--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How unpardonable would it have been in…" description: "\"“How unpardonable would it have been in you to have turned out a blockhead. How”\" — David McCullough" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/david-mccullough-1091_blockhead_how-unpardonable-would-it-have-been-in-y_2626779.png" --- # How unpardonable would it have been in you to have turned… ![“How unpardonable would it have been in you to have turned out a blockhead. How” quote by David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/david-mccullough-1091_blockhead_how-unpardonable-would-it-have-been-in-y_2626779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/david-mccullough-1091_blockhead_how-unpardonable-would-it-have-been-in-y_2626779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/david-mccullough-1091_blockhead_how-unpardonable-would-it-have-been-in-y_2626779.png) > ““How unpardonable would it have been in you to have turned out a blockhead. How”” [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual arrogance blinds one to foolishness, leading to ridicule. **In simple terms:** Stubborn pride makes one look foolish. Key Takeaway Stay humble and open to learning. Themes humility pride learning Mood reflective serious Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - academic discourse - public speaking Key Concepts history psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have you let pride cloud judgment? - How can humility improve your decisions? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blockhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blockhead/) ## Related quotes > [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [...the unpardonable sin is to be an unpleasant person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-starr-ross/the-unpardonable-sin-is-to-be-an-unpleasant-person/) Galen Starr Ross > [If nothing is to be done in the given situation, he must invent plausible reasons for doing nothing; and if something must be done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/if-nothing-is-to-be-done-in-the-given-situation-he-must-invent/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-most-unpardonable-sin-in-society-is-independence-of-thought/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [It is bad enough to be bad, but to be bad in bad taste is unpardonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-bad-but-to-be-bad-in-bad-taste-is-unpardonable/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [I still think sincere pessimism the unpardonable sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-still-think-sincere-pessimism-the-unpardonable-sin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm truthful -- which is very nearly unpardonable in civilized society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-m-truthful-which-is-very-nearly-unpardonable-in-civilized-society/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/success-is-the-one-unpardonable-sin-against-our-fellows/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Forgiveness is the one unpardonable sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/forgiveness-is-the-one-unpardonable-sin/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I grew up thinking there was one unpardonable sin – to be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/i-grew-up-thinking-there-was-one-unpardonable-sin-to-be-boring/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [I have seen that every one forgives much in themselves that they find unpardonable in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/i-have-seen-that-every-one-forgives-much-in-themselves-that-they-find/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Imagine a crime series in which, every week, there is a white suspect and a black suspect. And every week, lo and behold, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/imagine-a-crime-series-in-which-every-week-there-is-a-white-suspect/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The unpardonable sin is the sin of inadvertence, of not being alert, not quite awake. —Joseph Campbell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-tricarico/the-unpardonable-sin-is-the-sin-of-inadvertence-of-not-being-alert/) Dan Tricarico > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [People will forgive anything but beauty and talent. So I am doubly unpardonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/people-will-forgive-anything-but-beauty-and-talent-so-i-am-doubly/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) ## More by David McCullough > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Steamboats by this time were becoming a familiar presence on the rivers and coastal waters of America, but not until 1838 did steam-powered ships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/steamboats-by-this-time-were-becoming-a-familiar-presence-on-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-feel-that-history-is-in-many-ways-the-most-important-of-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Even mighty states and kingdoms are not exempted. If we look into history, we shall find some nations rising from contemptible beginnings and spreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/even-mighty-states-and-kingdoms-are-not-exempted-if-we-look-into/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [History isn't just what happened, but what happened to whom and why and what would have been different if the cast of characters had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/history-isn-t-just-what-happened-but-what-happened-to-whom-and-why/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Nobody ever lived in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nobody-ever-lived-in-the-past/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Only TR openly declared his love for the job. “Nobody ever enjoyed the presidency as I did,” he boasted, and by all evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/only-tr-openly-declared-his-love-for-the-job-nobody-ever-enjoyed-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“s ships Phoenix and Rose, in the company of three tenders, cast off their moorings at Staten Island and started up the harbor under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/s-ships-phoenix-and-rose-in-the-company-of-three-tenders-cast-off/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“a people may let a King fall, yet still remain a people, but if a King let his people slip from him, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/a-people-may-let-a-king-fall-yet-still-remain-a-people-but-if-a-king/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Why limit yourself to the experience of your own relatively brief time on earth, according to your biological clock, when the whole realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/why-limit-yourself-to-the-experience-of-your-own-relatively-brief/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“He worked at a plain, tall desk at which he wrote standing up or perched on a high stool,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/he-worked-at-a-plain-tall-desk-at-which-he-wrote-standing-up-or/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Nothing happens in isolation. Everything that happens has consequences. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nothing-happens-in-isolation-everything-that-happens-has-consequences/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [America faces an enemy who believes in enforced ignorance. And all that we stand for is the open mind, the generous spirit, the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/america-faces-an-enemy-who-believes-in-enforced-ignorance-and-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/my-shorthand-answer-is-that-i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-book-that-i/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Seen under the microscope, Stegomyia is a creature of striking beauty. Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/seen-under-the-microscope-stegomyia-is-a-creature-of-striking-beauty/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Explore all 291 David McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## More Blockhead quotes > [No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-but-a-blockhead-ever-wrote-except-for-money/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-learned-blockhead-is-a-greater-blockhead-than-an-ignorant-one/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I myself identify as a recovering Blockhead. You'd be surprised how many twenty- and thirty-something hipster chicks have the NKOTB skeleton in their closet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/i-myself-identify-as-a-recovering-blockhead-you-d-be-surprised-how/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [Being a blockhead is sometimes the best security against being cheated by a man of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/being-a-blockhead-is-sometimes-the-best-security-against-being/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Heart agitated with remains of former passion is most susceptible to a new one...How unpardonable would it have been in you to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/heart-agitated-with-remains-of-former-passion-is-most-susceptible-to/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [The vanity of teaching doth oft tempt a man to forget that he is a blockhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vanity-of-teaching-doth-oft-tempt-a-man-to-forget-that-he-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started freestyling with friends about eight or nine years ago. I started writing also around the same time, but didn't meet blockhead until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/i-started-freestyling-with-friends-about-eight-or-nine-years-ago-i/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [“(“No man but a blockhead ever wrote for any cause but money,” Samuel Johnson said.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/no-man-but-a-blockhead-ever-wrote-for-any-cause-but-money-samuel/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron - namely, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clairvoyant-n-a-person-commonly-a-woman-who-has-the-power-of-seeing/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I have come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason, I can never be satisfied with anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-never-again-to-think-of-marrying-and/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Everyone calls him Blockhead No one sings his praises Or takes him to heart... That is the kind of person I want to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenji-miyazawa/everyone-calls-him-blockhead-no-one-sings-his-praises-or-takes-him-to/) [Kenji Miyazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenji-miyazawa/) > [I went to college in '94 and started freestyling a lot more and hearing how others did it, hearing styles from other regions, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/i-went-to-college-in-94-and-started-freestyling-a-lot-more-and/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [“Every single person is a fool, insane, a failure, or a bad person to at least ten people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/every-single-person-is-a-fool-insane-a-failure-or-a-bad-person-to-at/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is intolerable that it should be in the power of one blockhead to do so much mischief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-james/it-is-intolerable-that-it-should-be-in-the-power-of-one-blockhead-to/) [Charles James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-james/) > [When there is sympathy, there needs but one wise man in a company and all are wise,--so, a blockhead makes a blockhead of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-there-is-sympathy-there-needs-but-one-wise-man-in-a-company-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 27 Blockhead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blockhead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How unpardonable would it have been in you to have turned out a blockhead. 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