--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot think of any character below the…" description: "\"I cannot think of any character below the flatterer, except he who envies him.\" — Richard Steele" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/richard-steele-8781_cannot_i-cannot-think-of-any-character-below-th_1273328.png" --- # I cannot think of any character below the flatterer… ![“I cannot think of any character below the flatterer, except he who envies him.” quote by Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/richard-steele-8781_cannot_i-cannot-think-of-any-character-below-th_1273328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/richard-steele-8781_cannot_i-cannot-think-of-any-character-below-th_1273328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/richard-steele-8781_cannot_i-cannot-think-of-any-character-below-th_1273328.png) > “I cannot think of any character below the flatterer, except he who envies him.” [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Flattery is a low form of praise, often driven by envy and self-interest. **In simple terms:** Flattery is insincere praise rooted in envy. Key Takeaway Seek genuine feedback over flattery. Themes flattery envy social dynamics ego communication Mood critical reflective Type ethical psychological When to use this quote - workplace reviews - political speeches - personal relationships - media commentary Key Concepts psychology ethics social influence Questions to Reflect On - Why do we value flattering words? - How can we discern sincerity? A Different Perspective Flattery can manipulate and distort truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cannot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannot/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Flatterer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-flatterer-4089828/) [Flatterer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatterer/) [Flatterer Envies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatterer-envies-4089827/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-character/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-inferior-or-pretends-to-be-so/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [There is a principle of human affairs that goes back millennia, which is that you don't look in the mirror. You can trace this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-is-a-principle-of-human-affairs-that-goes-back-millennia-which/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The art of flatterers is to take advantage of the foibles of the great, to foster their errors, and never to give advice which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/the-art-of-flatterers-is-to-take-advantage-of-the-foibles-of-the/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [There is no such flatterer as is a man's self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/there-is-no-such-flatterer-as-is-a-man-s-self/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believe flatterers and you're lost; believe your enemies and you despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/believe-flatterers-and-you-re-lost-believe-your-enemies-and-you/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-most-detestable-race-of-enemies-are-flatterers/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Every flatterer lives at the expense of him who listens to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/every-flatterer-lives-at-the-expense-of-him-who-listens-to-him/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [Persons who discover a flatterer, do not always disapprove him, because he imagines them considerable enough to deserve his applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/persons-who-discover-a-flatterer-do-not-always-disapprove-him-because/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Read not books alone, but men, and amongst them chiefly thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/read-not-books-alone-but-men-and-amongst-them-chiefly-thyself/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [He that loves to be flattered is worthy o' the flatterer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-loves-to-be-flattered-is-worthy-o-the-flatterer/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Flatterers are the worst kind of traitors, for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/flatterers-are-the-worst-kind-of-traitors-for-they-will-strengthen/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [But it is hard to know them from friends, they are so obsequious and full of protestations; for a wolf resembles a dog, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/but-it-is-hard-to-know-them-from-friends-they-are-so-obsequious-and/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/self-love-is-the-greatest-of-all-flatterers/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Prophet just means intellectual. They were people giving geopolitical analysis, moral lessons, that sort of thing. We call them intellectuals today. There were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/prophet-just-means-intellectual-they-were-people-giving-geopolitical/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Richard Steele > [“And I pray mark how he begins: he sets not up trophies to himself, but triumphs in his God-- "I will love thee, O…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/and-i-pray-mark-how-he-begins-he-sets-not-up-trophies-to-himself-but/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Pride destroys all symmetry and grace, and affectation is a more terrible enemy to fine faces than the small-pox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/pride-destroys-all-symmetry-and-grace-and-affectation-is-a-more/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [People spend their lives in the service of their passions instead of employing their passions in the service of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/people-spend-their-lives-in-the-service-of-their-passions-instead-of/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [A fool is in himself the object of pity, until he is flattered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/a-fool-is-in-himself-the-object-of-pity-until-he-is-flattered/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [The world is grown so full of dissimulation and compliment, that men's words are hardly any signification of their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/the-world-is-grown-so-full-of-dissimulation-and-compliment-that-men-s/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [It is a certain sign of an ill heart to be inclined to defamation. They who are harmless and innocent can have no gratification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/it-is-a-certain-sign-of-an-ill-heart-to-be-inclined-to-defamation/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [I was going home two hours ago, but was met by Mr. Griffith, who has kept me ever since. . . . I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/i-was-going-home-two-hours-ago-but-was-met-by-mr-griffith-who-has/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [I love to consider an Infidel, whether distinguished by the title of deist, atheist, or free-thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/i-love-to-consider-an-infidel-whether-distinguished-by-the-title-of/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Many take pleasure in spreading abroad the weakness of an exalted character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/many-take-pleasure-in-spreading-abroad-the-weakness-of-an-exalted/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [It is an impertinent and unreasonable fault in conversation for one man to take up all the discourse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/it-is-an-impertinent-and-unreasonable-fault-in-conversation-for-one/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/it-is-a-secret-known-but-to-few-yet-of-no-small-use-in-the-conduct-of/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Simplicity of all things is the hardest to be copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/simplicity-of-all-things-is-the-hardest-to-be-copy/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Whether a pretty woman grants or withholds her favors, she always likes to be asked for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/whether-a-pretty-woman-grants-or-withholds-her-favors-she-always/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Since our persons are not of our own making, when they are such as appear defective or uncomely, it is, methinks, an honest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/since-our-persons-are-not-of-our-own-making-when-they-are-such-as/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Vanity makes people ridiculous, pride odious, and ambition terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/vanity-makes-people-ridiculous-pride-odious-and-ambition-terrible/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) [Explore all 78 Richard Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Visaaranai' reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/visaaranai-reflects-a-stark-reality-from-which-you-cannot-shut/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martelly/when-you-put-more-than-a-million-kids-in-school-you-take-a-plane/) [Michel Martelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martelly/) > [We cannot stop anyone from criticising us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-cannot-stop-anyone-from-criticising-us/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The Brazilians are amazing in their nature. You cannot describe it; you must feel that warmth when you're around them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrikh-mkhitaryan/the-brazilians-are-amazing-in-their-nature-you-cannot-describe-it-you/) [Henrikh Mkhitaryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrikh-mkhitaryan/) > [The two things you cannot do effectively on stage are pray and copulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-two-things-you-cannot-do-effectively-on-stage-are-pray-and/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whittaker/the-reason-i-fight-is-to-provide-for-my-family-and-i-cannot-risk/) [Robert Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whittaker/) > [We cannot have players who don't give their soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-cannot-have-players-who-don-t-give-their-soul/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. 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