--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great quality of Dulness is to be…" description: "\"The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably contented with itself.\" — William Makepeace Thackeray" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg" --- # The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably… ![“The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably contented with itself.” quote by William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg) > “The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably contented with itself.” [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being content with one’s own foolishness is a defining trait of dullness. **In simple terms:** Stubborn self‑satisfaction signals ignorance. Key Takeaway Question complacency and seek growth. Themes philosophy critique human nature literature Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal development - education - critical thinking - self‑reflection Key Concepts self‑deception contentment intellectual stagnation Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs keep you stagnant? - How can you recognize true fulfillment? A Different Perspective Contentment may mask deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contented/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Dulness Unalterably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dulness-unalterably-1108223/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Great qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-qualities/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Quality Dulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-dulness-1108224/) [Unalterably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unalterably-1108225/) [Unalterably Contented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unalterably-contented-1108222/) ## Related quotes > [There's nothing half so real in life as the things you've done... inexorably, unalterably done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/there-s-nothing-half-so-real-in-life-as-the-things-you-ve-done/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [Always to be right, always to trample forward, and never to doubt, are not these the great qualities with which dullness takes the lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/always-to-be-right-always-to-trample-forward-and-never-to-doubt-are/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [People say, 'Oh, you're famous now, so you must go to L.A.' - I don't live in L.A. now - but it's like, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/people-say-oh-you-re-famous-now-so-you-must-go-to-l-a-i-don-t-live-in/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) > [AMC is a fantastic network that does diverse programming, and does it at a really good level and of great quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/amc-is-a-fantastic-network-that-does-diverse-programming-and-does-it/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [Children are given Mozart because of the small quantity of the notes; grown-ups avoid Mozart because of the great quality of the notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-schnabel/children-are-given-mozart-because-of-the-small-quantity-of-the-notes/) [Artur Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artur-schnabel/) > [Beauty may be the object of liking--great qualities of admiration--good ones of esteem--but love only is the object of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/beauty-may-be-the-object-of-liking-great-qualities-of-admiration-good/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [One of the great qualities we have is forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buster-posey/one-of-the-great-qualities-we-have-is-forgiveness/) [Buster Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buster-posey/) > [I'm a huge wrestling fan. Wrestlers have so many great qualities that athletes need to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-stoops/i-m-a-huge-wrestling-fan-wrestlers-have-so-many-great-qualities-that/) [Bob Stoops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-stoops/) > [We should not judge a man's merits by his great qualities, but by the use he makes of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-should-not-judge-a-man-s-merits-by-his-great-qualities-but-by-the/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Boris Johnson is a man of great attributes and great qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gove/boris-johnson-is-a-man-of-great-attributes-and-great-qualities/) [Michael Gove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gove/) > [Socrates, who was a perfect model in all great qualities, ... hit on a body and face so ugly and so incongruous with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/socrates-who-was-a-perfect-model-in-all-great-qualities-hit-on-a-body/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [This body, full of faults, Has yet one great quality: Whatever it encounters in this temporal life depends upon one's actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/this-body-full-of-faults-has-yet-one-great-quality-whatever-it/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I tell my kids in the Academy at Newcastle to watch Henry. He plays with such a swagger, not an arrogance, and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-beardsley/i-tell-my-kids-in-the-academy-at-newcastle-to-watch-henry-he-plays/) [Peter Beardsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-beardsley/) > [One of the great qualities of Chancellor Merkel is that she is steady. She analyzes a situation. She's honest. Sometimes we've had disagreements, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/one-of-the-great-qualities-of-chancellor-merkel-is-that-she-is-steady/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We want to promote the great quality of athletics - and maintain it's integrity - all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-juantorena/we-want-to-promote-the-great-quality-of-athletics-and-maintain-it-s/) [Alberto Juantorena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-juantorena/) ## More by William Makepeace Thackeray > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [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/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-best-to-love-wisely-no-doubt-but-to-love-foolishly-is-better/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/diffidence-is-a-sort-of-false-modesty/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [To see a young couple loving each other is no wonder; but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-see-a-young-couple-loving-each-other-is-no-wonder-but-to-see-an/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/an-immense-percentage-of-snobs-i-believe-is-to-be-found-in-every-rank/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Vanity is often the unseen spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/vanity-is-often-the-unseen-spur/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [A good laugh is sunshine in the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/a-good-laugh-is-sunshine-in-the-house/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Picture to yourself, O fair young reader, a worldly, selfish, graceless, thankless, religionless old woman, writhing in pain and fear, and without her wig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/picture-to-yourself-o-fair-young-reader-a-worldly-selfish-graceless/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Certain opuscules, denominated 'Christmas Books,' with the ostensible intention of swelling the tide of exhilaration, or other expansive emotions, incident upon the exodus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/certain-opuscules-denominated-christmas-books-with-the-ostensible/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Explore all 384 William Makepeace Thackeray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## More Contented quotes > [I may never be good enough for everybody. But I'll always be the best for someone who's contented to have me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-never-be-good-enough-for-everybody-but-i-ll-always-be-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must be contented to amuse, when we cannot inform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-must-be-contented-to-amuse-when-we-cannot-inform/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The contented person is never poor; the discontented is never rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-contented-person-is-never-poor-the-discontented-is-never-rich/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me, I would rather read a good book, from a contented author. I don't really care what it takes to produce that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/for-me-i-would-rather-read-a-good-book-from-a-contented-author-i-don/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“In my experience people are rarely contented to end up where they started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/in-my-experience-people-are-rarely-contented-to-end-up-where-they/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“God has considered contented state of chit (internal component of knowledge and vision) as happiness. Even when someone swears at you, picks your pocket;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/god-has-considered-contented-state-of-chit-internal-component-of/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The Christian is the most contented man in the world, but he is the least contented with the world. He is like a traveler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-christian-is-the-most-contented-man-in-the-world-but-he-is-the/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Your body and spirit, subconscious and conscious—every portion of you recognizes home.  That is why on the moment of arrival, your entire being relaxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/your-body-and-spirit-subconscious-and-conscious-every-portion-of-you/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, 'What does it matter so long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/what-would-really-satisfy-us-would-be-a-god-who-said-of-anything-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Be contented as a single ! be free of doing things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-contented-as-a-single-be-free-of-doing-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be contented—that’s for the cows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/to-be-contented-that-s-for-the-cows/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [I'm a contented man and that probably reflects in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-m-a-contented-man-and-that-probably-reflects-in-my-personality/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [A contented mind is the best source for trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-contented-mind-is-the-best-source-for-trouble/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I may never be good enough for everybody. But Ill always be the best for someone whos contented to have me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/i-may-never-be-good-enough-for-everybody-but-ill-always-be-the-best/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [It is right to be contented with what we have, never with what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/it-is-right-to-be-contented-with-what-we-have-never-with-what-we-are/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) [Browse all 91 Contented quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contented/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably contented with itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Makepeace Thackeray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-unalterably-contented-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contented" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-unalterably-contented-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_contentment_the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-un_1696589.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great quality of Dulness is to be unalterably contented with itself.” — William Makepeace Thackeray", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Makepeace Thackeray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great quality of Dulness is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-unalterably-contented-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-great-quality-of-dulness-is-to-be-unalterably-contented-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```