--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A chronic fear of being slighted made him…" description: "\"“A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity. How b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/aldous-huxley-97_caste-system_a-chronic-fear-of-being-slighted-made-hi_3027487.jpg" --- # A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his… ![“A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity. How bitterly he envied men like Henry Foster and Benito Hoover! Men who never had to shout at an Epsilon to get an order obeyed; men who took their…” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/aldous-huxley-97_caste-system_a-chronic-fear-of-being-slighted-made-hi_3027487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/aldous-huxley-97_caste-system_a-chronic-fear-of-being-slighted-made-hi_3027487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/aldous-huxley-97_caste-system_a-chronic-fear-of-being-slighted-made-hi_3027487.jpg) > ““A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity. How bitterly he envied men like Henry Foster and Benito Hoover! Men who never had to shout at an Epsilon to get an order obeyed; men who took their position for granted; men who moved through the caste system as a fish through water—so utterly at home as to be unaware either of themselves or of the beneficent and comfortable element in which they had their being.”” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man feels insecure and envies those who navigate social hierarchies effortlessly, highlighting class anxiety and self‑consciousness. **In simple terms:** He envies those comfortable in the social ladder. Key Takeaway Recognize and address personal insecurities. Themes social class insecurity envy identity power dynamics Mood reflective thoughtful Type social psychological When to use this quote - career advancement - team dynamics - leadership training - personal development Key Concepts psychology social hierarchy self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What triggers feelings of inferiority? - How can one build confidence in hierarchical settings? A Different Perspective May generalize individual feelings to broader social critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caste system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [I took it for granted that there must be a few men left in the world who had that kind of strength. I assumed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/i-took-it-for-granted-that-there-must-be-a-few-men-left-in-the-world/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-of-genius-are-admired-men-of-wealth-are-envied-men-of-power-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men of intelligence are Admired. Men of wealth are envied. Men of power are feared, but only men of character are Trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-of-intelligence-are-admired-men-of-wealth-are-envied-men-of-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The West remains obsessed by the caste system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-gautier/the-west-remains-obsessed-by-the-caste-system/) [Francois Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-gautier/) > [Comics have a caste system - an editor has to act in a certain way, an artist has to be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/comics-have-a-caste-system-an-editor-has-to-act-in-a-certain-way-an/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cahill/two-men-went-up-into-the-temple-to-pray-the-one-a-pharisee-and-the/) [Mark Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cahill/) > [“While the Reconstruction Era was fraught with corruption and arguably doomed by the lack of land reform, the sweeping economic and political developments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/while-the-reconstruction-era-was-fraught-with-corruption-and-arguably/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Arguably the most important parallel between mass incarceration and Jim Crow is that both have served to define the meaning and significance of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/arguably-the-most-important-parallel-between-mass-incarceration-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“B.R. 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In Chicago (as in other cities across the United States),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-impact-of-the-new-caste-system-is-most-tragically-felt-among-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. 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Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? 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They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The impact of the new caste system is most tragically felt among the young. 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He saw clearly that men are distinguished by natural evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/the-origin-of-the-caste-system-formulated-by-the-great-legislator/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Because of the caste system, because of the fact that there is no social link between those who make the decisions and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/because-of-the-caste-system-because-of-the-fact-that-there-is-no/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“You do not win by struggling to the top of a caste system, you win by refusing to be trapped within one at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-do-not-win-by-struggling-to-the-top-of-a-caste-system-you-win-by/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Browse all 100 Caste system quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity. 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