--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists…" description: "\"“Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists, spiritualists, occultists, theosophists, quietists, pacifists, futurists, cubists, zealots of all sorts in their ap..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/anthony-powell-2659_life_simple-lifers-utopian-socialists-spiritu_1848738.jpg" --- # Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists, spiritualists… ![“Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists, spiritualists, occultists, theosophists, quietists, pacifists, futurists, cubists, zealots of all sorts in their approach to life and art, later to be relentlessly classified into their respective religious, political, aesthetic or psychological categories, were…” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/anthony-powell-2659_life_simple-lifers-utopian-socialists-spiritu_1848738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/anthony-powell-2659_life_simple-lifers-utopian-socialists-spiritu_1848738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/anthony-powell-2659_life_simple-lifers-utopian-socialists-spiritu_1848738.jpg) > ““Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists, spiritualists, occultists, theosophists, quietists, pacifists, futurists, cubists, zealots of all sorts in their approach to life and art, later to be relentlessly classified into their respective religious, political, aesthetic or psychological categories, were then thought of by the unenlightened as scarcely distinguishable one from another: a collection of visionaries who hoped to build a New Heaven and a New Earth through the agency of their particular crackpot activities, sinister or comic, according to the way you looked at such things. Dr Trelawney was a case in point.”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical observation that many intellectual groups are ultimately seen as similar by outsiders, reducing diverse visions to a single, dismissive label. **In simple terms:** Intellectual groups often get lumped together despite differences. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect nuanced differences. Themes society intellectualism categorization satire diversity Mood wry critical thoughtful Type satirical observational When to use this quote - academic debates - political movements - artistic circles - social commentary - labeling practices Key Concepts group identity social perception historical critique Questions to Reflect On - What value lies in recognizing subtle differences? - How does labeling affect group identity? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize and dismiss genuine distinctions among groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life And Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-art/) [New earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-earth/) [Occultists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occultists-2411112/) [Occultists Theosophists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occultists-theosophists-2411111/) [Socialists Spiritualists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialists-spiritualists-2411109/) [Spiritualists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritualists-1964048/) [Spiritualists Occultists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritualists-occultists-2411110/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [The stuff that I do and enjoy is normally quite similar to a lot of the stuff that psychics and spiritualists would enjoy themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/the-stuff-that-i-do-and-enjoy-is-normally-quite-similar-to-a-lot-of/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [While I wasn't certain how I felt about spiritualists, I was certain enough about the type of people who were drawn to them. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/while-i-wasn-t-certain-how-i-felt-about-spiritualists-i-was-certain/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [How long shall we Spiritualists be turned over like so many scapegoats to the unbelievers, by cheating mediums and speculating prophets?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/how-long-shall-we-spiritualists-be-turned-over-like-so-many/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [“Fawn Brodie observed that Westerners traditionally “demanded personality rather than diplomas from the men who called them to God.” Metaphysical teachers journeying from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-horowitz/fawn-brodie-observed-that-westerners-traditionally-demanded/) [Mitch Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-horowitz/) > [The Occultists, however, know that the traditions of Esoteric Philosophy must be the right ones, simply because they are the most logical, and reconcile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-occultists-however-know-that-the-traditions-of-esoteric/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The media. It sounds like a convention of spiritualists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-media-it-sounds-like-a-convention-of-spiritualists/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“The Ordo Templi Orientis and The Golden Dawn were associated with secret Russian, British and German societies, and especially with Elena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillien-de-lafayette/the-ordo-templi-orientis-and-the-golden-dawn-were-associated-with/) [Maximillien de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillien-de-lafayette/) > [Unfortunately for a multitude of occultists, humor is a rare ingredient in their lives. In fact it is their very lack of humor that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/unfortunately-for-a-multitude-of-occultists-humor-is-a-rare/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [“Some occultists believe that everything is recorded in the ether in what is called the Akashic records, and that only certain super-sensitive people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-ngstr-m/some-occultists-believe-that-everything-is-recorded-in-the-ether-in/) [Emma Ångström](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-ngstr-m/) > [“Scientists and spiritualists often use different vocabularies to describe the exact same mysteries of the universe. The conflicts are frequently over semantics, not substance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/scientists-and-spiritualists-often-use-different-vocabularies-to/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [There was a whole language that I could never make function for myself; it revolved around words like 'tortured', 'struggle'. 'pain'.. .I could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-was-a-whole-language-that-i-could-never-make-function-for/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I don't like purely philosophical works. I think a little philosophy should be added to life and art by way of seasoning, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-don-t-like-purely-philosophical-works-i-think-a-little-philosophy/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“The storm of revolution,’ as Andre Chenier said, ‘blows out the torch of poetry.’ It is not for some little time that the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-storm-of-revolution-as-andre-chenier-said-blows-out-the-torch-of/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In life and art it's better to be an enthusiastic amateur than a jaded professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/in-life-and-art-it-s-better-to-be-an-enthusiastic-amateur-than-a/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [“There is one question George is asked about life and art and which is more important, and George said art is more important because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/there-is-one-question-george-is-asked-about-life-and-art-and-which-is/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Simple-lifers, Utopian socialists, spiritualists, occultists, theosophists, quietists, pacifists, futurists, cubists, zealots of all sorts in their approach to life and art, later to be relentlessly classified into their respective religious, political, aesthetic or psychological categories, were then thought of by the unenlightened as scarcely distinguishable one from another: a collection of visionaries who hoped to build a New Heaven and a New Earth through the agency of their particular crackpot activities, sinister or comic, according to the way you looked at such things. 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