--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most striking thing about the rich is…" description: "\"The most striking thing about the rich is the gracious democracy of their manners -- and the crude vulgarity of their way of life.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/edward-abbey-254_crude_the-most-striking-thing-about-the-rich-i_2529373.png" --- # The most striking thing about the rich is the gracious… ![“The most striking thing about the rich is the gracious democracy of their manners -- and the crude vulgarity of their way of life.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/edward-abbey-254_crude_the-most-striking-thing-about-the-rich-i_2529373.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/edward-abbey-254_crude_the-most-striking-thing-about-the-rich-i_2529373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/edward-abbey-254_crude_the-most-striking-thing-about-the-rich-i_2529373.png) > “The most striking thing about the rich is the gracious democracy of their manners -- and the crude vulgarity of their way of life.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rich people often display refined manners publicly while living crudely in private. **In simple terms:** Richness hides crude habits. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between appearance and reality. Themes society class hypocrisy Mood critical contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - media analysis - social commentary - personal observation - cultural studies Key Concepts wealth social behavior authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What does true refinement look like? - How does wealth affect personal values? A Different Perspective Not all wealthy individuals are hypocritical; generalization risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crude/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-manners-1328961/) [Gracious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gracious/) [Gracious Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gracious-democracy-1328960/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Manners Crude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners-crude-1328962/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity/) [Vulgarity Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity-way-1328963/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [In a time of social fragmentation, vulgarity becomes a way of life. To be shocking becomes more important - and often more profitable -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/in-a-time-of-social-fragmentation-vulgarity-becomes-a-way-of-life-to/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There is a real vulgarity in the way women dress at the moment. They show off too much and try too hard. They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-cavalli/there-is-a-real-vulgarity-in-the-way-women-dress-at-the-moment-they/) [Roberto Cavalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-cavalli/) > [I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/i-have-always-been-of-the-mind-that-in-a-democracy-manners-are-the/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Despite the vision and farseeing wisdom of our wartime heads of state, the physicists have felt the peculiarly intimate responsibility for suggesting, for supporting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/despite-the-vision-and-farseeing-wisdom-of-our-wartime-heads-of-state/) [J. 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Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [A crude meal, no doubt, but the best of all sauces is hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-crude-meal-no-doubt-but-the-best-of-all-sauces-is-hunger/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Art, science, philosophy, religion -- each offers at best only a crude simplification of actual living experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/art-science-philosophy-religion-each-offers-at-best-only-a-crude/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Vulgarity is the conduct of other people, just as falsehoods are the truths of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/vulgarity-is-the-conduct-of-other-people-just-as-falsehoods-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Put your point across respectfully and convincingly. Those who become vulgar, angry or violent usually do not have a valid point to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/put-your-point-across-respectfully-and-convincingly-those-who-become/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) > [It is the fine souls who serve us, and not what is called fine society. Fine society is only a self-protection against the vulgarities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-the-fine-souls-who-serve-us-and-not-what-is-called-fine-society/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A lot of warm vulgarity is incomparably preferable to a little bit of pinched niceness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-thomas/a-lot-of-warm-vulgarity-is-incomparably-preferable-to-a-little-bit-of/) [Caitlin Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-thomas/) > [For every one pupil who needs to be guarded against a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-every-one-pupil-who-needs-to-be-guarded-against-a-weak-excess-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyric/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. 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Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. 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