [Gay men are guardians of the masculine impulse. To have anonymous sex in a dark alleyway is to pay homage to the dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/gay-men-are-guardians-of-the-masculine-impulse-to-have-anonymous-sex/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [An American critic wrote that she would rather be forced to read the New York telephone directory three times than watch the film A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/an-american-critic-wrote-that-she-would-rather-be-forced-to-read-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Literature is inexhaustible, with every book a homage to infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/literature-is-inexhaustible-with-every-book-a-homage-to-infinity/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [The last thing I want to do is having someone get behind a Montgomery Clift biopic, and then just do the first script that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/the-last-thing-i-want-to-do-is-having-someone-get-behind-a-montgomery/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-love-my-man-as-my-fellow-but-his-scepter-real-or-usurped-extends/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) ## More by Frances Wright > [... the happiness of a people is the only rational object of government, and the only object for which a people, free to choose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-happiness-of-a-people-is-the-only-rational-object-of-government/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [I am neither Jew nor Gentile, Mahomedan nor Theist; I am but a member of the human family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/i-am-neither-jew-nor-gentile-mahomedan-nor-theist-i-am-but-a-member/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [... so far from entrenching human conduct within the gentle barriers of peace and love, religion has ever been, and now is, the deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/so-far-from-entrenching-human-conduct-within-the-gentle-barriers-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [If they exert it not for good, they will for evil; if they advance not knowledge, they will perpetuate ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/if-they-exert-it-not-for-good-they-will-for-evil-if-they-advance-not/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Moral truth, resting entirely upon the ascertained consequences of actions, supposes a process of observation and reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/moral-truth-resting-entirely-upon-the-ascertained-consequences-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe-the-power-of-one-half-of-our/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [However novel it may appear, I shall venture the assertion, that, until women assume the place in society which good sense and good feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/however-novel-it-may-appear-i-shall-venture-the-assertion-that-until/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [You have heard of, and studied various systems of philosophy; but real philosophy is opposed to all systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/you-have-heard-of-and-studied-various-systems-of-philosophy-but-real/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Credulity is always a ridiculous, often a dangerous failing: it has made of many a clever man, a fool; and of many a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/credulity-is-always-a-ridiculous-often-a-dangerous-failing-it-has/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Instead of establishing facts, we have to overthrow errors; instead of ascertaining what is, we have to chase from our imaginations what is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/instead-of-establishing-facts-we-have-to-overthrow-errors-instead-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [... we have broken down the self-respecting spirit of man with nursery tales and priestly threats, and we dare to assert, that inproportion as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/we-have-broken-down-the-self-respecting-spirit-of-man-with-nursery/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [it is not that religion is merely useless, it is mischievous. It is mischievous by its idle terrors; it is mischievous by its false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/it-is-not-that-religion-is-merely-useless-it-is-mischievous-it-is/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Equality! Where is it, if not in education? Equal rights! They cannot exist without equality of instruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/equality-where-is-it-if-not-in-education-equal-rights-they-cannot/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [The best road to correct reasoning is by physical science; the way to trace effects to causes is through physical science; the only corrective,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-best-road-to-correct-reasoning-is-by-physical-science-the-way-to/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [He who lives in the single exercise of his mental faculties, however usefully or curiously directed, is equally an imperfect animal with the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/he-who-lives-in-the-single-exercise-of-his-mental-faculties-however/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) [Explore all 72 Frances Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) ## More Homage quotes > [I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-love-my-man-as-my-fellow-but-his-scepter-real-or-usurped-extends/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The last thing I want to do is having someone get behind a Montgomery Clift biopic, and then just do the first script that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/the-last-thing-i-want-to-do-is-having-someone-get-behind-a-montgomery/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [Literature is inexhaustible, with every book a homage to infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/literature-is-inexhaustible-with-every-book-a-homage-to-infinity/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [An American critic wrote that she would rather be forced to read the New York telephone directory three times than watch the film A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/an-american-critic-wrote-that-she-would-rather-be-forced-to-read-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Gay men are guardians of the masculine impulse. To have anonymous sex in a dark alleyway is to pay homage to the dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/gay-men-are-guardians-of-the-masculine-impulse-to-have-anonymous-sex/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders - in the industry in particular - who have paved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-vine-joy-randolph/as-a-woman-of-color-i-always-pay-homage-to-my-ancestors-and-elders-in/) [Da'Vine Joy Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-vine-joy-randolph/) > [President Bush paid homage Wednesday to World War II veterans of Normandy at the D-Day Memorial. Later that night, his twin daughters paid a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/argus-hamilton/president-bush-paid-homage-wednesday-to-world-war-ii-veterans-of/) [Argus Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/argus-hamilton/) > [Mission 31 pays homage to my grandfather's work and all aquanauts who have since followed his lead in the name of ocean exploration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabien-cousteau/mission-31-pays-homage-to-my-grandfather-s-work-and-all-aquanauts-who/) [Fabien Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabien-cousteau/) > [It's the ones that deal with the inner fear, the unknown realms and the mysticisms that are scary. You had that in the Carpenter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/it-s-the-ones-that-deal-with-the-inner-fear-the-unknown-realms-and/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/he-is-your-friend-your-partner-your-defender-your-dog-you-are-his/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/our-dogs-will-love-and-admire-the-meanest-of-us-and-feed-our-colossal/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/it-is-a-grand-old-name-that-of-gentleman-and-has-been-recognized-as-a/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [There is no country in which so absolute a homage is paid to wealth. In America there is a touch of shame when a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-country-in-which-so-absolute-a-homage-is-paid-to-wealth/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Probably I, like a lot of people, became a writer in imitation of or in homage to the books I enjoyed. When you're so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/probably-i-like-a-lot-of-people-became-a-writer-in-imitation-of-or-in/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) [Browse all 266 Homage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely one has thought to inspect the pedestal on which it stands.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to-virtue-barely-one-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to-virtue-barely-one-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frances-wright-9487_homage_of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to_2273246.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of the thousands who have paid homage to virtue, barely one has thought to inspect the pedestal on which it…” — Frances Wright", "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": "Frances Wright", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of the thousands who have paid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to-virtue-barely-one-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/of-the-thousands-who-have-paid-homage-to-virtue-barely-one-has/#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 } } ] } ```