--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Erasmus says that you should praise a…" description: "\"“Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for qualities he does not have. For the flattery gives him to think. And the qualities he presently l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/hilary-mantel-440_erasmus_erasmus-says-that-you-should-praise-a-ru_2338015.jpg" --- # Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for… ![“Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for qualities he does not have. For the flattery gives him to think. And the qualities he presently lacks, he might go to work on them.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/hilary-mantel-440_erasmus_erasmus-says-that-you-should-praise-a-ru_2338015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/hilary-mantel-440_erasmus_erasmus-says-that-you-should-praise-a-ru_2338015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/hilary-mantel-440_erasmus_erasmus-says-that-you-should-praise-a-ru_2338015.jpg) > ““Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for qualities he does not have. For the flattery gives him to think. And the qualities he presently lacks, he might go to work on them.”” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Flattery can be used to encourage rulers to develop missing virtues. **In simple terms:** Praise can motivate improvement. Key Takeaway Use praise to inspire growth. Themes politics leadership psychology Mood cautious reflective Type advice political When to use this quote - court court - team meetings - parent‑child discussions - coaching sessions Key Concepts flattery self-improvement motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you give honest praise that still encourages change? - When does flattery become manipulation? A Different Perspective If praise is insincere, it may breed distrust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erasmus/) [Erasmus Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erasmus-says-2619026/) [Praise Ruler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise-ruler-5648767/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Think Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-qualities-1546540/) ## Related quotes > [You have to lead by example. You have to be the calmest person in the room. You have to be very open. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-elliott/you-have-to-lead-by-example-you-have-to-be-the-calmest-person-in-the/) [Marianne Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-elliott/) > [It's very flattering that those who have assessed my work over the years think that I have the qualities to be an England manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/it-s-very-flattering-that-those-who-have-assessed-my-work-over-the/) [Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/) > [If you do not think well of Him because His qualities are beautiful then think well of Him because of the way He treats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-ata-allah/if-you-do-not-think-well-of-him-because-his-qualities-are-beautiful/) [Ibn Ata Allah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-ata-allah/) > [“Here again Diatribe confidently brings in a gloss to suit herself, just as if Scripture were under her complete control. As for considering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/here-again-diatribe-confidently-brings-in-a-gloss-to-suit-herself/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Andrea Leadsom, I think, has all the qualities that you need at the moment. She's got a lot of zap, a lot of drive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/andrea-leadsom-i-think-has-all-the-qualities-that-you-need-at-the/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [Most people still don't think of qualities like happiness as being a skill, that can be enhanced through training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-davidson/most-people-still-don-t-think-of-qualities-like-happiness-as-being-a/) [Richard Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-davidson/) > [Shall I tell you what I think are the two qualities of a work of art? First, it must be indescribable, and second, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/shall-i-tell-you-what-i-think-are-the-two-qualities-of-a-work-of-art/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [When the adversaries of Erasmus had got the Trinity into his edition, they threw by their manuscript as an old almanac out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/when-the-adversaries-of-erasmus-had-got-the-trinity-into-his-edition/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [A nation may be in a tumult to-day for a thought which the timid Erasmus placidly penned in his study more than two centuries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/a-nation-may-be-in-a-tumult-to-day-for-a-thought-which-the-timid/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [“The Stoics define wisdom to be conducted by reason, and folly nothing else but the being hurried by passion, lest our life should otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/the-stoics-define-wisdom-to-be-conducted-by-reason-and-folly-nothing/) [Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/) > [My law-givers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/my-law-givers-are-erasmus-and-montaigne-not-moses-and-st-paul/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [ “It was expected, however, that \[Erasmus\] should make some reply and give some definition. But instead, by availing himself of a rhetorical transition, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-expected-however-that-erasmus-should-make-some-reply-and-give/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it. -Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/war-is-delightful-to-those-who-have-not-yet-experienced-it-erasmus/) [Call Of Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/call-of-duty/) > [“But I am well aware of the excuse which men, ever ingenious in devising mischief to themselves as well as others, offer in extenuation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-am-well-aware-of-the-excuse-which-men-ever-ingenious-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Peace consists, very largely, in the fact of desiring it with all one's soul. The inhabitants of my small country, Costa Rica, have realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/peace-consists-very-largely-in-the-fact-of-desiring-it-with-all-one-s/) [Oscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Erasmus quotes > [Peace consists, very largely, in the fact of desiring it with all one's soul. The inhabitants of my small country, Costa Rica, have realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/peace-consists-very-largely-in-the-fact-of-desiring-it-with-all-one-s/) [Oscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [“But I am well aware of the excuse which men, ever ingenious in devising mischief to themselves as well as others, offer in extenuation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-am-well-aware-of-the-excuse-which-men-ever-ingenious-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it. -Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/war-is-delightful-to-those-who-have-not-yet-experienced-it-erasmus/) [Call Of Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/call-of-duty/) > [ “It was expected, however, that \[Erasmus\] should make some reply and give some definition. But instead, by availing himself of a rhetorical transition, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-expected-however-that-erasmus-should-make-some-reply-and-give/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My law-givers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/my-law-givers-are-erasmus-and-montaigne-not-moses-and-st-paul/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“The Stoics define wisdom to be conducted by reason, and folly nothing else but the being hurried by passion, lest our life should otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/the-stoics-define-wisdom-to-be-conducted-by-reason-and-folly-nothing/) [Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/) > [A nation may be in a tumult to-day for a thought which the timid Erasmus placidly penned in his study more than two centuries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/a-nation-may-be-in-a-tumult-to-day-for-a-thought-which-the-timid/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [When the adversaries of Erasmus had got the Trinity into his edition, they threw by their manuscript as an old almanac out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/when-the-adversaries-of-erasmus-had-got-the-trinity-into-his-edition/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [“As Erasmus, the great Renaissance thinker, reminds us, “The best hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/as-erasmus-the-great-renaissance-thinker-reminds-us-the-best-hope-of/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Erasmus was the light of his century; others were its strength: he lighted the way; others knew how to walk on it while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/erasmus-was-the-light-of-his-century-others-were-its-strength-he/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [ I understood that you would take the Human Race in the concrete, have exploded the absurd notion of Pope's Essay on Man, \[Erasmus\] Darwin,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-understood-that-you-would-take-the-human-race-in-the-concrete-have/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Erasmus dramatizes a well-established political position: that of the fool who claims license to criticize all and sundry without reprisal, since his madness defines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/erasmus-dramatizes-a-well-established-political-position-that-of-the/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [from you, my dear Erasmus, let me obtain this request, that just as I bear with your ignorance in these matters, so you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/from-you-my-dear-erasmus-let-me-obtain-this-request-that-just-as-i/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“No seventeenth-century pedagogue would have publicly advised his disciple, as did Erasmus in his Dialogues, on the choice of a good prostitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/no-seventeenth-century-pedagogue-would-have-publicly-advised-his/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [All Europe, including Erasmus, has followed Luther.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-benda/all-europe-including-erasmus-has-followed-luther/) [Julien Benda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-benda/) [Browse all 17 Erasmus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erasmus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for qualities he does not have. 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