---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In days when men were men (And you should…"
description: "\"“In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)”\" — Aristophanes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png"
---

#  In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)

![“In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)” quote by Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png)

> ““In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)””

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## About This Quote

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

Men's behavior and identity were once defined by strict masculinity, now nostalgic.

**In simple terms:** Men were once more traditionally masculine.

Key Takeaway

Recognize changing gender norms.

Themes

gender masculinity history nostalgia

Mood

reflective critical

Type

historical cultural

When to use this quote

- modern gender debates
- historical comparisons
- personal identity formation

Key Concepts

cultural expectations social roles

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you idealize past gender roles?
- How do modern expectations differ?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize past stereotypes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“Now-a-days, men wear a fool's cap, and call it a liberty cap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/now-a-days-men-wear-a-fool-s-cap-and-call-it-a-liberty-cap/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“(smile not, reader, for those were days in which men believed in the devil);”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/smile-not-reader-for-those-were-days-in-which-men-believed-in-the/)

[Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/)

> [“...The men of those days...were absolutely not the same people that we are now; it was not the same race as now, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-men-of-those-days-were-absolutely-not-the-same-people-that-we-are/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [“In those days, men proved their strength and manliness by being well mannered, helpful, and gentle. Just how gentle they could be under trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-lee-rioux/in-those-days-men-proved-their-strength-and-manliness-by-being-well/)

Terry Lee Rioux

> [These are the days when men of all social disciplines and all political faiths seek the comfortable and the accepted; when the man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/these-are-the-days-when-men-of-all-social-disciplines-and-all/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [“I asked myself whether, in bygone days, men had longed for bygone days as I, this summer morning, longed for certain ways of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejo-carpentier/i-asked-myself-whether-in-bygone-days-men-had-longed-for-bygone-days/)

[Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejo-carpentier/)

> [“On the last days Men shall see signs and wonders That will make your little hearts Wonder and ponder away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hinds/on-the-last-days-men-shall-see-signs-and-wonders-that-will-make-your/)

Justin Hinds

> [Flying saucers are real. Too many good men have seen them, that don't have hallucinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/flying-saucers-are-real-too-many-good-men-have-seen-them-that-don-t/)

[Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/)

> [After three days men grow weary, of a wench, a guest, and weather rainy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/after-three-days-men-grow-weary-of-a-wench-a-guest-and-weather-rainy/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [In the old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-the-old-days-men-had-the-rack-now-they-have-the-press/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“They say that men who have seen the world, thereby become quite at ease in manner, quite self-possessed in company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/they-say-that-men-who-have-seen-the-world-thereby-become-quite-at/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [What men have seen they know; But what shall come hereafter No man before the event can see, Nor what end waits for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/what-men-have-seen-they-know-but-what-shall-come-hereafter-no-man/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“Fates, we will know your pleasures: That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time And drawing days out, that men stand upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/fates-we-will-know-your-pleasures-that-we-shall-die-we-know-tis-but/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“‎"The men whom I have seen succeed best in life have always been cheerful and hopeful men, who went about their business with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/the-men-whom-i-have-seen-succeed-best-in-life-have-always-been/)

[Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/)

> [The Bible is very clear that in the last days men will be “lovers of themselves” (2 Tim. 3:2).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bevere/the-bible-is-very-clear-that-in-the-last-days-men-will-be-lovers-of/)

[John Bevere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bevere/)

## More by Aristophanes

> [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA By the Goddesses, you'll find that here await you Four companies of most pugnacious women Armed cap-a-pie from the topmost louring curl To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-by-the-goddesses-you-ll-find-that-here-await-you-four/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Thou shouldst not decide until thou hast heard what both have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/thou-shouldst-not-decide-until-thou-hast-heard-what-both-have-to-say/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/love-is-simply-the-name-for-the-desire-and-the-pursuit-of-the-whole/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Tis not for us to warn a wilful sinner; We stay him not, but let him run his course, Till by misfortunes rous'd, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/tis-not-for-us-to-warn-a-wilful-sinner-we-stay-him-not-but-let-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never passing up a chance to wangle a drink, a great boon to bartenders but a bane to us--not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/women-you-overheated-dipsomaniacs-never-passing-up-a-chance-to-wangle/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA You know how to work. Play with him, lead him on, Seduce him to the cozening-point—kiss him, kiss him, Then slip your mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-you-know-how-to-work-play-with-him-lead-him-on-seduce-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ \[Y\]ou \[man\] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with \[woman=\] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/y-ou-man-are-fool-enough-it-seems-to-dare-to-war-with-woman-me-when/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-cannot-teach-a-crab-to-walk-straight/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [How can I study from below, that which is above?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/how-can-i-study-from-below-that-which-is-above/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [First listen, my friend, and then you may shriek and bluster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/first-listen-my-friend-and-then-you-may-shriek-and-bluster/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [If a man owes me money, I never seem to forget. But if I do the owing, I somehow never remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-a-man-owes-me-money-i-never-seem-to-forget-but-if-i-do-the-owing-i/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

[Explore all 132 Aristophanes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## More Days quotes

> [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/)

[Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/)

> [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/)

[Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/)

> [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/)

[Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/)

> [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/)

[Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/)

> [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/)

[Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/)

> [I've always been a fan of old-time hymns and Scots-Irish dirges, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert on the type of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-old-time-hymns-and-scots-irish-dirges/)

[Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/)

> [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [These were days when my heart was volcanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/these-were-days-when-my-heart-was-volcanic/)

[Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/)

> [Some days, I'm going to miss shots; some days, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/some-days-i-m-going-to-miss-shots-some-days-i-m-not/)

[Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/)

> [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [We simply do not have time as we move from one meeting to the next to have hours to peruse leisure websites of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/we-simply-do-not-have-time-as-we-move-from-one-meeting-to-the-next-to/)

[Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/)

> [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/)

[James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/)

Browse all 4,561 Days quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aristophanes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should-have-seen-us-then/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Days"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should-have-seen-us-then/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/aristophanes-3340_days_in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should_786654.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In days when men were men (And you should have seen us then)” — Aristophanes",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Aristophanes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“In days when men were men...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should-have-seen-us-then/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/in-days-when-men-were-men-and-you-should-have-seen-us-then/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
