--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always thought respectable people…" description: "\"I've always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I look anxiously at my face every morning for signs of my becoming a scoundrel.\" — Bertrand Russell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/bertrand-russell-69_becoming_i-ve-always-thought-respectable-people-s_923834.jpg" --- # I've always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I… ![“I've always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I look anxiously at my face every morning for signs of my becoming a scoundrel.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/bertrand-russell-69_becoming_i-ve-always-thought-respectable-people-s_923834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/bertrand-russell-69_becoming_i-ve-always-thought-respectable-people-s_923834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/bertrand-russell-69_becoming_i-ve-always-thought-respectable-people-s_923834.jpg) > “I've always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I look anxiously at my face every morning for signs of my becoming a scoundrel.” [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑scrutiny reveals moral drift; vigilance prevents becoming the very vice we despise. **In simple terms:** Watch yourself to avoid becoming bad. Key Takeaway Regularly examine your motives. Themes ethics self‑awareness integrity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily reflection - therapy - leadership development Key Concepts philosophy psychology morality Questions to Reflect On - What daily practices keep you honest? - How do you differentiate self‑critique from self‑condemnation? A Different Perspective Self‑assessment can be biased or overly harsh. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Scoundrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrels/) ## Related quotes > [ Scoundrels \[...\] simply don't die. The ones who die are always the gentle, sweet, and beautiful people. \[...\] Scoundrels live a long time. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/scoundrels-simply-don-t-die-the-ones-who-die-are-always-the-gentle/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [Tell a scoundrel, three or four times a day, that he is the pink of probity, and you make him at least the perfection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/tell-a-scoundrel-three-or-four-times-a-day-that-he-is-the-pink-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [If I did what has already been done, I would be a plagiarist and would consider myself unworthy; so I do something different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/if-i-did-what-has-already-been-done-i-would-be-a-plagiarist-and-would/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Only a sadistic scoundrel-or a fool-tells the bald truth on social occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/only-a-sadistic-scoundrel-or-a-fool-tells-the-bald-truth-on-social/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Patriotism: The first resort of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/patriotism-the-first-resort-of-a-scoundrel/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [An economist is a scoundrel who tells you the way things are rather than the way you want them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/an-economist-is-a-scoundrel-who-tells-you-the-way-things-are-rather/) William Nordhaus > [Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-to-which-a-scoundrel-clings/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It's very hard not to be a scoundrel nowadays. 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Clayton: Your flattery warms my heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/whitney-you-black-hearted-treacherous-conniving-scoundrel-clayton/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [He who speaks ill of an absent friend, or fails to take his part if attacked by another, that man is a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-speaks-ill-of-an-absent-friend-or-fails-to-take-his-part-if/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Only by himself, with one acre and a house, will a dunce be a dunce. 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