--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Heroism and ignominy both are part of our…" description: "\"“Heroism and ignominy both are part of our history. The only question is whether, having seen both, we can repent of the one and rejoice and be inspire..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/eric-metaxas-1651_heroism_heroism-and-ignominy-both-are-part-of-ou_2010398.png" --- # Heroism and ignominy both are part of our history. The… ![“Heroism and ignominy both are part of our history. The only question is whether, having seen both, we can repent of the one and rejoice and be inspired by the other. Or whether we will let one of them tempt us so far away from the other that we have a deeply distorted view.” quote by Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/eric-metaxas-1651_heroism_heroism-and-ignominy-both-are-part-of-ou_2010398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/eric-metaxas-1651_heroism_heroism-and-ignominy-both-are-part-of-ou_2010398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/eric-metaxas-1651_heroism_heroism-and-ignominy-both-are-part-of-ou_2010398.png) > ““Heroism and ignominy both are part of our history. The only question is whether, having seen both, we can repent of the one and rejoice and be inspired by the other. Or whether we will let one of them tempt us so far away from the other that we have a deeply distorted view.”” [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## 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 reflects on humanity’s dual capacity for heroic deeds and shameful acts, urging us to acknowledge both, learn from mistakes, and let inspiration outweigh temptation. **In simple terms:** We must recognize both heroism and shame, learning from each. Key Takeaway Balance pride with humility. Themes history morality self‑reflection Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political leadership - personal growth - education - media analysis Key Concepts ethics dual nature inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish genuine inspiration from glorifying past mistakes? - What steps can prevent us from being swayed by one side of history? A Different Perspective It may be difficult to objectively assess past actions without bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heroism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroism/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ignominy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignominy/) ## Related quotes > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Some disabled people spend a significant amount of their energy on trying to come across as abled or as not that disabled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-disabled-people-spend-a-significant-amount-of-their-energy-on/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [One has to live with the ignominy of a garish sticker slapped over one's face, proclaiming '?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heseltine/one-has-to-live-with-the-ignominy-of-a-garish-sticker-slapped-over/) [Michael Heseltine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heseltine/) > [Finally, there is more genuine joy in climbing the hill of success, even though sweat may be spent and toes may be stubbed, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/finally-there-is-more-genuine-joy-in-climbing-the-hill-of-success/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“Ignominy thirsts for respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/ignominy-thirsts-for-respect/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Monsieur' to a convict is a glass of water to a man dying of thirst at sea; ignominy thirsts for respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/monsieur-to-a-convict-is-a-glass-of-water-to-a-man-dying-of-thirst-at/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Whatever ignominy or disgrace we have incurred, it is almost always in our power to reestablish our reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/whatever-ignominy-or-disgrace-we-have-incurred-it-is-almost-always-in/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [No people ever yet groaned under the heavy yoke of slavery, but when they deserv'd it. ...The truth is, all might be free if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/no-people-ever-yet-groaned-under-the-heavy-yoke-of-slavery-but-when/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Shame, I do believe, is the most powerful emotion known to man; most discoveries and journeys of importance have been accomplished because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-pears/shame-i-do-believe-is-the-most-powerful-emotion-known-to-man-most/) [Iain Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-pears/) > [It took time for the church to come to terms with the ignominy of the cross. Church fathers forbade its depiction in art until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/it-took-time-for-the-church-to-come-to-terms-with-the-ignominy-of-the/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [Though you be sprung in direct line from Hercules, if you show a lowborn meanness, that long succession of ancestors whom you disgrace are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/though-you-be-sprung-in-direct-line-from-hercules-if-you-show-a/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) > [The label of liberalism is hardly a sentence to public ignominy: otherwise Bruce Springsteen would still be rehabilitating used Cadillacs in Asbury Park and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/the-label-of-liberalism-is-hardly-a-sentence-to-public-ignominy/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of Days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/what-shall-i-say-and-how-shall-i-describe-this-birth-to-you-for-this/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [At least we should learn to understand our fellow beings, for we are powerless to stop their misery, their ignominy, their suffering, their weakness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/at-least-we-should-learn-to-understand-our-fellow-beings-for-we-are/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## More by Eric Metaxas > [“If we believe miracles cannot happen today but happened to our distant ancestors, what we really seem to be saying is not that miracles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/if-we-believe-miracles-cannot-happen-today-but-happened-to-our/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“(Bonhoeffer's) change was not an ungainly, embarrassing leap from which he would have to retreat slightly when he gained more maturity and perspective. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-s-change-was-not-an-ungainly-embarrassing-leap-from-which/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Religious liberty is the salt and light that has made us the great nation we are in a whole number of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/religious-liberty-is-the-salt-and-light-that-has-made-us-the-great/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“But we know that true grace comes to us by costly sacrifice. And if God was willing to go to the cross and endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/but-we-know-that-true-grace-comes-to-us-by-costly-sacrifice-and-if/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Created in the awesome image of God, men and women know that life has a meaning beyond 'eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/created-in-the-awesome-image-of-god-men-and-women-know-that-life-has/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [I have no doubt, if people are really seeking the big questions, it will lead them to the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/i-have-no-doubt-if-people-are-really-seeking-the-big-questions-it/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“human beings were taken from the earth and don’t just consist of thin air and thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/human-beings-were-taken-from-the-earth-and-don-t-just-consist-of-thin/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“If you board the wrong train it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction. —DIETRICH BONHOEFFER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/if-you-board-the-wrong-train-it-is-no-use-running-along-the-corridor/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Some illustrations of the fine-tuning of our universe deal with the so-called four fundamental forces physicists talk about, and with which most laymen are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/some-illustrations-of-the-fine-tuning-of-our-universe-deal-with-the/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Many years later, after Niemöller had been imprisoned for eight years in concentration camps as the personal prisoner of Adolf Hitler, he penned these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/many-years-later-after-niem-ller-had-been-imprisoned-for-eight-years/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Today, Wilberforce University welcomes many of America's poorest and most underserved populations and transforms their educational dreams into realities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/today-wilberforce-university-welcomes-many-of-america-s-poorest-and/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Although I know full well and hear every day that many people think little of me and say that I only write little pamphlets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/although-i-know-full-well-and-hear-every-day-that-many-people-think/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“The line between courageous faith and foolish idealism is, almost by definition, one angstrom wide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/the-line-between-courageous-faith-and-foolish-idealism-is-almost-by/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Part of my life's thesis is that we live in a culture that has bought into the patently silly idea that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/part-of-my-life-s-thesis-is-that-we-live-in-a-culture-that-has-bought/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [God designed humans to live in community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/god-designed-humans-to-live-in-community/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) [Explore all 219 Eric Metaxas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## More Heroism quotes > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“Forgotten hero was never the real hero, real hero can not be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/forgotten-hero-was-never-the-real-hero-real-hero-can-not-be-forgotten/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“But surely even heroes weary lugging around the burdens of their heroism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-trumble/but-surely-even-heroes-weary-lugging-around-the-burdens-of-their/) [J.H. Trumble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-trumble/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [There was no heroism in 'Manichitrathazhu' but there will be heroism in 'Chandramukhi.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-vasu/there-was-no-heroism-in-manichitrathazhu-but-there-will-be-heroism-in/) [P. Vasu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-vasu/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [The epic disappeared along with the age of personal heroism; there can be no epic with artillery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-epic-disappeared-along-with-the-age-of-personal-heroism-there-can/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-ashe/true-heroism-is-remarkably-sober-very-undramatic-it-is-not-the-urge/) [Arthur Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-ashe/) > [“Hero' is not an official status or designation, but if the world recognize you as a hero, it is the highest honor you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/hero-is-not-an-official-status-or-designation-but-if-the-world/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [You don't see heroism, humanity and hope like you do in a horror story. Horror celebrates the kind of friendship that keeps you standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/you-don-t-see-heroism-humanity-and-hope-like-you-do-in-a-horror-story/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“To assess the quality of thoughts of people, don't listen to their words, but watch their actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/to-assess-the-quality-of-thoughts-of-people-don-t-listen-to-their/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“The major problem of the world is, most of the people are unjustifiably angry and very few are loving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/the-major-problem-of-the-world-is-most-of-the-people-are/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 785 Heroism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Heroism and ignominy both are part of our history. 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