--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All people have the common desire to be…" description: "\"All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.\" — Mencius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png" --- # All people have the common desire to be elevated in… ![“All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.” quote by Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png) > “All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.” [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek external honor, yet possess a higher inner virtue unknown to them. **In simple terms:** We crave respect but hold greater inner worth. Key Takeaway Recognize and cultivate your inner excellence. Themes honor self‑esteem inner virtue humility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - personal growth - education - spiritual practice Key Concepts Confucianism self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What inner quality do you overlook? - How can you honor yourself beyond external praise? A Different Perspective External accolades can distract from inner development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honour/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The throne we honour is the people's choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/the-throne-we-honour-is-the-people-s-choice/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [These people have elevated audacity to symphonic and operatic levels. The Florida Supreme Court relied on new law to resolve the election dispute down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/these-people-have-elevated-audacity-to-symphonic-and-operatic-levels/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [It's a kind of honour when I see how many people are imitating the style of how I make films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/it-s-a-kind-of-honour-when-i-see-how-many-people-are-imitating-the/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [To even be part of NJPW is an honour in and of itself.There's people all over the world who would love to be here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricochet/to-even-be-part-of-njpw-is-an-honour-in-and-of-itself-there-s-people/) [Ricochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricochet/) > [I love to honour people and to write positive songs about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foster/i-love-to-honour-people-and-to-write-positive-songs-about-them/) [Mark Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foster/) > [When aristocrats pretend they're common people -- they get common!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/when-aristocrats-pretend-they-re-common-people-they-get-common/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [I've always found that if you listen to people you can find common ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-smith/i-ve-always-found-that-if-you-listen-to-people-you-can-find-common/) [Tina Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-smith/) > [It's good to find common ground with people. When you find common ground and you see things from other people's perspective, you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-osteen/it-s-good-to-find-common-ground-with-people-when-you-find-common/) [Victoria Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-osteen/) > [Everywhere I go, I see all kinds of people at my shows - conservatives, liberals, new-agers, teen-agers, old pensioners. And for those people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-guthrie/everywhere-i-go-i-see-all-kinds-of-people-at-my-shows-conservatives/) [Arlo Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-guthrie/) > [Love, respect, and friendship do unite a people as well as a common hatred does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/love-respect-and-friendship-do-unite-a-people-as-well-as-a-common/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I think all it really takes for different people to get along is a common rooting interest and a few beers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-think-all-it-really-takes-for-different-people-to-get-along-is-a/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as common hatred for something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/love-friendship-and-respect-do-not-unite-people-as-much-as-common/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“People, common people especially, usually seemed more comfortable with the familiar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-royal/people-common-people-especially-usually-seemed-more-comfortable-with/) Lauren Royal > [We define family in many different ways: not just by blood but by people with whom we find a common ground and a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/we-define-family-in-many-different-ways-not-just-by-blood-but-by/) [Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/) > [“The point all these people had in common was how little freedom they seemed to enjoy. They were grappling with their beliefs, and these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-gounelle/the-point-all-these-people-had-in-common-was-how-little-freedom-they/) Laurent Gounelle ## More by Mencius > [The fruit of humanity is devotion to one's parents. The fruit of righteousness is to respect one's elders. The fruit of wisdom is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-fruit-of-humanity-is-devotion-to-one-s-parents-the-fruit-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-are-eager-to-comment-on-something-when-they-themselves-are-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/truth-uttered-before-its-time-is-dangerous/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/only-when-someone-refuses-to-do-certain-things-will-he-be-capable-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-disease-of-men-is-that-they-neglect-their-own-fields-and-go-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People can have a long-term life plan only if they know their private property is secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-can-have-a-long-term-life-plan-only-if-they-know-their-private/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men's minds are also injured by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/is-it-only-the-mouth-and-belly-which-are-injured-by-hunger-and-thirst/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/mankind-fears-an-evil-man-but-heaven-does-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of our nature to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/water-indeed-will-flow-indifferently-to-the-east-or-west-but-will-it/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [When the men of antiquity realized their wishes, benefits were conferred by them on the people. If they did not realize their wishes, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/when-the-men-of-antiquity-realized-their-wishes-benefits-were/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [If the King loves music, it is well with the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/if-the-king-loves-music-it-is-well-with-the-land/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The poor attend to their own virtue in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-poor-attend-to-their-own-virtue-in-solitude/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is the work of great men and there is the work of little men. Therefore it is said, 'Some labor with their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-the-work-of-great-men-and-there-is-the-work-of-little-men/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is a power in everything; it is the job of the artist to determine it and express it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-a-power-in-everything-it-is-the-job-of-the-artist-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/where-it-is-permissible-both-to-die-and-not-to-die-it-is-an-abuse-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) [Explore all 125 Mencius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mencius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/mencius-3576_common_all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be_444605.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more…” — Mencius", "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": "Mencius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All people have the common desire...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/#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 } } ] } ```