--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Will any man despise me? Let him see to…" description: "\"“Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying anything that deserves to be despised.”\" — Ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg" --- # Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see… ![“Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying anything that deserves to be despised.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg) > ““Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying anything that deserves to be despised.”” [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. Encourages proactive self‑control to avoid actions that invite contempt. **In simple terms:** Control behavior to prevent being despised. Key Takeaway Act with integrity. Themes self‑discipline reputation ethics Mood thoughtful determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - conflict resolution - personal conduct Key Concepts Stoicism personal responsibility social perception Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take to uphold your values? - How do you handle unavoidable criticism? A Different Perspective May be unrealistic to control others’ judgments fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Deserves Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserves-despised-3914466/) [Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [Despise Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise-let-3914467/) [Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Man Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-despise-3138330/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Self worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-worth/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[A\] nation must ravage itself before foreigners can ravage it, a man must despise himself before others can despise him.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/a-nation-must-ravage-itself-before-foreigners-can-ravage-it-a-man/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [A man must first despise himself, and then others will despise him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/a-man-must-first-despise-himself-and-then-others-will-despise-him/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [“I’m going to sell you as a pleasure slave to a man I despise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/i-m-going-to-sell-you-as-a-pleasure-slave-to-a-man-i-despise/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Ay, do despise me, I'm the prouder for it; I like to be despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ay-do-despise-me-i-m-the-prouder-for-it-i-like-to-be-despised/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-we-don-t-believe-in-free-expression-for-people-we-despise-we-don-t/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/despise-not-death-but-welcome-it-for-nature-wills-it-like-all-else/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If man reflects on the changes and transformations which follow one another like wave after wave and their rapidity, he will despise everything which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-man-reflects-on-the-changes-and-transformations-which-follow-one/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [I'd rather be despised for my character than be liked for my lack of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-despised-for-my-character-than-be-liked-for-my-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## 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 Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying anything that deserves to be despised.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-it-but-i-will-see-to-it-that-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-it-but-i-will-see-to-it-that-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/marcus-aurelius-139_behavior_will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-i_2058403.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying…” — 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": "“Will any man despise me? Let...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-it-but-i-will-see-to-it-that-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/will-any-man-despise-me-let-him-see-to-it-but-i-will-see-to-it-that-i/#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 } } ] } ```