---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can always make ourselves liked…"
description: "\"We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no matter what our merits are.\" — Nicolas Mal..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png"
---

#  We can always make ourselves liked provided we act…

![“We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no matter what our merits are.” quote by Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png)

> “We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no matter what our merits are.”

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

## About This Quote

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

People can influence likability by behaving pleasantly, but true respect depends on deeper qualities beyond behavior.

**In simple terms:** Being liked is easy, earning esteem is hard.

Key Takeaway

Focus on integrity, not just charm.

Themes

respect esteem authenticity social perception

Mood

reflective serious

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- leadership
- team dynamics
- public speaking
- personal branding

Key Concepts

Virtue ethics reputation management

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you demonstrate genuine merit beyond likable behavior?
- What actions build lasting esteem?

A Different Perspective

Respect cannot be forced; it requires consistent moral actions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/)

## Related quotes

> [“He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolo-machiavelli/he-who-is-highly-esteemed-is-not-easily-conspired-against/)

[Nicolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolo-machiavelli/)

> [Who is only good that others may know it, and that he may be the better esteemed when 'tis known, who will do well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/who-is-only-good-that-others-may-know-it-and-that-he-may-be-the/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Man believes himself always greater than he is, and is esteemed less than he is worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/man-believes-himself-always-greater-than-he-is-and-is-esteemed-less/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [A shepherd, in whom the spirit of God works, is more highly esteemed before God than the wisest and most potent in self-wit, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/a-shepherd-in-whom-the-spirit-of-god-works-is-more-highly-esteemed/)

[Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/)

> [I want it understood that all these men fought for principle, not for plunder, and that they were true-hearted, honorable soldiers, fighting for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-younger/i-want-it-understood-that-all-these-men-fought-for-principle-not-for/)

[Cole Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-younger/)

> [Even a nod from a person who is esteemed is of more force than a thousand arguments or studied sentences from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/even-a-nod-from-a-person-who-is-esteemed-is-of-more-force-than-a/)

[Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/)

> [No man can have much kindness for him by whom he does not believe himself esteemed, and nothing so evidently proves esteem as imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-can-have-much-kindness-for-him-by-whom-he-does-not-believe/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [He who does not think much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-who-does-not-think-much-of-himself-is-much-more-esteemed-than-he/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-learned-that-the-possessions-most-esteemed-by-your-fellow-creatures/)

[Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/)

> [Women are far and away the bigger consumers of fiction than men, but men are still far and away the more reviewed, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/women-are-far-and-away-the-bigger-consumers-of-fiction-than-men-but/)

[Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/)

> [Let a man (as most men do) rate themselves as the highest Value they can; yet their true Value is no more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/let-a-man-as-most-men-do-rate-themselves-as-the-highest-value-they/)

[Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/)

> [The only basis on which to work for God is an esteemed appreciation of his deliverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-only-basis-on-which-to-work-for-god-is-an-esteemed-appreciation/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/that-prince-is-highly-esteemed-who-conveys-this-impression-of-himself/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [The military is the most esteemed American institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-military-is-the-most-esteemed-american-institution/)

[Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/)

> [Noble descent and worth, unless united with wealth, are esteemed no more than seaweed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/noble-descent-and-worth-unless-united-with-wealth-are-esteemed-no/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

## More by Nicolas Malebranche

> [I am not my own light unto myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/i-am-not-my-own-light-unto-myself/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [I am unable, when I turn to myself, to recognize any of my faculties or my capacities. The inner sensation which I have of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/i-am-unable-when-i-turn-to-myself-to-recognize-any-of-my-faculties-or/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [We see things in this material world, wherein our bodies dwell, only because our mind through its attention lives in another world, only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-see-things-in-this-material-world-wherein-our-bodies-dwell-only/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [In this connection, faith and experience teach us many truths by means of the short-cut of authority and by the proofs of very pleasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/in-this-connection-faith-and-experience-teach-us-many-truths-by-means/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [All creatures are united to God alone in an immediate union. They depend essentially and directly upon Him. Being all alike equally impotent, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/all-creatures-are-united-to-god-alone-in-an-immediate-union-they/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [He has willed - He wills incessantly - that the modifications of the mind and those of the body shall be reciprocal. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/he-has-willed-he-wills-incessantly-that-the-modifications-of-the-mind/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [Our soul is not united to our body in the ordinary sense of these terms. It is immediately and directly united to God alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/our-soul-is-not-united-to-our-body-in-the-ordinary-sense-of-these/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [God joins us together by means of the body, in consequence of the laws of the communication of movements. He affects us with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/god-joins-us-together-by-means-of-the-body-in-consequence-of-the-laws/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [Imagination is the mad boarder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/imagination-is-the-mad-boarder/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [Do not fear lest you should meditate too much upon Him and speak of Him in an unworthy way, providing you are led by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/do-not-fear-lest-you-should-meditate-too-much-upon-him-and-speak-of/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/just-as-our-eyes-need-light-in-order-to-see-our-minds-need-ideas-in/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [You cannot of yourself move your arm or alter your position, situation, posture, do to other men good or evil, or effect the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/you-cannot-of-yourself-move-your-arm-or-alter-your-position-situation/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [Prejudices are not easily got rid of as an old coat which is no longer thought of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/prejudices-are-not-easily-got-rid-of-as-an-old-coat-which-is-no/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [We are rational creatures: Our virtue and perfection is to love reason, or rather to love order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-are-rational-creatures-our-virtue-and-perfection-is-to-love-reason/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

> [I love good and pleasure, I hate evil and pain, I want to be happy and I am not mistaken in believing, that people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/i-love-good-and-pleasure-i-hate-evil-and-pain-i-want-to-be-happy-and/)

[Nicolas Malebranche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

[Explore all 26 Nicolas Malebranche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/)

## More Esteemed quotes

> [“He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolo-machiavelli/he-who-is-highly-esteemed-is-not-easily-conspired-against/)

[Nicolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolo-machiavelli/)

> [The military is the most esteemed American institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-military-is-the-most-esteemed-american-institution/)

[Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/)

> [That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/that-prince-is-highly-esteemed-who-conveys-this-impression-of-himself/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [The only basis on which to work for God is an esteemed appreciation of his deliverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-only-basis-on-which-to-work-for-god-is-an-esteemed-appreciation/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [Let a man (as most men do) rate themselves as the highest Value they can; yet their true Value is no more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/let-a-man-as-most-men-do-rate-themselves-as-the-highest-value-they/)

[Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/)

> [Women are far and away the bigger consumers of fiction than men, but men are still far and away the more reviewed, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/women-are-far-and-away-the-bigger-consumers-of-fiction-than-men-but/)

[Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/)

> [“I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-learned-that-the-possessions-most-esteemed-by-your-fellow-creatures/)

[Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/)

> [He who does not think much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-who-does-not-think-much-of-himself-is-much-more-esteemed-than-he/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [No man can have much kindness for him by whom he does not believe himself esteemed, and nothing so evidently proves esteem as imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-can-have-much-kindness-for-him-by-whom-he-does-not-believe/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Even a nod from a person who is esteemed is of more force than a thousand arguments or studied sentences from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/even-a-nod-from-a-person-who-is-esteemed-is-of-more-force-than-a/)

[Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/)

> [I want it understood that all these men fought for principle, not for plunder, and that they were true-hearted, honorable soldiers, fighting for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-younger/i-want-it-understood-that-all-these-men-fought-for-principle-not-for/)

[Cole Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-younger/)

> [A shepherd, in whom the spirit of God works, is more highly esteemed before God than the wisest and most potent in self-wit, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/a-shepherd-in-whom-the-spirit-of-god-works-is-more-highly-esteemed/)

[Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/)

> [Man believes himself always greater than he is, and is esteemed less than he is worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/man-believes-himself-always-greater-than-he-is-and-is-esteemed-less/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Who is only good that others may know it, and that he may be the better esteemed when 'tis known, who will do well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/who-is-only-good-that-others-may-know-it-and-that-he-may-be-the/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Noble descent and worth, unless united with wealth, are esteemed no more than seaweed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/noble-descent-and-worth-unless-united-with-wealth-are-esteemed-no/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

Browse all 40 Esteemed quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no matter what our merits are.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nicolas Malebranche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provided-we-act-likable-but-we/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Esteemed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provided-we-act-likable-but-we/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/nicolas-malebranche-23473_esteemed_we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provi_3159903.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no…” — Nicolas Malebranche",
                "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": "Nicolas Malebranche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-malebranche/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We can always make ourselves liked...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provided-we-act-likable-but-we/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-malebranche/we-can-always-make-ourselves-liked-provided-we-act-likable-but-we/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```