--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The theory that music has a depraving…" description: "\"The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has now been abandoned to the old women of both sexes.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png" --- # The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has… ![“The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has now been abandoned to the old women of both sexes.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png) > “The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has now been abandoned to the old women of both sexes.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The belief that music corrupts morals is outdated; modern views see it as neutral or beneficial. **In simple terms:** Music isn’t morally corrupting; that view is obsolete. Key Takeaway Reevaluate outdated moral judgments about art. Themes morality music cultural change historical attitudes Mood critical thoughtful historical Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - education - media criticism - parenting - policy making Key Concepts ethics aesthetics social norms Questions to Reflect On - Do you think music can affect behavior? - How do cultural contexts shape these beliefs? A Different Perspective Some still claim music influences behavior negatively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) [Abandoned Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned-old-2142535/) [Effect Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-morals-781959/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morals Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morals-abandoned-2266507/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Depraving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-depraving-2266508/) [Old woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-woman/) [Old women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-women/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [This party spirit has so ill an effect on our morals, it has likewise a very great one upon our judgments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/this-party-spirit-has-so-ill-an-effect-on-our-morals-it-has-likewise/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The moment you let your courage leave you, you turn to an abandoned old house!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-moment-you-let-your-courage-leave-you-you-turn-to-an-abandoned/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mertz/noble-causes-have-a-deplorable-effect-on-the-morals-of-the-persons/) [Barbara Mertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mertz/) > [Old books that have ceased to be of service should no more be abandoned than should old friends who have ceased to give pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/old-books-that-have-ceased-to-be-of-service-should-no-more-be/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [I'm 60, and I did 60-year-old women songs. I'm not trying to be the Hip-Hop Queen, although I am the original Hip Hop Queen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-m-60-and-i-did-60-year-old-women-songs-i-m-not-trying-to-be-the-hip/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Old women with mobile phones look wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kay/old-women-with-mobile-phones-look-wrong/) [Peter Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kay/) > [“To see how pretty an old woman once was, it is not enough just to look at each feature; they must be translated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/to-see-how-pretty-an-old-woman-once-was-it-is-not-enough-just-to-look/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Old women can see through walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/old-women-can-see-through-walls/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [This is what I miss, Cordelia: not something that’s gone, but something that will never happen. Two old women giggling over their tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/this-is-what-i-miss-cordelia-not-something-that-s-gone-but-something/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [What work you do! It's strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/what-work-you-do-it-s-strange-work-for-a-christian-girl-to-hang-old/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [All I can say is that we are mistaken to gouge such a deep rift in history that the things old men and old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/all-i-can-say-is-that-we-are-mistaken-to-gouge-such-a-deep-rift-in/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [It's incredibly unfair. You don't see a lot of 60-year-old women with 20-year-old men onscreen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/it-s-incredibly-unfair-you-don-t-see-a-lot-of-60-year-old-women-with/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Growing old is not all sweetness and light. Old women especially are invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-rendell/growing-old-is-not-all-sweetness-and-light-old-women-especially-are/) [Ruth Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-rendell/) > [A miniskirt shows just enough to cause some mystery. What these young women lack is mystery so the old women have to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/a-miniskirt-shows-just-enough-to-cause-some-mystery-what-these-young/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [Why don't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/why-don-t-somebody-wake-up-to-the-beauty-of-old-women/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“The desperate loneliness is nothing compared to the torture of falling in love and then being abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-nuest/the-desperate-loneliness-is-nothing-compared-to-the-torture-of/) [A.J. Nuest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-nuest/) > [Through it all, this wild life on and off the road , through Jordanian deserts , Spanish islands, German prisons, Caribbean tax scams, halls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/through-it-all-this-wild-life-on-and-off-the-road-through-jordanian/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. I have always had to defend the social side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-just-feel-abandoned-and-i-feel-i-don-t-feel-represented-by-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 932 Abandoned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has now been abandoned to the old women of both sexes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-effect-on-morals-has-now-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandoned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-effect-on-morals-has-now-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/george-bernard-shaw-68_abandoned_the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-ef_1019915.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The theory that music has a depraving effect on morals has now been abandoned to the old women of both sexes.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The theory that music has a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-effect-on-morals-has-now-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-theory-that-music-has-a-depraving-effect-on-morals-has-now-been/#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 } } ] } ```