--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was the first of the St. Augustines…" description: "\"“This was the first of the St. Augustines. Previous memos had borne messages from Zwingli, Lévi-Strauss, Rilke, Chekhov, Tillich, William Blake, Charle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/don-delillo-294_abnormal-psychology_this-was-the-first-of-the-st-augustines_747744.jpg" --- # This was the first of the St. Augustines. Previous memos… ![“This was the first of the St. Augustines. Previous memos had borne messages from Zwingli, Lévi-Strauss, Rilke, Chekhov, Tillich, William Blake, Charles Olson and a Kiowa chief named Satanta. Naturally the person responsible for these messages became known throughout the company as the Mad…” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/don-delillo-294_abnormal-psychology_this-was-the-first-of-the-st-augustines_747744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/don-delillo-294_abnormal-psychology_this-was-the-first-of-the-st-augustines_747744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/don-delillo-294_abnormal-psychology_this-was-the-first-of-the-st-augustines_747744.jpg) > ““This was the first of the St. Augustines. Previous memos had borne messages from Zwingli, Lévi-Strauss, Rilke, Chekhov, Tillich, William Blake, Charles Olson and a Kiowa chief named Satanta. Naturally the person responsible for these messages became known throughout the company as the Mad Memo-Writer. I never referred to him that way because it was much too obvious a name. I called him Trotsky. There was no special reason for choosing Trotsky; it just seemed to fit. I wondered if he was someone I knew. Everybody seemed to think he was probably a small grotesque man who had suffered many disappointments in life, who despised the vast impersonal structure of the network and who was employed in our forwarding department, the traditional repository for all sex offenders, mutants and vegetarians. They said he was most likely a foreigner who lived in a rooming house in Red Hook; he spent his nights reading an eight-volume treatise on abnormal psychology, in small type, and he told his grocer he had been a Talmudic scholar in the old country. This was the consensus and maybe it had a certain logic. But I found more satisfaction in believing that Trotsky was one of our top executives. He made eighty thousand dollars a year and stole paper clips from the office.”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character dubbed “Trotsky” embodies the absurdity of office gossip and the tendency to mythologize mundane workers. **In simple terms:** Office gossip creates exaggerated myths about ordinary people. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about coworkers’ identities. Themes gossip mythmaking bureaucracy Mood critical humorous Type satirical observational When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - team building - HR training - media literacy Key Concepts identity absurdity social perception Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about colleagues? - How can you foster a more factual workplace culture? A Different Perspective The story may exaggerate for satire, not reflecting real workplace behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abnormal psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnormal-psychology/) [Called Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-trotsky-5823896/) [Choosing Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choosing-trotsky-5823897/) [Mad Memo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-memo-5823898/) [Old Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-country/) [Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trotsky/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-blake/) [Writer Referred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-referred-5823899/) ## Related quotes > [Interesting survey in the current Journal of Abnormal Psychology: New York City has a higher percentage of people you shouldn't make any sudden moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/interesting-survey-in-the-current-journal-of-abnormal-psychology-new/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/let-the-credulous-and-the-vulgar-continue-to-believe-that-all-mental/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“While the Mystic masters prided themselves on being 'lunatic', this was understood in two distinct senses: one, a lunacy below reason, and another, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hossein-elahi-ghomshei-phd/while-the-mystic-masters-prided-themselves-on-being-lunatic-this-was/) [Hossein Elahi Ghomshei PhD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hossein-elahi-ghomshei-phd/) > [Depressed people think they know themselves, but maybe they only know depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/depressed-people-think-they-know-themselves-but-maybe-they-only-know/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-cannot-selectively-numb-emotions-when-we-numb-the-painful-emotions/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Al Gore's performances could be a case study in abnormal-psychology classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/al-gore-s-performances-could-be-a-case-study-in-abnormal-psychology/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [“Religious people are forced to perform mental gymnastics to reconcile real life with their delusions. 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In matters of thought and conduct, to be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/abnormal-adj-not-conforming-to-standard-in-matters-of-thought-and-2/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [As the days go on…you will discover that most of the subjects you studied in college are useless, except the abnormal psychology and attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goutham-aditya-devaguptapu/as-the-days-go-on-you-will-discover-that-most-of-the-subjects-you/) [Goutham Aditya Devaguptapu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goutham-aditya-devaguptapu/) > [Not everything that steps out of line, and thus "abnormal", must necessarily be "inferior".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-asperger/not-everything-that-steps-out-of-line-and-thus-abnormal-must/) [Hans Asperger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-asperger/) > [“Freud was the man who seeded a progeny of doctors interested in abnormal psychology. With the intellectual force of a battering ram, Freud penetrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wilbur/freud-was-the-man-who-seeded-a-progeny-of-doctors-interested-in/) [Dan Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wilbur/) > [Oh! This'll impress you - I'm actually in the Abnormal Psychology textbook. Obviously my family is so proud. Keep in mind though, I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/oh-this-ll-impress-you-i-m-actually-in-the-abnormal-psychology/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. 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So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Abnormal psychology quotes > [Interesting survey in the current Journal of Abnormal Psychology: New York City has a higher percentage of people you shouldn't make any sudden moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/interesting-survey-in-the-current-journal-of-abnormal-psychology-new/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [“Freud was the man who seeded a progeny of doctors interested in abnormal psychology. 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Lost, dead roads, no ends or remaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gilmore-this-kind-of-city-ghost-stories-and-psychological-landscapes/behind-a-barbed-wire-fence-a-dirt-road-disappears-into-the-distance/) [Tim Gilmore This Kind of City Ghost stories and psychological landscapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gilmore-this-kind-of-city-ghost-stories-and-psychological-landscapes/) > [I'm afraid you can't create tragedy out of abnormal psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sarris/i-m-afraid-you-can-t-create-tragedy-out-of-abnormal-psychology/) [Andrew Sarris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sarris/) > [“Religious people are forced to perform mental gymnastics to reconcile real life with their delusions. 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This'll impress you - I'm actually in the Abnormal Psychology textbook. Obviously my family is so proud. Keep in mind though, I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/oh-this-ll-impress-you-i-m-actually-in-the-abnormal-psychology/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) [Browse all 17 Abnormal psychology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnormal-psychology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This was the first of the St. Augustines. Previous memos had borne messages from Zwingli, Lévi-Strauss, Rilke, Chekhov, Tillich, William Blake, Charles Olson and a Kiowa chief named Satanta. Naturally the person responsible for these messages became known throughout the company as the Mad Memo-Writer. I never referred to him that way because it was much too obvious a name. I called him Trotsky. There was no special reason for choosing Trotsky; it just seemed to fit. I wondered if he was someone I knew. Everybody seemed to think he was probably a small grotesque man who had suffered many disappointments in life, who despised the vast impersonal structure of the network and who was employed in our forwarding department, the traditional repository for all sex offenders, mutants and vegetarians. They said he was most likely a foreigner who lived in a rooming house in Red Hook; he spent his nights reading an eight-volume treatise on abnormal psychology, in small type, and he told his grocer he had been a Talmudic scholar in the old country. This was the consensus and maybe it had a certain logic. But I found more satisfaction in believing that Trotsky was one of our top executives. 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