--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men of superior vivacity and wit, when…" description: "\"Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong turn, are generally worse than other men: because wit, consisting in a lively representation o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg" --- # Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong… ![“Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong turn, are generally worse than other men: because wit, consisting in a lively representation of ideas assembled together, gives every sensible object those heightening touches, and that striking imagery, which is unknown to men of slower…” quote by Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg) > “Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong turn, are generally worse than other men: because wit, consisting in a lively representation of ideas assembled together, gives every sensible object those heightening touches, and that striking imagery, which is unknown to men of slower apprehensions: wit being to sensible objects, what light is to bodies; it does not merely show them as they are in themselves: it gives an adventitious colour, which is not a property inherent in them: it lends them beauties which are not their own.” [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wit enhances perception by adding vivid, imaginative layers to ordinary objects, making them appear more striking than they truly are. **In simple terms:** Wit adds vividness to ordinary things. Key Takeaway Use imagination to see beyond the surface. Themes creativity perception language imagination Mood playful thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - teaching - marketing - art criticism Key Concepts Aesthetic enhancement cognitive framing Questions to Reflect On - How does wit change your view of everyday objects? - When does embellishment become deception? A Different Perspective Wit can mislead or over‑embellish reality, causing distortion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Inherent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherent/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lively/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Superior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-superior-1191460/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Sensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensible/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Vivacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vivacity/) [Vivacity Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vivacity-wit-2954222/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Wit Consisting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit-consisting-4167585/) [Wit Sensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit-sensible-4167587/) [Wit Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit-wrong-4167586/) [Wrong turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-turn/) ## Related quotes > [It is by vivacity and wit that man shines in company; but trite jokes and loud laughter reduce him to a buffoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/it-is-by-vivacity-and-wit-that-man-shines-in-company-but-trite-jokes/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Self-control is mission-control! That is why some men are superior to their mates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/self-control-is-mission-control-that-is-why-some-men-are-superior-to/) [Anyaele Sam Chiyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anyaele-sam-chiyson/) > [Two heads are better than one - undeniable proof that men are the superior sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/two-heads-are-better-than-one-undeniable-proof-that-men-are-the/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [There are men too superior to be seen except by a few, as there are notes too high for the scale of most ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-are-men-too-superior-to-be-seen-except-by-a-few-as-there-are/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We do not commonly find men of superior sense amongst those of the highest fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/we-do-not-commonly-find-men-of-superior-sense-amongst-those-of-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Men are superior to women. For one thing, men can urinate from a speeding car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durst/men-are-superior-to-women-for-one-thing-men-can-urinate-from-a/) [Will Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durst/) > [Men are superior to women, for one thing they can urinate from a speeding car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durst/men-are-superior-to-women-for-one-thing-they-can-urinate-from-a/) [Will Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durst/) > [“You are undoubtedly of the opinion that men are superior to women. Esmond?” “Well, I…” “You are wrong. Eve is superior because she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-stace/you-are-undoubtedly-of-the-opinion-that-men-are-superior-to-women/) [Wesley Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-stace/) > [ \[R\]ights do not belong to men simply as men, but because of the superior qualities, physical, intellectual, moral or political, which are characteristic of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/r-ights-do-not-belong-to-men-simply-as-men-but-because-of-the/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [“Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/not-to-value-and-employ-men-of-superior-ability-is-the-way-to-keep/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [Angels are men of a superior kind; Angels are men in lighter habit clad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/angels-are-men-of-a-superior-kind-angels-are-men-in-lighter-habit-clad/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [I am not somebody who goes around saying men are superior or that male writers are superior. In fact, I really go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-am-not-somebody-who-goes-around-saying-men-are-superior-or-that/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot. Men are not superior by reason of accidents of race or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-the-inferior-of-any-man-whose-rights-i-trample-under-foot-men/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one expects a Broadway musical comedy to be in the vanguard of what is bohemian, raunchy, folkloric, academic or aggressively experimental. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-jefferson/no-one-expects-a-broadway-musical-comedy-to-be-in-the-vanguard-of/) [Margo Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-jefferson/) > [A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. There are childishness, stupidity, lack of wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/a-problem-with-my-novels-is-that-they-from-the-start-have-been/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## More by Jeremiah Seed > [Great wits, like great beauties, look upon mere esteem as a flat insipid thing; nothing less than admiration will content them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/great-wits-like-great-beauties-look-upon-mere-esteem-as-a-flat/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [Finite mind cannot comprehend infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/finite-mind-cannot-comprehend-infinity/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [For we seldom admire the wit, when we dislike the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/for-we-seldom-admire-the-wit-when-we-dislike-the-man/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [Be not ashamed to confess that you have been in the wrong. It is but owning that you now have more sense than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/be-not-ashamed-to-confess-that-you-have-been-in-the-wrong-it-is-but/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [It must descend, as the dew, upon the tender herb, or like melting flakes of snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/it-must-descend-as-the-dew-upon-the-tender-herb-or-like-melting/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [That wit is truly amiable, which gladdens and enlivens every thing, which shines with a lustre gentle, but not faint, and powerful, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/that-wit-is-truly-amiable-which-gladdens-and-enlivens-every-thing/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [We see how much a man has, and therefore we envy him; did we see how little he enjoys, we should rather pity him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/we-see-how-much-a-man-has-and-therefore-we-envy-him-did-we-see-how/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) [Explore all 8 Jeremiah Seed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) ## More Apprehension quotes > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The apprehension whether people will like it or not also doesn't bother me much. I've always done my work with a gut feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiku-sharda/the-apprehension-whether-people-will-like-it-or-not-also-doesn-t/) [Kiku Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiku-sharda/) > [LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/life-n-a-spiritual-pickle-preserving-the-body-from-decay-we-live-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Man may feel like a feeble and powerless pawn, at some moment in his life. This apprehension can come out of the blue, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/man-may-feel-like-a-feeble-and-powerless-pawn-at-some-moment-in-his/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dzerzhinsky/we-stand-for-organized-terror-this-should-be-frankly-admitted-terror/) [Felix Dzerzhinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dzerzhinsky/) > [The regulation of commerce, it is true, is a new power; but that seems to be an addition which few oppose and from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-regulation-of-commerce-it-is-true-is-a-new-power-but-that-seems/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [As a father and grandfather, I have witnessed firsthand the joy of new life entering the world. I know the pain and apprehension that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/as-a-father-and-grandfather-i-have-witnessed-firsthand-the-joy-of-new/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/lord-enlighten-thou-our-enemies-sharpen-their-wits-give-acuteness-to/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The sense of death is most in apprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-sense-of-death-is-most-in-apprehension/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Since philosophy is the exploration of the rational, it is for that very reason the apprehension of the present and the actual, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/since-philosophy-is-the-exploration-of-the-rational-it-is-for-that/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/injustice-is-not-evil-in-itself-but-only-in-the-fear-and-apprehension/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [The fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-fact-about-himself-that-the-liar-hides-is-that-he-is-attempting/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“A person can hurry through or sleep walk through life, but whenever they stop to catch their breath or awaken from a long nap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-person-can-hurry-through-or-sleep-walk-through-life-but-whenever/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 258 Apprehension quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong turn, are generally worse than other men: because wit, consisting in a lively representation of ideas assembled together, gives every sensible object those heightening touches, and that striking imagery, which is unknown to men of slower apprehensions: wit being to sensible objects, what light is to bodies; it does not merely show them as they are in themselves: it gives an adventitious colour, which is not a property inherent in them: it lends them beauties which are not their own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremiah Seed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-they-take-a-wrong-turn-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apprehension" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-they-take-a-wrong-turn-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jeremiah-seed-48133_apprehension_men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-th_485760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men of superior vivacity and wit, when they take a wrong turn, are generally worse than other men: because…” — Jeremiah Seed", "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": "Jeremiah Seed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men of superior vivacity and wit,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-they-take-a-wrong-turn-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/men-of-superior-vivacity-and-wit-when-they-take-a-wrong-turn-are/#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 } } ] } ```