--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: General benevolence, but not general…" description: "\"“General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a man what he ought to be.”\" — Jane Austen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg" --- # General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a… ![“General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a man what he ought to be.” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg) > ““General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a man what he ought to be.”” [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. General benevolence, not friendship, defines a man's true character. **In simple terms:** Kindness defines character more than friendship. Key Takeaway Cultivate benevolence. Themes morality character relationships virtue Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - community building Key Concepts ethical philosophy social expectations Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes benevolence from friendship? - Can one exist without the other? A Different Perspective Friendship also shapes identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Human behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-behavior/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-made-a-man-what-he/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Now general benevolence was one of the leading features of the Pickwickian theory, and no one was more remarkable for the zealous manner in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/now-general-benevolence-was-one-of-the-leading-features-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Every man has frequent grievances which only the solicitude of friendship will discover and remedy, and which would remain for ever unheeded in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-man-has-frequent-grievances-which-only-the-solicitude-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“general benevolence was one of the leading features of the Pickwickian theory,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/general-benevolence-was-one-of-the-leading-features-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people being necessary for the preservation of their rights and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/wisdom-and-knowledge-as-well-as-virtue-diffused-generally-among-the-2/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“I wonder if I should back off from our friendship sometimes, to make sure she's kept at arm's length.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/i-wonder-if-i-should-back-off-from-our-friendship-sometimes-to-make/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [“But in the beaten way of friendship what make you at Elsinore?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-in-the-beaten-way-of-friendship-what-make-you-at-elsinore/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I'm continually astonished with myself how different people bring out things in me that I never knew I had inside me. 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and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/lady-catherine-seemed-quite-astonished-at-not-receiving-a-direct/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“He had suffered, and he had learnt to think, two advantages that he had never known before…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/he-had-suffered-and-he-had-learnt-to-think-two-advantages-that-he-had/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Eliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/vanity-was-the-beginning-and-the-end-of-sir-walter-eliot-s-character/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Explore all 2,013 Jane Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More Benevolence quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) Emmanuel des Essarts > [“Now general benevolence was one of the leading features of the Pickwickian theory, and no one was more remarkable for the zealous manner in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/now-general-benevolence-was-one-of-the-leading-features-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/conservatives-say-the-government-can-t-end-poverty-by-force-but-they/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behaviour it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-daly/the-individualism-of-current-economic-theory-is-manifest-in-the/) [Herman E. Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-daly/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Want compassion is not to be numbered among the general faults of mankind. The black ingredient which fouls our disposition is envy. Hence our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/want-compassion-is-not-to-be-numbered-among-the-general-faults-of/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [When you have lived as long as I have, the div replied, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/when-you-have-lived-as-long-as-i-have-the-div-replied-you-find-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [ They \[spies\] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/they-spies-cannot-be-properly-managed-without-benevolence-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality, and benevolence; the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/generosity-during-life-is-a-very-different-thing-from-generosity-in/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/men-resemble-the-gods-in-nothing-so-much-as-in-doing-good-to-their/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-made-a-man-what-he/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Browse all 371 Benevolence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a man what he ought to be.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-make-a-man-what-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benevolence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-make-a-man-what-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/642/jane-austen-39_friendship_general-benevolence-but-not-general-frie_907035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“General benevolence, but not general friendship, make a man what he ought to be.” — Jane Austen", "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": "Jane Austen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“General benevolence, but not general friendship,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-make-a-man-what-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-make-a-man-what-he/#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 } } ] } ```