--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and…" description: "\"We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of commentaries on Shakespeare.\" — Charles Dance" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg" --- # We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of… ![“We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of commentaries on Shakespeare.” quote by Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg) > “We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of commentaries on Shakespeare.” [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Having many books on Shakespeare while living with farm animals shows a contrast between high culture and simple rural life. **In simple terms:** Books and animals coexist, highlighting diverse interests. Key Takeaway Embrace both intellectual and everyday pleasures. Themes culture contrast humor literature rural life Mood lighthearted reflective Type anecdotal humorous When to use this quote - reading Shakespeare - managing a farm - discussing literature with friends - teaching literature - collecting books Key Concepts Intellectual curiosity balance paradox Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance scholarly interests with daily chores? - What value does humor bring to serious study? A Different Perspective May overlook practical responsibilities in favor of scholarly pursuits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ## Related quotes > [I wound up adopting two dogs from Sochi. It wasn't really me who brought them home as much as it was one of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-wound-up-adopting-two-dogs-from-sochi-it-wasn-t-really-me-who/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [I also have two dogs, a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier, so if they like him, that's a good sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-milian/i-also-have-two-dogs-a-chihuahua-and-a-yorkshire-terrier-so-if-they/) [Christina Milian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-milian/) > [I read on my iPad when I travel. I listen to audiobooks in the car. I read books in my bedroom, where I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-read-on-my-ipad-when-i-travel-i-listen-to-audiobooks-in-the-car-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-toussenel/the-more-one-gets-to-know-of-men-the-more-one-values-dogs/) Alphonse Toussenel > [I've got two dogs - one's a Jack Russell and she's one year old now, and I've got another dog called Kanga, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-pugh/i-ve-got-two-dogs-one-s-a-jack-russell-and-she-s-one-year-old-now-and/) [Lewis Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-pugh/) > [I have two dogs, and I write at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-williams/i-have-two-dogs-and-i-write-at-home/) [Zelda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-williams/) > [“Who are these people sharing the street with me? What is going on in their worlds, inside their heads? Are they in love? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-larkin/who-are-these-people-sharing-the-street-with-me-what-is-going-on-in/) Alison Larkin > [I believe in hard work. So that's not changed. And my love for cinema is something I was born with. But, personally, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-lokhande/i-believe-in-hard-work-so-that-s-not-changed-and-my-love-for-cinema/) [Ankita Lokhande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-lokhande/) > [From the moment this baby came into our home, those two dogs have never been more in love. It's the most beautiful thing I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/from-the-moment-this-baby-came-into-our-home-those-two-dogs-have/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [“and uncle had a pair of Retrievers that came along to cool off from the heat, and the two dogs ran and jumped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-k-smith/and-uncle-had-a-pair-of-retrievers-that-came-along-to-cool-off-from/) Steven K. Smith > [“Eight Bells: Robert J. Kane ‘55D died June 3, 2017, in Palm Harbor, Florida. He came to MMA by way of Boston College. Bob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba/eight-bells-robert-j-kane-55d-died-june-3-2017-in-palm-harbor-florida/) [Captain Hank Bracker, The Exciting Story of Cuba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba/) > [The pair of them were staring at the computer screen like two dogs watching animal planet: very focused, but incapable of turning up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/the-pair-of-them-were-staring-at-the-computer-screen-like-two-dogs/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/our-dogs-will-love-and-admire-the-meanest-of-us-and-feed-our-colossal/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [I've found a place that would amaze you. People used to live there, but now it's all overgrown and no one goes there. Absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/i-ve-found-a-place-that-would-amaze-you-people-used-to-live-there-but/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [The Anti-Vivisector does not deny that physiologists must make experiments and even take chances with new methods. He says that they must not seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-anti-vivisector-does-not-deny-that-physiologists-must-make/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Charles Dance > [I was a window dresser for Burton's once. What really put me off was the area manager coming round and saying, Charles, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/i-was-a-window-dresser-for-burton-s-once-what-really-put-me-off-was/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [The quality of writing attracts me to films, also who the other actors are, who the director is, where it's being shot. Any or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/the-quality-of-writing-attracts-me-to-films-also-who-the-other-actors/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [You have to attempt to be objective about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/you-have-to-attempt-to-be-objective-about-yourself/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [If you get a bad script, then you start expending energy trying to make a silk purse of a sow's ear. When the script's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/if-you-get-a-bad-script-then-you-start-expending-energy-trying-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [I phoned this number and said, Please, sir, I want to be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/i-phoned-this-number-and-said-please-sir-i-want-to-be-an-actor/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Most feature films are 35-40 shooting days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/most-feature-films-are-35-40-shooting-days/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [My face lends itself to austere characters, and unless they're two-dimensional, I will do them. Any actor will tell you that an interesting villain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/my-face-lends-itself-to-austere-characters-and-unless-they-re-two/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [When you have a label stuck on you, people tend to believe it. If someone calls you suave and debonair, you only get offered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/when-you-have-a-label-stuck-on-you-people-tend-to-believe-it-if/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [I would have liked to have worked with Ralph Richardson and Paul Scofield, but they're dead now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/i-would-have-liked-to-have-worked-with-ralph-richardson-and-paul/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [If I was to put a little flag in everywhere I've been in the world, there'd be a lot of little flags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/if-i-was-to-put-a-little-flag-in-everywhere-i-ve-been-in-the-world/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [When you get to a certain age, the work begins to thin out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/when-you-get-to-a-certain-age-the-work-begins-to-thin-out/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Actors can't retire. If actors retired, there would be nobody left to play old, wrinkly people. You have to keep going, darling - don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/actors-can-t-retire-if-actors-retired-there-would-be-nobody-left-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [ Because \[writers\] Dan Weiss and David Benioff have done such a great job in adapting them, that's what we work with. It serves no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/because-writers-dan-weiss-and-david-benioff-have-done-such-a-great/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [There is a huge fan base; they're very knowledgeable and very loyal. I was astonished - before I started working on the series, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/there-is-a-huge-fan-base-they-re-very-knowledgeable-and-very-loyal-i/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [We have to take risks in British television. It has to stop playing to the lowest common denominator and patronising people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-have-to-take-risks-in-british-television-it-has-to-stop-playing-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) [Explore all 62 Charles Dance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) ## More Cat quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) [Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of commentaries on Shakespeare.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dance" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-racks-of-commentaries-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-racks-of-commentaries-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/charles-dance-10952_cat_we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-rac_1379573.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We had five goats, two dogs, a cat and racks of commentaries on Shakespeare.” — Charles Dance", "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": "Charles Dance", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We had five goats, two dogs,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-racks-of-commentaries-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-had-five-goats-two-dogs-a-cat-and-racks-of-commentaries-on/#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 } } ] } ```