--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the gods were more manlike, Men were…" description: "\"When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike.\" — Friedrich Schiller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png" --- # When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike. ![“When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike.” quote by Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png) > “When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike.” [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. When deities become more human, humans aspire to divine qualities. **In simple terms:** Divine traits inspire human greatness. Key Takeaway Seek to emulate noble virtues. Themes aspiration human potential philosophy Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - artistic creation - education Key Concepts Enlightenment thought humanism Questions to Reflect On - What divine qualities can you cultivate? - How does this view influence your self‑image? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook human limitations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Godlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godlike/) [Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Tis as manlike to bear extremities as godlike to forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/tis-as-manlike-to-bear-extremities-as-godlike-to-forgive/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [“To bestow on your fellow men is a Godlike attribute--So indeed it is and as such not one fit for mortality;--the giver, like Adam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/to-bestow-on-your-fellow-men-is-a-godlike-attribute-so-indeed-it-is/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-man-is-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-3/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/man-is-more-himself-man-is-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-2/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when Joy is the fundamental thing in him, and Grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-man-is-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“It wouldn’t be very ladylike to punch a guy in the balls, but it isn’t very manlike to harass a woman because she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-george/it-wouldn-t-be-very-ladylike-to-punch-a-guy-in-the-balls-but-it-isn-t/) [Caroline George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-george/) > [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [While the womanly god demands our veneration, the godlike woman kindles our love; but while we allow ourselves to melt in the celestial loveliness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/while-the-womanly-god-demands-our-veneration-the-godlike-woman/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [With stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/with-stupidity-the-gods-themselves-struggle-in-vain/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [O blessed bounty, giving ail content! The only fautress of all noble arts That lend'st success to every good intent. A grace that rests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/o-blessed-bounty-giving-ail-content-the-only-fautress-of-all-noble/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The mystery of a person, indeed, is ever divine to him that has a sense for the godlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-mystery-of-a-person-indeed-is-ever-divine-to-him-that-has-a-sense/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The faculty of self-help is that which distinguished man from animals; that it is the Godlike element, or holds within itself the Godlike element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/the-faculty-of-self-help-is-that-which-distinguished-man-from-animals/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) ## 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 Godlike quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [The faculty of self-help is that which distinguished man from animals; that it is the Godlike element, or holds within itself the Godlike element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/the-faculty-of-self-help-is-that-which-distinguished-man-from-animals/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [The mystery of a person, indeed, is ever divine to him that has a sense for the godlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-mystery-of-a-person-indeed-is-ever-divine-to-him-that-has-a-sense/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [O blessed bounty, giving ail content! The only fautress of all noble arts That lend'st success to every good intent. A grace that rests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/o-blessed-bounty-giving-ail-content-the-only-fautress-of-all-noble/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [Only let us love God, and then nature will compass us about like a cloud of Divine witnesses; and all influences from the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/only-let-us-love-god-and-then-nature-will-compass-us-about-like-a/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [There are two avenues from the little passions and the drear calamities of earth; both lead to the heaven and away from hell-Art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/there-are-two-avenues-from-the-little-passions-and-the-drear/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Remember that there is nothing in God but what is godlike; and that He is either not at all, or truly and perfectly good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/remember-that-there-is-nothing-in-god-but-what-is-godlike-and-that-he/) [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/) > [It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/it-is-the-privilege-of-the-gods-to-want-nothing-and-of-godlike-men-to/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [We become Godlike to the extent we realize nonviolence, but we can never become wholly God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/we-become-godlike-to-the-extent-we-realize-nonviolence-but-we-can/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The will is free; Strong is the soul, and wise, and beautiful; The seeds of godlike power are in us still; Gods are we,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-will-is-free-strong-is-the-soul-and-wise-and-beautiful-the-seeds/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/we-must-be-careful-as-we-seek-to-become-more-and-more-godlike-that-we/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [In this world there is one godlike thing, the essence of all that was or ever will be of godlike in this world: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/in-this-world-there-is-one-godlike-thing-the-essence-of-all-that-was/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [ It is manlike to punish but godlike to forgive. \[Ger., Menschlich ist es bloss zu strafen Aber gottlich zu verzeihn.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-winter/it-is-manlike-to-punish-but-godlike-to-forgive-ger-menschlich-ist-es/) Peter Winter [Browse all 137 Godlike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godlike/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Schiller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were-more-godlike/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Godlike" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were-more-godlike/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/friedrich-schiller-832_godlike_when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were_350702.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the gods were more manlike, Men were more godlike.” — 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": "When the gods were more manlike,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were-more-godlike/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/when-the-gods-were-more-manlike-men-were-more-godlike/#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 } } ] } ```