--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The measure of a man is what he does when…" description: "\"“The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.”\" — Pierce Brown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg" --- # The measure of a man is what he does when he has power. ![“The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.” quote by Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg) > ““The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.”” [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote defines a man's character by his actions when he holds power, emphasizing responsibility over status. **In simple terms:** Character is shown by actions in power. Key Takeaway Act responsibly when you have influence. Themes leadership ethics character Mood inspirational serious Type moral philosophical When to use this quote - corporate leadership - political office - community leadership Key Concepts power responsibility integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure power is used ethically? - What measures prevent abuse of authority? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt without accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Does Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-power-748237/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Man Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-does/) [Measure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure/) [Measure Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-man/) [Measure of a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-of-a-man/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [The measure of a man is what he does with power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-with-power/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-there-be-any-truer-measure-of-a-man-than-by-what-he-does-it-must/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The true measure of a man, is not what he does when is being watched, but what he does when he is alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/the-true-measure-of-a-man-is-not-what-he-does-when-is-being-watched/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [Effort is a measure of a Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-a-measure-of-a-man/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“the measure of a man is how he treats the women in his family.” His wisdom came from experience, from his own earlier failures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/the-measure-of-a-man-is-how-he-treats-the-women-in-his-family-his/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“The measure of a man is his state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-measure-of-a-man-is-his-state-of-mind/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Real measure of a man is not by his beauty or face real measure of a man is beauty of his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/real-measure-of-a-man-is-not-by-his-beauty-or-face-real-measure-of-a/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The true measure of a man is the degree to which he has managed to subjugate his ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-true-measure-of-a-man-is-the-degree-to-which-he-has-managed-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The measure of a man isn’t how popular he is with his friends, but how he treats those who have nothing to give him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beckstrand/the-measure-of-a-man-isn-t-how-popular-he-is-with-his-friends-but-how/) [Jennifer Beckstrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beckstrand/) > [The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-ultimate-measure-of-a-man-is-not-where-he-stands-in-moments-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [The true measure of a man is not his intelligence or how high he rises in this freak establishment. No, the true measure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-true-measure-of-a-man-is-not-his-intelligence-or-how-high-he/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The measure of a man is not necessarily his title or his position, but rather how he treats others...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-l-brown/the-measure-of-a-man-is-not-necessarily-his-title-or-his-position-but/) [Victor L. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-l-brown/) > [The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-measure-of-a-man-is-the-way-he-bears-up-under-misfortune/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dad always said, 'Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/my-dad-always-said-champ-the-measure-of-a-man-is-not-how-often-he-is/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The measure of a man is in the lives he’s touched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/the-measure-of-a-man-is-in-the-lives-he-s-touched/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) ## More by Pierce Brown > [“Where did you hear that song?" I ask her without sitting up. "From the HC," she says, blushing. "A little girl sang it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/where-did-you-hear-that-song-i-ask-her-without-sitting-up-from-the-hc/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Men call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his armor red,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/men-call-him-father-liberator-warlord-slave-king-reaper-but-he-feels/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“The floor is made of condensed air, so we are suspended above a mile vertical drop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/the-floor-is-made-of-condensed-air-so-we-are-suspended-above-a-mile/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“She said she would protect us…” I whisper. “Who?” “The Sovereign…” He’s silent for a long moment. “I know it may be impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/she-said-she-would-protect-us-i-whisper-who-the-sovereign-he-s-silent/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“can nearly smell the pencil-shaving scent of him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/can-nearly-smell-the-pencil-shaving-scent-of-him/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Sometimes, little one, it’s best if the worlds think you a little mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/sometimes-little-one-it-s-best-if-the-worlds-think-you-a-little-mad/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Snorting, Sevro drops back to where the legendary Obsidian, Sefi Volarus, stands in her customary silence. He feigns an air of domesticity, but next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/snorting-sevro-drops-back-to-where-the-legendary-obsidian-sefi/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“And now that her dream has spread, he wonders if she would recognize it. And he wonders too if he were to die today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/and-now-that-her-dream-has-spread-he-wonders-if-she-would-recognize/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“ 'And now I Carve the things I saw in my fever dreams, just as they always wished. I dreamed of you, I think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/and-now-i-carve-the-things-i-saw-in-my-fever-dreams-just-as-they/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“All wounds heal. Even these." "That's a lie." I tell him. I'll never be healed of Eo. That pain will last forever. "Some things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/all-wounds-heal-even-these-that-s-a-lie-i-tell-him-i-ll-never-be/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“I'm a sheep wearing wolves' clothing in a pack of wolves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/i-m-a-sheep-wearing-wolves-clothing-in-a-pack-of-wolves/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Sevro…are you going to be civil?” He shrugs. “Good enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/sevro-are-you-going-to-be-civil-he-shrugs-good-enough/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“New’ generally means someone’s just trying to make money off something old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/new-generally-means-someone-s-just-trying-to-make-money-off-something/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“WE HURTLE LIKE A black thunderbolt over a pale waste of silicate dust and sulfur dioxide frost in a starship adorned with electric dragons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/we-hurtle-like-a-black-thunderbolt-over-a-pale-waste-of-silicate-dust/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) [Explore all 307 Pierce Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) [Whitney Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierce Brown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-when-he-has-power/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-when-he-has-power/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/pierce-brown-1011_measure-of-a-man_the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-whe_1818061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.” — Pierce Brown", "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": "Pierce Brown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The measure of a man is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-when-he-has-power/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/the-measure-of-a-man-is-what-he-does-when-he-has-power/#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 } } ] } ```