--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contempt is not a thing to be despised." description: "\"Contempt is not a thing to be despised.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg" --- # Contempt is not a thing to be despised. ![“Contempt is not a thing to be despised.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg) > “Contempt is not a thing to be despised.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contempt is a feeling that can be examined rather than simply rejected, encouraging deeper understanding of its source. **In simple terms:** Contempt can be studied, not just dismissed. Key Takeaway Analyze contempt instead of ignoring it. Themes philosophy psychology emotions Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - conflict resolution - leadership - personal growth - media criticism Key Concepts critical thinking ethical judgment Questions to Reflect On - What does your contempt reveal about your values? - When is contempt justified? A Different Perspective Contempt may be a useful signal, not just a negative emotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Contempt Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt-thing-4293154/) [Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-despised-4293155/) ## Related quotes > [Contempt is not a thing to be despised. It may be borne with a calm and equal mind, but no man, by lifting his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-it-may-be-borne-with-a-calm/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“For every peaceful man, there was a man who wanted to hurt her, even kill her, because she was a gorgeous thing he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/for-every-peaceful-man-there-was-a-man-who-wanted-to-hurt-her-even/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [Dangers by being despised grow great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/dangers-by-being-despised-grow-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions than ruined by too confident a security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/better-to-be-despised-for-too-anxious-apprehensions-than-ruined-by/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [True religion is the foundation of society. When that is once shaken by contempt, the whole fabric cannot be stable nor lasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/true-religion-is-the-foundation-of-society-when-that-is-once-shaken/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [It is easy enough to say that poverty is no crime. No; if it were men wouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-poverty-is-no-crime-no-if-it-were-men/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [I'd rather be despised for my character than be liked for my lack of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-despised-for-my-character-than-be-liked-for-my-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [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/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More Contempt quotes > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Somebody once told me that if you laugh at a George Bush joke, or you send an email cartoon to your friends that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/somebody-once-told-me-that-if-you-laugh-at-a-george-bush-joke-or-you/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/contempt-for-an-assailant-is-best-shown-by-bravery-in-action/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Statuettes of drunken sailors, velvet pictures of island maidens, plastic seashell lamps made in Taiwan. What contempt the people who think up souvenirs have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/statuettes-of-drunken-sailors-velvet-pictures-of-island-maidens/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Every person of any rank in the left, from voter on up to cabinet member to elected official in the Democrat Party, has contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-person-of-any-rank-in-the-left-from-voter-on-up-to-cabinet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“opprobrious term, employed to impose contempt upon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-asim/opprobrious-term-employed-to-impose-contempt-upon/) [Jabari Asim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-asim/) > [Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/heterosexual-intercourse-is-the-pure-formalized-expression-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) [Browse all 1,034 Contempt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Contempt is not a thing to be despised.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contempt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/edmund-burke-400_contempt_contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised-5_504967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Contempt is not a thing to be despised.” — Edmund Burke", "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": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Contempt is not a thing to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/contempt-is-not-a-thing-to-be-despised/#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 } } ] } ```