--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be as good as our fathers, we must be…" description: "\"To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship. When some one sent a cracked plate to China to have a set made, every p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37f/wendell-phillips-3986_china_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_1927124.png" --- # To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation… ![“To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship. When some one sent a cracked plate to China to have a set made, every piece in the new set had a crack in it.” quote by Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37f/wendell-phillips-3986_china_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_1927124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37f/wendell-phillips-3986_china_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_1927124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37f/wendell-phillips-3986_china_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_1927124.png) > “To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship. When some one sent a cracked plate to China to have a set made, every piece in the new set had a crack in it.” [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Improvement over previous generations requires surpassing them, not merely copying; true progress is original, not imitation. **In simple terms:** Be better than fathers, not just copy. Key Takeaway Strive for original excellence. Themes progress originality leadership Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education reform - family mentorship - career development - cultural evolution Key Concepts generational improvement authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you innovate beyond your role models? - What risks arise from merely copying? A Different Perspective Imitation can be a stepping stone, but may limit true innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Discipleship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipleship/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Good Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fathers/) [Our father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-father/) ## Related quotes > [To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be-better-imitation-is-not/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [It is not that fathers are better or worse, not that they are more loved or criticized, but rather that they are viewed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/it-is-not-that-fathers-are-better-or-worse-not-that-they-are-more/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [The moral code which was good enough for our fathers is not good enough for our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/the-moral-code-which-was-good-enough-for-our-fathers-is-not-good/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [We learn from our fathers so that we can be better than them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arron-retsehcnam/we-learn-from-our-fathers-so-that-we-can-be-better-than-them/) Arron Retsehcnam > [I have always said that a studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-always-said-that-a-studious-perusal-of-the-sacred-volume-will/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Lincoln was not an intellectual, but no one in 200 years understood the language of the King James Bible or learned Blackstone's Laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/lincoln-was-not-an-intellectual-but-no-one-in-200-years-understood/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The longer I live, Dorian, the more keenly I feel that whatever was good enough for our fathers is not good enough for us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-longer-i-live-dorian-the-more-keenly-i-feel-that-whatever-was/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The curse of fatherhood is distance, and the good fathers spend their lives trying to overcome it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-farrar/the-curse-of-fatherhood-is-distance-and-the-good-fathers-spend-their/) [Steve Farrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-farrar/) > [“for a moment, I stand in the doorway, watching the steady rise and fall of their chests. 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Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [“Although a million black men can be found in prisons and jails, public acknowledgment of the role of the criminal justice system in "disappearing"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/although-a-million-black-men-can-be-found-in-prisons-and-jails-public/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Nobody ever asks men about the work-life balance, and I just find that interesting, because clearly, I would imagine most men also want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-couric/nobody-ever-asks-men-about-the-work-life-balance-and-i-just-find-that/) [Katie Couric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-couric/) ## More by Wendell Phillips > [Right is the eternal sun; the world cannot delay its coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/right-is-the-eternal-sun-the-world-cannot-delay-its-coming/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The best education in the world is that got by struggling to get a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-best-education-in-the-world-is-that-got-by-struggling-to-get-a/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/eternal-vigilance-is-the-price-of-liberty-power-is-ever-stealing-from/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The Puritan's idea of hell is a place where everybody has to mind his own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-puritan-s-idea-of-hell-is-a-place-where-everybody-has-to-mind-his/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The paleontological evidence before us today clearly demonstrates ordered progressive change with the successive development of new faunal and floral assemblages through the changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-paleontological-evidence-before-us-today-clearly-demonstrates/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The press is the exclusive literature of the million; to them it is literature, church, and college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-press-is-the-exclusive-literature-of-the-million-to-them-it-is/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Every government is always growing corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/every-government-is-always-growing-corrupt/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Neither do I acknowledge the right of Plymouth to the whole rock. 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Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) [Browse all 3,827 China quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship. 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