--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Were the talents and virtues, which…" description: "\"Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and am..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg" --- # Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on… ![“Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally…” quote by Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg) > “Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by all?” [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He questions whether natural gifts are meant for oppression or for shared benefit under divine law. **In simple terms:** Are talents for control or for equal use? Key Takeaway Use gifts for common good. Themes e justice law divine purpose Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political reform - education - community building - social equity Key Concepts philosophy political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure fair distribution of opportunity? - What role does divine belief play in justice? A Different Perspective If power concentrates, gifts can be misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Bestowed Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bestowed-men-992376/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-purpose/) [Enjoyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyed/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [Obedient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedient/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Providence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providence/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Sacrificed Follies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrificed-follies-992377/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Talents Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talents-virtues-346985/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) [Virtues Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues-heaven-992375/) ## Related quotes > [Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, he will only feel satisfaction in his society as he is satisfied in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/let-a-man-s-talents-or-virtues-be-what-they-may-he-will-only-feel/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“The “noble” person has a completely naïve and non-reflective awareness of his own value and of his fullness of being, an obscure conviction which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/the-noble-person-has-a-completely-na-ve-and-non-reflective-awareness/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“Politics, as he occasionally said, required three unchanging talents and no virtues. More politicians, he claimed, had been destroyed by virtue than by any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/politics-as-he-occasionally-said-required-three-unchanging-talents/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/of-all-the-talents-bestowed-upon-men-none-is-so-precious-as-the-gift-2/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Thank God! we are in the full enjoyment of all these privileges. But can we be taught to prize them too much? or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/thank-god-we-are-in-the-full-enjoyment-of-all-these-privileges-but/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/freedom-is-not-a-gift-bestowed-upon-us-by-other-men-but-a-right-that/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/of-all-the-talents-bestowed-upon-men-none-is-so-precious-as-the-gift/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/we-have-this-day-restored-the-sovereign-to-whom-all-men-ought-to-be/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“It may be difficult, but God will not allow a challenge to come into our lives unless He has a divine purpose for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/it-may-be-difficult-but-god-will-not-allow-a-challenge-to-come-into/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“Nothing that comes to me is void of divine purpose. In seeking to see the whole with God's eyes, we can find the peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliott/nothing-that-comes-to-me-is-void-of-divine-purpose-in-seeking-to-see/) [Elisabeth Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliott/) > [You are here on earth for a divine purpose. It is not to be endlessly entertained or to be constantly in full pursuit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/you-are-here-on-earth-for-a-divine-purpose-it-is-not-to-be-endlessly/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [“The gods of the traditional world, with their supernatural powers, have been replaced by humans with bombs and shopping lists; the apocalypse has moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-barrett-gross/the-gods-of-the-traditional-world-with-their-supernatural-powers-have/) [Matthew Barrett Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-barrett-gross/) > [...you're on this earth with a divine purpose: to rise to the level of your highest creative possibility, expressing all that you are intellectually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-re-on-this-earth-with-a-divine-purpose-to-rise-to-the-level-of/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [What we most want to ask of our Maker is an unfolding of the divine purpose in putting human beings into conditions in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-most-want-to-ask-of-our-maker-is-an-unfolding-of-the-divine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God is in the sadness and the laughter, in the bitter and the sweet. There is a divine purpose behind everything and therefore a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/god-is-in-the-sadness-and-the-laughter-in-the-bitter-and-the-sweet/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Samuel Adams > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/our-contest-is-not-only-whether-we-ourselves-shall-be-free-but/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/in-the-midst-of-these-pleasing-ideas-we-should-be-unfaithful-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It behooves every American to encourage home manufactures, that our oppressors may feel through their pockets the effects of their blind folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-behooves-every-american-to-encourage-home-manufactures-that-our/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [All might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/all-might-be-free-if-they-valued-freedom-and-defended-it-as-they/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; second, to liberty; third, to property; together with the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/among-the-natural-rights-of-the-colonists-are-these-first-a-right-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Nil desperandum, -- Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/nil-desperandum-never-despair-that-is-a-motto-for-you-and-me-all-are/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-is-not-unfrequent-to-hear-men-declaim-loudly-upon-liberty-who-if/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-we-suffer-tamely-a-lawless-attack-upon-our-liberty-we-encourage-it/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I thank God that I have lived to see my country independent and free. She may long enjoy her independence and freedom if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/i-thank-god-that-i-have-lived-to-see-my-country-independent-and-free/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If our Trade be taxed, why not our Lands, or Produce in short, everything we possess? They tax us without having legal representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-our-trade-be-taxed-why-not-our-lands-or-produce-in-short/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [One battle would do more towards a Declaration of Independence than a long chain of conclusive arguments in a provincial convention or the Continental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/one-battle-would-do-more-towards-a-declaration-of-independence-than-a/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) [Explore all 129 Samuel Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by all?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heaven-has-bestowed-on-men-given/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heaven-has-bestowed-on-men-given/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/samuel-adams-3491_ambition_were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heave_2493633.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient…” — Samuel Adams", "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": "Samuel Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Were the talents and virtues, which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heaven-has-bestowed-on-men-given/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heaven-has-bestowed-on-men-given/#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 } } ] } ```