--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be an object of hatred and aversion to…" description: "\"To be an object of hatred and aversion to their contemporaries has been the usual fate of all those whose merit has raised them above the common level...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/thucydides-2578_aversion_to-be-an-object-of-hatred-and-aversion-t_563513.jpg" --- # To be an object of hatred and aversion to their… ![“To be an object of hatred and aversion to their contemporaries has been the usual fate of all those whose merit has raised them above the common level. The man who submits to the shafts of envy for the sake of noble objects pursues a judicious course for his own lasting fame. Hatred dies with its…” quote by Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/thucydides-2578_aversion_to-be-an-object-of-hatred-and-aversion-t_563513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/thucydides-2578_aversion_to-be-an-object-of-hatred-and-aversion-t_563513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/thucydides-2578_aversion_to-be-an-object-of-hatred-and-aversion-t_563513.jpg) > “To be an object of hatred and aversion to their contemporaries has been the usual fate of all those whose merit has raised them above the common level. The man who submits to the shafts of envy for the sake of noble objects pursues a judicious course for his own lasting fame. Hatred dies with its object, while merit soon breaks forth in full splendor, and his glory is handed down to posterity in never-dying strains.” [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those whose excellence sets them apart often attract envy and hatred, yet enduring fame comes from steadfast pursuit of noble goals despite such hostility. **In simple terms:** Excellence invites envy; true fame endures through noble effort. Key Takeaway Stay true to noble aims despite envy. Themes excellence envy legacy fame Mood determined reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - artistic creation - academic research - public service - political reform Key Concepts Stoicism reputation social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain integrity when faced with hostility? - What strategies protect against destructive envy? A Different Perspective Envy can undermine collaboration and personal well‑being if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Splendor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendor/) ## Related quotes > [Deeply buried in the mind, there lies a mechanism that accepts what the mind experiences as beautiful and pleasant and rejects those experiences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/deeply-buried-in-the-mind-there-lies-a-mechanism-that-accepts-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anti-Semitism is the hatred that never dies. Violence that begins with the Jews never ends with them. All of this is true. What's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/anti-semitism-is-the-hatred-that-never-dies-violence-that-begins-with/) [Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/) > [“The principal difference between love and hate is that love is an irradiation, and hate is a concentration. Love makes everything lovely; hate concentrates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/the-principal-difference-between-love-and-hate-is-that-love-is-an/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Why is it, I wonder, that anyone who displays superior athletic ability is an object of admiration to his classmates, while one who displays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/why-is-it-i-wonder-that-anyone-who-displays-superior-athletic-ability/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [In the mind of a person with too much hatred, he regards as conclusive all his negative perceptions to the object of hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toothangel15/in-the-mind-of-a-person-with-too-much-hatred-he-regards-as-conclusive/) [Toothangel15](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toothangel15/) > [I am tired of a life of contention, and of being the personal object for the hatred of every man, who hates the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-tired-of-a-life-of-contention-and-of-being-the-personal-object/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The hater always suffers more than the object of his hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-hater-always-suffers-more-than-the-object-of-his-hatred/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Hatred also is short lived; but that which makes the splendor of the present and the glory of the future remains forever unforgotten here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/hatred-also-is-short-lived-but-that-which-makes-the-splendor-of-the/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) Penny Kome > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) ## More by Thucydides > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [It is the habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/it-is-the-habit-of-mankind-to-entrust-to-careless-hope-what-they-long/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/contempt-for-an-assailant-is-best-shown-by-bravery-in-action/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [The secret of happiness is freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/the-secret-of-happiness-is-freedom/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [And it is certain that those who do not yield to their equals, who keep terms with their superiors, and are moderate towards their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/and-it-is-certain-that-those-who-do-not-yield-to-their-equals-who/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/the-strong-do-what-they-have-to-do-and-the-weak-accept-what-they-have/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/it-is-useless-to-attack-men-who-could-not-be-controlled-even-if/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [War is an evil thing; but to submit to the dictation of other states is worse… Freedom, if we hold fast to it, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/war-is-an-evil-thing-but-to-submit-to-the-dictation-of-other-states/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/men-do-not-rest-content-with-parrying-the-attacks-of-a-superior-but/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [As for democracy, the men of sense among us knew what it was, and I perhaps as well as any, as I have more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/as-for-democracy-the-men-of-sense-among-us-knew-what-it-was-and-i/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [War is a matter not so much of arms as of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/war-is-a-matter-not-so-much-of-arms-as-of-money/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Amassing of wealth is an opportunity for good deeds, not hubris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/amassing-of-wealth-is-an-opportunity-for-good-deeds-not-hubris/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don't desire to exhaustive thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/people-get-into-the-habit-of-entrusting-the-things-they-desire-to/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/hope-is-an-expensive-commodity-it-makes-better-sense-to-be-prepared/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) [Explore all 160 Thucydides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) ## More Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) Penny Kome > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be an object of hatred and aversion to their contemporaries has been the usual fate of all those whose merit has raised them above the common level. 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