--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who despises most things will be a…" description: "\"“He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them.”\" — Fyodor Dostoyevsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg" --- # He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them. ![“He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them.” quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg) > ““He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them.”” [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those who despise many things become judges, imposing rules on what they reject. **In simple terms:** Despising leads to law‑making. Key Takeaway Beware of judgmental authority. Themes power judgment law morality Mood serious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - government - legal systems - social movements - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do people become judges of others? - How can we balance criticism and compassion? A Different Perspective Not all judges are despising. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [“He who despises most things will be a lawgiver among them and he who dares most of all will be most in the right!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-lawgiver-among-them-and-he-who/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [God is a creator, not a law giver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/god-is-a-creator-not-a-law-giver/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [The critic's hankering to be law-giver rather than servant of literature is irrepressible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/the-critic-s-hankering-to-be-law-giver-rather-than-servant-of/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) > [Man the law-giver will have to pay a dreadful penalty for the degradation he has imposed upon the so called weaker sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-the-law-giver-will-have-to-pay-a-dreadful-penalty-for-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If you have a moral law then you must have a moral law giver. You don’t get a moral law unless there’s a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-turek/if-you-have-a-moral-law-then-you-must-have-a-moral-law-giver-you-don/) [Frank Turek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-turek/) > [Laws ... proportionate and mild should never be dispensed with. Let mercy be the character of the law-giver, but let the judge be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-proportionate-and-mild-should-never-be-dispensed-with-let-mercy/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nature is good, but intellect is better, as the law-giver is before the law-receiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-good-but-intellect-is-better-as-the-law-giver-is-before-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In all things there is a law of cycles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/in-all-things-there-is-a-law-of-cycles/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [There's just things that are against the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-neeleman/there-s-just-things-that-are-against-the-law/) [David Neeleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-neeleman/) > [Things in law tend to be black and white. But we all know that some people are a little bit guilty, while other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-de-la-ram-e/things-in-law-tend-to-be-black-and-white-but-we-all-know-that-some/) Marie Louise De La Ramee > [There are a lot of things you can do with a law degree background, but I just didn't have a passion for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcgrory/there-are-a-lot-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-law-degree-background-but/) [Matthew McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcgrory/) > [The wicked have told me of things that delight them, but not such things as your law has to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-wicked-have-told-me-of-things-that-delight-them-but-not-such/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [There are two things that are without law, God and necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/there-are-two-things-that-are-without-law-god-and-necessity/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/open-my-eyes-that-i-may-see-wondrous-things-from-your-law/) [Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/) > [It is impossible to read for pleasure from something to which you are both father and mother, born in such travail that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/it-is-impossible-to-read-for-pleasure-from-something-to-which-you-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) ## More by Fyodor Dostoyevsky > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Listen! I know it's not right to talk. Better to set an example, better to just start - I have already started - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/listen-i-know-it-s-not-right-to-talk-better-to-set-an-example-better/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The morning was so damp and misty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-morning-was-so-damp-and-misty/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I repeat, I repeat with emphasis: all "direct" persons and men of action are active just because they are stupid and limited. How explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-repeat-i-repeat-with-emphasis-all-direct-persons-and-men-of-action/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“He is a man of intelligence, but to act sensibly, intelligence is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-is-a-man-of-intelligence-but-to-act-sensibly-intelligence-is-not/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [ “if \[God\] doesn't exist, man is the chief of the earth, of the universe. Magnificent! Only how is he going to be good without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/if-god-doesn-t-exist-man-is-the-chief-of-the-earth-of-the-universe/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“From an encounter in 1862... “Dickens told me,” Dostoyevsky recalled in a letter written years later, “that all the good, simple people in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/from-an-encounter-in-1862-dickens-told-me-dostoyevsky-recalled-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“It must be the top drawer," he reflected. "So she carries the keys in a pocket on the right. All in one bunch on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/it-must-be-the-top-drawer-he-reflected-so-she-carries-the-keys-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“- You take evil for good. It's a passing crisis. It's the result of your illness, perhaps. - You do despise me! It's simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-take-evil-for-good-it-s-a-passing-crisis-it-s-the-result-of-your/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Clouds overlaid the sky as with a shroud of mist, and everything looked sad, rainy, and threatening under a fine drizzle which was beating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/clouds-overlaid-the-sky-as-with-a-shroud-of-mist-and-everything/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“People who can speak well, speak briefly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/people-who-can-speak-well-speak-briefly/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I think I could stand anything, any suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, 'I exist.' In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-think-i-could-stand-anything-any-suffering-only-to-be-able-to-say/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“There is no more ceaseless or tormenting care for man, as long as he remains free, than to find someone to bow down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/there-is-no-more-ceaseless-or-tormenting-care-for-man-as-long-as-he/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) [Explore all 1,078 Fyodor Dostoyevsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## More Despises quotes > [It is impossible to read for pleasure from something to which you are both father and mother, born in such travail that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/it-is-impossible-to-read-for-pleasure-from-something-to-which-you-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [If the world despises a hypocrite, what must they think of him in heaven?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-the-world-despises-a-hypocrite-what-must-they-think-of-him-in/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Hollywood does not understand Middle America, and it certainly does not understand and, in fact, despises, the core values of the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bannon/hollywood-does-not-understand-middle-america-and-it-certainly-does/) [Steve Bannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bannon/) > [Anna despises two classes of people: first, those who own their own homes and have cars and families, and second, everybody else. Constantly she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/anna-despises-two-classes-of-people-first-those-who-own-their-own/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) > [Even the world, that despises simplicity, does not profess to approve of duplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/even-the-world-that-despises-simplicity-does-not-profess-to-approve/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“He who despises simplicity will shout for a simple lifebuoy when drowning in the ocean of complexity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/he-who-despises-simplicity-will-shout-for-a-simple-lifebuoy-when/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“My mother despises what can never truly be done so she does not care for cooking or cleaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-shearin/my-mother-despises-what-can-never-truly-be-done-so-she-does-not-care/) Faith Shearin > [A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-child-cannot-be-taught-by-anyone-who-despises-him-and-a-child/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Foolish the doctor who despises the knowledge acquired by the ancients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/foolish-the-doctor-who-despises-the-knowledge-acquired-by-the-ancients/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The pretty fellows you speak of, I own entertain me sometimes, but is it impossible to be diverted with what one despises? I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/the-pretty-fellows-you-speak-of-i-own-entertain-me-sometimes-but-is/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [She likes herself, yet others hates, For that which in herself she prizes; And while she laughs at them, forgets She is the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/she-likes-herself-yet-others-hates-for-that-which-in-herself-she/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [An elegant woman is a woman who despises you and has no hair under her arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/an-elegant-woman-is-a-woman-who-despises-you-and-has-no-hair-under/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Because the European does not know his own unconscious, he does not understand the East and projects it into everything he fears and despises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/because-the-european-does-not-know-his-own-unconscious-he-does-not/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [ He despises what he sought; and he seeks that which he lately threw away. \[Lat., Quod petit spernit, repetit quod nuper omisit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-despises-what-he-sought-and-he-seeks-that-which-he-lately-threw/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When one is young, one venerates and despises without that art of nuances which constitutes the best gain of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-is-young-one-venerates-and-despises-without-that-art-of-2/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) Browse all 55 Despises quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fyodor Dostoyevsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-law-giver-among-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despises" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-law-giver-among-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_law_he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-la_1630625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky", "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": "Fyodor Dostoyevsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He who despises most things will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-law-giver-among-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-who-despises-most-things-will-be-a-law-giver-among-them/#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 } } ] } ```