--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A perverse nature can be stimulated by…" description: "\"A perverse nature can be stimulated by anything. Any book can be used as a pornographic instrument, even a great work of literature if the mind that so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/anthony-burgess-1167_balance_a-perverse-nature-can-be-stimulated-by-a_3001311.jpg" --- # A perverse nature can be stimulated by anything. Any book… ![“A perverse nature can be stimulated by anything. Any book can be used as a pornographic instrument, even a great work of literature if the mind that so uses it is off-balance. I once found a small boy masturbating in the presence of the Victorian steel-engraving in a family Bible.” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/anthony-burgess-1167_balance_a-perverse-nature-can-be-stimulated-by-a_3001311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/anthony-burgess-1167_balance_a-perverse-nature-can-be-stimulated-by-a_3001311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/anthony-burgess-1167_balance_a-perverse-nature-can-be-stimulated-by-a_3001311.jpg) > “A perverse nature can be stimulated by anything. Any book can be used as a pornographic instrument, even a great work of literature if the mind that so uses it is off-balance. I once found a small boy masturbating in the presence of the Victorian steel-engraving in a family Bible.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anything can become pornographic if the mind is distorted; context matters more than content. **In simple terms:** Objects become porn with a twisted mind. Key Takeaway Guard your perception. Themes morality perversion interpretation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - education - parenting - media consumption - art criticism Key Concepts psychology literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does mindset shape perception of media? - Can art be both great and corrupting? A Different Perspective Not all content is inherently harmful; intent matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-bible/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Perverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perverse/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) ## Related quotes > [For so remarkably perverse is the nature of man that he despises whoever courts him, and admires whoever will not bend before him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/for-so-remarkably-perverse-is-the-nature-of-man-that-he-despises/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“history shows human beings to be the most dangerous of nature’s show-offs. Inimical to each other, given over to greed and insatiable appetites. Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/history-shows-human-beings-to-be-the-most-dangerous-of-nature-s-show/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-the-apostle/even-so-husbands-should-love-their-wives-as-their-own-bodies-he-who/) [Paul the Apostle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-the-apostle/) > [We started the family Bible after slavery was abolished. 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Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [It is heartrending to read the entries in many an old family Bible - the records of suffering, distress, and blasted hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/it-is-heartrending-to-read-the-entries-in-many-an-old-family-bible/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-the-evangelist/love-your-enemies-do-good-to-them-that-hate-you/) [Luke the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-the-evangelist/) > [The first pages of memory are like the old family Bible. The first leaves are wholly faded and somewhat soiled with handling. But, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/the-first-pages-of-memory-are-like-the-old-family-bible-the-first/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [“Author’s Note Caroline is a marriage of fact and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s fiction. 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I became aware that might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/in-african-american-culture-there-s-often-a-family-historian-someone/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [“But it’s a historic landmark, Kaine. And according to Grandpa Prescott’s old family Bible with the family tree, our great-great-grandmother lived in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-jo-wright/but-it-s-a-historic-landmark-kaine-and-according-to-grandpa-prescott/) [Jaime Jo Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-jo-wright/) > [I keep everything that is most important to me close to me: my family, my bible, my X-Box - just kidding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-littrell/i-keep-everything-that-is-most-important-to-me-close-to-me-my-family/) [Brian Littrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-littrell/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. 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Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/by-definition-a-human-being-is-endowed-with-free-will-he-can-use-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) [Explore all 261 Anthony Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. 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Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. 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