--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most useful is the greatest." description: "\"The most useful is the greatest.\" — Theodore Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/theodore-parker-4457_greatest_the-most-useful-is-the-greatest-2175510_2175510.png" --- # The most useful is the greatest. ![“The most useful is the greatest.” quote by Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/theodore-parker-4457_greatest_the-most-useful-is-the-greatest-2175510_2175510.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/theodore-parker-4457_greatest_the-most-useful-is-the-greatest-2175510_2175510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/theodore-parker-4457_greatest_the-most-useful-is-the-greatest-2175510_2175510.png) > “The most useful is the greatest.” [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most useful things are also the greatest in value, implying usefulness determines greatness. **In simple terms:** Utility defines greatness. Key Takeaway Prioritize usefulness in pursuits. Themes value utility greatness Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product design - education - policy making - resource allocation Key Concepts philosophy ethics pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - What makes something truly useful? - Can usefulness be subjective? A Different Perspective Greatness may be measured differently across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful/) [Useful Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-greatest-3156031/) ## Related quotes > [As with all children, the feeling that I was useful was perhaps the greatest joy I experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/as-with-all-children-the-feeling-that-i-was-useful-was-perhaps-the/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/for-a-thousand-years-no-king-in-christendom-has-shown-such-greatness/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The greatest man is he who chooses right with the most invincible resolution; who resists to sorest temptation from within and without; who bears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-greatest-man-is-he-who-chooses-right-with-the-most-invincible/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Twitter didn't make up the hashtag. Twitter didn't make up the retweet. It's our users. And people started using them so much that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-jacobs-stanton/twitter-didn-t-make-up-the-hashtag-twitter-didn-t-make-up-the-retweet/) [Katie Jacobs Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-jacobs-stanton/) > [“Don't feel bad if your youth cannot be joyful, but at least make it useful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/don-t-feel-bad-if-your-youth-cannot-be-joyful-but-at-least-make-it/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Intelligence is only useful if it's used”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-deltl/intelligence-is-only-useful-if-it-s-used/) [Johannes Deltl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-deltl/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I used it in a shot where Richard Burton goes down the hall to get a gun in a closet. And I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-used-it-in-a-shot-where-richard-burton-goes-down-the-hall-to-get-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [Part of my plan was not only to introduce all useful animals that I possibly could into this part of Australia, but also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grey/part-of-my-plan-was-not-only-to-introduce-all-useful-animals-that-i/) [George Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grey/) > [“Learning Is Not Useful, Without Taking Action On It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shyam-chathuranga/learning-is-not-useful-without-taking-action-on-it/) [Shyam Chathuranga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shyam-chathuranga/) > [Even during my youth, I can recall very few black people living on any kind of public assistance. 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Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Although religion might be useful in developing a solid moral framework - and enforcing it - we can quite easily develop moral intuitions without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/although-religion-might-be-useful-in-developing-a-solid-moral/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [Volunteer. Find ways to be useful. Be kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-black/volunteer-find-ways-to-be-useful-be-kind/) [Claudia Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-black/) ## More by Theodore Parker > [That which is called liberality is frequently nothing more than the vanity of giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/that-which-is-called-liberality-is-frequently-nothing-more-than-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Every man has at times in his mind the Ideal of what he should be, but is not. This ideal may be high and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/every-man-has-at-times-in-his-mind-the-ideal-of-what-he-should-be-but/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/for-a-thousand-years-no-king-in-christendom-has-shown-such-greatness/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Let us do our duty in our shop or our kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/let-us-do-our-duty-in-our-shop-or-our-kitchen-in-the-market-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Temperance is corporeal piety; it is the preservation of divine order in the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/temperance-is-corporeal-piety-it-is-the-preservation-of-divine-order/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Science is the natural ally of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/science-is-the-natural-ally-of-religion/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The lottery of honest labor, drawn by time, is the only one whose prizes are worth taking up and carrying home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-lottery-of-honest-labor-drawn-by-time-is-the-only-one-whose/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The joy of heaven will begin as soon as we attain the character of heaven, and do its duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-joy-of-heaven-will-begin-as-soon-as-we-attain-the-character-of/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The books that help you the most are those which make you think the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-books-that-help-you-the-most-are-those-which-make-you-think-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Mankind never loses any good thing, physical, intellectual, or moral, till it finds a better, and then the loss is a gain. 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