--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are not against you; they are merely…" description: "\"Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.\" — Gene Fowler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png" --- # Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves. ![“Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.” quote by Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png) > “Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.” [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men act primarily out of self‑interest, not opposition. **In simple terms:** Men act for themselves. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑interest. Themes human nature self‑interest gender Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationship counseling - business negotiations - political strategy Key Concepts motivational behavioral analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑interest shape decisions? - When can self‑interest align with collective good? A Different Perspective Generalization may overlook altruism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot bear to think that our young men are merely living four years in a country club and spending their lives wholly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grier-hibben/i-cannot-bear-to-think-that-our-young-men-are-merely-living-four/) [John Grier Hibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grier-hibben/) > [Men are merely on a lower or higher stage of an eminence, whose summit is God's throne infinitely above all; and there is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/men-are-merely-on-a-lower-or-higher-stage-of-an-eminence-whose-summit/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Money doesn't change men, it merely unmasks them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/money-doesn-t-change-men-it-merely-unmasks-them/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [War doesn't mature men; it merely pickles them in the brine of disgust and dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/war-doesn-t-mature-men-it-merely-pickles-them-in-the-brine-of-disgust/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“When given freedom of speech, most men merely quote other men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-given-freedom-of-speech-most-men-merely-quote-other-men/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Why have such scores of lovely, gifted girls Married impossible men? Simple self-sacrifice may be ruled out, And missionary endeavour, nine times out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/why-have-such-scores-of-lovely-gifted-girls-married-impossible-men-2/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [The greater number of men are merely corporals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-greater-number-of-men-are-merely-corporals/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If men do not keep on speaking terms with children, they cease to be men, and become merely machines for eating and for earning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/if-men-do-not-keep-on-speaking-terms-with-children-they-cease-to-be/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [But I do say that educated and scholarly men, if they’re brilliant and creative to begin with—which, unfortunately, is rarely the case—tend to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-do-say-that-educated-and-scholarly-men-if-they-re-brilliant-and-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must remember not to judge any public servant by any one act, and especially should we beware of attacking the men who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-must-remember-not-to-judge-any-public-servant-by-any-one-act-and/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The superiority of some men is merely local. They are great because their associates are little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-superiority-of-some-men-is-merely-local-they-are-great-because/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“I'm not trying to tell you," he said "that only educated men are able to contribute something valuable to the world. It's not so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-m-not-trying-to-tell-you-he-said-that-only-educated-men-are-able-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [We don't want to be the same as men, merely equal as human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heckler/we-don-t-want-to-be-the-same-as-men-merely-equal-as-human-beings/) Margaret Heckler > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) ## More by Gene Fowler > [An editor should have a pimp for a brother so he'd have someone to look up to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/an-editor-should-have-a-pimp-for-a-brother-so-he-d-have-someone-to/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Perhaps no mightier conflict of mind occurs ever again in a lifetime than that first decision to unseat one's own tooth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/perhaps-no-mightier-conflict-of-mind-occurs-ever-again-in-a-lifetime/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Why may not the Bible and especially the New Testament be read and taught as a divine revelation in school? Where else can the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/why-may-not-the-bible-and-especially-the-new-testament-be-read-and/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [A book is never finished; it's abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/a-book-is-never-finished-it-s-abandoned/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Sometimes I think my writing sounds like I walked out of the room and left the typewriter running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/sometimes-i-think-my-writing-sounds-like-i-walked-out-of-the-room-and/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [News is history shot on the wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/news-is-history-shot-on-the-wing/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Everyone needs a warm personal enemy or two to keep him free from rust in the movable parts of his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/everyone-needs-a-warm-personal-enemy-or-two-to-keep-him-free-from/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Never thank anybody for anything, except a drink of water in the desert - and then make it brief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/never-thank-anybody-for-anything-except-a-drink-of-water-in-the/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [It is easier to believe than to doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/it-is-easier-to-believe-than-to-doubt/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [It is no disgrace to rest a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/it-is-no-disgrace-to-rest-a-bit/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Every man should be allowed to love two cities, his own and San Francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/every-man-should-be-allowed-to-love-two-cities-his-own-and-san/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Don't be dismayed by the opinions of editors, or critics. They are only the traffic cops of the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/don-t-be-dismayed-by-the-opinions-of-editors-or-critics-they-are-only/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [A man who makes a one-dollar profit on his expense account is dishonest. A man who loses five cents on one is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/a-man-who-makes-a-one-dollar-profit-on-his-expense-account-is/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Love and memory last and will so endure till the game is called because of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/love-and-memory-last-and-will-so-endure-till-the-game-is-called/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [“Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/writing-is-easy-you-only-need-to-stare-at-a-blank-piece-of-paper/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) [Explore all 26 Gene Fowler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) Whitney Gaskell [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Fowler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely-for-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely-for-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/gene-fowler-23485_greatness_men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely_2698348.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.” — Gene Fowler", "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": "Gene Fowler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men are not against you; they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely-for-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/men-are-not-against-you-they-are-merely-for-themselves/#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 } } ] } ```