--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's…" description: "\"Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.\" — Friedrich Schiller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png" --- # Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect. ![“Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.” quote by Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png) > “Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.” [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in poverty, virtue commands respect and authority. **In simple terms:** Virtue earns respect despite humble appearance. Key Takeaway Value inner moral strength over external status. Themes virtue humility respect Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - leadership - poverty - social mobility - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts ethics social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - Can virtue thrive without recognition? - How do you honor modest virtue? A Different Perspective Respect may be limited by societal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beggar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggar/) [Beggar Garb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggar-garb-3487497/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Clothed Beggar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothed-beggar-3487496/) [Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Clothed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-clothed-1428318/) ## Related quotes > [Genius and virtue are to be more often found clothed in gray than in peacock bright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/genius-and-virtue-are-to-be-more-often-found-clothed-in-gray-than-in/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-found-the-senators-clothed-in/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [For what accords better and more aptly with faith than to acknowledge ourselves divested of all virtue that we may be clothed by God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-what-accords-better-and-more-aptly-with-faith-than-to-acknowledge/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [I'll not meddle with it. It makes a man a coward: a man cannot steal but it accuseth him; a man cannot swear but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-not-meddle-with-it-it-makes-a-man-a-coward-a-man-cannot-steal/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. For he proves that in a matter at the same time as prosaic and holy, banal and regenerative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-religions-have-honored-the-beggar-for-he-proves-that-in-a-matter/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Make of the Silence your to-do tasks, of the compassion your wealth and of the meditation your beggar's bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/make-of-the-silence-your-to-do-tasks-of-the-compassion-your-wealth/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [You obviously don't know what an Old Man of the Sea great wealth is. It is not a fat purse and time to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-obviously-don-t-know-what-an-old-man-of-the-sea-great-wealth-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot! A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/hurrah-for-revolution-and-more-cannon-shot-a-beggar-upon-horseback/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Beggars fear no rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beggars-fear-no-rebellion/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Poets and beggars, musicians and prophets, warriors and scoundrels, all creatures of that unbridled reality, we have had to ask but little of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/poets-and-beggars-musicians-and-prophets-warriors-and-scoundrels-all/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Don't be doubtful to your goals or else you will end up your life as a beggar, keep faith on yourself and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athar-azeem/don-t-be-doubtful-to-your-goals-or-else-you-will-end-up-your-life-as/) [Athar Azeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athar-azeem/) > [“Why remain polite but powerless, in love but a beggar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/why-remain-polite-but-powerless-in-love-but-a-beggar/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [If some beggar steals a bridle he'll be hung by a man who's stolen a horse. There's no surer justice in the world than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peire-cardenal/if-some-beggar-steals-a-bridle-he-ll-be-hung-by-a-man-who-s-stolen-a/) [Peire Cardenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peire-cardenal/) ## More by Friedrich Schiller > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [I have enjoyed the happiness of the world; I have loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/i-have-enjoyed-the-happiness-of-the-world-i-have-loved/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is easy to give advice from a port of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-easy-to-give-advice-from-a-port-of-safety/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is through beauty that we arrive at freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-through-beauty-that-we-arrive-at-freedom/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The first great law is to obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-first-great-law-is-to-obey/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [To gain a crown by fighting is great, to reject it divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/to-gain-a-crown-by-fighting-is-great-to-reject-it-divine/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Even the weak become strong when they are united.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/even-the-weak-become-strong-when-they-are-united/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/man-only-plays-when-in-the-full-meaning-of-the-word-he-is-a-man-and/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Ah, to that far distant strand Bridge there was not to convey, Not a bark was near at hand, Yet true love soon found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/ah-to-that-far-distant-strand-bridge-there-was-not-to-convey-not-a/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/a-gloomy-guest-fits-not-a-wedding-feast/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [If you have never seen beauty in a moment of suffering, you have never seen beauty at all. If you have never seen joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/if-you-have-never-seen-beauty-in-a-moment-of-suffering-you-have-never/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Fear of death is worse than dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/fear-of-death-is-worse-than-dying/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The dream is short, repentance long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-dream-is-short-repentance-long/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) [Explore all 350 Friedrich Schiller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More Beggar quotes > [If some beggar steals a bridle he'll be hung by a man who's stolen a horse. There's no surer justice in the world than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peire-cardenal/if-some-beggar-steals-a-bridle-he-ll-be-hung-by-a-man-who-s-stolen-a/) [Peire Cardenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peire-cardenal/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Why remain polite but powerless, in love but a beggar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/why-remain-polite-but-powerless-in-love-but-a-beggar/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Don't be doubtful to your goals or else you will end up your life as a beggar, keep faith on yourself and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athar-azeem/don-t-be-doubtful-to-your-goals-or-else-you-will-end-up-your-life-as/) [Athar Azeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athar-azeem/) > [Poets and beggars, musicians and prophets, warriors and scoundrels, all creatures of that unbridled reality, we have had to ask but little of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/poets-and-beggars-musicians-and-prophets-warriors-and-scoundrels-all/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Beggars fear no rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beggars-fear-no-rebellion/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot! A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/hurrah-for-revolution-and-more-cannon-shot-a-beggar-upon-horseback/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You obviously don't know what an Old Man of the Sea great wealth is. It is not a fat purse and time to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-obviously-don-t-know-what-an-old-man-of-the-sea-great-wealth-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Make of the Silence your to-do tasks, of the compassion your wealth and of the meditation your beggar's bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/make-of-the-silence-your-to-do-tasks-of-the-compassion-your-wealth/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. For he proves that in a matter at the same time as prosaic and holy, banal and regenerative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-religions-have-honored-the-beggar-for-he-proves-that-in-a-matter/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I'll not meddle with it. It makes a man a coward: a man cannot steal but it accuseth him; a man cannot swear but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-not-meddle-with-it-it-makes-a-man-a-coward-a-man-cannot-steal/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A beggar through the world am I, From place to place I wander by. Fill up my pilgrim's scrip for me, For Christ's sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/a-beggar-through-the-world-am-i-from-place-to-place-i-wander-by-fill/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The bashful beggar has an empty purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cranch-bond/the-bashful-beggar-has-an-empty-purse/) [William Cranch Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cranch-bond/) > [“A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wessel-zapffe/a-coin-is-examined-and-only-after-careful-deliberation-given-to-a/) [Peter Wessel Zapffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wessel-zapffe/) [Browse all 455 Beggar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Schiller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb-commands-respect/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beggar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb-commands-respect/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/friedrich-schiller-832_beggar_virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb_385239.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.” — Friedrich Schiller", "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 Schiller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb-commands-respect/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb-commands-respect/#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 } } ] } ```