--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every man is a priest, even…" description: "\"Every man is a priest, even involuntarily; his conduct is an unspoken sermon, which is forever preaching to others.\" — Henri Frederic Amiel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/henri-frederic-amiel-1276_every-man_every-man-is-a-priest-even-involuntarily_730483.png" --- # Every man is a priest, even involuntarily; his conduct is… ![“Every man is a priest, even involuntarily; his conduct is an unspoken sermon, which is forever preaching to others.” quote by Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/henri-frederic-amiel-1276_every-man_every-man-is-a-priest-even-involuntarily_730483.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/henri-frederic-amiel-1276_every-man_every-man-is-a-priest-even-involuntarily_730483.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/henri-frederic-amiel-1276_every-man_every-man-is-a-priest-even-involuntarily_730483.png) > “Every man is a priest, even involuntarily; his conduct is an unspoken sermon, which is forever preaching to others.” [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests every person’s behavior serves as an implicit lesson to others. **In simple terms:** Actions speak louder than words. Key Takeaway Live mindfully as you teach by example. Themes ethics behavior influence Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace conduct - parenting - public speaking - online presence Key Concepts moral philosophy social learning Questions to Reflect On - How does your daily conduct affect others? - Can you improve your unspoken sermon? A Different Perspective People may misinterpret intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Sermons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermons/) ## Related quotes > [There is sort of an unspoken 'no skateboarding' clause on tour that I break pretty often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/there-is-sort-of-an-unspoken-no-skateboarding-clause-on-tour-that-i/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) > [Sometimes brokenheart caused, unspoken words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-brokenheart-caused-unspoken-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The discussions of every age are filled with the issues on which its leading schools of thought differ. But the general intellectual atmosphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-discussions-of-every-age-are-filled-with-the-issues-on-which-its/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [It's easier to leave angry words unspoken, than to mend a heart those words have broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz/it-s-easier-to-leave-angry-words-unspoken-than-to-mend-a-heart-those/) [Naz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz/) > [“The break-hard determination to be a good person, what happened to that? How is it true I have to go now? She's lost my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-gander/the-break-hard-determination-to-be-a-good-person-what-happened-to/) [Forrest Gander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-gander/) > [Life throws surprises sometimes you catch them, sometimes you don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-throws-surprises-sometimes-you-catch-them-sometimes-you-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think for me, or for anyone who plays the quarterback position, it's almost an unspoken word when you think about leadership. Some guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-newton/i-think-for-me-or-for-anyone-who-plays-the-quarterback-position-it-s/) [Cam Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-newton/) > [“It's almost as if we're afraid of words. They hang in the air, unspoken, and then seeing that they're not going to be used,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-chan/it-s-almost-as-if-we-re-afraid-of-words-they-hang-in-the-air-unspoken/) [Crystal Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-chan/) > [I cannot be made into the commentator for the unspoken black masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-mcgruder/i-cannot-be-made-into-the-commentator-for-the-unspoken-black-masses/) [Aaron McGruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-mcgruder/) > [In this business, there is an insane amount of pressure, spoken and unspoken, to be thin. If you look at some of the television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-raver/in-this-business-there-is-an-insane-amount-of-pressure-spoken-and/) [Kim Raver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-raver/) > [Kate Bernheimer's fiction offers a unique and delicate gift, the tempting mirage of a grace that constantly escapes. 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If you can't speak out, then write it out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unspoken-thoughts-get-you-nowhere-if-you-can-t-speak-out-then-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Society mediates between the extremes of, on the one hand, intolerably strict morality and, on the other, dangerously anarchic permissiveness through an unspoken agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/society-mediates-between-the-extremes-of-on-the-one-hand-intolerably/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) ## More by Henri Frederic Amiel > [There is only one way of not hating those who do us wrong, and that is by doing them good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/there-is-only-one-way-of-not-hating-those-who-do-us-wrong-and-that-is/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Latent genius is but a presumption. Everything that can be, is bound to come into being, and what never comes into being is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/latent-genius-is-but-a-presumption-everything-that-can-be-is-bound-to/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Order is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/order-is-power/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Knowledge, love, power-there is the complete life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/knowledge-love-power-there-is-the-complete-life/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/life-is-short-and-we-have-never-too-much-time-for-gladdening-the/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Each bud flowers but once and each flower has but its minute of perfect beauty; so, in the garden of the soul each feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/each-bud-flowers-but-once-and-each-flower-has-but-its-minute-of/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [We are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/we-are-never-more-discontented-with-others-than-when-we-are/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Only evil grows of itself, while for goodness we want effort and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/only-evil-grows-of-itself-while-for-goodness-we-want-effort-and/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/our-greatest-illusion-is-to-believe-that-we-are-what-we-think/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/charm-is-the-quality-in-others-that-makes-us-more-satisfied-with/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [The philosopher aspires to explain away all mysteries, to dissolve them into light. Mystery on the other hand is demanded and pursued by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/the-philosopher-aspires-to-explain-away-all-mysteries-to-dissolve/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [The growth and development of the soul is more important than power and glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/the-growth-and-development-of-the-soul-is-more-important-than-power/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [He who asks of life nothing but the improvement of his own nature... is less liable than anyone else to miss and waste life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/he-who-asks-of-life-nothing-but-the-improvement-of-his-own-nature-is/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Christianity, if it is to triumph over pantheism, must absorb it. To our pusillanimous eyes Jesus would have borne the marks of a hateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/christianity-if-it-is-to-triumph-over-pantheism-must-absorb-it-to-our/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) [Explore all 262 Henri Frederic Amiel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) ## More Every man quotes > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [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/) > [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/) > [All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-for-every-man-must-get-to-heaven-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. 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