--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation." description: "\"Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg" --- # Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation. ![“Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg) > “Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.” [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. Humiliation cannot diminish human dignity; inner worth remains intact despite external contempt. **In simple terms:** Humiliation doesn't lower humanity. Key Takeaway Maintain self-respect despite insults. Themes dignity humility human nature Mood defiant reflective Type aphilosophical motivational When to use this quote - political debate - personal conflict - public criticism Key Concepts psychology ethics resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you preserve dignity when mocked? - What inner resources protect you from humiliation? A Different Perspective Humiliation can still cause lasting psychological harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Degraded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degraded/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humiliation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humiliation/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) ## Related quotes > [“He was an abomination precisely because they saw his humanity, but degraded it and would not recognize it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-auel/he-was-an-abomination-precisely-because-they-saw-his-humanity-but/) [Jean M. Auel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-auel/) > [“The difference between humility and humiliation is willingness. Ultimately, it's not for them. It's for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-hart/the-difference-between-humility-and-humiliation-is-willingness/) Rob Hart > [Do not fret, for Humiliation, too, is a Station of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lawson/do-not-fret-for-humiliation-too-is-a-station-of-the-cross/) Robin Lawson > [Take humiliation and keep trying ,earn proper respect for yourself and your soul. Pride only shows lack of confidence, arrogant dirty soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-amorelli/take-humiliation-and-keep-trying-earn-proper-respect-for-yourself-and/) [Jennifer Amorelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-amorelli/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [It is in vain to look for the elevation of woman so long as she is degraded in marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-in-vain-to-look-for-the-elevation-of-woman-so-long-as-she-is/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [As humanity perfects itself, man becomes degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interests, what room will there be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-humanity-perfects-itself-man-becomes-degraded-when-everything-is/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Every hour I spent on manual work, every hour I was humiliated in England or degraded has helped me because that's the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/every-hour-i-spent-on-manual-work-every-hour-i-was-humiliated-in/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [A poet who is a bad man is a degraded being, baser and more culpable than a bad man who is not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-poet-who-is-a-bad-man-is-a-degraded-being-baser-and-more-culpable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I'm an actor, so I love to be degraded!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-m-an-actor-so-i-love-to-be-degraded/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/you-degrade-us-and-then-ask-why-we-are-degraded-you-shut-our-mouths/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Art degraded, Imagination denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/art-degraded-imagination-denied/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [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/) ## 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 Degraded quotes > [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/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Art degraded, Imagination denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/art-degraded-imagination-denied/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/you-degrade-us-and-then-ask-why-we-are-degraded-you-shut-our-mouths/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I'm an actor, so I love to be degraded!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-m-an-actor-so-i-love-to-be-degraded/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [A poet who is a bad man is a degraded being, baser and more culpable than a bad man who is not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-poet-who-is-a-bad-man-is-a-degraded-being-baser-and-more-culpable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Every hour I spent on manual work, every hour I was humiliated in England or degraded has helped me because that's the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/every-hour-i-spent-on-manual-work-every-hour-i-was-humiliated-in/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [As humanity perfects itself, man becomes degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interests, what room will there be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-humanity-perfects-itself-man-becomes-degraded-when-everything-is/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [It is in vain to look for the elevation of woman so long as she is degraded in marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-in-vain-to-look-for-the-elevation-of-woman-so-long-as-she-is/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Somehow Photoshop and the ease with which one can produce an image has degraded the quality of photography in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/somehow-photoshop-and-the-ease-with-which-one-can-produce-an-image/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [Man is not made better by being degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-dix/man-is-not-made-better-by-being-degraded/) [Dorothea Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-dix/) > [You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/you-may-go-over-the-world-and-you-will-find-that-every-form-of/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [The fact of the matter is we went after Iraq for oil. And the fact of the matter is that the United States has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-we-went-after-iraq-for-oil-and-the-fact-of/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) [Browse all 38 Degraded quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degraded/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Degraded" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/edmund-burke-400_humanity_humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliati_1877496.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.” — 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": "Humanity cannot be degraded by humiliation.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/humanity-cannot-be-degraded-by-humiliation/#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 } } ] } ```