--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Frenchman is first and foremost a…" description: "\"The Frenchman is first and foremost a man. He is likeable often just because of his weaknesses, which are always thoroughly human, even if despicable.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/henry-miller-179_despicable_the-frenchman-is-first-and-foremost-a-ma_1714842.jpg" --- # The Frenchman is first and foremost a man. He is likeable… ![“The Frenchman is first and foremost a man. He is likeable often just because of his weaknesses, which are always thoroughly human, even if despicable.” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/henry-miller-179_despicable_the-frenchman-is-first-and-foremost-a-ma_1714842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/henry-miller-179_despicable_the-frenchman-is-first-and-foremost-a-ma_1714842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/henry-miller-179_despicable_the-frenchman-is-first-and-foremost-a-ma_1714842.jpg) > “The Frenchman is first and foremost a man. He is likeable often just because of his weaknesses, which are always thoroughly human, even if despicable.” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human flaws make a person relatable and even likable, despite moral shortcomings, showing that vulnerability fosters connection. **In simple terms:** Weaknesses can make a person more likable. Key Takeaway Embrace humanity in others. Themes humanity vulnerability likability Mood empathetic thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - public perception - character analysis Key Concepts ethical complexity personal flaws social perception Questions to Reflect On - What makes a flawed person endearing? - When do weaknesses become unacceptable? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on flaws may excuse bad behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despicable/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Foremost Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foremost-man-1281870/) [Frenchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frenchman/) [Frenchman Foremost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frenchman-foremost-1281869/) [Frenchmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frenchmen/) [Human Despicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-despicable-1281871/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Likeable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likeable/) [Man Likeable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-likeable-1281868/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a human being. I'm despicable and disgusting - but that's where the money is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-m-not-a-human-being-i-m-despicable-and-disgusting-but-that-s-where/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Every day I think about where I come from and I am still proud to be who I am: first, a Kabyle from La…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zinedine-zidane/every-day-i-think-about-where-i-come-from-and-i-am-still-proud-to-be/) [Zinedine Zidane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zinedine-zidane/) > [France is France and a grand place for Frenchman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/france-is-france-and-a-grand-place-for-frenchman/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Frenchman: Germans with good food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/frenchman-germans-with-good-food/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [A blaspheming Frenchman is a spectacle more pleasing to the Lord than a praying Englishman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/a-blaspheming-frenchman-is-a-spectacle-more-pleasing-to-the-lord-than/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [Only thing worse than a Frenchman is a Frenchman who lives in Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/only-thing-worse-than-a-frenchman-is-a-frenchman-who-lives-in-canada/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [... far be it from a Frenchman to interfere with love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri-2/far-be-it-from-a-frenchman-to-interfere-with-love/) [E. A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri-2/) > [The Frenchman, by nature, is sensuous and sensitive. He has intelligence, which makes him tired of life sooner than other kinds of men. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-frenchman-by-nature-is-sensuous-and-sensitive-he-has-intelligence/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [France, like every other Western country except the United States, has long accepted the principle that comprehensive health care is the right of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-massie/france-like-every-other-western-country-except-the-united-states-has/) [Suzanne Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-massie/) > [At war with savages and idiots. 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Huegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-huegel/) > [The difference between the vanity of a Frenchman and an Englishman seems to be this: the one thinks everything right that is French, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-difference-between-the-vanity-of-a-frenchman-and-an-englishman/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I received a letter just before I left office from a man. I don't know why he chose to write it, but I'm glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-received-a-letter-just-before-i-left-office-from-a-man-i-don-t-know/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Accents are very sexy. American girls who speak French are very attractive to a Frenchman. Anything exotic or different is attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-marini/accents-are-very-sexy-american-girls-who-speak-french-are-very/) [Gilles Marini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-marini/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. 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The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Despicable quotes > [I would of course like to think I've never done a truly despicable thing, but then again you don't always know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-andrews/i-would-of-course-like-to-think-i-ve-never-done-a-truly-despicable/) [Finn Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-andrews/) > [I admire certain priests and nuns who go off on their own and do God's work on their own, who help in the ghettos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-admire-certain-priests-and-nuns-who-go-off-on-their-own-and-do-god/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I'm not saying that all women are blameless - all women are not. There are women with despicable characters who are cruel and terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-not-saying-that-all-women-are-blameless-all-women-are-not-there/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [I can play a man who's despicable. But I'll still look inside him to find a point of connection. If I can find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-can-play-a-man-who-s-despicable-but-i-ll-still-look-inside-him-to/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ The American experiment, the United States in the past eight years \[2008-2016\] was not considered worthy of leading, because we had committed too many… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-american-experiment-the-united-states-in-the-past-eight-years/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Reaching into one's own pocket to assist his fellow man is noble and worthy of praise. Reaching into another person's pocket to assist one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/reaching-into-one-s-own-pocket-to-assist-his-fellow-man-is-noble-and/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [What Clinton did with Lewinsky was despicable but was no threat to the nation. That he lied about it repeatedly and to the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/what-clinton-did-with-lewinsky-was-despicable-but-was-no-threat-to/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [Despair makes a despicable figure, and descends from a mean original. 'Tis the offspring of fear, of laziness and impatience; it argues a defect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/despair-makes-a-despicable-figure-and-descends-from-a-mean-original/) [Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/) > [I guess there's nothing I don't like about Merlin, in this presentation. I love everything, even the things I find despicable and abhorrent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fiennes/i-guess-there-s-nothing-i-don-t-like-about-merlin-in-this/) [Joseph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fiennes/) > [Nothing is more despicable than a professional talker who uses his words as a quack uses his remedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/nothing-is-more-despicable-than-a-professional-talker-who-uses-his/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [The nature of men and women - their essential nature - is so vile and despicable that if you were to portray a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-nature-of-men-and-women-their-essential-nature-is-so-vile-and/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists. 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