--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I beg your pardon,\" Philip interposed…" description: "\"“I beg your pardon,\" Philip interposed stiffly, now put upon his mettle. \"We have no taboos at all in England. ... England, you must remember, is a civ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/grant-allen-37074_english_i-beg-your-pardon-philip-interposed-stif_2396563.jpg" --- # I beg your pardon," Philip interposed stiffly, now put… ![“I beg your pardon," Philip interposed stiffly, now put upon his mettle. "We have no taboos at all in England. ... England, you must remember, is a civilized country, and taboos are institutions that belong the lowest and most degraded savages.” quote by Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/grant-allen-37074_english_i-beg-your-pardon-philip-interposed-stif_2396563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/grant-allen-37074_english_i-beg-your-pardon-philip-interposed-stif_2396563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/grant-allen-37074_english_i-beg-your-pardon-philip-interposed-stif_2396563.jpg) > ““I beg your pardon," Philip interposed stiffly, now put upon his mettle. "We have no taboos at all in England. ... England, you must remember, is a civilized country, and taboos are institutions that belong the lowest and most degraded savages.”” [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. England claims civility, dismissing taboos as primitive, reflecting cultural superiority. **In simple terms:** England sees taboos as uncivilized. Key Takeaway Question cultural assumptions. Themes culture civilization taboos Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - cross‑cultural dialogue - policy making - education reform - media criticism Key Concepts colonial attitudes social norms Questions to Reflect On - What are the benefits of taboos? - How do cultures define civility? A Different Perspective Oversimplification can ignore nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Taboos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taboos/) ## Related quotes > [“Zeena Schreck believes that the right-hand path and the left-hand path have traditionally had the same end goal; it is only the method that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/zeena-schreck-believes-that-the-right-hand-path-and-the-left-hand/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [“Western teaching institutions that refuse to acknowledge today's taboos are by definition subversive. Tell the new zealots of Washington that in the making of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/western-teaching-institutions-that-refuse-to-acknowledge-today-s/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Few people realize how much courage it takes in a community like ours to ignore the established taboos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-benton-frank/few-people-realize-how-much-courage-it-takes-in-a-community-like-ours/) [Dorothea Benton Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-benton-frank/) > [There are no taboos in bed, and there shouldn't be any taboos in bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/there-are-no-taboos-in-bed-and-there-shouldn-t-be-any-taboos-in-bed/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [Whenever a taboo is broken, something good happens, something vitalizing. Taboos after all are only hangovers, the product of diseased minds, you might say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/whenever-a-taboo-is-broken-something-good-happens-something/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Taboos, though unadmitted, are potent. What is it that people fear? What they don't understand. The civilized man is not a whit different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/taboos-though-unadmitted-are-potent-what-is-it-that-people-fear-what/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [To prevent wars, people must criticize, in their own country, the abuses that occur in their own country. The role taboos play in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/to-prevent-wars-people-must-criticize-in-their-own-country-the-abuses/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [Today, fear of bloodshed is forcing us into recognizing new taboos: those of Muslims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-chappatte/today-fear-of-bloodshed-is-forcing-us-into-recognizing-new-taboos/) [Patrick Chappatte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-chappatte/) > [“Finally, I want to come to the question of sex. If anything proves that religion is not just man-made but masculine-made, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/finally-i-want-to-come-to-the-question-of-sex-if-anything-proves-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Partly what I'm writing about is the way taboos get toppled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/partly-what-i-m-writing-about-is-the-way-taboos-get-toppled/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“You Are What You Eat Take food for example. We all assume that our craving or disgust is due to something about the food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-what-you-eat-take-food-for-example-we-all-assume-that-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Taboos on the human heart are more dangerous than any risk we run by using our emotions. Sensation is the life of man; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/taboos-on-the-human-heart-are-more-dangerous-than-any-risk-we-run-by/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [“Gossip, unless aimed or honed sharp like a weapon, was natural to human beings. It showed interestin oe's fellows, interest in the well being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevada-barr/gossip-unless-aimed-or-honed-sharp-like-a-weapon-was-natural-to-human/) [Nevada Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevada-barr/) > [Remember, taboos are just a map of what a society feels it's acceptable to be neurotic about. Taboos aren't rational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/remember-taboos-are-just-a-map-of-what-a-society-feels-it-s/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [“Freedom is for the curious ones. Free is the one not influenced by taboos. Free is the one who reasons and evolves continuously, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-marino/freedom-is-for-the-curious-ones-free-is-the-one-not-influenced-by/) [Massimo Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-marino/) ## More by Grant Allen > [“if people begin by thinking rationally, the danger is that they may end by acting rationally also.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-people-begin-by-thinking-rationally-the-danger-is-that-they-may/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“It is almost impossible to get a novel printed in an English journal unless it is warranted to contain nothing at all to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/it-is-almost-impossible-to-get-a-novel-printed-in-an-english-journal/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste to perpetrate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity-possible-i-might-have-been/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [What we each fall in love with individually is, I believe, our moral, mental, and physical complement. 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Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not very good at standard English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-m-not-very-good-at-standard-english/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [I was brought up by the English side of my family, who are very repressed and working class. 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I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [I'm fully English, but Portugal is my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-dier/i-m-fully-english-but-portugal-is-my-home/) [Eric Dier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-dier/) > [I think as English people, we don't want to be reminded that at one point we ruled three-quarters of the globe, and now we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-think-as-english-people-we-don-t-want-to-be-reminded-that-at-one/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. 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