Advantage Quote by Thomas a Kempis
“A wise and good man will turn examples of all sorts to his own advantage. The good he will make his patterns, and strive to equal or excel them. The bad he will by all means avoid.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Imitation of Christ, 1418
A wise person learns from both good and bad examples, adopting positive patterns and avoiding negative ones.
In simple terms: Learn from all examples, keep the good, reject the bad.
Key Takeaway
Practice selective learning.
Themes
wisdom
self‑improvement
ethics
Mood
thoughtful
determined
Type
ethical
self‑help
When to use this quote
- personal development
- leadership training
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
moral philosophy
habit formation
critical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- Which habits will you keep?
- How will you eliminate harmful patterns?
A Different Perspective
Balancing influence of negative examples can be difficult.
![“No accidents are so unlucky [bad] but that the wise may draw some advantage [good] from them...” quote by Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b77/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld-1_accidents_no-accidents-are-so-unlucky-bad-but-that_2443770.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
