--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any number of depraved units cannot form…" description: "\"Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation.\" — Samuel Smiles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png" --- # Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation. ![“Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation.” quote by Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png) > “Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation.” [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A society built on immoral or corrupt individuals cannot become great. **In simple terms:** Corruption prevents national greatness. Key Takeaway Promote integrity for societal success. Themes ethics nationhood leadership Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - politics - business - education Key Concepts moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - What defines a "great nation"? - How can societies enforce integrity? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook pragmatic realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depraved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depraved/) [Depraved Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depraved-units-2108439/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Great nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-nations/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Number Depraved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number-depraved-2108440/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units/) [Units Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units-form-2108441/) ## Related quotes > [The Northern idea of form is more of a process. The various units of the form overlap. You can't tell where some things stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/the-northern-idea-of-form-is-more-of-a-process-the-various-units-of/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [Men cannot be raised in masses as the mountains were in he early geological states of the world. They must be dealt with as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/men-cannot-be-raised-in-masses-as-the-mountains-were-in-he-early/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Ladies, I have bad news for you. Men are pigs. No really. I know you think you know what I'm talking about but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/ladies-i-have-bad-news-for-you-men-are-pigs-no-really-i-know-you/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [We should have a bond of sympathy for all sentient beings, knowing that only the depraved and base take pleasure in the sight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/we-should-have-a-bond-of-sympathy-for-all-sentient-beings-knowing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-more-helpless-and-irresponsible-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Money by Martin Amis. 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There is no shame in being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/essentially-if-our-secrets-are-secrets-because-we-are-told-to-be/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [As a child, I was never drawn toward depraved or extreme situations; I really wanted a normal little childhood. Unfortunately, that's just not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/as-a-child-i-was-never-drawn-toward-depraved-or-extreme-situations-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Satan and that man is still man even after 1000 years of the righteous, benevolent rule of Christ on earth. Even under the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hitchcock/satan-and-that-man-is-still-man-even-after-1000-years-of-the/) [Mark Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hitchcock/) > [Now although man is created for the possession of happiness, yet, having deviated from his true end, his nature has become deformed and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-of-genoa/now-although-man-is-created-for-the-possession-of-happiness-yet/) [Catherine of Genoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-of-genoa/) > [I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-have-no-intention-of-uttering-my-last-words-on-the-stage-room/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Christianity teaches that the human race is depraved, fallen, and sinful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-james-kennedy/christianity-teaches-that-the-human-race-is-depraved-fallen-and-sinful/) [D. James Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-james-kennedy/) > [Man, while he loves, is never quite depraved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/man-while-he-loves-is-never-quite-depraved/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) ## More by Samuel Smiles > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The women of the poorer classes make sacrifices, and run risks, and bear privations, and exercise patience and kindness to a degree that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-women-of-the-poorer-classes-make-sacrifices-and-run-risks-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-experience-gathered-from-books-though-often-valuable-is-but-of/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-apprenticeship-of-difficulty-is-one-which-the-greatest-of-men/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-spirit-of-self-help-is-the-root-of-all-genuine-growth-in-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-wise-man-if-he-would-live-at-peace-with-others-he-will-bear-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Those who are the most persistent, and work in the true spirit, will invariably be the most successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/those-who-are-the-most-persistent-and-work-in-the-true-spirit-will/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The iron rail proved a magicians' road. It virtually reduced England to a sixth of its size. It brought the country nearer to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-iron-rail-proved-a-magicians-road-it-virtually-reduced-england-to/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must look up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/man-cannot-aspire-if-he-looked-down-if-he-rise-he-must-look-up/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-life-of-a-good-man-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-eloquent-lesson/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/it-is-a-grand-old-name-that-of-gentleman-and-has-been-recognized-as-a/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Many are the lives of men unwritten, which have nevertheless as powerfully influenced civilization and progress as the more fortunate Great whose names are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/many-are-the-lives-of-men-unwritten-which-have-nevertheless-as/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) [Explore all 189 Samuel Smiles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More Depraved quotes > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Man, while he loves, is never quite depraved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/man-while-he-loves-is-never-quite-depraved/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Christianity teaches that the human race is depraved, fallen, and sinful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-james-kennedy/christianity-teaches-that-the-human-race-is-depraved-fallen-and-sinful/) [D. James Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-james-kennedy/) > [I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-have-no-intention-of-uttering-my-last-words-on-the-stage-room/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Now although man is created for the possession of happiness, yet, having deviated from his true end, his nature has become deformed and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-of-genoa/now-although-man-is-created-for-the-possession-of-happiness-yet/) [Catherine of Genoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-of-genoa/) > [“Satan and that man is still man even after 1000 years of the righteous, benevolent rule of Christ on earth. Even under the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hitchcock/satan-and-that-man-is-still-man-even-after-1000-years-of-the/) [Mark Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hitchcock/) > [As a child, I was never drawn toward depraved or extreme situations; I really wanted a normal little childhood. Unfortunately, that's just not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/as-a-child-i-was-never-drawn-toward-depraved-or-extreme-situations-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Essentially, if our secrets are secrets because we are told to be ashamed, then we must share them. There is no shame in being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/essentially-if-our-secrets-are-secrets-because-we-are-told-to-be/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [The ministers are in duty bound to denounce all intellectual pride, and show that we are never quite so dear to God as when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-ministers-are-in-duty-bound-to-denounce-all-intellectual-pride/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Money by Martin Amis. I read it when I was 15, I read it hundreds of times since then and it always makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/money-by-martin-amis-i-read-it-when-i-was-15-i-read-it-hundreds-of/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-more-helpless-and-irresponsible-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [We should have a bond of sympathy for all sentient beings, knowing that only the depraved and base take pleasure in the sight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/we-should-have-a-bond-of-sympathy-for-all-sentient-beings-knowing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Ladies, I have bad news for you. Men are pigs. No really. I know you think you know what I'm talking about but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/ladies-i-have-bad-news-for-you-men-are-pigs-no-really-i-know-you/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society. When an immoral society has blatantly and proudly violated all the commandments, it insists upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hutton-gibson/tolerance-is-the-last-virtue-of-a-depraved-society-when-an-immoral/) [Hutton Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hutton-gibson/) > [In the application of the method of non-violence, one must believe in the possibility of every person, however depraved, being reformed under humane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-the-application-of-the-method-of-non-violence-one-must-believe-in/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Browse all 112 Depraved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depraved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Smiles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form-a-great-nation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depraved" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form-a-great-nation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/samuel-smiles-2037_depraved_any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form_1810181.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any number of depraved units cannot form a great nation.” — Samuel Smiles", "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 Smiles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any number of depraved units cannot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form-a-great-nation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/any-number-of-depraved-units-cannot-form-a-great-nation/#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 } } ] } ```