---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: here, away from courts, among a people…"
description: "\"“here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor and deliverer—what golden days might be mine! And yet—is this but anoth..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg"
---

#  here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me…

![“here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor and deliverer—what golden days might be mine! And yet—is this but another angel's mask from that same cunning fiend ambition's stage? And will my house be indeed the house of God, the foundations of which are loyalty…” quote by Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg)

> ““here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor and deliverer—what golden days might be mine! And yet—is this but another angel's mask from that same cunning fiend ambition's stage? And will my house be indeed the house of God, the foundations of which are loyalty, and its bulwarks righteousness, and not the house of fame, whose walls are of the soap-bubble, and its floor a sea of glass mingled with fire? I would be good and great—When will the day come when I shall be content to be good, and yet not great,””

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

## About This Quote

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

The speaker doubts whether ambition and fame will corrupt true virtue and lasting fulfillment.

**In simple terms:** Ambition may mask true purpose.

Key Takeaway

Seek lasting virtue over fleeting fame.

Themes

ambition virtue contentment

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- political leadership
- personal ambition
- public service
- ethical decision making

Key Concepts

moral philosophy spiritual integrity

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines true greatness for you?
- How can loyalty outweigh desire for fame?

A Different Perspective

Fame can be deceptive and hollow.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bulwarks Righteousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulwarks-righteousness-3754694/) [Come Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-shall-1089901/) [Fiend Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiend-ambition-3754695/) [Golden days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-days/) [House God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-god-592367/) [House of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-of-god/) [Righteousness House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness-house-3754693/)

## Related quotes

> [The more we can be raised above the petty vexations and pleasures of this world into the eternal life to come, the more shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/the-more-we-can-be-raised-above-the-petty-vexations-and-pleasures-of/)

[Arthur Penrhyn Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/)

> [“If thou wilt be mine, I shall make thee happier than God Himself in His paradise. The angels themselves will be jealous of thee.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/if-thou-wilt-be-mine-i-shall-make-thee-happier-than-god-himself-in/)

[Théophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/)

> [A few more years shall roll, A few more seasons come; And we shall be with those that rest, Asleep within the tomb. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/a-few-more-years-shall-roll-a-few-more-seasons-come-and-we-shall-be/)

[Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/)

> [Perchance the time will come when we shall not be content to go back and forth upon a raft to some huge Homeric or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/perchance-the-time-will-come-when-we-shall-not-be-content-to-go-back/)

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

> [“Come with me, and I shall become your everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-dempsey/come-with-me-and-i-shall-become-your-everything/)

[L.J. Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-dempsey/)

> [Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malory/yet-some-men-say-in-many-parts-of-england-that-king-arthur-is-not/)

[Thomas Malory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malory/)

> [What good I see humbly I seek to do, And live obedient to the law, in trust That what will come, and must come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-arnold/what-good-i-see-humbly-i-seek-to-do-and-live-obedient-to-the-law-in/)

[Edwin Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-arnold/)

> [That what will come, and must come, shall come well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-arnold/that-what-will-come-and-must-come-shall-come-well/)

[Edwin Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-arnold/)

> [“Where the rivers come, there shall they return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/where-the-rivers-come-there-shall-they-return/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“ The Dawning Ah! what time wilt Thou come? when shall that cry, The Bridegroom’s coming! fill the sky; Shall it in the evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-dawning-ah-what-time-wilt-thou-come-when-shall-that-cry-the/)

[Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/)

> [I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-must-uphold-my-ideals-for-perhaps-the-time-will-come-when-i-shall/)

[Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/)

> [But they never last, the golden days. And it can be sad, the sun in the afternoon, can't it? Yes, it can be sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/but-they-never-last-the-golden-days-and-it-can-be-sad-the-sun-in-the/)

[Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/)

> [“I had a mother who read to me Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea. Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth; "Blackbirds" stowed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/strickland-gillilan/i-had-a-mother-who-read-to-me-sagas-of-pirates-who-scoured-the-sea/)

[Strickland Gillilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/strickland-gillilan/)

> [O poor New England! There is a deep laid plot against your civil and religious liberties, and they will be lost. Your golden days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/o-poor-new-england-there-is-a-deep-laid-plot-against-your-civil-and/)

[George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/)

> [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/)

[Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/)

## More by Charles Kingsley

> [A fine lady; by which term I wish to express the result of that perfect education in taste and manner, down to every gesture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/a-fine-lady-by-which-term-i-wish-to-express-the-result-of-that/)

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

> [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/)

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

> [Those clouds are angels' robes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/those-clouds-are-angels-robes/)

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

> [He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-one-of-those-men-who-possess-almost-every-gift-except-the-gift/)

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

> [Do you feel that you have lost your way in life? Then God Himself will show you your way. Are you utterly helpless, worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/do-you-feel-that-you-have-lost-your-way-in-life-then-god-himself-will/)

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

> [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/)

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

> [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/)

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

> [He was not only, I soon discovered, a water drinker, but a strict vegetarian, to which, perhaps, he owed a great deal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-not-only-i-soon-discovered-a-water-drinker-but-a-strict/)

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

> [Look at the bow in the cloud, in the very rain itself. That is a sign that the sun, though you cannot see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/look-at-the-bow-in-the-cloud-in-the-very-rain-itself-that-is-a-sign/)

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

> [Beauty is God's handwriting — a wayside sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/beauty-is-god-s-handwriting-a-wayside-sacrament-welcome-it-in-every/)

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

> [Men must work, and women must weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/men-must-work-and-women-must-weep/)

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

> [... the heroism of the average mother. Ah! When I think of that broad fact, I gather hope again for poor humanity; and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/the-heroism-of-the-average-mother-ah-when-i-think-of-that-broad-fact/)

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

> [“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-book-a/)

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

> [Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/be-good-sweet-maid-and-let-who-will-be-clever/)

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

> [Music has been called the speech of the angels; I will go farther and call it the speech of God Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/music-has-been-called-the-speech-of-the-angels-i-will-go-farther-and/)

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

[Explore all 199 Charles Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/)

## More Golden days quotes

> [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/)

[Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/)

> [O poor New England! There is a deep laid plot against your civil and religious liberties, and they will be lost. Your golden days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/o-poor-new-england-there-is-a-deep-laid-plot-against-your-civil-and/)

[George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/)

> [“I had a mother who read to me Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea. Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth; "Blackbirds" stowed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/strickland-gillilan/i-had-a-mother-who-read-to-me-sagas-of-pirates-who-scoured-the-sea/)

[Strickland Gillilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/strickland-gillilan/)

> [But they never last, the golden days. And it can be sad, the sun in the afternoon, can't it? Yes, it can be sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/but-they-never-last-the-golden-days-and-it-can-be-sad-the-sun-in-the/)

[Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/)

> [I can't Imagine How Life would be without You… YOU make the World... You mean the world to me, I can't Live without you...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-saicha/i-can-t-imagine-how-life-would-be-without-you-you-make-the-world-you/)

[Anwar Saicha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-saicha/)

> [“She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-directly-bright-like-the-sun-bright/)

[Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/)

> [Fold to my arms hold their mesmeric sway and dance her to the moon as we did in those golden days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cradle-of-filth/fold-to-my-arms-hold-their-mesmeric-sway-and-dance-her-to-the-moon-as/)

[Cradle Of Filth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cradle-of-filth/)

> [“In many ways semantic search takes us back to the golden days of the Web when in terms of working online anything was possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/in-many-ways-semantic-search-takes-us-back-to-the-golden-days-of-the/)

[David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/)

> [See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With joy and love triumphing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/see-golden-days-fruitful-of-golden-deeds-with-joy-and-love-triumphing/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [“Happy days are golden days, but unhappy days are golden days as well, because existence is a gold!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/happy-days-are-golden-days-but-unhappy-days-are-golden-days-as-well/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [For in the wood these golden days Some leaf obeys its Maker's call. And through their hollow aisles it plays With delicate touch the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/for-in-the-wood-these-golden-days-some-leaf-obeys-its-maker-s-call/)

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

> [Good-bye, my moonsong and my breath, my white nights and golden days, my fresh water and my fire. Good-bye, and may you find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/good-bye-my-moonsong-and-my-breath-my-white-nights-and-golden-days-my/)

[Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/)

> [“when your "golden days" are "that was just a phase...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-eisold/when-your-golden-days-are-that-was-just-a-phase/)

[Wesley Eisold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-eisold/)

> [“Good Morning, Beautiful Souls! Before you dive into this brand new day, I want to remind you of something powerful: our journeys &amp; lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-goyal/good-morning-beautiful-souls-before-you-dive-into-this-brand-new-day/)

[Rajesh Goyal, राजेश गोयल](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-goyal/)

> [Yes, take a little time to play And look at life the other way. God rested when the world was made: Rest now, old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-markham/yes-take-a-little-time-to-play-and-look-at-life-the-other-way-god/)

[Edwin Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-markham/)

[Browse all 29 Golden days quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-days/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor and deliverer—what golden days might be mine! And yet—is this but another angel's mask from that same cunning fiend ambition's stage? And will my house be indeed the house of God, the foundations of which are loyalty, and its bulwarks righteousness, and not the house of fame, whose walls are of the soap-bubble, and its floor a sea of glass mingled with fire? I would be good and great—When will the day come when I shall be content to be good, and yet not great,”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Kingsley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who-should-bless-me-as-their/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Golden days"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who-should-bless-me-as-their/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d75/charles-kingsley-1896_golden-days_here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who_1223339.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“here, away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor and deliverer—what golden…” — Charles Kingsley",
                "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 Kingsley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“here, away from courts, among a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who-should-bless-me-as-their/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/here-away-from-courts-among-a-people-who-should-bless-me-as-their/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
