--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Selfishness is the greatest curse of the…" description: "\"Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.\" — William E. Gladstone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ef/william-e-gladstone-9842_curse_selfishness-is-the-greatest-curse-of-the_1764974.png" --- # Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race. ![“Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” quote by William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ef/william-e-gladstone-9842_curse_selfishness-is-the-greatest-curse-of-the_1764974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ef/william-e-gladstone-9842_curse_selfishness-is-the-greatest-curse-of-the_1764974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ef/william-e-gladstone-9842_curse_selfishness-is-the-greatest-curse-of-the_1764974.png) > “Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Selfishness harms society by eroding trust and cooperation, making it a collective curse. **In simple terms:** Selfishness damages humanity. Key Takeaway Cultivate generosity. Themes ethics society human nature Mood reflective serious Type moral philosophical When to use this quote - community building - policy making - team projects - family dynamics - philanthropy Key Concepts altruism collective welfare Questions to Reflect On - How does selfishness affect your relationships? - What can you do to reduce selfish impulses? A Different Perspective Selfishness can be a survival instinct in scarce environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [“Whilst man is in one location, he thinks of another. Dancing with one woman, he can't help but long to see the quiet curve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/whilst-man-is-in-one-location-he-thinks-of-another-dancing-with-one/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Selfishness is the greatest challenge for a coach. Most players are more concerned with making themselves better than the team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/selfishness-is-the-greatest-challenge-for-a-coach-most-players-are/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Society than solitude is worse, And man to man is still the greatest curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/society-than-solitude-is-worse-and-man-to-man-is-still-the-greatest/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later. That was his greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/every-night-death-came-slowly-painfully-and-every-morning-maddox/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/the-greatest-curse-that-can-befall-a-free-people-is-civil-war/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [I have no patience for those who say that poverty is a blessing. Poverty is the greatest curse on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/i-have-no-patience-for-those-who-say-that-poverty-is-a-blessing/) [Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/) > [The greatest gift God gave us is also our greatest curse, which is the free will. We are made in God's image, the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-greatest-gift-god-gave-us-is-also-our-greatest-curse-which-is-the/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [From that day to this that religion has been the greatest curse that ever afflicted the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-chilton-moore/from-that-day-to-this-that-religion-has-been-the-greatest-curse-that/) [Charles Chilton Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-chilton-moore/) > [The whole of religion has been one uniform curse to the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carlile/the-whole-of-religion-has-been-one-uniform-curse-to-the-human-race/) Richard Carlile > [the curse of human nature is imagination. When a long anticipated moment comes, we always find it pitched a note too low, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-curse-of-human-nature-is-imagination-when-a-long-anticipated/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [This may be the curse of human race . Not that we are different from one anther , but we are so alike .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/this-may-be-the-curse-of-human-race-not-that-we-are-different-from/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Books are the curse of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/books-are-the-curse-of-the-human-race/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [When I have been travelling up and down on our boats, or about on my collecting tours, and reflected that every brutal, disgusting, mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/when-i-have-been-travelling-up-and-down-on-our-boats-or-about-on-my/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [They are the greatest curse of all great men, daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-zebehazy/they-are-the-greatest-curse-of-all-great-men-daughters/) [Jason Zebehazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-zebehazy/) > [Sometimes laziness becomes a booon... but at times a greatest curse too..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweety/sometimes-laziness-becomes-a-booon-but-at-times-a-greatest-curse-too/) [Sweety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweety/) ## More by William E. Gladstone > [I think that the principle of the Conservative Party is jealousy of liberty and of the people , only qualified by fear ; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/i-think-that-the-principle-of-the-conservative-party-is-jealousy-of/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [National injustice is the surest road to national downfall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/national-injustice-is-the-surest-road-to-national-downfall/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [For works of the mind really great there is no old age, no decrepitude. It is inconceivable that a time should come when Homer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/for-works-of-the-mind-really-great-there-is-no-old-age-no-decrepitude/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [It is not a life at all. It is a reticence, in three volumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-not-a-life-at-all-it-is-a-reticence-in-three-volumes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be-got-out-of-a-human-body-or-a/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [No one ever became great except through many and great mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/no-one-ever-became-great-except-through-many-and-great-mistakes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [One example is worth a thousand arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/one-example-is-worth-a-thousand-arguments/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the oppression of a minority is only by one degree less detestable and odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-oppression-of-a-majority-is-detestable-and-odious-the-oppression/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [ \[The British constitution\] presumes more boldly than any other the good sense and the good faith of those who work it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-british-constitution-presumes-more-boldly-than-any-other-the-good/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [All the wonders of the Greek civilization heaped together are less wonderful than the single book of Psalms. Greece had all that this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/all-the-wonders-of-the-greek-civilization-heaped-together-are-less/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [It is the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it-difficult-for-people-to-do/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm. That minister of God's retribution upon cruel, inveterate, and but half-atoned injustice! Ireland forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm-that/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [To be engaged in opposing wrong affords...but a slender guarantee for being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/to-be-engaged-in-opposing-wrong-affords-but-a-slender-guarantee-for/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) [Explore all 70 William E. Gladstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## More Curse quotes > [Who knew the counter-curse was just unjellify?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-malfoy/who-knew-the-counter-curse-was-just-unjellify/) [Lucius Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-malfoy/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [You have been deceived by your own cold heart - a curse upon your house and all within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beauty-and-the-beast/you-have-been-deceived-by-your-own-cold-heart-a-curse-upon-your-house/) Beauty And The Beast > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Were you indeed not blinded by the Curse Of Self-exile, that still grows worse and worse, Yourselves would know that, though you see him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar/were-you-indeed-not-blinded-by-the-curse-of-self-exile-that-still/) [Farid al-Din Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar/) > [Down where I grew up, able-bodied people do that which we believe God created them to do. Work is a blessing; it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-southerland/down-where-i-grew-up-able-bodied-people-do-that-which-we-believe-god/) [Steve Southerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-southerland/) > [I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/i-especially-like-the-songs-hurry-up-and-the-curse-of-castle-dragon/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Partisanship is our great curse. We too readily assume that everything has two sides and that it is our duty to be on one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harvey-robinson/partisanship-is-our-great-curse-we-too-readily-assume-that-everything/) [James Harvey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harvey-robinson/) > [You have power over my body but the Lord Jesus hath power over my body and soul; and assure yourselves thus much, you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hutchinson/you-have-power-over-my-body-but-the-lord-jesus-hath-power-over-my/) [Anne Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hutchinson/) > [“The penis, often regarded as a weapon, is also a burden, the male curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-talese/the-penis-often-regarded-as-a-weapon-is-also-a-burden-the-male-curse/) [Gay Talese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-talese/) > [“Beauty will always be a curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-c-perry/beauty-will-always-be-a-curse/) [L.C. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-c-perry/) > [“Sometimes," Helena continued, "I have a terrible dream of the future. Not now, but presently, people may forget their loyalty to their kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-helena-continued-i-have-a-terrible-dream-of-the-future-not/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Browse all 1,718 Curse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William E. 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