---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When there is sympathy, there needs but…"
description: "\"When there is sympathy, there needs but one wise man in a company and all are wise,--so, a blockhead makes a blockhead of his companion. Wonderful powe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_blockhead_when-there-is-sympathy-there-needs-but-o_1522557.png"
---

#  When there is sympathy, there needs but one wise man in a…

![“When there is sympathy, there needs but one wise man in a company and all are wise,--so, a blockhead makes a blockhead of his companion. Wonderful power to benumb possesses this brother.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_blockhead_when-there-is-sympathy-there-needs-but-o_1522557.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_blockhead_when-there-is-sympathy-there-needs-but-o_1522557.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_blockhead_when-there-is-sympathy-there-needs-but-o_1522557.png)

> “When there is sympathy, there needs but one wise man in a company and all are wise,--so, a blockhead makes a blockhead of his companion. Wonderful power to benumb possesses this brother.”

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

## About This Quote

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

Wisdom is rare; when sympathy exists, only one truly wise person remains, and others become foolish, leading to collective dullness.

**In simple terms:** True wisdom is scarce; many become dull.

Key Takeaway

Seek genuine wisdom, avoid blind conformity.

Themes

wisdom conformity leadership community

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- team meetings
- leadership training
- education
- family discussions

Key Concepts

philosophy social dynamics critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you identify true wisdom?
- What steps prevent collective dullness?

A Different Perspective

Wisdom can be suppressed by groupthink.

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[Blockhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blockhead/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/)

## Related quotes

> [Never give your heart to a blockhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/never-give-your-heart-to-a-blockhead/)

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> [For my part I think the Learned, and Unlearned Blockhead pretty equal; for 'tis all one to me, whether a Man talk Nonsense, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/for-my-part-i-think-the-learned-and-unlearned-blockhead-pretty-equal/)

[Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/)

> [A lively blockhead in company is a public benefit. Silence or dulness by the side of folly looks like wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-lively-blockhead-in-company-is-a-public-benefit-silence-or-dulness/)

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> [A coxcomb is the blockhead's man of merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-coxcomb-is-the-blockhead-s-man-of-merit/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head, With his own tongue still edifies his ears, And always list'ning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-bookful-blockhead-ignorantly-read-with-loads-of-learned-lumber-in-2/)

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> [A blockhead cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise, nor stand, like a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-blockhead-cannot-come-in-nor-go-away-nor-sit-nor-rise-nor-stand/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [It is intolerable that it should be in the power of one blockhead to do so much mischief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-james/it-is-intolerable-that-it-should-be-in-the-power-of-one-blockhead-to/)

[Charles James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-james/)

> [I have come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason, I can never be satisfied with anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-never-again-to-think-of-marrying-and/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [I started freestyling with friends about eight or nine years ago. I started writing also around the same time, but didn't meet blockhead until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/i-started-freestyling-with-friends-about-eight-or-nine-years-ago-i/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [I myself identify as a recovering Blockhead. You'd be surprised how many twenty- and thirty-something hipster chicks have the NKOTB skeleton in their closet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/i-myself-identify-as-a-recovering-blockhead-you-d-be-surprised-how/)

[Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/)

> [The vanity of teaching doth oft tempt a man to forget that he is a blockhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vanity-of-teaching-doth-oft-tempt-a-man-to-forget-that-he-is-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

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[Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/)

> [Being a blockhead is sometimes the best security against being cheated by a man of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/being-a-blockhead-is-sometimes-the-best-security-against-being/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-learned-blockhead-is-a-greater-blockhead-than-an-ignorant-one/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-but-a-blockhead-ever-wrote-except-for-money/)

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

## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

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> [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/)

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> [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/)

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> [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/)

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[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

## More Blockhead quotes

> [No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-but-a-blockhead-ever-wrote-except-for-money/)

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

> [A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-learned-blockhead-is-a-greater-blockhead-than-an-ignorant-one/)

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[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [“(“No man but a blockhead ever wrote for any cause but money,” Samuel Johnson said.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/no-man-but-a-blockhead-ever-wrote-for-any-cause-but-money-samuel/)

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> [Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron - namely, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clairvoyant-n-a-person-commonly-a-woman-who-has-the-power-of-seeing/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [I have come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason, I can never be satisfied with anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-never-again-to-think-of-marrying-and/)

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> [“Everyone calls him Blockhead No one sings his praises Or takes him to heart... That is the kind of person I want to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenji-miyazawa/everyone-calls-him-blockhead-no-one-sings-his-praises-or-takes-him-to/)

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> [The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read With loads of learned lumber in his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-bookful-blockhead-ignorantly-read-with-loads-of-learned-lumber-in/)

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