--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let a man's talents or virtues be what…" description: "\"Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, he will only feel satisfaction in his society as he is satisfied in himself.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/william-hazlitt-326_acceptance_let-a-man-s-talents-or-virtues-be-what-t_3019864.png" --- # Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, he will… ![“Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, he will only feel satisfaction in his society as he is satisfied in himself.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/william-hazlitt-326_acceptance_let-a-man-s-talents-or-virtues-be-what-t_3019864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/william-hazlitt-326_acceptance_let-a-man-s-talents-or-virtues-be-what-t_3019864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/william-hazlitt-326_acceptance_let-a-man-s-talents-or-virtues-be-what-t_3019864.png) > “Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, he will only feel satisfaction in his society as he is satisfied in himself.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal fulfillment and societal satisfaction are linked; true contentment arises when one’s inner virtues align with external contributions. **In simple terms:** Inner virtues bring societal satisfaction. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal virtues that benefit community. Themes self‑actualization society virtue contentment Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - volunteering - leadership - education Key Concepts psychology philosophy social ethics Questions to Reflect On - What virtues can you share with society? - How does inner fulfillment affect community health? A Different Perspective May underestimate external constraints on personal satisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Self acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-acceptance/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“I shall leave the world, I feel, with more satisfaction for having come to know you. Knowing you persuades me more than the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-shall-leave-the-world-i-feel-with-more-satisfaction-for-having-come/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Were the talents and virtues, which Heaven has bestowed on men, given merely to make then more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/were-the-talents-and-virtues-which-heaven-has-bestowed-on-men-given/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“The “noble” person has a completely naïve and non-reflective awareness of his own value and of his fullness of being, an obscure conviction which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/the-noble-person-has-a-completely-na-ve-and-non-reflective-awareness/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [I feel satisfaction at the end of the day when I've written a scene that I really like or when I write a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-feel-satisfaction-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-ve-written-a-scene/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [“Politics, as he occasionally said, required three unchanging talents and no virtues. More politicians, he claimed, had been destroyed by virtue than by any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/politics-as-he-occasionally-said-required-three-unchanging-talents/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [I feel more satisfaction - and attach greater value - to providing assists then scoring myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-payet/i-feel-more-satisfaction-and-attach-greater-value-to-providing/) [Dimitri Payet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-payet/) > [The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-greater-a-man-s-talents-the-greater-his-power-to-lead-astray/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Cuvier had even in his address & manner the character of a superior Man, much general power & eloquence in conversation & great variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/cuvier-had-even-in-his-address-manner-the-character-of-a-superior-man/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [I have been called a man of many talents, but I like to keep a few of those talents hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-flintoff/i-have-been-called-a-man-of-many-talents-but-i-like-to-keep-a-few-of/) [Andrew Flintoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-flintoff/) > [Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/unless-a-man-has-the-talents-to-make-something-of-himself-freedom-is-2/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The enquiry in England is not whether a man has talents & genius, but whether he is passive & polite & a virtuous ass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-enquiry-in-england-is-not-whether-a-man-has-talents-genius-but/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better than one should suffer than that many should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-greater-a-man-s-talents-the-greater-his-power-to-lead-astray-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The inquiry in England is not whether a man has talents and genius, but whether he is passive and polite and a virtuous ass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-inquiry-in-england-is-not-whether-a-man-has-talents-and-genius/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [It is not what talents or genius a man has, but how he is to his talents, that constitutes friendship and character. The man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-not-what-talents-or-genius-a-man-has-but-how-he-is-to-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The greater a man's talents, the more marked his idiosyncracies. Yet in the provinces originality is considered perilously close to lunacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-greater-a-man-s-talents-the-more-marked-his-idiosyncracies-yet-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/acceptance-is-the-only-thing-you-should-teach-be-it-christian-muslim/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. 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