--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a boy there were two curious…" description: "\"“When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the words myself, but I ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/g-k-chesterton-224_pessimism_when-i-was-a-boy-there-were-two-curious_1544145.jpg" --- # When I was a boy there were two curious men running about… ![“When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the words myself, but I cheerfully confess that I never had any very special idea of what they meant. The only thing which might be considered evident was that they could not…” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/g-k-chesterton-224_pessimism_when-i-was-a-boy-there-were-two-curious_1544145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/g-k-chesterton-224_pessimism_when-i-was-a-boy-there-were-two-curious_1544145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/g-k-chesterton-224_pessimism_when-i-was-a-boy-there-were-two-curious_1544145.jpg) > ““When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the words myself, but I cheerfully confess that I never had any very special idea of what they meant. The only thing which might be considered evident was that they could not mean what they said; for the ordinary verbal explanation was that the optimist thought this world as good as it could be, while the pessimist thought it as bad as it could be. Both these statements being obviously raving nonsense, one had to cast about for other explanations. An optimist could not mean a man who thought everything right and nothing wrong. For that is meaningless; it is like calling everything right and nothing left. Upon the whole, I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.”” [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## 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 critiques simplistic labels of optimism and pessimism, showing they are self‑contradictory and that each viewpoint excludes the other’s perspective. **In simple terms:** Labels of optimism/pessimism are contradictory and exclude each other. Key Takeaway Recognize nuance beyond binary labels. Themes philosophy psychology language humor Mood wry thoughtful analytical Type aphilosophical humorous critical When to use this quote - personal reflection - debate - teaching - writing - critical analysis Key Concepts relativism self‑contradiction semantic ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - How do you avoid reducing ideas to binary labels? - What benefits arise from embracing nuanced perspectives? A Different Perspective The dichotomy oversimplifies complex attitudes and can mislead understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explanations Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanations-optimist-5756796/) [Optimist Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist-mean-5756795/) [Optimist Pessimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist-pessimist-238422/) [Optimist Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist-thought-3055322/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Pessimist Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimist-thought-4547100/) ## Related quotes > [I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/i-came-to-the-conclusion-that-the-optimist-thought-everything-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about suicide that was strangely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-thought-from-the-beginning-that/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“Nothing in life now ever seems to end. Chemists tell you matter is never completely destroyed, and mathematicians tell you that if you halve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/nothing-in-life-now-ever-seems-to-end-chemists-tell-you-matter-is/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“The optimist and the pessimist both die in the end, but each lives is life in a completely different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-optimist-and-the-pessimist-both-die-in-the-end-but-each-lives-is/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist,” Lesslie Newbigin once said. “Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-chaddick/i-am-neither-an-optimist-nor-a-pessimist-lesslie-newbigin-once-said/) [Tim Chaddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-chaddick/) > [I am glad I am an optimist. The pessimist is half-licked before he starts. The optimist has won half the battle, the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-buckner/i-am-glad-i-am-an-optimist-the-pessimist-is-half-licked-before-he/) [Thomas Buckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-buckner/) > [I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/i-am-neither-an-optimist-nor-pessimist-but-a-possibilist/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [I'm neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am a dyed-in-the-woo l possibilist! By this, I mean with an eco-mind, we see that everything's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-m-neither-an-optimist-nor-a-pessimist-i-am-a-dyed-in-the-woo-l/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Dear Optimist, Pessimist, and Realist, While you guys were busy arguing about the glass of water, I drank it! Sincerely, The Opportunist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-optimist-pessimist-and-realist-while-you-guys-were-busy-arguing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Unsure of what I was. An optimist? A pessimist? Neither. A fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/unsure-of-what-i-was-an-optimist-a-pessimist-neither-a-fool/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [There are some harsh realities about this business, and they've been beaten into my psyche. But I'm more of an optimist than a pessimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lauer/there-are-some-harsh-realities-about-this-business-and-they-ve-been/) [Matt Lauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lauer/) > [“They were well matched. Optimist and pessimist, dreamer and cynic. And what is love anyway, but finding someone who suits you? Someone who makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/they-were-well-matched-optimist-and-pessimist-dreamer-and-cynic-and/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Sometimes people ask me, 'Are you an optimist or a pessimist?' It doesn't matter. Whether I have a future or not is for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/sometimes-people-ask-me-are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist-it-doesn-t/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [It is largely because the free-thinkers, as a school, have hardly made up their minds whether they want to be more optimist or more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-largely-because-the-free-thinkers-as-a-school-have-hardly-made/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist--while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-greiner/dear-optimist-pessimist-and-realist-while-you-guys-were-busy-arguing-2/) [Lori Greiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-greiner/) ## More by G.K. Chesterton > [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Internationalism is in any case hostile to democracy….The only purely popular government is local, and founded on local knowledge. The citizens can rule the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/internationalism-is-in-any-case-hostile-to-democracy-the-only-purely/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There was a short railway official travelling up to the terminus, three fairly short market-gardeners picked up two stations afterwards, one very short widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-was-a-short-railway-official-travelling-up-to-the-terminus/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/humility-is-the-mother-of-giants-one-sees-great-things-from-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-badly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-in-order-that-life-should-be-a-story-or-romance-to-us-it-is/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Buddhism seeks after God with the largest conception it can find, the all-producing and all-absorbing One; Christianity seeks after God with the most elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/buddhism-seeks-after-god-with-the-largest-conception-it-can-find-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More Pessimism quotes > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Only love can vanquish hate, the same way that only light can vanquish darkness. You cant fight negativity with more negativity; you must fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-love-can-vanquish-hate-the-same-way-that-only-light-can-vanquish/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When life hands you lemons, you squirt them in the eye, than yell that you wanted limes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-day/when-life-hands-you-lemons-you-squirt-them-in-the-eye-than-yell-that/) [Amanda Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-day/) > [I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/i-m-a-pessimist-because-of-intelligence-but-an-optimist-because-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm not cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/i-m-not-cynical/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [More exposure leads to more judgment and negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/more-exposure-leads-to-more-judgment-and-negativity/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [In the end, the whole Internet thing kills me, because you can use it as a positive thing or you can read into all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/in-the-end-the-whole-internet-thing-kills-me-because-you-can-use-it/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“How little one is justified in speaking in this connection of "optimism" and "pessimism" and how much the characterization of liberalism as "optimistic" aims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/how-little-one-is-justified-in-speaking-in-this-connection-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [There have been times when a particularly heavy dose of such cynicism has caused me to reflect that surely this is the age and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/there-have-been-times-when-a-particularly-heavy-dose-of-such-cynicism/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I thought all my life that optimists and pessimists pass away the same way, so why be a pessimist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/i-thought-all-my-life-that-optimists-and-pessimists-pass-away-the/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I definitely grew up on Garfield. I just loved his pessimism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/i-definitely-grew-up-on-garfield-i-just-loved-his-pessimism/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) [Browse all 2,300 Pessimism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the words myself, but I cheerfully confess that I never had any very special idea of what they meant. The only thing which might be considered evident was that they could not mean what they said; for the ordinary verbal explanation was that the optimist thought this world as good as it could be, while the pessimist thought it as bad as it could be. Both these statements being obviously raving nonsense, one had to cast about for other explanations. 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