---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seek to mingle gentleness in all your…"
description: "\"Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with the infirmities of others; make allowance for constitutional frailties; never say harsh things..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg"
---

#  Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with…

![“Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with the infirmities of others; make allowance for constitutional frailties; never say harsh things, if kind things will do as well.” quote by John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg)

> “Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with the infirmities of others; make allowance for constitutional frailties; never say harsh things, if kind things will do as well.”

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Encourage gentle correction, patience with others' flaws, and choose kind words over harsh ones.

**In simple terms:** Be kind and patient when correcting others.

Key Takeaway

Speak kindly, correct gently.

Themes

kindness patience communication

Mood

compassionate thoughtful

Type

ethical inspirational

When to use this quote

- family disagreements
- workplace feedback
- parenting
- mentoring

Key Concepts

Christian ethics empathy humility

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance honesty with kindness?
- When is firmness more appropriate than gentleness?

A Different Perspective

Kindness may be seen as weakness in competitive settings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Frailty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frailty/) [Gentleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleness/) [Infirmity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infirmity/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/)

## Related quotes

> [Do not attempt to benefit by rebukes one who boasts of his virtues, for he loves to display himself can not be a lover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-eremita/do-not-attempt-to-benefit-by-rebukes-one-who-boasts-of-his-virtues/)

[Marcus Eremita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-eremita/)

> [Father, we ask that you give us a passion for the truth and not merely a hatred of falsehood. Keep us concerned for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/father-we-ask-that-you-give-us-a-passion-for-the-truth-and-not-merely/)

[Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/)

> [Rebukes are easy from our betters, From men of quality and letters; But when low dunces will affront, What man alive can stand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/rebukes-are-easy-from-our-betters-from-men-of-quality-and-letters-but/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [The most effective way of attacking vice is to expose it to public ridicule. People can put up with rebukes but they cannot bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/the-most-effective-way-of-attacking-vice-is-to-expose-it-to-public/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [“If someone rebukes us and let us go; that karmic relation is good. He will feel that how he cooled you down! If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/if-someone-rebukes-us-and-let-us-go-that-karmic-relation-is-good-he/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [It is a severe rebuke upon us, that God makes us so many allowances, and we make so few to our neighbour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/it-is-a-severe-rebuke-upon-us-that-god-makes-us-so-many-allowances/)

[William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/)

> [“AUGUSTINE: People love truth when it shines on them and hate it when it rebukes them. For,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-crosby/augustine-people-love-truth-when-it-shines-on-them-and-hate-it-when/)

[Cindy Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-crosby/)

> [“If you strive to do your best in all things, people will take it as being the worst thing possible from you. And those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-suso/if-you-strive-to-do-your-best-in-all-things-people-will-take-it-as/)

[Henry Suso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-suso/)

> [“I think it is notable in this connection that it is not Adam but the Lord who rebukes Cain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-think-it-is-notable-in-this-connection-that-it-is-not-adam-but-the/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

> [“The one who never rebukes his underhand will have no boss in this world!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-one-who-never-rebukes-his-underhand-will-have-no-boss-in-this/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/holding-on-to-anger-is-like-grasping-a-hot-coal-with-the-intent-of/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [People who have a seeking heart still make mistakes. But their reaction to rebuke and correction shows the condition of that heart. It determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cymbala/people-who-have-a-seeking-heart-still-make-mistakes-but-their/)

[Jim Cymbala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cymbala/)

> [If you're going to offer a position of great power and importance to somebody, you're not gonna do that publicly unless you know they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/if-you-re-going-to-offer-a-position-of-great-power-and-importance-to/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [“Leaders spend time reviewing their mistakes rather than having fantasies over their achievements! They look for every way to do the undone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-spend-time-reviewing-their-mistakes-rather-than-having/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/)

[Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/)

## More by John Ross Macduff

> [The very voices of the night, sounding like the moan of the tempest, may turn out to be the disguised yet tender voices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/the-very-voices-of-the-night-sounding-like-the-moan-of-the-tempest/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [Character is the product of daily, hourly actions, and words, and thoughts; daily forgivenesses, unselfishness, kindnesses, sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/character-is-the-product-of-daily-hourly-actions-and-words-and/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [Trust God where you cannot see Him. Do not try to penetrate the cloud He brings over you; rather look to the bow that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/trust-god-where-you-cannot-see-him-do-not-try-to-penetrate-the-cloud/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [Character is the product of daily, hourly actions, words and thoughts: daily forgiveness, unselfishness, kindnesses, sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others, struggles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/character-is-the-product-of-daily-hourly-actions-words-and-thoughts/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [Prejudice is the conjuror of imaginary wrongs, strangling truth, over-powering reason, making strong people weak, and weak people weaker. God gave us the large-hearted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/prejudice-is-the-conjuror-of-imaginary-wrongs-strangling-truth-over/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [If, like Jacob, you trust God in little things, He may answer you by great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/if-like-jacob-you-trust-god-in-little-things-he-may-answer-you-by/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

> [Seek to make life henceforth a consecrated thing; that so, when the sunset is nearing, with its murky vapors and lowering skies, the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/seek-to-make-life-henceforth-a-consecrated-thing-that-so-when-the/)

[John Ross Macduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

[Explore all 8 John Ross Macduff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/)

## More Allowance quotes

> [I like buying clothes, especially as I get a tax-deductible allowance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-like-buying-clothes-especially-as-i-get-a-tax-deductible-allowance/)

[Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/)

> [There's plenty of great stuff out there. I think it's just what we do is we all spend our allowance on the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/there-s-plenty-of-great-stuff-out-there-i-think-it-s-just-what-we-do/)

[Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/)

> [A realistic expectation also demands our acceptance that one's allotted time on earth must be limited to an allowance consistent with the continuity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/a-realistic-expectation-also-demands-our-acceptance-that-one-s/)

[Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/)

> [Anyhow, we obviously understand that, being a United States' ally and having a special relationship with it, the UK in its relations with Russian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/anyhow-we-obviously-understand-that-being-a-united-states-ally-and/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

> [If you want to be rich, don’t allow yourself the luxury of excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-want-to-be-rich-don-t-allow-yourself-the-luxury-of-excuses/)

[Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/)

> [I'm a big advocate of a work-for-pay setup rather than an allowance that isn't attached to chores - it's a great way to impart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-m-a-big-advocate-of-a-work-for-pay-setup-rather-than-an-allowance/)

[Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/)

> [Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/few-human-creatures-would-consent-to-be-changed-into-any-of-the-lower/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [In regard to the amount of difference between the races, we must make some allowance for our nice powers of discrimination gained by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/in-regard-to-the-amount-of-difference-between-the-races-we-must-make/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Besides, there is more that binds us to Bolshevism than separates us from it. There is, above all, genuine, revolutionary feeling, which is alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/besides-there-is-more-that-binds-us-to-bolshevism-than-separates-us/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [So scanty is our present allowance of happiness that in many situations life could scarcely be supported if hope were not allowed to relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/so-scanty-is-our-present-allowance-of-happiness-that-in-many/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Ain't trickin I just treat her like she need allowance .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/ain-t-trickin-i-just-treat-her-like-she-need-allowance/)

[Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/)

> [You have to learn how to take an allowance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/you-have-to-learn-how-to-take-an-allowance/)

[Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/)

> [“modest allowance. Giving your children a small weekly or monthly allowance that they can spend as they wish will help them learn the value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-d-thorpe/modest-allowance-giving-your-children-a-small-weekly-or-monthly/)

[Devin D. Thorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-d-thorpe/)

> [Negative emotion is your indicator of resistance, while positive emotion is your indicator of allowance. And they are on the same meter: allowance; resistance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/negative-emotion-is-your-indicator-of-resistance-while-positive/)

[Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/)

> [Old Madame du Deffand and her friends talked for fifty years without stopping. And of it all, what remains? Perhaps three witty sayings. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/old-madame-du-deffand-and-her-friends-talked-for-fifty-years-without/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

Browse all 167 Allowance quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with the infirmities of others; make allowance for constitutional frailties; never say harsh things, if kind things will do as well.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Ross Macduff"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-rebukes-bear-with-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Allowance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-rebukes-bear-with-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/john-ross-macduff-49072_allowance_seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-re_1259128.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Seek to mingle gentleness in all your rebukes; bear with the infirmities of others; make allowance for…” — John Ross Macduff",
                "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 Ross Macduff",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-macduff/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Seek to mingle gentleness in all...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-rebukes-bear-with-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-macduff/seek-to-mingle-gentleness-in-all-your-rebukes-bear-with-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
