--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your mistake is this, and it is a very…" description: "\"“Your mistake is this, and it is a very common mistake. This young bounder has a life of his own. What right have you to conclude it is an unsuccessful..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/e-m-forster-2-1148_children_your-mistake-is-this-and-it-is-a-very-co_1153714.jpg" --- # Your mistake is this, and it is a very common mistake… ![“Your mistake is this, and it is a very common mistake. This young bounder has a life of his own. What right have you to conclude it is an unsuccessful life, or, as you call it, 'grey'?" "Because—" "One minute. You know nothing about him. He probably has his own joys and interests—wife, children…” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/e-m-forster-2-1148_children_your-mistake-is-this-and-it-is-a-very-co_1153714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/e-m-forster-2-1148_children_your-mistake-is-this-and-it-is-a-very-co_1153714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/e-m-forster-2-1148_children_your-mistake-is-this-and-it-is-a-very-co_1153714.jpg) > ““Your mistake is this, and it is a very common mistake. This young bounder has a life of his own. What right have you to conclude it is an unsuccessful life, or, as you call it, 'grey'?" "Because—" "One minute. You know nothing about him. He probably has his own joys and interests—wife, children, snug little home. That's where we practical fellows" he smiled—"are more tolerant than you intellectuals. We live and let live, and assume that things are jogging on fairly well elsewhere, and that the ordinary plain man may be trusted to look after his own affairs. I quite grant—I look at the faces of the clerks in my own office, and observe them to be dull, but I don't know what's going on beneath.”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns against judging others without understanding their personal lives; promotes tolerance and non‑interference. **In simple terms:** Don’t judge others without knowing them. Key Takeaway Respect others’ privacy. Themes tolerance judgment privacy Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - workplace interactions - community living - family dynamics Key Concepts social ethics human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about strangers? - How can you balance involvement with respect for privacy? A Different Perspective May be overly idealistic about “live and let live.” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live and let live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-and-let-live/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's a mistake for young filmmakers to just buy digital equipment and shoot a feature. Make short films first, make your mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reitman/i-think-it-s-a-mistake-for-young-filmmakers-to-just-buy-digital/) [Jason Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reitman/) > [“That ring in particular once belonged to a young man who made a very foolish mistake, as young men often do. 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He doesn't get into my space and neither does he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirron-kher/anupam-is-very-easy-going-person-and-he-likes-to-live-and-let-live-he/) [Kirron Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirron-kher/) > [“Live and let live” was the famous Viennese motto, which today still seems to me to be more humane than all the categorical imperatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/live-and-let-live-was-the-famous-viennese-motto-which-today-still/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Live and Let live" " To love someone is to see the face of God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/live-and-let-live-to-love-someone-is-to-see-the-face-of-god/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. 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Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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He probably has his own joys and interests—wife, children, snug little home. That's where we practical fellows\" he smiled—\"are more tolerant than you intellectuals. We live and let live, and assume that things are jogging on fairly well elsewhere, and that the ordinary plain man may be trusted to look after his own affairs. I quite grant—I look at the faces of the clerks in my own office, and observe them to be dull, but I don't know what's going on beneath.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.M. 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