--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To secure approval one must remain within…" description: "\"To secure approval one must remain within the bounds of conventional mediocrity. Whatever lies beyond, whether it be greater insight and virtue, or gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0f/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_approval_to-secure-approval-one-must-remain-withi_3103078.png" --- # To secure approval one must remain within the bounds of… ![“To secure approval one must remain within the bounds of conventional mediocrity. Whatever lies beyond, whether it be greater insight and virtue, or greater stolidity and vice, is condemned. The noblest men, like the worst criminals, have been done to death.” quote by John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0f/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_approval_to-secure-approval-one-must-remain-withi_3103078.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0f/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_approval_to-secure-approval-one-must-remain-withi_3103078.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0f/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_approval_to-secure-approval-one-must-remain-withi_3103078.png) > “To secure approval one must remain within the bounds of conventional mediocrity. Whatever lies beyond, whether it be greater insight and virtue, or greater stolidity and vice, is condemned. The noblest men, like the worst criminals, have been done to death.” [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conformity to mediocrity limits achievement; daring beyond norms risks both greatness and condemnation. **In simple terms:** Risking non‑conformity can bring either virtue or vice. Key Takeaway Balance daring with wisdom. Themes conformity mediocrity risk virtue vice Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career advancement - artistic creation - social reform Key Concepts ethics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When is it worth defying conventions? - How to discern noble risk from folly? A Different Perspective Excessive risk may lead to reckless behavior rather than noble outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Condemned Noblest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned-noblest-5386675/) [Conventional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Noblest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noblest/) [Noblest Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noblest-men-1741207/) [Secure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secure/) [Stolidity Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stolidity-vice-5386676/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [“...the perusal of all excellent books is, as it were, to interview with the noblest men of past ages, who have written them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-perusal-of-all-excellent-books-is-as-it-were-to-interview-with/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [The noblest men of all ages, Christian saints of the most transcendent spirituality have attained their wonderful development through the spiritual rays of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/the-noblest-men-of-all-ages-christian-saints-of-the-most-transcendent/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [One of the noblest men are those who try to keep their feet firm on the ground even if they are soaring high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-noblest-men-are-those-who-try-to-keep-their-feet-firm-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/kindness-is-the-essence-of-greatness-and-the-fundamental-2/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [We see in tragedy the noblest men, after a long conflict and suffering, finally renounce forever all the pleasure of life and the aims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/we-see-in-tragedy-the-noblest-men-after-a-long-conflict-and-suffering/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“that the grace of fable stirs the mind"...and..."that the perusal of excellent books is, as it were, to interview with the noblest men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/descartes/that-the-grace-of-fable-stirs-the-mind-and-that-the-perusal-of/) [Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/descartes/) > [The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past centuries who were the authors of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-reading-of-all-good-books-is-indeed-like-a-conversation-with-the/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [The noblest are they who turning from the things the vulgar crave, seek the source of a blessed life in worlds to which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-noblest-are-they-who-turning-from-the-things-the-vulgar-crave/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [This sight... is by far the noblest astronomy affords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-halley/this-sight-is-by-far-the-noblest-astronomy-affords/) [Edmond Halley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-halley/) > [The call of the spinning wheel is the noblest of all. Because it is the call of love. And love is Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-call-of-the-spinning-wheel-is-the-noblest-of-all-because-it-is/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To yield reverence to another, to hold ourselves and our lives at his disposal, is not slavery; often, it is the noblest state in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/to-yield-reverence-to-another-to-hold-ourselves-and-our-lives-at-his/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Through this same man and me hath all this war been wrought, and the death of the most noblest knights of the world; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malory/through-this-same-man-and-me-hath-all-this-war-been-wrought-and-the/) [Thomas Malory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malory/) > [It is at our mother's knee that we acquire our noblest and truest and highest ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-at-our-mother-s-knee-that-we-acquire-our-noblest-and-truest-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/surely-the-apple-is-the-noblest-of-fruits/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by John Lancaster Spalding > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [To think profoundly, to seek and speak truth, to love justice and denounce wrong is to draw upon one's self the ill will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/to-think-profoundly-to-seek-and-speak-truth-to-love-justice-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There is some lack either of sense or of character in one who becomes involved in difficulties with the worthless or the vicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-is-some-lack-either-of-sense-or-of-character-in-one-who-becomes/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Worry, whatever its source, weakens, takes away courage, and shortens life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/worry-whatever-its-source-weakens-takes-away-courage-and-shortens-life/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The zest of life lies in right doing, not in the garnered harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-zest-of-life-lies-in-right-doing-not-in-the-garnered-harvest/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who can no longer unlearn have lost the power to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-can-no-longer-unlearn-have-lost-the-power-to-learn/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [What we think out for ourselves forms channels in which other thoughts will flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/what-we-think-out-for-ourselves-forms-channels-in-which-other/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Women are aristocrats, and it is always the mother who makes us feel that we belong to the better sort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/women-are-aristocrats-and-it-is-always-the-mother-who-makes-us-feel/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Though what we accept be true, it is a prejudice unless we ourselves have considered and understood why and how it is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/though-what-we-accept-be-true-it-is-a-prejudice-unless-we-ourselves/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There are few things it is more important to learn than how to live on little and be therewith content: for the less we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-are-few-things-it-is-more-important-to-learn-than-how-to-live/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We are more disturbed by a calamity which threatens us than by one which has befallen us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-are-more-disturbed-by-a-calamity-which-threatens-us-than-by-one/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Be watchful lest thou lose the power of desiring and loving what appeals to the soul this is the miser's curse this the chain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/be-watchful-lest-thou-lose-the-power-of-desiring-and-loving-what/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The exercise of authority is odious, and they who know how to govern, leave it in abeyance as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-exercise-of-authority-is-odious-and-they-who-know-how-to-govern/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We may outgrow the things of children, without acquiring sense and relish for those which become a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-may-outgrow-the-things-of-children-without-acquiring-sense-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who see through the eyes of others are controlled by the will of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-see-through-the-eyes-of-others-are-controlled-by-the-will-of/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) [Explore all 139 John Lancaster Spalding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## More Approval quotes > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehyi-hsieh/lean-too-much-on-the-approval-of-people-and-it-becomes-a-bed-of-thorns/) [Tehyi Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehyi-hsieh/) > [But I always reassure them that as far as my contractual rights can go, I will protect them and make sure that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/but-i-always-reassure-them-that-as-far-as-my-contractual-rights-can/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the supreme court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/a-year-ago-my-approval-rating-was-in-the-30s-my-nominee-for-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Approval is a greater motivator than disapproval, but we have to disapprove on occasion when we correct. It’s necessary. I make corrections only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/approval-is-a-greater-motivator-than-disapproval-but-we-have-to/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [These days people are mean to people just because they don't like the way they look. No-one should be hated because of their flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/these-days-people-are-mean-to-people-just-because-they-don-t-like-the/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [My dad taught me swears when I was a toddler, and I saw, at a really early age, that if I shocked people, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/my-dad-taught-me-swears-when-i-was-a-toddler-and-i-saw-at-a-really/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/if-torture-is-going-to-be-administered-as-a-last-resort-in-the/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Comedy is a very approval-oriented field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-chappelle/comedy-is-a-very-approval-oriented-field/) [Dave Chappelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-chappelle/) > [Whenever you are too worried about someone else's approval, that person loses respect for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/whenever-you-are-too-worried-about-someone-else-s-approval-that/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/pleasure-is-nature-s-test-her-sign-of-approval/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Do you really mean the only reason you try to be good is to gain God's approval and reward? That's not morality, that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-you-really-mean-the-only-reason-you-try-to-be-good-is-to-gain-god/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Browse all 904 Approval quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To secure approval one must remain within the bounds of conventional mediocrity. Whatever lies beyond, whether it be greater insight and virtue, or greater stolidity and vice, is condemned. 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