---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the Puritan all things are impure, as…"
description: "\"To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.\" — D. H. Lawrence"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png"
---

#  To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.

![“To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png)

> “To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.”

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

## About This Quote

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

The statement suggests that Puritans view everything as morally impure, reflecting a strict moral lens.

**In simple terms:** Puritans see all things as impure.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the impact of rigid moral judgments.

Themes

morality puritanism cultural criticism religion hypocrisy

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- religious discourse
- ethical debates
- personal freedom
- cultural analysis

Key Concepts

moral absolutism cultural relativism social stigma

Questions to Reflect On

- Do all Puritans hold this view?
- How does this perspective affect personal liberty?

A Different Perspective

It may generalize Puritan beliefs without nuance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Colony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Impure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impure/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Puritan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritan/)

## Related quotes

> [As to the pure all things are pure, even so to the impure all things are impure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-hare/as-to-the-pure-all-things-are-pure-even-so-to-the-impure-all-things/)

[Augustus Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-hare/)

> [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately-afraid-that-somewhere-someone/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [“A Puritan is not against bullfighting because of the pain it gives the bull, but because of the pleasure it gives the spectators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/a-puritan-is-not-against-bullfighting-because-of-the-pain-it-gives/)

[H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/)

> [The Puritans removed organs and paintings from churches, but bought them for private use in their homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-removed-organs-and-paintings-from-churches-but-bought/)

[Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/)

> [“Too much of the old Puritan spirit exists in these parts to the present hour; but its influence has not tended, that I know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/too-much-of-the-old-puritan-spirit-exists-in-these-parts-to-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The English Puritans pulled down church and state to rebuild Zion on the ruins, and all the while it was not Zion, but America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-english-puritans-pulled-down-church-and-state-to-rebuild-zion-on/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [My brothers and sister and I were brought up in an atmosphere which I would describe as 'Puritan decadence'. Puritanism names the behaviour which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/my-brothers-and-sister-and-i-were-brought-up-in-an-atmosphere-which-i/)

[Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/)

> [The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-puritans-left-england-for-america-not-because-they-couldn-t-be/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [A puritan is such a one as loves God with all his soul, but hates his neighbor with all his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nicolson/a-puritan-is-such-a-one-as-loves-god-with-all-his-soul-but-hates-his/)

[Adam Nicolson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nicolson/)

> [The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/)

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

> [The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/)

[Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/)

> [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/)

[Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/)

> [The Puritans came to America to worship in their way and to force everybody else to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/the-puritans-came-to-america-to-worship-in-their-way-and-to-force/)

[Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/)

> [ The \[nineteenth-century\] young men who were Puritans in politics were anti-Puritans in literature. They were willing to die for the independence of Poland or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-nineteenth-century-young-men-who-were-puritans-in-politics-were/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

## More by D. H. Lawrence

> [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-have-to-hate-our-immediate-predecessors-to-get-free-of-their/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [If only we could live two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-we-could-live-two-lives-the-first-in-which-to-make-one-s/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-say-geniuses-mostly-have-great-mothers-they-mostly-have-sad-fates/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/when-one-jumps-over-the-edge-one-is-bound-to-land-somewhere/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [The living moment is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-living-moment-is-everything/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

[Explore all 570 D. H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

## More All things quotes

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

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

> [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/)

[Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/)

> [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/)

[Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/)

> [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/)

[Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

James Nayler

> [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/)

[Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/)

[Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/)

[Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/)

> [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The U.S. Army has recently removed the cross from the insignia worn by chaplains. In its place is a sun with its rays, symbolizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/the-u-s-army-has-recently-removed-the-cross-from-the-insignia-worn-by/)

[Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/)

> [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/)

[Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/)

Browse all 2,486 All things quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "D. H. Lawrence"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as-somebody-says/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "All things"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as-somebody-says/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/d-h-lawrence-426_all-things_to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as_2475586.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To the Puritan all things are impure, as somebody says.” — D. H. Lawrence",
                "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": "D. H. Lawrence",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To the Puritan all things are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as-somebody-says/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/to-the-puritan-all-things-are-impure-as-somebody-says/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
