--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The honest and good man ought to be…" description: "\"The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg" --- # The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who… ![“The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose or not.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg) > “The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose or not.” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A virtuous person should be unmistakably evident in character, so others can perceive his integrity without effort. **In simple terms:** Good character is obvious to others. Key Takeaway Live transparently. Themes integrity character perception Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts Stoicism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you make your values visible? - What habits reveal your character? A Different Perspective Perception can be clouded by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bystanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bystanders/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [The mechanisms inside me tick like a criminal. My mind works like theirs, and criminals can smell it when they're around me - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apollo-robbins/the-mechanisms-inside-me-tick-like-a-criminal-my-mind-works-like/) [Apollo Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apollo-robbins/) > [I like a man who smells good. Puts on cologne; lotions his body. It keeps me wanting. I like feeling that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/i-like-a-man-who-smells-good-puts-on-cologne-lotions-his-body-it/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I'm on a horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-mustafa/anything-is-possible-when-your-man-smells-like-old-spice-and-not-a/) [Isaiah Mustafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-mustafa/) > [A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-cynic-is-a-man-who-when-he-smells-flowers-looks-around-for-a-coffin/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A man that smells good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie/a-man-that-smells-good/) [Maggie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie/) > [“A well paid garbage man smells of success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilburn-hall/a-well-paid-garbage-man-smells-of-success/) [Kilburn Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilburn-hall/) > [It is kind of cliche to say you like a man to smell like a man, but I really do. My husband can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/it-is-kind-of-cliche-to-say-you-like-a-man-to-smell-like-a-man-but-i/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [John Green is a very handsome, intelligent, and wise man. He smells really weird though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/john-green-is-a-very-handsome-intelligent-and-wise-man-he-smells/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [I like a man who smells manly. I love the smell of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-ewers/i-like-a-man-who-smells-manly-i-love-the-smell-of-nature/) [Anna Ewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-ewers/) > [“If all emotions are common coin, then what is unique to the good man? To welcome with affection what is sent by fate. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-all-emotions-are-common-coin-then-what-is-unique-to-the-good-man/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/waste-no-more-time-arguing-about-what-a-good-man-should-be-be-one/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [One only wishes Wayne LaPierre and his NRA board of directors could be drafted to some of these scenes, where they would be required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/one-only-wishes-wayne-lapierre-and-his-nra-board-of-directors-could/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Now that I think about it, maybe he is a werewolf. I can picture him lunging over the moors in hot pursuit of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/now-that-i-think-about-it-maybe-he-is-a-werewolf-i-can-picture-him/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [New York is a wonderful place to shoot. The bystanders are great. They are enthusiastic. They respect the process, and you get the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-curtin/new-york-is-a-wonderful-place-to-shoot-the-bystanders-are-great-they/) [Jane Curtin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-curtin/) > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [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/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Bystanders quotes > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [New York is a wonderful place to shoot. The bystanders are great. They are enthusiastic. They respect the process, and you get the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-curtin/new-york-is-a-wonderful-place-to-shoot-the-bystanders-are-great-they/) [Jane Curtin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-curtin/) > [Now that I think about it, maybe he is a werewolf. I can picture him lunging over the moors in hot pursuit of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/now-that-i-think-about-it-maybe-he-is-a-werewolf-i-can-picture-him/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [One only wishes Wayne LaPierre and his NRA board of directors could be drafted to some of these scenes, where they would be required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/one-only-wishes-wayne-lapierre-and-his-nra-board-of-directors-could/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It is from the bystanders (who are in the vast majority) that we receive the propaganda that life is not worth living, that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/it-is-from-the-bystanders-who-are-in-the-vast-majority-that-we/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [The proponents of UFOs offer up impressive quantities of principally eyewitness data, which although largely subjective and circumstantial in nature, is nevertheless quite intriguing……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davenport/the-proponents-of-ufos-offer-up-impressive-quantities-of-principally/) Peter Davenport > [The future is in our hands. We are not hapless bystanders. We can influence whether we have a planet of peace, social justice, equity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolfensohn/the-future-is-in-our-hands-we-are-not-hapless-bystanders-we-can/) [James Wolfensohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolfensohn/) > [Why not allow patrons to comment on directors' decisions, vote on costume design, listen to dancers' conversations, volunteer to help out in ways beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-not-allow-patrons-to-comment-on-directors-decisions-vote-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [I've never had Internet access. Actually, I have looked at things on other people's computers as a bystander. A few times in my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/i-ve-never-had-internet-access-actually-i-have-looked-at-things-on/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I'm just a friendly bystander who they occasionally ask questions of. That's my level of involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-m-just-a-friendly-bystander-who-they-occasionally-ask-questions-of/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“A person seldom falls sick, but the bystanders are animated with a faint hope that he will die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-person-seldom-falls-sick-but-the-bystanders-are-animated-with-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We had and incident. I took care of it." "Really." Jace's voice dripped sarcasm. "Do you even know how to use that knife, Clarissa?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/we-had-and-incident-i-took-care-of-it-really-jace-s-voice-dripped/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Bystanders wandered in and out of the merchant's stall, passing the time, talking of dreams they might purchase. Workers and slaves stooped from labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/bystanders-wandered-in-and-out-of-the-merchant-s-stall-passing-the/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [She missed the built environment of New York City. It was only in an urban landscape, amid straight lines and architecture, that she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/she-missed-the-built-environment-of-new-york-city-it-was-only-in-an/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) [Browse all 90 Bystanders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bystanders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose or not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exactly-like-a-man-who-smells/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bystanders" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exactly-like-a-man-who-smells/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/marcus-aurelius-139_bystanders_the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exac_821678.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The honest and good man ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as…” — Marcus Aurelius", "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": "Marcus Aurelius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The honest and good man ought...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exactly-like-a-man-who-smells/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-honest-and-good-man-ought-to-be-exactly-like-a-man-who-smells/#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 } } ] } ```