--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No American worth his salt should go…" description: "\"No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.\" — Wyndham Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/wyndham-lewis-7767_america_no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-aro_77770.png" --- # No American worth his salt should go around looking for a… ![“No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.” quote by Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/wyndham-lewis-7767_america_no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-aro_77770.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/wyndham-lewis-7767_america_no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-aro_77770.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/wyndham-lewis-7767_america_no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-aro_77770.png) > “No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.” [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates self-reliance; individuals should not seek external validation or foundations for their worth. **In simple terms:** Self-reliance over external validation Key Takeaway Trust your own worth Themes self-reliance individualism confidence authenticity pragmatism Mood determined confident assertive Type aphor advice When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - creative pursuits Key Concepts personal agency social expectations Practical Applications - leadership development - personal coaching Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to earn your own 'salt'? - How can you avoid seeking external validation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Looking Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-root-1000797/) [Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root/) [Root Advance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root-advance-1000799/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Unreasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreasonable/) [Unreasonable Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreasonable-opinion-1000798/) [Worth Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-salt-690023/) ## Related quotes > [No American worth his salt should go looking around for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-looking-around-for-a-root-i/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [“No obsession is worth its salt if it does not consume the obsessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-frost/no-obsession-is-worth-its-salt-if-it-does-not-consume-the-obsessed/) [Dominique Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-frost/) > [No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-man-is-worth-his-salt-who-is-not-ready-at-all-times-to-risk-his/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Any coach worth his salt will take a look at that and say, 'I'll take my chances with that'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dumars/any-coach-worth-his-salt-will-take-a-look-at-that-and-say-i-ll-take/) [Joe Dumars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dumars/) > [“You can't fall in love with a man for who he is, and then expect him to change. Just love him, and if he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-james/you-can-t-fall-in-love-with-a-man-for-who-he-is-and-then-expect-him/) [Brooklyn James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-james/) > [Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/any-supervisor-worth-his-salt-would-rather-deal-with-people-who/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Any journalist worth his or her salt wouldn't trust me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-skaggs/any-journalist-worth-his-or-her-salt-wouldn-t-trust-me/) [Joey Skaggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-skaggs/) > [My gran had always told me that a woman--any woman worth her salt--could do whatever she had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/my-gran-had-always-told-me-that-a-woman-any-woman-worth-her-salt/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“The sweet smile of a young woman. There is nothing better in the world. It is worth more than salt. Something in us sickens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/the-sweet-smile-of-a-young-woman-there-is-nothing-better-in-the-world/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Any Democrat worth their salt that doesn't unequivocally say Medicare-for-all is the way to go? To me, there's something wrong with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/any-democrat-worth-their-salt-that-doesn-t-unequivocally-say-medicare/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [I think every actor worth his or her salt wants to do good, meaningful cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-think-every-actor-worth-his-or-her-salt-wants-to-do-good-meaningful/) [Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/) > [“Love is the only trophy that makes a man worth his own salt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/love-is-the-only-trophy-that-makes-a-man-worth-his-own-salt/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [I've never known a man worth his salt who, in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/i-ve-never-known-a-man-worth-his-salt-who-in-the-long-run-deep-down/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) > [Any actor worth his salt has a responsibility to reinvent himself from part to part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/any-actor-worth-his-salt-has-a-responsibility-to-reinvent-himself/) [Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/) > [Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/any-man-worth-his-salt-will-stick-up-for-what-he-believes-right-but/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) ## More by Wyndham Lewis > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Prostration is our natural position. A worm-like movement from a spot of sunlight to a spot of shade, and back, is the type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/prostration-is-our-natural-position-a-worm-like-movement-from-a-spot/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Prostration is our natural position. A wormlike movement from a spot of sunlight to a spot of shade, and back, is the type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/prostration-is-our-natural-position-a-wormlike-movement-from-a-spot/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Life is art's rival and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/life-is-art-s-rival-and-vice-versa/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Elephants are VERY BIG. Motor cars go quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/elephants-are-very-big-motor-cars-go-quickly/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [All orthodox opinion - that is, today, "revolutionary" opinion either of the pure or the impure variety - is anti-man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/all-orthodox-opinion-that-is-today-revolutionary-opinion-either-of/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [The ideas of a time are like the clothes of a season: they are as arbitrary, as much imposed by some superior will which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/the-ideas-of-a-time-are-like-the-clothes-of-a-season-they-are-as/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Laughter is the representative of Tragedy, when Tragedy is away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/laughter-is-the-representative-of-tragedy-when-tragedy-is-away/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [With most people, not describable as artists, all the finer part of their vitality goes into sex. They become third-rate poets during their courtship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/with-most-people-not-describable-as-artists-all-the-finer-part-of/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Spain is an overflow of sombreness . . . a strong and threatening tide of history meets you at the frontier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/spain-is-an-overflow-of-sombreness-a-strong-and-threatening-tide-of/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [For the first rate poet, nothing short of a Queen or a Chimera is adequate for the powers of his praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/for-the-first-rate-poet-nothing-short-of-a-queen-or-a-chimera-is/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Sex is of the same clay as Time! -- of the same clay Since both are in their essence but One-Way Time is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/sex-is-of-the-same-clay-as-time-of-the-same-clay-since-both-are-in/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [When we say 'science' we can either mean any manipulation of the inventive and organizing power of the human intellect: or we can mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/when-we-say-science-we-can-either-mean-any-manipulation-of-the/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [No American worth his salt should go looking around for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-looking-around-for-a-root-i/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [If you do not regard feminism with an uplifting sense of the gloriousness of woman's industrial destiny, or in the way, in short, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/if-you-do-not-regard-feminism-with-an-uplifting-sense-of-the/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) [Explore all 87 Wyndham Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. 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