---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think one of the things we must…"
description: "\"I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'\" — Dorothy Day"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dorothy-day-1629_cheek_i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-consta_148305.png"
---

#  I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind…

![“I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'” quote by Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dorothy-day-1629_cheek_i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-consta_148305.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dorothy-day-1629_cheek_i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-consta_148305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dorothy-day-1629_cheek_i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-consta_148305.png)

> “I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'”

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

## About This Quote

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

Responding to aggression with nonviolence, even when hurt, embodies moral strength and compassion.

**In simple terms:** Turn the other cheek when hurt.

Key Takeaway

Practice nonviolent response to aggression.

Themes

nonviolence compassion morality resilience

Mood

calm steadfast thoughtful

Type

ethical philosophical practical

When to use this quote

- conflict resolution
- parenting
- customer service
- personal boundaries
- social activism

Key Concepts

ethical conduct self-control spirituality

Questions to Reflect On

- When is it appropriate to stand firm instead?
- How can you maintain compassion under attack?

A Different Perspective

Nonviolence may be seen as weakness.

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## Related quotes

> [People always say turn the other cheek. If you turn the other cheek, I'm gonna hit you in the other cheek too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/people-always-say-turn-the-other-cheek-if-you-turn-the-other-cheek-i/)

[Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/)

> [“You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ 39But I say to you, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-lockman-foundation/you-have-heard-that-it-was-said-an-eye-for-an-eye-and-a-tooth-for-a/)

[The Lockman Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-lockman-foundation/)

> [I say it with my tongue firmly planted in cheek but there's truth to it - being a comedian is very close to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/i-say-it-with-my-tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek-but-there-s-truth-to/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

> [Prejudice: Sometimes it's like a hair across your cheek. You can't see it, you can't find it with your fingers, but you keep brushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-anderson/prejudice-sometimes-it-s-like-a-hair-across-your-cheek-you-can-t-see/)

[Marian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-anderson/)

> [Dancing cheek to cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/dancing-cheek-to-cheek/)

[Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/)

> [Many people believe in turning the other cheek, especially when it is your cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ellis/many-people-believe-in-turning-the-other-cheek-especially-when-it-is/)

[Anne Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ellis/)

> [I play damaged people a lot. I'm a Cancer. And I say that tongue and cheek, but I wear my heart on my sleeve.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilarie-burton/i-play-damaged-people-a-lot-i-m-a-cancer-and-i-say-that-tongue-and/)

[Hilarie Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilarie-burton/)

> [“We have so much to learn from a fallen teardrop which is wiped away from our cheek…never to be felt again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/we-have-so-much-to-learn-from-a-fallen-teardrop-which-is-wiped-away/)

[Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/)

> [Nobody should teach the black man in America to turn the other cheek, unless someone is teaching the white man in America to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/nobody-should-teach-the-black-man-in-america-to-turn-the-other-cheek/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [The cheek Is apter than the tongue to tell an errand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-cheek-is-apter-than-the-tongue-to-tell-an-errand/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Even the dullest bird or face becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-woldhek/even-the-dullest-bird-or-face-becomes-interesting-when-you-give-it-a/)

[Siegfried Woldhek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-woldhek/)

> [It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/it-won-t-mean-you-re-weak-if-you-turn-the-other-cheek/)

[Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/)

> [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [Thus is his cheek the map of days outworn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-is-his-cheek-the-map-of-days-outworn/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## More by Dorothy Day

> [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [We must recognize the fact that many Nazis, Marxists and Fascists believe passionately in their fundamental rightness, and allow nothing to hinder them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-recognize-the-fact-that-many-nazis-marxists-and-fascists/)

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> [“Now don't think I've lost my mind - but I'll tell you, I'll look at some of the cards I have, some of Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/now-don-t-think-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-ll-tell-you-i-ll-look-at-some/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [The Sexual Revolution is a complete rebellion against authority, natural and supernatural, even against the body and its needs, its natural functions of child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sexual-revolution-is-a-complete-rebellion-against-authority/)

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> [Idealism in the young, I guess I'm saying, is curiosity as well as goodness trying to express itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/idealism-in-the-young-i-guess-i-m-saying-is-curiosity-as-well-as/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [Voluntary poverty isn't going around with some burlap bag around you and imitating the poor. It means being indifferent to the material, doing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/voluntary-poverty-isn-t-going-around-with-some-burlap-bag-around-you/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [Women think with their whole bodies and they see things as a whole more than men do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/women-think-with-their-whole-bodies-and-they-see-things-as-a-whole/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [My whole life so far, my whole experience has been that our failure has been not to love enough. This conviction brought me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/my-whole-life-so-far-my-whole-experience-has-been-that-our-failure/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [It is only through religion that communism can be achieved, and has been achieved over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/it-is-only-through-religion-that-communism-can-be-achieved-and-has/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [The Communists in Cuba didn't assist Castro in his revolution. They weren't on the side of the students. They didn't do anything to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-communists-in-cuba-didn-t-assist-castro-in-his-revolution-they/)

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> [Dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/dear-god-please-enlarge-our-hearts-to-love-each-other-to-love-our/)

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> [A conversion is a lonely experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/a-conversion-is-a-lonely-experience/)

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> [The sense is always that community is natural to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sense-is-always-that-community-is-natural-to-people/)

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> [“We must practice the presence of God. He said that when two or three are gathered together, there he is in the midst of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-practice-the-presence-of-god-he-said-that-when-two-or-three/)

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> [I have been disillusioned, however, this long, long time in the means used by any but the saints to live in this world God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-have-been-disillusioned-however-this-long-long-time-in-the-means/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

[Explore all 220 Dorothy Day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

## More Cheek quotes

> [The South is the home of 'an eye for an eye.' 'Turning the other cheek'? The South can't see that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/the-south-is-the-home-of-an-eye-for-an-eye-turning-the-other-cheek/)

[Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/)

> [If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I turn my cheek and stay quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/i-turn-my-cheek-and-stay-quiet/)

[Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/)

> [Thus is his cheek the map of days outworn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-is-his-cheek-the-map-of-days-outworn/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [You are as innocent as a babys butt cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/you-are-as-innocent-as-a-babys-butt-cheek/)

[Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/)

> [It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/it-won-t-mean-you-re-weak-if-you-turn-the-other-cheek/)

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> [The natural habitat of the tongue is the left cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-smith/the-natural-habitat-of-the-tongue-is-the-left-cheek/)

[Red Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-smith/)

> [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/)

[Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/)

> [Forgiveness isn’t something I’m preoccupied with — turning the other cheek isn’t my trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/forgiveness-isn-t-something-i-m-preoccupied-with-turning-the-other/)

[Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/)

> [And you know what - and I don't mean this in tongue in cheek way - but it's like deja vu. When I walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk-hogan/and-you-know-what-and-i-don-t-mean-this-in-tongue-in-cheek-way-but-it/)

[Hulk Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk-hogan/)

> [My vigor, vitality and cheek repel me. I am the kind of woman I would run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/my-vigor-vitality-and-cheek-repel-me-i-am-the-kind-of-woman-i-would/)

[Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/)

> [I don't deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue is always in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-deserve-any-credit-for-turning-the-other-cheek-as-my-tongue/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“I don't understand the logic of turning the other cheek.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobin-loshento/i-don-t-understand-the-logic-of-turning-the-other-cheek/)

[Tobin Loshento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobin-loshento/)

> [Even the dullest bird or face becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-woldhek/even-the-dullest-bird-or-face-becomes-interesting-when-you-give-it-a/)

[Siegfried Woldhek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-woldhek/)

[Browse all 85 Cheek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheek/)

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