---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no more hollow feeling than to…"
description: "\"There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards. That's soul-..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg"
---

#  There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your…

![“There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards. That's soul-destroying. The other way around is merely very, very irritating.” quote by Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg)

> “There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards. That's soul-destroying. The other way around is merely very, very irritating.”

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

## About This Quote

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

Public acclaim feels empty when personal honor is broken, while restored honor feels irritating if not matched by reputation.

**In simple terms:** Honor matters more than fame.

Key Takeaway

Seek personal integrity over external praise.

Themes

honor reputation inner conflict

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- career advancement
- public speaking
- leadership roles

Key Concepts

Ethical integrity social perception

Questions to Reflect On

- What would you sacrifice for honor?
- How do you reconcile public success with private disappointment?

A Different Perspective

Fame can mask deeper personal failures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Hollow Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollow-feeling-2707129/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Honor Shattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor-shattered-2707127/) [Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritating/) [Public Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-reputation-3514704/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Shattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shattered/) [Soar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soar/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Stand Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-honor-2707128/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

## Related quotes

> [“There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to-stand-with-your-honor-2/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [No major institution in the US has so poor a record of performance over so long a period as the Federal Reserve, yet so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/no-major-institution-in-the-us-has-so-poor-a-record-of-performance/)

[Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/)

> [“It takes courage to stand up for yourself. I stand in honor, and no longer in fear of speaking out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-jane-fisher/it-takes-courage-to-stand-up-for-yourself-i-stand-in-honor-and-no/)

[Catherine Jane Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-jane-fisher/)

> [“It’s better to stand alone, with honor, than compromise your values to fit in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/it-s-better-to-stand-alone-with-honor-than-compromise-your-values-to/)

[Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/)

> [“That night I was alone in my room with the lights off. The radio was on and I was staring at the ceiling. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/that-night-i-was-alone-in-my-room-with-the-lights-off-the-radio-was/)

[Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/)

> [I somehow make it through the first month. I dress and brush my teeth when they tell me to. And I experience the hollow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-goldberg-sloan/i-somehow-make-it-through-the-first-month-i-dress-and-brush-my-teeth/)

[Holly Goldberg Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-goldberg-sloan/)

> [Cecil flashed a grin. "Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah..." Cecil paused, apparently groping again for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/cecil-flashed-a-grin-quite-plus-your-rather-irritating-habit-of/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [So much in L.A. is waiting. It's so irritating. That's what's good about stand-up. You can go away, and you don't have to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/so-much-in-l-a-is-waiting-it-s-so-irritating-that-s-what-s-good-about/)

[Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/)

> [I wanted to do action, and it was a bit irritating when people called me a chocolate boy. I can do other films, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/i-wanted-to-do-action-and-it-was-a-bit-irritating-when-people-called/)

[Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/)

> [I've never been the kind of guy who finds attention irritating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-matthews/i-ve-never-been-the-kind-of-guy-who-finds-attention-irritating/)

[Spencer Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-matthews/)

> [I know how irritating it is when a producer puts his hand in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautham-menon/i-know-how-irritating-it-is-when-a-producer-puts-his-hand-in/)

[Gautham Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautham-menon/)

> [WikiLeaks is irritating and annoying for Germany, but not a threat. From an international perspective, I see their actions as totally irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-maiziere/wikileaks-is-irritating-and-annoying-for-germany-but-not-a-threat/)

[Thomas de Maiziere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-maiziere/)

> [“When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/when-two-humans-have-lived-together-for-many-years-it-usually-happens/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [I know what you are known as . . . but to me, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-what-you-are-known-as-but-to-me-you-will-always-be-tom-riddle/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The most irritating people are those without a sense of humor, amirite?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-irritating-people-are-those-without-a-sense-of-humor-amirite/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Lois McMaster Bujold

> [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [Never do yourself, what you can con professionals into doing for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/never-do-yourself-what-you-can-con-professionals-into-doing-for-you/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“It reminded him of that definition of his father's. A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-reminded-him-of-that-definition-of-his-father-s-a-weapon-is-a/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.” “Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?” “No…” “Then they weren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-was-imagining-the-most-bizarre-things-befalling-you-did-they/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-a-sad-disconnectedness-that-overcomes-a-library-when-its/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“No, amusing me only, I wonder if they realize how they are used?" "Not a bit. They think they are the emperors of creation."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/no-amusing-me-only-i-wonder-if-they-realize-how-they-are-used-not-a/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“You bastards are on the top of Imperial Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's very own shit list now, you bet. But under what name? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/you-bastards-are-on-the-top-of-imperial-lord-auditor-miles-vorkosigan/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“Anyway, if the Cetagandans really wanted to assassinate you, they'd hardly do it here. They'd slip something subtle under your skin that wouldn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/anyway-if-the-cetagandans-really-wanted-to-assassinate-you-they-d/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [Endure pain, find joy, and make your own meaning, because the universe certainly isn't going to supply it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/endure-pain-find-joy-and-make-your-own-meaning-because-the-universe/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [Your Reverence, I do not hate any man in this world enough to inflict the results of my prayers upon him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/your-reverence-i-do-not-hate-any-man-in-this-world-enough-to-inflict/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“I always thought my parents could fix anything. Now it's my turn. Dear God, how did this happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-always-thought-my-parents-could-fix-anything-now-it-s-my-turn-dear/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“I think it is not so much the growth of virtue, as simply the replacement of prior vices with an addiction to one’s god.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-think-it-is-not-so-much-the-growth-of-virtue-as-simply-the/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“Mark’s ideas tended to the bland, and there was no point in asking Miles, whose embittered suggestions all ran to things like Vomit Vanilla…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/mark-s-ideas-tended-to-the-bland-and-there-was-no-point-in-asking/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-dead-cannot-cry-out-for-justice-it-is-a-duty-of-the-living-to-do/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“Gardens were meant to be seen, smelled, walked through, grubbed in. A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/gardens-were-meant-to-be-seen-smelled-walked-through-grubbed-in-a/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

[Explore all 392 Lois McMaster Bujold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

## More Destroying quotes

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/)

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

> [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/)

[E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/)

> [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/)

[Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/)

> [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/)

[William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/)

> [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/)

[Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/)

> [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/)

[Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/)

> [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/)

[Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/)

> [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/)

[Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/)

> [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/)

[Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/)

> [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/)

[Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/)

[Browse all 983 Destroying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards. That's soul-destroying. The other way around is merely very, very irritating.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lois McMaster Bujold"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to-stand-with-your-honor/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Destroying"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to-stand-with-your-honor/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_destroying_there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to_389251.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public…” — Lois McMaster Bujold",
                "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": "Lois McMaster Bujold",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is no more hollow feeling...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to-stand-with-your-honor/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-no-more-hollow-feeling-than-to-stand-with-your-honor/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
