--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men seldom act from a correct sense of…" description: "\"Men seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful or useful to them.\" — Giacomo Leopardi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg" --- # Men seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful… ![“Men seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful or useful to them.” quote by Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg) > “Men seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful or useful to them.” [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often act without fully understanding what harms or helps them. **In simple terms:** Lack of insight leads to misguided actions. Key Takeaway Seek deeper self‑knowledge before acting. Themes self‑awareness human folly decision making Mood thoughtful critical introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - education - leadership training Key Concepts psychology philosophy cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots affect your choices? - How can you improve insight into personal risks? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge is hard to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Men seldom give pleasure when they are not pleased themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/men-seldom-give-pleasure-when-they-are-not-pleased-themselves/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Men are seldom more commonplace than on supreme occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/men-are-seldom-more-commonplace-than-on-supreme-occasions/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Men seldom understand any laws but those they feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/men-seldom-understand-any-laws-but-those-they-feel/) [Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/) > [I believe in our side and theirs, with the good and evil decided after the fact, by those who survive. Among men you seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-believe-in-our-side-and-theirs-with-the-good-and-evil-decided-after/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Men seldom persevere in a vocation unless they believe or can convince themselves that it is fundamentally more important than anyother calling. Women are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/men-seldom-persevere-in-a-vocation-unless-they-believe-or-can/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Men are seldom underrated; the mercury in a man finds its true level in the eyes of the world just as certainly as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/men-are-seldom-underrated-the-mercury-in-a-man-finds-its-true-level/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/men-seldom-make-passes-at-girls-who-wear-glasses/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [. . . men seldom risk their lives where an escape is without hope of recompense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/men-seldom-risk-their-lives-where-an-escape-is-without-hope-of/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebel against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/men-seldom-or-rather-never-for-a-length-of-time-and-deliberately/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Great men are seldom over-scrupulous in the arrangement of their attire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/great-men-are-seldom-over-scrupulous-in-the-arrangement-of-their/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-of-the-great-tragedies-of-life-is-that-men-seldom-bridge-the-gulf/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Men very seldom change, try though we will, beneath the shifts of exterior doctrine, our hearts so often remain what they were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-kempton/men-very-seldom-change-try-though-we-will-beneath-the-shifts-of/) [Murray Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-kempton/) > [A great cause of evil in the world is that men seldom think themselves criminal if they offer the same injustice to others that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/a-great-cause-of-evil-in-the-world-is-that-men-seldom-think/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Men seldom rise from low condition to high rank without employing either force or fraud, unless that rank should be attained either by gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-seldom-rise-from-low-condition-to-high-rank-without-employing/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Men are seldom helpless against their own evil wishes, and in their souls they know it. But common men love flattery not less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/men-are-seldom-helpless-against-their-own-evil-wishes-and-in-their/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) ## More by Giacomo Leopardi > [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/) > [If content with himself and mankind, a man is never harsh or curt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/if-content-with-himself-and-mankind-a-man-is-never-harsh-or-curt/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [I may be wrong, but it seems rare in our age to find a widely praised person whose own mouth is not the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/i-may-be-wrong-but-it-seems-rare-in-our-age-to-find-a-widely-praised/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [“Everything that is ended, everything that is last, naturally awakens in man a feeling of sorrow and melancholy. At the same time, it excites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/everything-that-is-ended-everything-that-is-last-naturally-awakens-in/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Everything since Homer has improved, except poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/everything-since-homer-has-improved-except-poetry/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [If the best company is that which we leave feeling most satisfied with ourselves, it follows that it is the company we leave most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/if-the-best-company-is-that-which-we-leave-feeling-most-satisfied/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [“ The Infinite It was always dear to me, this solitary hill, and this hedgerow here, that closes out my view, from so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/the-infinite-it-was-always-dear-to-me-this-solitary-hill-and-this/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [The commonplace expression that life is nothing but a play is verified above all in this: the world speaks absolutely consistently in one way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/the-commonplace-expression-that-life-is-nothing-but-a-play-is/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [The thought that really crushes us is the thought of the futility of life of which death is the visible manifestation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/the-thought-that-really-crushes-us-is-the-thought-of-the-futility-of/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [The artisan or scientist or the follower of whatever discipline who has the habit of comparing himself not with other followers but with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/the-artisan-or-scientist-or-the-follower-of-whatever-discipline-who/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's interesting to observe that almost all truly worthy men have simple manners, and that simple manners are almost always taken as a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/it-s-interesting-to-observe-that-almost-all-truly-worthy-men-have/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [No one is so completely disenchanted with the world, or knows it so thoroughly, or is so utterly disgusted with it, that when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/no-one-is-so-completely-disenchanted-with-the-world-or-knows-it-so/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [The old man, especially if he is in society in the privacy of his thoughts, though he may protest the opposite, never stops believing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/the-old-man-especially-if-he-is-in-society-in-the-privacy-of-his/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [You can be happy indeed if you have breathing space from pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/you-can-be-happy-indeed-if-you-have-breathing-space-from-pain/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [“If you start reading some book, even a very easy one, or listen to the clearest lecture in the world, with excessive attention, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/if-you-start-reading-some-book-even-a-very-easy-one-or-listen-to-the/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) [Explore all 59 Giacomo Leopardi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) ## 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 seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful or useful to them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Giacomo Leopardi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-what-may-be-harmful-or-useful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-what-may-be-harmful-or-useful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/giacomo-leopardi-9404_may_men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-w_1297727.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men seldom act from a correct sense of what may be harmful or useful to them.” — Giacomo Leopardi", "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": "Giacomo Leopardi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men seldom act from a correct...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-what-may-be-harmful-or-useful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/men-seldom-act-from-a-correct-sense-of-what-may-be-harmful-or-useful/#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 } } ] } ```