--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was a splendid old man, only partly…" description: "\"“He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and what more can you ask of anyone?”\" — Saul Bellow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png" --- # He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and… ![“He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and what more can you ask of anyone?” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png) > ““He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and what more can you ask of anyone?”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires an elderly man despite his flaws, suggesting imperfect people can still be worthy. **In simple terms:** Flawed people can still be admirable. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection in others. Themes age integrity humanity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - elder care - mentor relationships - historical figures Key Concepts fraud complexity legacy Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you value over perfection? - Can you appreciate someone despite their flaws? A Different Perspective Perfection is rarely attainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fraudulent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraudulent/) [Man Partly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-partly-651239/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Partly Fraudulent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partly-fraudulent-5231122/) [Splendid Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid-old-5231121/) ## Related quotes > [Finds progress, man's distinctive mark alone, Not God's, and not the beast's; God is, they are, Man partly is, and wholly hopes to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/finds-progress-man-s-distinctive-mark-alone-not-god-s-and-not-the/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/man-partly-is-and-wholly-hopes-to-be/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“When is the Denver Police Department going to start prosecuting Denver based fraudulent Frontier Airlines and its toxic employees for its illegal activities it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/when-is-the-denver-police-department-going-to-start-prosecuting/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [It was not my wish to come into politics. I was not a public person; I preferred to spend my birthdays with family and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bidzina-ivanishvili/it-was-not-my-wish-to-come-into-politics-i-was-not-a-public-person-i/) [Bidzina Ivanishvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bidzina-ivanishvili/) > [Artists are expected to fit into fraudulent categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/artists-are-expected-to-fit-into-fraudulent-categories/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [My father, a refugee from Eastern Europe, was preparing a fraudulent marriage to an American citizen as a route to this country when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/my-father-a-refugee-from-eastern-europe-was-preparing-a-fraudulent/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [“I pretend to give gifts that people pretend to be gifts so that I can pretend that I gave something that actually cost me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-pretend-to-give-gifts-that-people-pretend-to-be-gifts-so-that-i-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I think an ethical lawyer would absolutely refuse, if he or she had knowledge that this is the purpose for which her work would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-d-dinh/i-think-an-ethical-lawyer-would-absolutely-refuse-if-he-or-she-had/) [Viet D. Dinh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-d-dinh/) > [Medicare's top officials said in 2006 that they had reduced the number of fraudulent and improper claims paid by the agency, keeping billions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/medicare-s-top-officials-said-in-2006-that-they-had-reduced-the/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [When you have elections in which 90% or 95% or 99% of those elected come from one party, then I think there is some fraudulent act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/when-you-have-elections-in-which-90-or-95-or-99-of-those-elected-come/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [I do not remember in my whole life I ever willfully misrepresented anything to anybody at any time. I have never knowingly had connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-morgan/i-do-not-remember-in-my-whole-life-i-ever-willfully-misrepresented/) [J. P. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-morgan/) > [I feel like I came in comedy's side door, and still feel very fraudulent in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-feel-like-i-came-in-comedy-s-side-door-and-still-feel-very/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [“It has been my personal experience that the government engages in a wide range of frauds with the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-has-been-my-personal-experience-that-the-government-engages-in-a/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Every writer I've ever spoken to feels fraudulent in some way or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/every-writer-i-ve-ever-spoken-to-feels-fraudulent-in-some-way-or-other/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [The Tax Division is committed to prosecuting accountants who assist their clients in fraudulent tax schemes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-boente/the-tax-division-is-committed-to-prosecuting-accountants-who-assist/) [Dana Boente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-boente/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Fraudulent quotes > [The Tax Division is committed to prosecuting accountants who assist their clients in fraudulent tax schemes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-boente/the-tax-division-is-committed-to-prosecuting-accountants-who-assist/) [Dana Boente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-boente/) > [Every writer I've ever spoken to feels fraudulent in some way or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/every-writer-i-ve-ever-spoken-to-feels-fraudulent-in-some-way-or-other/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [“It has been my personal experience that the government engages in a wide range of frauds with the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-has-been-my-personal-experience-that-the-government-engages-in-a/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I feel like I came in comedy's side door, and still feel very fraudulent in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-feel-like-i-came-in-comedy-s-side-door-and-still-feel-very/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I do not remember in my whole life I ever willfully misrepresented anything to anybody at any time. I have never knowingly had connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-morgan/i-do-not-remember-in-my-whole-life-i-ever-willfully-misrepresented/) [J. P. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-morgan/) > [When you have elections in which 90% or 95% or 99% of those elected come from one party, then I think there is some fraudulent act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/when-you-have-elections-in-which-90-or-95-or-99-of-those-elected-come/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Medicare's top officials said in 2006 that they had reduced the number of fraudulent and improper claims paid by the agency, keeping billions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/medicare-s-top-officials-said-in-2006-that-they-had-reduced-the/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [I think an ethical lawyer would absolutely refuse, if he or she had knowledge that this is the purpose for which her work would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-d-dinh/i-think-an-ethical-lawyer-would-absolutely-refuse-if-he-or-she-had/) [Viet D. Dinh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-d-dinh/) > [“I pretend to give gifts that people pretend to be gifts so that I can pretend that I gave something that actually cost me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-pretend-to-give-gifts-that-people-pretend-to-be-gifts-so-that-i-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My father, a refugee from Eastern Europe, was preparing a fraudulent marriage to an American citizen as a route to this country when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/my-father-a-refugee-from-eastern-europe-was-preparing-a-fraudulent/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [Artists are expected to fit into fraudulent categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/artists-are-expected-to-fit-into-fraudulent-categories/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [It was not my wish to come into politics. I was not a public person; I preferred to spend my birthdays with family and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bidzina-ivanishvili/it-was-not-my-wish-to-come-into-politics-i-was-not-a-public-person-i/) [Bidzina Ivanishvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bidzina-ivanishvili/) > [“When is the Denver Police Department going to start prosecuting Denver based fraudulent Frontier Airlines and its toxic employees for its illegal activities it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/when-is-the-denver-police-department-going-to-start-prosecuting/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Get-educated-quick schemes are usually about as sound as subprime mortgage-backed securities: Enticing but basically fraudulent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/get-educated-quick-schemes-are-usually-about-as-sound-as-subprime/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [Even if, as is generally the case, everything that the ad says about the product is scrupulously honest, or at any rate scrupulously avoids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schudson/even-if-as-is-generally-the-case-everything-that-the-ad-says-about/) [Michael Schudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schudson/) [Browse all 49 Fraudulent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraudulent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and what more can you ask of anyone?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Bellow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fraudulent-and-what-more-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fraudulent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fraudulent-and-what-more-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/saul-bellow-558_fraudulent_he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fr_655076.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was a splendid old man, only partly fraudulent, and what more can you ask of anyone?” — Saul Bellow", "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": "Saul Bellow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was a splendid old man,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fraudulent-and-what-more-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/he-was-a-splendid-old-man-only-partly-fraudulent-and-what-more-can/#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 } } ] } ```