--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A jackass has that kind of strength, and…" description: "\"A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a useful purpose, and is valuable to the world because he is a jackass; but anobleman is not valuab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_a-jackass-has-that-kind-of-strength-and_3054905.png" --- # A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a… ![“A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a useful purpose, and is valuable to the world because he is a jackass; but anobleman is not valuable because he is a jackass. It is a mixture that is always ineffectual, and should never have been attempted in the first place. And yet, once you…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_a-jackass-has-that-kind-of-strength-and_3054905.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_a-jackass-has-that-kind-of-strength-and_3054905.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_a-jackass-has-that-kind-of-strength-and_3054905.png) > “A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a useful purpose, and is valuable to the world because he is a jackass; but anobleman is not valuable because he is a jackass. It is a mixture that is always ineffectual, and should never have been attempted in the first place. And yet, once you start a mistake, the trouble is done and you never know what is going to come of it.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A foolish person can be strong and useful, but mixing foolishness with nobility creates ineffective results; mistakes once made are hard to reverse. **In simple terms:** Foolish strength misused leads to bad outcomes. Key Takeaway Avoid mixing incompetence with authority. Themes foolishness strength authority mistakes effectiveness Mood cautious critical reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - leadership decisions - team building - project planning - risk management Key Concepts human nature social hierarchy consequences Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure competence in leadership? - What safeguards prevent ineffective mixes? A Different Perspective Even a strong fool can cause damage when placed in power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a useful purpose, and is valuable to the world becausehe is a jackass;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-jackass-has-that-kind-of-strength-and-puts-it-to-a-useful-purpose/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/concerning-the-difference-between-man-and-the-jackass-some-observers/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Ma'am, when I got up this morning, I didn't want to be jackass. You just pushed my jackass button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/ma-am-when-i-got-up-this-morning-i-didn-t-want-to-be-jackass-you-just/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [You look like a Goth factory exploded all over you!" he called as she ran down the hall. "Love you, too, jackass!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/you-look-like-a-goth-factory-exploded-all-over-you-he-called-as-she/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Because a jackass brays doesn't mean you have to take it to heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-phillips/because-a-jackass-brays-doesn-t-mean-you-have-to-take-it-to-heart/) [Jeanne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-phillips/) > [I made some friends for life, the way I usually make them. Any jackass can be pleasant company, but if people help you when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/i-made-some-friends-for-life-the-way-i-usually-make-them-any-jackass/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [That's where I'm comfortable - playing a jackass on the scene, rolling in with my pocket watch and my buffoon hairdo, with my shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-tudyk/that-s-where-i-m-comfortable-playing-a-jackass-on-the-scene-rolling/) [Alan Tudyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-tudyk/) > [Every jackass going the roads thinks he has ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/every-jackass-going-the-roads-thinks-he-has-ideas/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [The Jackass movies are honestly some of the best movies I've ever seen. I laugh so hard at them. Those guys are geniuses. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/the-jackass-movies-are-honestly-some-of-the-best-movies-i-ve-ever/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [Did you ever know that you're a jackass?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/did-you-ever-know-that-you-re-a-jackass/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [Any jackass can talk about bombing Iran.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/any-jackass-can-talk-about-bombing-iran/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [All work and no play may make Jim a dull boy, but no work and all play makes Jim all kinds of a jackass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-randolph-hearst/all-work-and-no-play-may-make-jim-a-dull-boy-but-no-work-and-all-play/) [William Randolph Hearst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-randolph-hearst/) > [Jessica: “You great drunken jackass!” Dain: “I did not give you leave to use my Christian name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/jessica-you-great-drunken-jackass-dain-i-did-not-give-you-leave-to/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [More than one side? You're Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Jackass!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/more-than-one-side-you-re-dr-jekyll-and-mr-jackass/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You treat me like a dog and you expect me to smile? You remind me of a jackass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/you-treat-me-like-a-dog-and-you-expect-me-to-smile-you-remind-me-of-a/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Aristocracy quotes > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [24.9 percent of American children live in poverty, while the proportions in Germany, France and Italy are 8.6, 7.4 and 10.5 percent. And once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hutton/24-9-percent-of-american-children-live-in-poverty-while-the/) [Will Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hutton/) > [Tomorrow every Duchess in London will be waiting to kiss me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macdonald/tomorrow-every-duchess-in-london-will-be-waiting-to-kiss-me/) [Ramsay MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macdonald/) > [“Why do these big old country houses always have family portraits in the dining room? Do you really want to eat with someone's gloomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jane-howard/why-do-these-big-old-country-houses-always-have-family-portraits-in/) [Elizabeth Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jane-howard/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though—if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power … but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-n-aron/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a-2/) [Elaine N. Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-n-aron/) > [Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-the-treasured-wealth-of-the-world-and-the-fit-inheritance/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We stand a better chance with aristocracy, whether hereditary or elective, than with monarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-stiles/we-stand-a-better-chance-with-aristocracy-whether-hereditary-or/) [Ezra Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-stiles/) > [ The law for religious freedom... \[has\]put down the aristocracy of the clergy and restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-law-for-religious-freedom-has-put-down-the-aristocracy-of-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) [Browse all 426 Aristocracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A jackass has that kind of strength, and puts it to a useful purpose, and is valuable to the world because he is a jackass; but anobleman is not valuable because he is a jackass. It is a mixture that is always ineffectual, and should never have been attempted in the first place. 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