--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater the kindred is, the lesse the…" description: "\"The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must bee.\" — John Lyly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png" --- # The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must… ![“The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must bee.” quote by John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png) > “The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must bee.” [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When a group becomes more powerful, individual kindness may diminish, highlighting a tension between collective strength and personal virtue. **In simple terms:** Power can erode kindness. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy even in strong groups. Themes power kindness group dynamics morality social hierarchy Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - leadership - team building - community activism Key Concepts philosophy ethics social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain kindness in a powerful position? - What structures protect empathy in groups? A Different Perspective Strength can also inspire greater compassion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Kindred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindred/) ## Related quotes > [The bee that hath honey in her mouth hath a sting in her tail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-bee-that-hath-honey-in-her-mouth-hath-a-sting-in-her-tail/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [Be valyaunt, but not too venturous. 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Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [In a pure society, the subject of marriage would not be so often avoided,--from shame and not from reverence, winked out of sight,and hinted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-a-pure-society-the-subject-of-marriage-would-not-be-so-often/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/our-hearts-grow-tender-with-childhood-memories-and-love-of-kindred/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [The woman who first gives life, light, and form to our shadowy conceptions of beauty, fills a void in our spiritual nature that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-woman-who-first-gives-life-light-and-form-to-our-shadowy/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [Every philosophy is complete in itself and, like a genuine work of art, contains the totality. Just as the works of Apelles and Sophocles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/every-philosophy-is-complete-in-itself-and-like-a-genuine-work-of-art/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Where did you find that one?" "I have no idea. I'm a magnet for crazies, I guess." 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but friendship standeth stiffly in storms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/when-adversities-flow-then-love-ebbs-but-friendship-standeth-stiffly/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [Let the falling out of friends be a renewing of affection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/let-the-falling-out-of-friends-be-a-renewing-of-affection/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [Fish and guests in three days are stale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/fish-and-guests-in-three-days-are-stale/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) [Explore all 96 John Lyly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) ## More Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) Tracy L. Shreve > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must bee.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Lyly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the-kindnesse-must-bee/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bees" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the-kindnesse-must-bee/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/john-lyly-6971_bees_the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the_147954.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greater the kindred is, the lesse the kindnesse must bee.” — John Lyly", "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": "John Lyly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greater the kindred is, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the-kindnesse-must-bee/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-greater-the-kindred-is-the-lesse-the-kindnesse-must-bee/#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 } } ] } ```