---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gratitude is the most exquisite form of…"
description: "\"Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.\" — Jacques Maritain"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg"
---

#  Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.

![“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” quote by Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg)

> “Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Gratitude is a refined way of showing respect and kindness to others.

**In simple terms:** Gratitude is a refined courtesy.

Key Takeaway

Practice gratitude daily.

Themes

courtesy gratitude respect

Mood

warm reflective

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- teamwork
- customer service
- leadership
- community building

Key Concepts

social etiquette emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you express gratitude at work?
- What impact does gratitude have on relationships?

A Different Perspective

Gratitude alone may not change systemic issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) [Exquisite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exquisite/) [Exquisite Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exquisite-form-2794024/) [Form Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-courtesy-3732425/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Gratitude Exquisite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude-exquisite-3732424/) [Thankful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thankful/)

## Related quotes

> [Curiosity in Rome is a form of courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/curiosity-in-rome-is-a-form-of-courtesy/)

[Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/)

> [What I see in the book is an exquisite form of technology: one that doesn't require a power source and can be passed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/what-i-see-in-the-book-is-an-exquisite-form-of-technology-one-that/)

[Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/)

> [Japanese affection is not uttered in words; it scarcely appears even in the tone of voice; it is chiefly shown in acts of exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/japanese-affection-is-not-uttered-in-words-it-scarcely-appears-even/)

[Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/)

> [I'm sure I'll find some use for the dress before summer."Kavill nodded, and closed his thick ledger. "Do let me know if it causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-m-sure-i-ll-find-some-use-for-the-dress-before-summer-kavill-nodded/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [Poetry is the exquisite expression of exquisite impressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philibert-joseph-roux/poetry-is-the-exquisite-expression-of-exquisite-impressions/)

[Philibert Joseph Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philibert-joseph-roux/)

> [Conversation in its happiest development is a link, equally exquisite and adequate, between mind and mind, a system by which men approach one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/conversation-in-its-happiest-development-is-a-link-equally-exquisite/)

[Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/)

> [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/)

[Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/)

> [Life, Lady Stutfield, is simply a mauvais quart d'heure made up of exquisite moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/life-lady-stutfield-is-simply-a-mauvais-quart-d-heure-made-up-of/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [But to be able to kiss someone you love when you're fully and completely in control of yourself and know who you are...it's exquisite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/but-to-be-able-to-kiss-someone-you-love-when-you-re-fully-and/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [“Her features were exquisite perfection, carved by nature with obvious care and never altered by the harshness of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/her-features-were-exquisite-perfection-carved-by-nature-with-obvious/)

[Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/)

> [“The bedroom was larger than our entire cottage. Its walls were pale green, delicately sketched with patterns of gold, and the mouldings were golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/the-bedroom-was-larger-than-our-entire-cottage-its-walls-were-pale/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/)

[Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/)

> [Coral reefs represent some of the worlds most spectacular beauty spots, but they are also the foundation of marine life: without them many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/coral-reefs-represent-some-of-the-worlds-most-spectacular-beauty/)

[Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/)

> [Art is beauty, the perpetual invention of detail, the choice of words, the exquisite care of execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/art-is-beauty-the-perpetual-invention-of-detail-the-choice-of-words/)

[Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/)

> [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/)

[Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/)

## More by Jacques Maritain

> [It has never been recommended to confuse "loving" with "seeking to please"... ...Salome pleased Herod's guests; I can hardly believe she was burning with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-has-never-been-recommended-to-confuse-loving-with-seeking-to/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [A great philosopher in the wrong is like a beacon on the reefs which says to seamen: steer clear of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/a-great-philosopher-in-the-wrong-is-like-a-beacon-on-the-reefs-which/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [I don't see America as a mainland, but as a sea, a big ocean. Sometimes a storm arises, a formidable current develops, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/i-don-t-see-america-as-a-mainland-but-as-a-sea-a-big-ocean-sometimes/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [It is impossible for a Christian to be a relativist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-is-impossible-for-a-christian-to-be-a-relativist/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [The light of common sense is fundamentally the same light as that of science, that is to say, the natural light of the intellect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-light-of-common-sense-is-fundamentally-the-same-light-as-that-of/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [Absolute atheism starts in an act of faith in reverse gear and is a full-blown religious commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/absolute-atheism-starts-in-an-act-of-faith-in-reverse-gear-and-is-a/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [Poetry proceeds from the totality of man, sense, imagination, intellect, love, desire, instinct, blood and spirit together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetry-proceeds-from-the-totality-of-man-sense-imagination-intellect/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [The great and admirable strength of America consists in this, that America is truly the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-great-and-admirable-strength-of-america-consists-in-this-that/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry is a lie,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato-that-there-is-at-once-error/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [The first step to be taken by everyone who wishes to act morally is to decide not to act according to the general customs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-first-step-to-be-taken-by-everyone-who-wishes-to-act-morally-is/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [The only artist who does not deserve respect is the one who works to please the public, for commercial success or for official success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-only-artist-who-does-not-deserve-respect-is-the-one-who-works-to/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [Things are opaque to us, and we are opaque to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/things-are-opaque-to-us-and-we-are-opaque-to-ourselves/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [Thus society is born, as something required by nature, and (because this nature is human nature) as something accomplished through a work of reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/thus-society-is-born-as-something-required-by-nature-and-because-this/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [Poetic experience is distinct in nature from mystical experience. Because poetry emanates from the free creativity of the spirit,it is from the very start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetic-experience-is-distinct-in-nature-from-mystical-experience/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [We do not need a truth to serve us, we need a truth that we can serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/we-do-not-need-a-truth-to-serve-us-we-need-a-truth-that-we-can-serve/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

[Explore all 76 Jacques Maritain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

## More Courtesy quotes

> [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Less of your courtesy and more of your purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/less-of-your-courtesy-and-more-of-your-purse/)

[Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/)

> [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/)

[Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/)

> [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/)

[Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/)

> [“I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/i-would-court-you-with-all-the-grace-and-courtesy-that-you-deserve/)

[C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/)

> [The greater the man the greater the courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/)

[Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/)

> [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/)

[Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/)

> [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/)

[Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/)

> [They who sow courtesy reap friendship, and they who plant kindness gather love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/they-who-sow-courtesy-reap-friendship-and-they-who-plant-kindness/)

[Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/)

> [“If a lady offers you a kindness, you absolutely have to accept”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-wallingford/if-a-lady-offers-you-a-kindness-you-absolutely-have-to-accept/)

[Maria Wallingford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-wallingford/)

> [though I be but the prince of Wales, yet I am king of courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/though-i-be-but-the-prince-of-wales-yet-i-am-king-of-courtesy/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Princes of courtesy, merciful, proud and strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-newbolt/princes-of-courtesy-merciful-proud-and-strong/)

[Henry Newbolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-newbolt/)

[Browse all 527 Courtesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jacques Maritain"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of-courtesy/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Courtesy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of-courtesy/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/jacques-maritain-8918_courtesy_gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of_2031301.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” — Jacques Maritain",
                "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": "Jacques Maritain",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Gratitude is the most exquisite form...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of-courtesy/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/gratitude-is-the-most-exquisite-form-of-courtesy/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
