--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What depresses me is the inevitable way…" description: "\"What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate forges ahead and the deserving is left behind.\" — Ellen Glasgow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png" --- # What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate… ![“What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate forges ahead and the deserving is left behind.” quote by Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png) > “What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate forges ahead and the deserving is left behind.” [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote laments that mediocrity advances while true talent is ignored. **In simple terms:** Mediocre outpaces the deserving. Key Takeaway Recognize and support true talent. Themes inequality merit social dynamics Mood frustrated reflective Type critical observational When to use this quote - workplace - education - artistic fields - policy making Key Concepts recognition fairness motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can we create systems that reward merit? - What structures enable the second rate to surge ahead? A Different Perspective It may overlook systemic barriers that prevent deserving individuals from advancing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahead Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead-deserving-3532116/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Depresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depresses-831819/) [Depresses Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depresses-inevitable-3532114/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserving/) [Deserving Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserving-left-3532115/) [Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitable/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Second rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-rate/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [August depresses me a little. I don't even feel like eating. And when I don't eat, that's a sure sign of stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/august-depresses-me-a-little-i-don-t-even-feel-like-eating-and-when-i/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [If I do something that depresses, it's not because I'm depressed, but because political life and history is depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/if-i-do-something-that-depresses-it-s-not-because-i-m-depressed-but/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I don't like to watch myself. For the most part, I find it weird. It depresses me; I'm very critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-reaser/i-don-t-like-to-watch-myself-for-the-most-part-i-find-it-weird-it/) [Elizabeth Reaser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-reaser/) > [American mass media culture, with its celebrities, shopping hysteria, sound bites, formulaic plots, received ideas, and nauseating repetitions, depresses me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/american-mass-media-culture-with-its-celebrities-shopping-hysteria/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Reality depresses me. I need to find fantasy worlds and escape in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/reality-depresses-me-i-need-to-find-fantasy-worlds-and-escape-in-them/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [Your explanation depresses me," I said. "Your nonsense depresses me," said Simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/your-explanation-depresses-me-i-said-your-nonsense-depresses-me-said/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [i find it easy to admire in trees what depresses me in people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/i-find-it-easy-to-admire-in-trees-what-depresses-me-in-people/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Ignore the things that depresses you because it only makes you weak inside and out. Theres a lot of things you can give your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ignore-the-things-that-depresses-you-because-it-only-makes-you-weak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The body loaded by the excess of yesterday, depresses the mind also, and fixes to the ground this particle of divine breath. \[Lat., Quin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-body-loaded-by-the-excess-of-yesterday-depresses-the-mind-also/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [The only thing that really depresses me is animal cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/the-only-thing-that-really-depresses-me-is-animal-cruelty/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [“Of late a gloomy rain has been falling almost incessantly. Whatever I do depresses me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/of-late-a-gloomy-rain-has-been-falling-almost-incessantly-whatever-i/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [Thinking about going back to school and having to deal with people all day depresses me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thinking-about-going-back-to-school-and-having-to-deal-with-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate junk food. It depresses me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-faris/i-hate-junk-food-it-depresses-me/) [Sean Faris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-faris/) > [Better not mind the things that depresses you, coz it only makes you weak inside and out. Smile and be happy, Your life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/better-not-mind-the-things-that-depresses-you-coz-it-only-makes-you/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Just don't do things that depress you. I realized if it depresses me, then I just don't want to get close to it. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/just-don-t-do-things-that-depress-you-i-realized-if-it-depresses-me/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) ## More by Ellen Glasgow > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What I hated even more than the conflict was the lurid spectacle of a world of unreason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-i-hated-even-more-than-the-conflict-was-the-lurid-spectacle-of-a/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Preserve, within a wild sanctuary, an inaccessible valley of reverie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/preserve-within-a-wild-sanctuary-an-inaccessible-valley-of-reverie/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. 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Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Do you know there is always a barrier between me and any man or woman who does not like dogs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/do-you-know-there-is-always-a-barrier-between-me-and-any-man-or-woman/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [You look as if you lived on duty and it hadn't;t agreed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/you-look-as-if-you-lived-on-duty-and-it-hadn-t-t-agreed-with-you/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Life may take away happiness. But it can't take away having had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/life-may-take-away-happiness-but-it-can-t-take-away-having-had-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [So long as one is able to pose one has still much to learn about suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/so-long-as-one-is-able-to-pose-one-has-still-much-to-learn-about/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [...I had grown up in a world that was dominated by immature age. Not by vigorous immaturity, but by immaturity that was old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-had-grown-up-in-a-world-that-was-dominated-by-immature-age-not-by/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) [Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate forges ahead and the deserving is left behind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Glasgow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way-the-second-rate-forges-ahead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way-the-second-rate-forges-ahead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/ellen-glasgow-1897_behinds_what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way_391729.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What depresses me is the inevitable way the second rate forges ahead and the deserving is left behind.” — Ellen Glasgow", "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": "Ellen Glasgow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What depresses me is the inevitable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way-the-second-rate-forges-ahead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-depresses-me-is-the-inevitable-way-the-second-rate-forges-ahead/#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 } } ] } ```