--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True greatness is the most ready to…" description: "\"True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most willing to obey those simple outward laws which have been sanctioned by the experience of mankin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png" --- # True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most… ![“True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most willing to obey those simple outward laws which have been sanctioned by the experience of mankind.” quote by James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png) > “True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most willing to obey those simple outward laws which have been sanctioned by the experience of mankind.” [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness comes from obeying time‑tested, simple moral laws that humanity has learned through experience. **In simple terms:** True greatness follows simple, proven moral rules. Key Takeaway Follow enduring moral principles. Themes morality leadership humility Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal conduct - public policy - education - community building Key Concepts social contract ethical tradition Questions to Reflect On - What simple moral law guides your decisions? - How do you balance tradition with progress? A Different Perspective Such laws may be vague or conflict with modern values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Greatness Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness-ready-1151160/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Recognize Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognize-willing-1151161/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [True greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-greatness/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Obey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-obey-1099362/) ## Related quotes > [“What you are born to be, you will be, whether it be priest or sailor. So step up and be it. Let them do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/what-you-are-born-to-be-you-will-be-whether-it-be-priest-or-sailor-so/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“If the followers of the Oversoul are kept blind, if they can't judge the Oversoul's purpose for themselves, then they aren't freely choosing between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/if-the-followers-of-the-oversoul-are-kept-blind-if-they-can-t-judge/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Dear GOD, no matter what happens give me the heart that is willing to obey you whatever the cost may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/dear-god-no-matter-what-happens-give-me-the-heart-that-is-willing-to/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [There will be no peace in any soul until it is willing to obey the voice of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/there-will-be-no-peace-in-any-soul-until-it-is-willing-to-obey-the/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [We simply will not make progress with God unless we are willing to obey Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/we-simply-will-not-make-progress-with-god-unless-we-are-willing-to/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [You may command nature to the extent only in which you are willing to obey her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/you-may-command-nature-to-the-extent-only-in-which-you-are-willing-to/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [“If one man or woman is willing to obey God, it can change the destiny of millions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dc-talk/if-one-man-or-woman-is-willing-to-obey-god-it-can-change-the-destiny/) [DC Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dc-talk/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [A solemn and religious regard to spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of all true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/a-solemn-and-religious-regard-to-spiritual-and-eternal-things-is-an/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Making others happy through kindness of speech and sincerity of advice is a sign of true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/making-others-happy-through-kindness-of-speech-and-sincerity-of/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [There are only two sorts of greatness: true greatness, which is of a spiritual order, and the old, old lie of world conquest. Conquest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/there-are-only-two-sorts-of-greatness-true-greatness-which-is-of-a/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Let your desire for truth transcend all minor considerations. Ignorance is invariably confident. The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [True greatness,true leadership,is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/true-greatness-true-leadership-is-found-in-giving-yourself-in-service/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) ## More by James Anthony Froude > [No person is ever good for much, that hasn't been swept off their feet by enthusiasm between ages twenty and thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/no-person-is-ever-good-for-much-that-hasn-t-been-swept-off-their-feet/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [We enter the world alone, we leave the world alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/we-enter-the-world-alone-we-leave-the-world-alone/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Mistakes are often the best teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/mistakes-are-often-the-best-teachers/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [High original genius is always ridiculed on its first appearance; most of all by those who have won themselves the highest reputation in working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/high-original-genius-is-always-ridiculed-on-its-first-appearance-most/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Look not to have your sepulchre built in after ages hy the same foolish hands which still ever destroy the living prophet. Small honour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/look-not-to-have-your-sepulchre-built-in-after-ages-hy-the-same/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The Providence that watches over the affairs of men works out of their mistakes, at times, a healthier issue than could have been accomplished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-providence-that-watches-over-the-affairs-of-men-works-out-of/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness. Where we find a heroic life appearing as the uniform fruit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-practical-effect-of-a-belief-is-the-real-test-of-its-soundness/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [In everyday things the law of sacrifice takes the form of positive duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/in-everyday-things-the-law-of-sacrifice-takes-the-form-of-positive/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Beautiful is old age—beautiful as the slow-dropping mellow autumn of a rich glorious summer. In the old man, Nature has fulfilled her work; she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/beautiful-is-old-age-beautiful-as-the-slow-dropping-mellow-autumn-of/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The soul of man is not a thing which comes and goes, is builded and decays like the elemental frame in which it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-soul-of-man-is-not-a-thing-which-comes-and-goes-is-builded-and/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The war of good and evil is mightiest in mightiest souls, and even in the darkest time the heart will maintain its right against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-war-of-good-and-evil-is-mightiest-in-mightiest-souls-and-even-in/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Human improvement is from within outward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/human-improvement-is-from-within-outward/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The secret of a person's nature lies in their religion and what they really believes about the world and their place in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-secret-of-a-person-s-nature-lies-in-their-religion-and-what-they/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Men think to mend their condition by a change of circumstances. They might as well hope to escape from their shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/men-think-to-mend-their-condition-by-a-change-of-circumstances-they/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [There are epidemics of nobleness as well as epidemics of disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/there-are-epidemics-of-nobleness-as-well-as-epidemics-of-disease/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) [Explore all 117 James Anthony Froude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most willing to obey those simple outward laws which have been sanctioned by the experience of mankind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Anthony Froude" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-recognize-and-most-willing-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-recognize-and-most-willing-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/james-anthony-froude-4052_greatness_true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-reco_1701009.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“True greatness is the most ready to recognize and most willing to obey those simple outward laws which have…” — James Anthony Froude", "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": "James Anthony Froude", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "True greatness is the most ready...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-recognize-and-most-willing-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/true-greatness-is-the-most-ready-to-recognize-and-most-willing-to/#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 } } ] } ```