--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He [Gen. Douglas MacArthur] was a great…" description: "\"He [Gen. Douglas MacArthur] was a great thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of men and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/william-manchester-18393_arrogant_he-gen-douglas-macarthur-was-a-great-thu_2912473.jpg" --- # He \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur\] was a great thundering paradox… ![“He [Gen. Douglas MacArthur] was a great thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of men and the worst of men, the most protean, most ridiculous, and most sublime.” quote by William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/william-manchester-18393_arrogant_he-gen-douglas-macarthur-was-a-great-thu_2912473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/william-manchester-18393_arrogant_he-gen-douglas-macarthur-was-a-great-thu_2912473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/william-manchester-18393_arrogant_he-gen-douglas-macarthur-was-a-great-thu_2912473.jpg) > “He \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur\] was a great thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of men and the worst of men, the most protean, most ridiculous, and most sublime.” [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. MacArthur embodied contradictory traits, showing that greatness can coexist with flaws. **In simple terms:** Great people can be both noble and ignoble. Key Takeaway Recognize complexity in leaders. Themes leadership contradiction humanity Mood critical thoughtful Type historical analytical When to use this quote - political analysis - biography - leadership training Key Concepts history psychology paradox Questions to Reflect On - What does this paradox reveal about leadership? - How do we balance admiration and criticism? A Different Perspective Focusing on contradictions can obscure achievements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Best Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-men/) [Best of me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-of-me/) [Douglas Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/douglas-macarthur/) [Ignoble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoble/) [Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/macarthur/) [Macarthur Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/macarthur-great-4201116/) [Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manchester/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Outrageous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outrageous/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Paradox Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox-man-661380/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Shy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shy/) [Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublime/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [ His \[Gen. Douglas MacArthurs\] twenty-two medals-thirteen of them for heroism-probably exceeded those of any other figure in American history. He seemed to seek death… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/his-gen-douglas-macarthurs-twenty-two-medals-thirteen-of-them-for/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [“He was a thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of me and the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/he-was-a-thundering-paradox-of-a-man-noble-and-ignoble-inspiring-and/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ He \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur\] never went to church, but he read the Bible every day and regarded himself as one of the world's two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/he-gen-douglas-macarthur-never-went-to-church-but-he-read-the-bible/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ It was his \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur's\] relationship with the administration In Washington which became poisoned by his egomania. Link upon link the bond between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/it-was-his-gen-douglas-macarthur-s-relationship-with-the/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ His \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur's\] own heroes were Lincoln and Washington, and in some ways he resembled them. Like them, he was slandered and misunderstood. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/his-gen-douglas-macarthur-s-own-heroes-were-lincoln-and-washington-2/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ It is true that despite occasional gleams of Churchillian eloquence he \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur\] usually spoke poorly. He was far more effective in conversations… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/it-is-true-that-despite-occasional-gleams-of-churchillian-eloquence/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ His \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur's\] own heroes were Lincoln and Washington, and in some ways he resembled them. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/his-gen-douglas-macarthur-s-own-heroes-were-lincoln-and-washington/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [Truman fired the popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur because he disobeyed orders in the Korean War. Johnson knew that he had reached the endgame in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/truman-fired-the-popular-gen-douglas-macarthur-because-he-disobeyed/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [I'm a big fan of General Douglas MacArthur and General George Patton.We have a few generals that have been so incredible to me. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-a-big-fan-of-general-douglas-macarthur-and-general-george-patton/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“No one’s exploits in the division had glowed more incandescently than those of Douglas MacArthur. He was that rarity, a courageous exhibitionist, a fearless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/no-one-s-exploits-in-the-division-had-glowed-more-incandescently-than/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [ Just go to \[Hillary Clinton\] website. She tells you how to fight ISIS on her website. I don't think General Douglas MacArthur would like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/just-go-to-hillary-clinton-website-she-tells-you-how-to-fight-isis-on/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I think we're being laughed at all over the world. I think that if you look at our military, we can't beat ISIS, General…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-think-we-re-being-laughed-at-all-over-the-world-i-think-that-if-you/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Listen - God only exists in people's minds. Especially in Japan, God's always been kind of a flexible concept. Look at what happened after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-god-only-exists-in-people-s-minds-especially-in-japan-god-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Well more than two thirds of the press releases from Douglas MacArthur's command reference only one person – himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-weintraub/well-more-than-two-thirds-of-the-press-releases-from-douglas/) [Stanley Weintraub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-weintraub/) > [General George Patton, General Douglas MacArthur are spinning in their grave at the stupidity of what we're doing in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/general-george-patton-general-douglas-macarthur-are-spinning-in-their/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by William Manchester > [ It is true that despite occasional gleams of Churchillian eloquence he \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur\] usually spoke poorly. He was far more effective in conversations… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/it-is-true-that-despite-occasional-gleams-of-churchillian-eloquence/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [Men do not fight for flag or country, for the Marine Corps or glory or any other abstraction. They fight for one another. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/men-do-not-fight-for-flag-or-country-for-the-marine-corps-or-glory-or/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [Actors who have tried to play Churchill and MacArthur have failed abysmally because each of those men was a great actor playing himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/actors-who-have-tried-to-play-churchill-and-macarthur-have-failed/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [I realized that the worst thing that could happen to me was about to happen to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/i-realized-that-the-worst-thing-that-could-happen-to-me-was-about-to/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [“The key to successful extramarital sex, therefore, was discretion. Mrs. Patrick Campbell, perhaps the most outspoken woman in polite society, said dryly: “It doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/the-key-to-successful-extramarital-sex-therefore-was-discretion-mrs/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [“It was Churchill who called John Foster Dulles “the only bull who brings his own china shop with him,” and who coined the progression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/it-was-churchill-who-called-john-foster-dulles-the-only-bull-who/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [I came to a dead stop and began major revisions. Sometimes these entailed the shredding of all existing manuscript for a fresh start -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/i-came-to-a-dead-stop-and-began-major-revisions-sometimes-these/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [A man's task is to find himself, and if he fails in this, it doesn't much matter what else he finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/a-man-s-task-is-to-find-himself-and-if-he-fails-in-this-it-doesn-t/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [He was a great thundering paradox of a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/he-was-a-great-thundering-paradox-of-a-man/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [“Byron wrote his shortest and most eloquent poem as a testament to a titled woman who had taken leave of her husband for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/byron-wrote-his-shortest-and-most-eloquent-poem-as-a-testament-to-a/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ His \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur's\] own heroes were Lincoln and Washington, and in some ways he resembled them. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/his-gen-douglas-macarthur-s-own-heroes-were-lincoln-and-washington/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [But there are no loners. No man lives in a void. His every act is conditioned by his time and his society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/but-there-are-no-loners-no-man-lives-in-a-void-his-every-act-is/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [As she sallied forth from her boudoir, you would never have guessed how quickly she could strip for action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/as-she-sallied-forth-from-her-boudoir-you-would-never-have-guessed/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [“In 1988, William Manchester began writing The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm, the third and final volume of his biography of Winston Churchill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/in-1988-william-manchester-began-writing-the-last-lion-defender-of/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) > [ His \[Gen. Douglas MacArthur's\] own heroes were Lincoln and Washington, and in some ways he resembled them. Like them, he was slandered and misunderstood. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchester/his-gen-douglas-macarthur-s-own-heroes-were-lincoln-and-washington-2/) [William Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) [Explore all 35 William Manchester quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchester/) ## More Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He [Gen. 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