--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a grand thing it is to be clever and…" description: "\"What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.\" — Terence" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg" --- # What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense. ![“What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.” quote by Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg) > “What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.” [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cleverness is valuable, but common sense is essential for practical success. **In simple terms:** Being smart isn’t enough without practical judgment. Key Takeaway Balance intellect with everyday wisdom. Themes wisdom practicality intellect Mood thoughtful balanced Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - decision making - leadership - problem solving - daily interactions Key Concepts common sense cleverness Questions to Reflect On - How do you apply common sense in complex situations? - When does cleverness hinder progress? A Different Perspective Intellect alone can lead to overcomplication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s a grand thing, to get leave to live”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-shepherd/it-s-a-grand-thing-to-get-leave-to-live/) [Nan Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-shepherd/) > [You're different. But different is a grand thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-moore-writer/you-re-different-but-different-is-a-grand-thing/) [Justin Moore-Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-moore-writer/) > [“If the past has taught me one thing, it is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-stotz/if-the-past-has-taught-me-one-thing-it-is-that-nothing-is-often-a/) Heather Stotz > [What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/what-a-grand-thing-to-be-loved-what-a-grander-thing-still-to-love/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/one-of-the-lessons-of-history-is-that-nothing-is-often-a-good-thing/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Being loved is a good thing. A grand thing. The best damned thing of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/being-loved-is-a-good-thing-a-grand-thing-the-best-damned-thing-of-all/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [“but it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/but-it-is-one-thing-to-be-clever-and-another-to-be-wise/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [The grand thing is to be able to reason backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/the-grand-thing-is-to-be-able-to-reason-backwards/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Grand, there’s one other thing.” “What’s that, Seth?” “You always call me ‘favorite male grandchild,’ and I like that. I do. But fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/grand-there-s-one-other-thing-what-s-that-seth-you-always-call-me/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [“To him it was a sort of hyperspace-librarian, girl-geek thing that he found clever and fetching without attracting him in a way that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/to-him-it-was-a-sort-of-hyperspace-librarian-girl-geek-thing-that-he/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [It is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-one-thing-to-be-clever-and-another-to-be-wise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He was always clever, even as a boy, but it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/he-was-always-clever-even-as-a-boy-but-it-is-one-thing-to-be-clever/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love! I have learned not to worry about love; but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-a-grand-thing-to-be-loved-what-a-grander-thing-still-to-love-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pettibone-poole/the-next-best-thing-to-being-clever-is-being-able-to-quote-someone/) Mary Pettibone Poole > [When you argue with your inferiors, you convince them of only one thing: they are as clever as you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-layton/when-you-argue-with-your-inferiors-you-convince-them-of-only-one/) [Irving Layton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-layton/) ## More by Terence > [Fortune helps the brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/fortune-helps-the-brave/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [I take it to be a principle rule of life, not to be too much addicted to any one thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/i-take-it-to-be-a-principle-rule-of-life-not-to-be-too-much-addicted/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [I am a man, and whatever concerns humanity is of interest to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/i-am-a-man-and-whatever-concerns-humanity-is-of-interest-to-me/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [How unfair the fate which ordains that those who have the least should be always adding to the treasury of the wealthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/how-unfair-the-fate-which-ordains-that-those-who-have-the-least/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [Their silence is enough praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/their-silence-is-enough-praise/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [She ne'er was really charming till she died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/she-ne-er-was-really-charming-till-she-died/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [These days flattery wins friends, truth begets hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/these-days-flattery-wins-friends-truth-begets-hatred/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [You can take a chance with any man who pays his bills on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/you-can-take-a-chance-with-any-man-who-pays-his-bills-on-time/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [They are so knowing, that they know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/they-are-so-knowing-that-they-know-nothing/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [It is the common vice of all, in old age, to be too intent upon our interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/it-is-the-common-vice-of-all-in-old-age-to-be-too-intent-upon-our/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [We are all of us the worse for too much liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/we-are-all-of-us-the-worse-for-too-much-liberty/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [Lovers quarrels are the renewal of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/lovers-quarrels-are-the-renewal-of-love/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [Extreme law is often extreme injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/extreme-law-is-often-extreme-injustice/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [The less my hope, the hotter my love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/the-less-my-hope-the-hotter-my-love/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [In fact nothing is said that has not been said before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/in-fact-nothing-is-said-that-has-not-been-said-before/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) [Explore all 58 Terence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) Tasha Matthews > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed-her-i-her-hand-dropped-from/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [I love clever lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-hayes/i-love-clever-lyrics/) [Walker Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-hayes/) [Browse all 2,116 Clever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-and-have-common-sense/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-and-have-common-sense/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/terence-11479_clever_what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-an_329721.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.” — Terence", "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": "Terence", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What a grand thing it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-and-have-common-sense/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/what-a-grand-thing-it-is-to-be-clever-and-have-common-sense/#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 } } ] } ```