--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not say anything. I was always…" description: "\"“I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/ernest-hemingway-83_business_i-did-not-say-anything-i-was-always-emba_945792.jpg" --- # I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the… ![“I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them on proclamations that were slapped up by…” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/ernest-hemingway-83_business_i-did-not-say-anything-i-was-always-emba_945792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/ernest-hemingway-83_business_i-did-not-say-anything-i-was-always-emba_945792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/ernest-hemingway-83_business_i-did-not-say-anything-i-was-always-emba_945792.jpg) > ““I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stock yards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it.”” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator expresses disillusionment with lofty language and symbols, seeing them as empty and disconnected from real experience. **In simple terms:** Words like sacred and glorious feel hollow without real meaning. Key Takeaway Question the authenticity of grand rhetoric. Themes disillusionment language authenticity Mood cynical reflective Type literary critical When to use this quote - war - political propaganda - public speeches - media messaging Key Concepts existentialism symbolic emptiness Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever feel that slogans lack substance? - How can we restore meaning to shared symbols? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook moments when such language truly inspires. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Sacrifices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifices/) [Standing in the rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing-in-the-rain/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-had-seen-nothing-sacred-and-the-things-that-were-glorious-had-no/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [For the world to become a better place, someone has to pay a price, I think it's glorious to sacrifice for the sake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xu-zhiyong/for-the-world-to-become-a-better-place-someone-has-to-pay-a-price-i/) Xu Zhiyong > [“The young man could stand it no more. 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I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. 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