--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all…" description: "\"Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinction. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit. It is like ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all_2529196.jpg" --- # Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinction. No… ![“Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinction. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit. It is like ice, on which no beauty of form, no majesty of carriage, can plead any immunity; they must walk gingerly, according to the laws of ice, or down…” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all_2529196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all_2529196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all_2529196.jpg) > “Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinction. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit. It is like ice, on which no beauty of form, no majesty of carriage, can plead any immunity; they must walk gingerly, according to the laws of ice, or down they must go, dignity and all.” [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. Wit cuts through social barriers, making everyone equal and exposing pretensions. **In simple terms:** Wit equalizes people and reveals false pride. Key Takeaway Cultivate sharp humor to navigate social hierarchies. Themes humor equality social dynamics pride intellect Mood playful critical reflective Type aphorism observational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - networking events - debates - leadership meetings - online discussions Key Concepts satire social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can humor be used responsibly? - When does wit become arrogance? A Different Perspective Wit can be misused to belittle rather than enlighten. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice/) [Immunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immunity/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all-distinctions-no-dignity-no/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all-distinctions/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Reserve may be pride fortified in ice; dignity is worth reposing on truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/reserve-may-be-pride-fortified-in-ice-dignity-is-worth-reposing-on/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [Too much wit makes the world rotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/too-much-wit-makes-the-world-rotten/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Wit, like money, bears an extra value when rung down immediately it is wanted. Men pay severely who require credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/wit-like-money-bears-an-extra-value-when-rung-down-immediately-it-is/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Your wit makes others witty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/your-wit-makes-others-witty/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) > [“I have a black belt in sarcasm, and my wit is like lightning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-walker/i-have-a-black-belt-in-sarcasm-and-my-wit-is-like-lightning/) [N.R. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-walker/) > [Well, something must be done for May, The time is drawing nigh-- To figure in the Catalogue, And woo the public eye. Something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/well-something-must-be-done-for-may-the-time-is-drawing-nigh-to/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [In times like ours, where the growing complexity of life leaves us barely the time to read the newspapers, where the map of Europehas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-times-like-ours-where-the-growing-complexity-of-life-leaves-us/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue, But like a shadow, proves the substance true; For envied wit, like Sol eclips'd, makes known Th'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/envy-will-merit-as-its-shade-pursue-but-like-a-shadow-proves-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Wit, like poetry, is insusceptible of being constructed upon rules founded merely in reason. Like faith, it exists independent of reason, and sometimes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/wit-like-poetry-is-insusceptible-of-being-constructed-upon-rules/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A sentence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit; How quickly the wrong side may be turned outward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-sentence-is-but-a-cheveril-glove-to-a-good-wit-how-quickly-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, Which gives men stomach to digest his words With better appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-rudeness-is-a-sauce-to-his-good-wit-which-gives-men-stomach-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Unhappy is that Grandeur which makes us too great to be good; and that Wit which sets us at a distance from true Wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/unhappy-is-that-grandeur-which-makes-us-too-great-to-be-good-and-that/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a-good-wit-and-encourage-a-will/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) ## 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/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [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/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [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/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [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/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [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 Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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