--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness…" description: "\"Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts himself on a par with a society in which it would not be polite to show one's wit.\" — Friedrich N..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg" --- # Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts… ![“Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts himself on a par with a society in which it would not be polite to show one's wit.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg) > “Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts himself on a par with a society in which it would not be polite to show one's wit.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wit is often undervalued when it challenges social norms, so polite society rarely acknowledges it. **In simple terms:** Polite society ignores cleverness that questions norms. Key Takeaway Recognize and value wit even when it feels uncomfortable. Themes social critique wit politeness conformity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - debates - literary salons - online forums - political satire Key Concepts existentialism social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you reward wit that challenges norms? - How does society benefit from honest cleverness? A Different Perspective Politeness can suppress honest expression and limit progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite/) [Politeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politeness/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [When good friends praise a gifted person he often appears to be delighted with them out of politeness and goodwill, but in reality he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-good-friends-praise-a-gifted-person-he-often-appears-to-be/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I do believe that an armed society is a polite society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-popper/i-do-believe-that-an-armed-society-is-a-polite-society/) [John Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-popper/) > [An armed society is a polite society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/an-armed-society-is-a-polite-society/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/an-armed-society-is-a-polite-society-manners-are-good-when-one-may/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Laugh not too much; the witty man laughs least: For wit is news only to ignorance. Lesse at thine own things laugh; lest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/laugh-not-too-much-the-witty-man-laughs-least-for-wit-is-news-only-to/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I love John Updike immoderately. I am profoundly shocked that he has gone because he was, for me, the greatest American writer of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/i-love-john-updike-immoderately-i-am-profoundly-shocked-that-he-has/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [In fact, to gull a fool seems to me an exploit worthy of a witty man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/in-fact-to-gull-a-fool-seems-to-me-an-exploit-worthy-of-a-witty-man/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [“I always feel the greatest bliss when I recollect those I have caught in my snares, for they generally are insolent, and so self-conceited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/i-always-feel-the-greatest-bliss-when-i-recollect-those-i-have-caught-2/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [“The coexistence of these two sharply contrasting personalities within the same individual is as apparent in literature as in life: Dorian Gray, the handsome,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stevens/the-coexistence-of-these-two-sharply-contrasting-personalities-within/) [Anthony Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stevens/) > [The art of conversation consists far less in displaying much wit oneself than in helping others to be witty: the man who leaves your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-art-of-conversation-consists-far-less-in-displaying-much-wit/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-it-were-not-for-the-company-of-fools-a-witty-man-would-often-be/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [ Todd's mother had several children by different fathers, and Todd \[Willingham\] had been abandoned in California. ... He's a good-looking man. He was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/todd-s-mother-had-several-children-by-different-fathers-and-todd/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The really witty man does not shower forth his wit so indiscriminately;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-b-hartley/the-really-witty-man-does-not-shower-forth-his-wit-so-indiscriminately/) Cecil B. Hartley > [Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another. It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-forni/civility-means-a-great-deal-more-than-just-being-nice-to-one-another/) [P. M. Forni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-m-forni/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Courtesy quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Less of your courtesy and more of your purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/less-of-your-courtesy-and-more-of-your-purse/) Proverb > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) Miguel Cervantes > [“I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/i-would-court-you-with-all-the-grace-and-courtesy-that-you-deserve/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [The greater the man the greater the courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [They who sow courtesy reap friendship, and they who plant kindness gather love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/they-who-sow-courtesy-reap-friendship-and-they-who-plant-kindness/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“If a lady offers you a kindness, you absolutely have to accept”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-wallingford/if-a-lady-offers-you-a-kindness-you-absolutely-have-to-accept/) Maria Wallingford > [though I be but the prince of Wales, yet I am king of courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/though-i-be-but-the-prince-of-wales-yet-i-am-king-of-courtesy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Princes of courtesy, merciful, proud and strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-newbolt/princes-of-courtesy-merciful-proud-and-strong/) [Henry Newbolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-newbolt/) [Browse all 527 Courtesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts himself on a par with a society in which it would not be polite to show one's wit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness-when-he-puts-himself-on-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courtesy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness-when-he-puts-himself-on-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courtesy_nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness_1172029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nobody thanks a witty man for politeness when he puts himself on a par with a society in which it would not…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nobody thanks a witty man for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness-when-he-puts-himself-on-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nobody-thanks-a-witty-man-for-politeness-when-he-puts-himself-on-a/#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 } } ] } ```