--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The camel carries on his dreary circular…" description: "\"The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his usual slow and pompous step and head poised superciliously, as if it were a ritual affair above ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png" --- # The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his… ![“The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his usual slow and pompous step and head poised superciliously, as if it were a ritual affair above the comprehension of the vulgar; and no doubt he comforts himself for the dullness of life by a sense of virtue, like many other formalists beside…” quote by Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png) > “The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his usual slow and pompous step and head poised superciliously, as if it were a ritual affair above the comprehension of the vulgar; and no doubt he comforts himself for the dullness of life by a sense of virtue, like many other formalists beside him.” [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A formalist clings to ritual and self‑importance, finding comfort in pretended virtue while life feels dull. **In simple terms:** People hide boredom with pomp and false virtue. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge empty rituals. Themes formalism self‑importance illusion comfort mundanity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - daily work - bureaucratic routines - social gatherings - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism social critique identity Questions to Reflect On - Do you use formality to mask boredom? - What authentic purpose can replace empty rituals? A Different Perspective Rituals can become hollow if not tied to genuine purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Camel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel/) [Camel Carries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel-carries-583268/) [Camels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camels/) [Carrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carrie/) [Carries Dreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carries-dreary-583271/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Comprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehension/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Dreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreary/) [Dullness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dullness/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [No doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-doubt/) [Pompous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pompous/) [Pompous Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pompous-step-583270/) [Ritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ritual/) [Slow Pompous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-pompous-583269/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) ## Related quotes > [“The camel has a big dumb ugly hump. But in the desert, where prettier, more streamlined beasts die quickly of thirst, the camel survives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-camel-has-a-big-dumb-ugly-hump-but-in-the-desert-where-prettier/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The camel is an ugly animal, seen from above. Its shoulders slope formless like a sack, its silly little ears and fluff of bleached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-camel-is-an-ugly-animal-seen-from-above-its-shoulders-slope/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [We were not for underestimating magic - a life-conductor like the sap between the tree-stem and the bark. We know that it keeps dullness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/we-were-not-for-underestimating-magic-a-life-conductor-like-the-sap/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“A blanket could be used to wrap up all the love I have to offer you, so it’ll be easier for you to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-wrap-up-all-the-love-i-have-to-offer-you/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I saw the camel put on its shirt An leave without tears for Mecca With a thousand and one Sand sellers and Dark crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-mansour/i-saw-the-camel-put-on-its-shirt-an-leave-without-tears-for-mecca/) [Joyce Mansour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-mansour/) > [Ah, the camel of Cairo! ... He went quietly and comfortably through the narrowest lanes and the densest crowds by the mere force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jeannette-duncan/ah-the-camel-of-cairo-he-went-quietly-and-comfortably-through-the/) [Sara Jeannette Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jeannette-duncan/) > [“Many people still believe that “tough guy” means having a camel type muscles rather than a lion heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/many-people-still-believe-that-tough-guy-means-having-a-camel-type/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [He runs like a camel. A really pissed off camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-donovan/he-runs-like-a-camel-a-really-pissed-off-camel/) [Art Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-donovan/) > [“I want to know about the future because I’m a man,” the camel driver had said to the seer. “And men always live their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-want-to-know-about-the-future-because-i-m-a-man-the-camel-driver/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“All things (e.g. a camel's journey through A needle's eye) are possible, it's true. But picture how the camel feels, squeezed out In one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-things-e-g-a-camel-s-journey-through-a-needle-s-eye-are-possible/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“the senile, lecherous expression of a camel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-senile-lecherous-expression-of-a-camel/) [yann martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [You'd think that would have been forgotten long ago. But no, no sooner has a little grass grown over it than some clumsy camel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/you-d-think-that-would-have-been-forgotten-long-ago-but-no-no-sooner/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/death-is-a-black-camel-which-kneels-at-the-gates-of-all/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) ## More by Freya Stark > [I do think we should be provided with a new body about the age of thirty or so when we have learnt to attend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-do-think-we-should-be-provided-with-a-new-body-about-the-age-of/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The world has become too full of many things, an over furnished room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-world-has-become-too-full-of-many-things-an-over-furnished-room/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [From love one can only escape at the price of life itself; and no lessening of sorrow is worth exile from that stream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/from-love-one-can-only-escape-at-the-price-of-life-itself-and-no/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The unexpectedness of life, waiting round every corner, catches even wise women unawares (...) To avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-unexpectedness-of-life-waiting-round-every-corner-catches-even/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Words are the only arteries of thought our poor human body possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/words-are-the-only-arteries-of-thought-our-poor-human-body-possesses/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The past is our treasure. Its works, whether we know them or not, flourish in our lives with whatever strength they had. From it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-past-is-our-treasure-its-works-whether-we-know-them-or-not/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [On the other hand, there is a certain advantage in traveling with someone who has a reputation for shooting rather than being shot: as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/on-the-other-hand-there-is-a-certain-advantage-in-traveling-with/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [If one were given a single window from which to look upon the changing Eastern world, it should face, I think, the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/if-one-were-given-a-single-window-from-which-to-look-upon-the/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [advertisement ... has brought our disregard for truth into the open without even a figleaf to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/advertisement-has-brought-our-disregard-for-truth-into-the-open/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Who dares to be intellectual in the presence of death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/who-dares-to-be-intellectual-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The Persian's mind, like his illuminated manuscripts, does not deal in perspective: two thousand years, if he happens to know anything about them, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-persian-s-mind-like-his-illuminated-manuscripts-does-not-deal-in/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/curiosity-is-the-one-thing-invincible-in-nature/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [There are, I sometimes think, only two sorts of people in this world - the settled and the nomad - and there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/there-are-i-sometimes-think-only-two-sorts-of-people-in-this-world/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Nearly all trouble comes from mis-timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/nearly-all-trouble-comes-from-mis-timing/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“I have no reason to go, except that I have never been, and knowledge is better than ignorance. What better reason could there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-have-no-reason-to-go-except-that-i-have-never-been-and-knowledge-is/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) [Explore all 131 Freya Stark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## More Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-ripped-the-sketch-from-the-wall-liar-edward-looked-more-ravaged/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 2,218 Affair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his usual slow and pompous step and head poised superciliously, as if it were a ritual affair above the comprehension of the vulgar; and no doubt he comforts himself for the dullness of life by a sense of virtue, like many other formalists beside him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Freya Stark" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular-task-with-his-usual-slow-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular-task-with-his-usual-slow-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/freya-stark-3403_affair_the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular_2452815.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The camel carries on his dreary circular task with his usual slow and pompous step and head poised…” — Freya Stark", "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": "Freya Stark", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The camel carries on his dreary...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular-task-with-his-usual-slow-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-camel-carries-on-his-dreary-circular-task-with-his-usual-slow-and/#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 } } ] } ```