--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is with men as with other things. The…" description: "\"It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs only a year, but the oak a century, and the greatest men are those who have continued to grow as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png" --- # It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs… ![“It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs only a year, but the oak a century, and the greatest men are those who have continued to grow as long as they have lived.” quote by Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png) > “It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs only a year, but the oak a century, and the greatest men are those who have continued to grow as long as they have lived.” [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness comes from lifelong growth, not early achievement; continuous development over a long life defines the most remarkable people. **In simple terms:** True greatness requires ongoing growth throughout life. Key Takeaway Cultivate lifelong learning and growth. Themes growth longevity greatness self‑development Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - personal development - education - long‑term projects Key Concepts human potential continuous improvement legacy Questions to Reflect On - How can you sustain personal growth over decades? - What habits support lifelong development? A Different Perspective Growth can be hindered by complacency or lack of opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Many of the greatest men have owed their success to industry rather than to cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/many-of-the-greatest-men-have-owed-their-success-to-industry-rather/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Buddha and Christ were second-rate heroes. The greatest men that ever live pass away unknown. They put forth no claims for themselves, establish no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/buddha-and-christ-were-second-rate-heroes-the-greatest-men-that-ever/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The greatest men May ask a foolish question, now and then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wolcot/the-greatest-men-may-ask-a-foolish-question-now-and-then/) [John Wolcot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wolcot/) > [I do believe he’s the greatest, but forget about boxing - give that to Joe Louis, or somebody - I believe he’s one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-do-believe-he-s-the-greatest-but-forget-about-boxing-give-that-to/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck'd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/rocks-whereon-greatest-men-have-oftest-wreck-d/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Man can never come up to his ideal standard. It is the nature of the immortal spirit to raise that standard higher and higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/man-can-never-come-up-to-his-ideal-standard-it-is-the-nature-of-the/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [Many of the greatest men that ever lived have written biography.Boswell was one ofthesmallest menthat ever lived and he has beaten them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-rothschild-1st-baron-rothschild/many-of-the-greatest-men-that-ever-lived-have-written-biography/) [Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-rothschild-1st-baron-rothschild/) > [“The suspect nature of these stories can be seen in the anecdote Jefferson told of Hamilton visiting his lodging in 1792 and inquiring about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-suspect-nature-of-these-stories-can-be-seen-in-the-anecdote/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [Writing is all a lottery -- I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/writing-is-all-a-lottery-i-have-been-a-loser-by-the-works-of-the/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [None of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/none-of-us-can-be-free-of-conflict-and-woe-even-the-greatest-men-have/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [Times of calamity and distress have always been producers of the greatest men. The hardest steel is produced from the hottest fire; the brightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/times-of-calamity-and-distress-have-always-been-producers-of-the/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [Real greatness has nothing to do with a man’s sphere. It does not lie in the magnitude of his outward agency, in the extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/real-greatness-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-man-s-sphere-it-does-not-lie/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Are not our greatest men as good as lost? The men that walk daily among us, warming us, feeding us, walk shrouded in darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/are-not-our-greatest-men-as-good-as-lost-the-men-that-walk-daily/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [John Paul II was one of the greatest men of the last century. Perhaps the greatest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/john-paul-ii-was-one-of-the-greatest-men-of-the-last-century-perhaps/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Men are but men, and the greatest men are they who soonest learn the simpler things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/men-are-but-men-and-the-greatest-men-are-they-who-soonest-learn-the/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) ## More by Robert Green Ingersoll > [Our hope of immortality does not come from any religions, but nearly all religions come from that hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-hope-of-immortality-does-not-come-from-any-religions-but-nearly/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I read the other day an account of a meeting between John Knox and John Calvin. Imagine a dialogue between a pestilence and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-read-the-other-day-an-account-of-a-meeting-between-john-knox-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Shakespeare has done far more for the world than the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/shakespeare-has-done-far-more-for-the-world-than-the-bible/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Every man who expresses an honest thought is a soldier in the army of intellectual liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/every-man-who-expresses-an-honest-thought-is-a-soldier-in-the-army-of/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Liberty is the condition of progress. Without Liberty, there remains only barbarism. Without Liberty, there can be no civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/liberty-is-the-condition-of-progress-without-liberty-there-remains/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [In spite of my surroundings, of my education, I had no love for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/in-spite-of-my-surroundings-of-my-education-i-had-no-love-for-god/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The combined wisdom and genius of all mankind cannot possibly conceive of an argument against liberty of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-combined-wisdom-and-genius-of-all-mankind-cannot-possibly/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Calvin founded a little theocracy, modeled after the Old Testament, and succeeded in erecting the most detestable government that ever existed, except the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/calvin-founded-a-little-theocracy-modeled-after-the-old-testament-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I do not believe in loving enemies; I have pretty hard work to love my friends. Neither do I believe in revenge. No man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-do-not-believe-in-loving-enemies-i-have-pretty-hard-work-to-love-my/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [What is it that distinguishes you and me from the lower animals - from the beasts? More, I say, than anything else, human sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/what-is-it-that-distinguishes-you-and-me-from-the-lower-animals-from/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The literature of many lands is rich with the tributes that gratitude, admiration and love have paid to the great and honored dead. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-literature-of-many-lands-is-rich-with-the-tributes-that-gratitude/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Explore all 640 Robert Green Ingersoll quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs only a year, but the oak a century, and the greatest men are those who have continued to grow as long as they have lived.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Green Ingersoll" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the-mullein-needs-only-a-year-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the-mullein-needs-only-a-year-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/robert-green-ingersoll-361_century_it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the_258659.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is with men as with other things. The mullein needs only a year, but the oak a century, and the greatest…” — Robert Green Ingersoll", "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": "Robert Green Ingersoll", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is with men as with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the-mullein-needs-only-a-year-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-is-with-men-as-with-other-things-the-mullein-needs-only-a-year-but/#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 } } ] } ```