--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If men were stubborn just in proportion…" description: "\"If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were right, stubbornness would take her seat among the virtues; but men are generally stubborn just in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png" --- # If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were… ![“If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were right, stubbornness would take her seat among the virtues; but men are generally stubborn just in proportion as they are ignorant and wrong.” quote by Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png) > “If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were right, stubbornness would take her seat among the virtues; but men are generally stubborn just in proportion as they are ignorant and wrong.” [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stubbornness stems from ignorance more than righteousness; true virtue lies in humility. **In simple terms:** Stubbornness is often ignorance, not virtue. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility over obstinacy. Themes virtue humility stubbornness Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - debate - leadership - education - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can you tell when stubbornness is justified? - What steps foster open‑mindedness? A Different Perspective Stubbornness can sometimes protect core values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stubbornness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubbornness/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“Rolling my eyes, I again had to question why men had to be so stubborn. "Seriously, Auric, you do not want to mess with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-langlais/rolling-my-eyes-i-again-had-to-question-why-men-had-to-be-so-stubborn/) [Eve Langlais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-langlais/) > [I'm not being stubborn, I just have instinctual reluctancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-being-stubborn-i-just-have-instinctual-reluctancy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It might have driven me mad; but I was always a pretty stubborn one, so I just held on and bided my time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-might-have-driven-me-mad-but-i-was-always-a-pretty-stubborn-one-so/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I don't think I'm stubborn. I just focus on the task at hand and do what it takes. Persistence is the single most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-matthews/i-don-t-think-i-m-stubborn-i-just-focus-on-the-task-at-hand-and-do/) [Terry Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-matthews/) > [There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-a-stubbornness-about-me-that-never-can-bear-to-be-frightened/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“People who make up their minds about something never listen to advice - especially when it's to the contrary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/people-who-make-up-their-minds-about-something-never-listen-to-advice/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [The Logos came down out of love for us. Let us not keep Him down permanently, but let us go up with Him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-logos-came-down-out-of-love-for-us-let-us-not-keep-him-down/) [Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/) > [“As long as we insist on hanging on to our hate, the world will not know peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/as-long-as-we-insist-on-hanging-on-to-our-hate-the-world-will-not/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“People you don't like are pigheaded. Your friends are stubborn, or hold to their purpose.~Victor Radcliff”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-turtledove/people-you-don-t-like-are-pigheaded-your-friends-are-stubborn-or-hold/) [Harry Turtledove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-turtledove/) > [“Stubbornness is a weapon. People tend to draw it out when a sensitive part of their identity is threatened—be it dignity, honor, pride, desires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/stubbornness-is-a-weapon-people-tend-to-draw-it-out-when-a-sensitive/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I promise I shall never give up, and that I'll die yelling & laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-promise-i-shall-never-give-up-and-that-i-ll-die-yelling-laughing/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Man's worst ill is stubbornness of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/man-s-worst-ill-is-stubbornness-of-heart/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Put that pride/stubbornness aside and reach out to someone n make amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-that-pride-stubbornness-aside-and-reach-out-to-someone-n-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [Although their parents died in the wilderness for their stubbornness, Israel could profit from the older generation's failure by remembering that God had used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/although-their-parents-died-in-the-wilderness-for-their-stubbornness/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) ## More by Josh Billings > [It ain't because lovers are so sensitive that they quarrel so often; it is because there is so much fun n the making up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/it-ain-t-because-lovers-are-so-sensitive-that-they-quarrel-so-often/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [There is only one good substitute for the endearments of a sister, and that is the endearments of some other fellow's sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-is-only-one-good-substitute-for-the-endearments-of-a-sister-and/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/life-is-a-grindstone-and-whether-it-grinds-a-man-down-or-polishes-him/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Its harly my dog A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/its-harly-my-dog-a-dog-is-the-only-thing-on-earth-that-loves-you-more/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Perseverance is king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/perseverance-is-king/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Unless we put heart and soul into our labor we but brutify our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/unless-we-put-heart-and-soul-into-our-labor-we-but-brutify-our-actions/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [A secret ceases to be a secret if it is once confided - it is like a dollar bill, once broken, it is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/a-secret-ceases-to-be-a-secret-if-it-is-once-confided-it-is-like-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [If a man is right, he can't be too radical; if he is wrong, he can't be too conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-a-man-is-right-he-can-t-be-too-radical-if-he-is-wrong-he-can-t-be/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth - hear both sides and believe neither.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/as-a-general-rule-if-you-want-to-get-at-the-truth-hear-both-sides-and/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Economy is a savings-bank, into which men drop pennies, and get dollars in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/economy-is-a-savings-bank-into-which-men-drop-pennies-and-get-dollars/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Self-made men are most always apt to be a little too proud of the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/self-made-men-are-most-always-apt-to-be-a-little-too-proud-of-the-job/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Poverty is one of them kind of misfortunes that we all of us dread but none of us pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/poverty-is-one-of-them-kind-of-misfortunes-that-we-all-of-us-dread/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [If the world despises a hypocrite, what must they think of him in heaven?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-the-world-despises-a-hypocrite-what-must-they-think-of-him-in/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [The man who gets bit twice by the same dog is better adapted for that kind of business than any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/the-man-who-gets-bit-twice-by-the-same-dog-is-better-adapted-for-that/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) [Explore all 372 Josh Billings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) Whitney Gaskell [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were right, stubbornness would take her seat among the virtues; but men are generally stubborn just in proportion as they are ignorant and wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josh Billings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion-as-they-were-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion-as-they-were-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/josh-billings-777_greatness_if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion_1288965.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If men were stubborn just in proportion as they were right, stubbornness would take her seat among the…” — Josh Billings", "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": "Josh Billings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If men were stubborn just in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion-as-they-were-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-men-were-stubborn-just-in-proportion-as-they-were-right/#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 } } ] } ```