--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Universities are filled with poets and…" description: "\"Universities are filled with poets and novelists conducting demure and careful lives in imitation of Eliot and Forster and those others who (through wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg" --- # Universities are filled with poets and novelists… ![“Universities are filled with poets and novelists conducting demure and careful lives in imitation of Eliot and Forster and those others who (through what seems to be have been discretion) made it.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg) > “Universities are filled with poets and novelists conducting demure and careful lives in imitation of Eliot and Forster and those others who (through what seems to be have been discretion) made it.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectuals often imitate past masters, leading to cautious, unoriginal lives lacking bold creativity. **In simple terms:** Copying past writers yields safe but bland lives. Key Takeaway Embrace original expression. Themes literature creativity conformity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - personal journaling Key Concepts imitation artistic risk cultural stagnation Questions to Reflect On - What would you create without fear of imitation? - How can you balance tradition and innovation? A Different Perspective Originality may face criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demure/) [Discretion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [Students at universities are sometimes so filled with the doctrines of the world they begin to question the doctrines of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/students-at-universities-are-sometimes-so-filled-with-the-doctrines/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Poets and novelists and playwrights make themselves, against terrible resistances, give over what the rest of us keep safely locked within our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/poets-and-novelists-and-playwrights-make-themselves-against-terrible/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [America may have great poets and novelists, but she never will have more than one necromancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/america-may-have-great-poets-and-novelists-but-she-never-will-have/) [Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/) > [Precision marching is less important for the bridal party than maintaining the proper facial expresssions: The bridegroom must look awed; the bridesmaids, happy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/precision-marching-is-less-important-for-the-bridal-party-than/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [My mom, honestly, she is very chic, very demure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-consani/my-mom-honestly-she-is-very-chic-very-demure/) [Alex Consani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-consani/) > [Persian pussy from over the sea demure and lazy and smug and fat none of your ribbons and bells for me ours is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/persian-pussy-from-over-the-sea-demure-and-lazy-and-smug-and-fat-none/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Come, pensive nun, devout and pure, sober steadfast, and demure, all in a robe of darkest grain, flowing with majestic train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/come-pensive-nun-devout-and-pure-sober-steadfast-and-demure-all-in-a/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I appreciate and love women for many reasons, tall and small, plump and skinny, and crazy and demure. I see beauty in all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-butler/i-appreciate-and-love-women-for-many-reasons-tall-and-small-plump-and/) [Gerard Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-butler/) > [“Dagmar knew there were worse things in this world than pretending to be a caring, demure woman. For instance, actually being a caring, demure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/dagmar-knew-there-were-worse-things-in-this-world-than-pretending-to/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [The knight is a man of blood and iron, a man familiar with the sight of smashed faces and the ragged stumps of lopped-off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-knight-is-a-man-of-blood-and-iron-a-man-familiar-with-the-sight-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Women receive messages from childhood that they may be rewarded and protected for maintaining a childlike comportment such as being demure, obedient, passive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/women-receive-messages-from-childhood-that-they-may-be-rewarded-and/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Oregon is demure, and lovely, and it ought to play a little hard to get.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mccall/oregon-is-demure-and-lovely-and-it-ought-to-play-a-little-hard-to-get/) [Tom McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-mccall/) > [Many of us reject all of the inferior meanings and connotations that others project onto femininity - that it is weak, artificial, frivolous, demure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-serano/many-of-us-reject-all-of-the-inferior-meanings-and-connotations-that/) [Julia Serano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-serano/) > [I don't think anybody is ever going to call me to play someone who is mousy and demure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drea-de-matteo/i-don-t-think-anybody-is-ever-going-to-call-me-to-play-someone-who-is/) [Drea De Matteo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drea-de-matteo/) > [As an actor, you're kind of aware of everything, or you try to be, so you take in certain habits or find certain things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-yarbrough/as-an-actor-you-re-kind-of-aware-of-everything-or-you-try-to-be-so/) [Cedric Yarbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-yarbrough/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Careful quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) Davan Yahya Khalil > [Be careful. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the worst Spanish student in the history of the language.” I laughed. “No problemo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/be-careful-i-wouldn-t-want-anything-to-happen-to-the-worst-spanish/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [If I held all the thoughts of the world in my hand, I would be careful not to open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/if-i-held-all-the-thoughts-of-the-world-in-my-hand-i-would-be-careful/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [Physical beauty is not everything, but the beauty is more careful than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/physical-beauty-is-not-everything-but-the-beauty-is-more-careful-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think about what you do, if you become self-conscious about it, you've got to be very careful. Because I really like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/if-you-think-about-what-you-do-if-you-become-self-conscious-about-it/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [You've got to be careful against classy fighters, especially counter-punchers because if you go for the finish too early, you can end up getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/you-ve-got-to-be-careful-against-classy-fighters-especially-counter/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-clement-stone-2/be-careful-the-friends-you-choose-for-you-will-become-like-them/) W Clement Stone > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have to be careful to get out before I become the grotesque caricature of a hatchet-faced woman with big knockers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-have-to-be-careful-to-get-out-before-i-become-the-grotesque/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. It's obviously a concern and I've been very careful with my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-james/i-just-have-to-deal-with-it-injuries-if-and-when-problems-happen-it-s/) [Greg James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-james/) > [Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-lionel-kendrick/our-communications-reflect-in-our-countenance-therefore-we-must-be/) [L. Lionel Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-lionel-kendrick/) Browse all 2,861 Careful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Universities are filled with poets and novelists conducting demure and careful lives in imitation of Eliot and Forster and those others who (through what seems to be have been discretion) made it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-novelists-conducting-demure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Careful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-novelists-conducting-demure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/gore-vidal-466_careful_universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-n_399584.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Universities are filled with poets and novelists conducting demure and careful lives in imitation of Eliot…” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Universities are filled with poets and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-novelists-conducting-demure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/universities-are-filled-with-poets-and-novelists-conducting-demure/#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 } } ] } ```