---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You this day, gentlemen, assume new…"
description: "\"You this day, gentlemen, assume new characters, enter into new relations, and consequently incur new duties. You have, by the favor of Providence and t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/william-samuel-johnson-42151_assuming_you-this-day-gentlemen-assume-new-charac_2935562.png"
---

#  You this day, gentlemen, assume new characters, enter into…

![“You this day, gentlemen, assume new characters, enter into new relations, and consequently incur new duties. You have, by the favor of Providence and the attention of your friends, received a public education, the purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve your Creator and your…” quote by William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/william-samuel-johnson-42151_assuming_you-this-day-gentlemen-assume-new-charac_2935562.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/william-samuel-johnson-42151_assuming_you-this-day-gentlemen-assume-new-charac_2935562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/william-samuel-johnson-42151_assuming_you-this-day-gentlemen-assume-new-charac_2935562.png)

> “You this day, gentlemen, assume new characters, enter into new relations, and consequently incur new duties. You have, by the favor of Providence and the attention of your friends, received a public education, the purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve your Creator and your country.”

[William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-samuel-johnson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Citizens must adopt new roles, relationships, and responsibilities, using their education to serve both divine and civic duties.

**In simple terms:** People should use education to serve God and country in new roles.

Key Takeaway

Embrace new responsibilities with purpose.

Themes

civic duty education service

Mood

reflective serious

Type

historical motivational

When to use this quote

- political leadership
- military service
- community involvement
- educational mentorship

Key Concepts

Republicanism public service personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- How will you apply your education to serve others?
- What new duties arise in your current role?

A Different Perspective

Education alone may not guarantee moral action; personal will is needed.

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## Related quotes

> [New occasions teach new duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/new-occasions-teach-new-duties/)

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> [New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/new-occasions-teach-new-duties-time-makes-ancient-good-uncouth-they/)

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> [Music heals. Music grows new relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-mahadevan/music-heals-music-grows-new-relations/)

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> [Once we begin to speak of men mixing their labour with the earth, we are in a whole world of new relations between man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-williams/once-we-begin-to-speak-of-men-mixing-their-labour-with-the-earth-we/)

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> [Your first great duties, you are sensible, are those you owe to Heaven, to your Creator and Redeemer. Let these be ever present to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/your-first-great-duties-you-are-sensible-are-those-you-owe-to-heaven/)

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> [We have duties to others, and duties to ourselves, and we cannot shirk either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-have-duties-to-others-and-duties-to-ourselves-and-we-cannot-shirk/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

> [One has two duties - to be worried and not to be worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/one-has-two-duties-to-be-worried-and-not-to-be-worried/)

[E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/)

> [Duties are ours; events are God's. This removes an infinite burden from the shoulders of a miserable, tempted, dying creature. On this consideration only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/duties-are-ours-events-are-god-s-this-removes-an-infinite-burden-from/)

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> [Some duties exist simply because we are part of a larger family or community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/some-duties-exist-simply-because-we-are-part-of-a-larger-family-or/)

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> [I guess everybody has to pay duties at the Masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seve-ballesteros/i-guess-everybody-has-to-pay-duties-at-the-masters/)

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> [knowledge of our duties is the most useful part of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/knowledge-of-our-duties-is-the-most-useful-part-of-philosophy/)

[Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/)

> [“You must not allow the hurt of the past to haunt or hinder you from fulfilling and performing your duties as one who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-must-not-allow-the-hurt-of-the-past-to-haunt-or-hinder-you-from/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

## More by William Samuel Johnson

> [I ... am endeavoring ... to attend to my own duty only as a Christian. ... let us take care that our Christianity, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/i-am-endeavoring-to-attend-to-my-own-duty-only-as-a-christian-let-us/)

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> [Your first great duties, you are sensible, are those you owe to Heaven, to your Creator and Redeemer. Let these be ever present to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/your-first-great-duties-you-are-sensible-are-those-you-owe-to-heaven/)

[William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-samuel-johnson/)

> [It seems to be the fate of man to seek all his consolations in futurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/it-seems-to-be-the-fate-of-man-to-seek-all-his-consolations-in-2/)

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> [To keep your secret is wisdom; to expect others to keep it is folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/to-keep-your-secret-is-wisdom-to-expect-others-to-keep-it-is-folly/)

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> [He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/he-knows-not-his-own-strength-who-hath-not-met-adversity/)

[William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-samuel-johnson/)

> [Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-scoundrels/)

[William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-samuel-johnson/)

> [ Remember...that you are redeemed of the Lord \[Ephesians 1:7\]-that you are bought with a price \[1 Corinthians 6:20\], even the inestimable price of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/remember-that-you-are-redeemed-of-the-lord-ephesians-1-7-that-you-are/)

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> [Make Him your friend and protector and your felicity is secured both here and hereafter. And with respect to particular duties to Him, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/make-him-your-friend-and-protector-and-your-felicity-is-secured-both/)

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> [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/)

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