--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I detest common heroes and moderate…" description: "\"“I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort that exist in real life”\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg" --- # I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort… ![“I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort that exist in real life” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg) > ““I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort that exist in real life”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects ordinary heroes and moderate emotions, preferring extraordinary or extreme experiences over mundane reality. **In simple terms:** Ordinary heroes and feelings are unappealing. Key Takeaway Embrace depth over mediocrity. Themes heroism emotion authenticity Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal philosophy - social commentary Key Concepts existentialism literary critique idealism Questions to Reflect On - What defines a “real” hero for you? - How do you balance intensity with everyday life? A Different Perspective Extreme ideals can alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Detest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest/) [Detest Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest-common-6153961/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Heroes Moderate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroes-moderate-6153962/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moderate Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderate-feelings-6153960/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) ## Related quotes > [I detest my fellow-beings and do not feel that I am their fellow at all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-detest-my-fellow-beings-and-do-not-feel-that-i-am-their-fellow-at/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [I have been a hundred times on the point of killing myself, but still was fond of life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-been-a-hundred-times-on-the-point-of-killing-myself-but-still/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I detest so much ... those persons, who insist upon telling you everything - who labor every point, as the lawyers say, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/i-detest-so-much-those-persons-who-insist-upon-telling-you-everything/) [Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/) > [“The greater our own level of narcissism, the more we detest it in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-greater-our-own-level-of-narcissism-the-more-we-detest-it-in/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Complainers detest each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/complainers-detest-each-other/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [G.O.O.D. Music, we fresh, we fresh. Anything else, we detest, detest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/g-o-o-d-music-we-fresh-we-fresh-anything-else-we-detest-detest/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [“I detest mediocrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/i-detest-mediocrity/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [I detest people who lie. I can't stand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/i-detest-people-who-lie-i-can-t-stand-it/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) > [Sunnybrook Farm is now a parking lot; the petticoats are in the garbage can, where they belong in the modern world; and I detest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-temple/sunnybrook-farm-is-now-a-parking-lot-the-petticoats-are-in-the/) [Shirley Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-temple/) > [You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/you-know-i-hate-detest-and-can-t-bear-a-lie-not-because-i-am/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [God wanted Israel, as He wants Christians, to learn to utterly abhor and detest anything that had the potential of coming between them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/god-wanted-israel-as-he-wants-christians-to-learn-to-utterly-abhor/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“My robust lexicon notwithstanding, I struggle to find the right words to describe just how much I despise, hate, abhor, revile, detest and categorically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/my-robust-lexicon-notwithstanding-i-struggle-to-find-the-right-words/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Detest quotes > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“My robust lexicon notwithstanding, I struggle to find the right words to describe just how much I despise, hate, abhor, revile, detest and categorically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/my-robust-lexicon-notwithstanding-i-struggle-to-find-the-right-words/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God wanted Israel, as He wants Christians, to learn to utterly abhor and detest anything that had the potential of coming between them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/god-wanted-israel-as-he-wants-christians-to-learn-to-utterly-abhor/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/you-know-i-hate-detest-and-can-t-bear-a-lie-not-because-i-am/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Sunnybrook Farm is now a parking lot; the petticoats are in the garbage can, where they belong in the modern world; and I detest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-temple/sunnybrook-farm-is-now-a-parking-lot-the-petticoats-are-in-the/) [Shirley Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-temple/) > [I detest people who lie. I can't stand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/i-detest-people-who-lie-i-can-t-stand-it/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) > [“I detest mediocrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/i-detest-mediocrity/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [G.O.O.D. Music, we fresh, we fresh. Anything else, we detest, detest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/g-o-o-d-music-we-fresh-we-fresh-anything-else-we-detest-detest/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Complainers detest each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/complainers-detest-each-other/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“The greater our own level of narcissism, the more we detest it in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-greater-our-own-level-of-narcissism-the-more-we-detest-it-in/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [I detest so much ... those persons, who insist upon telling you everything - who labor every point, as the lawyers say, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/i-detest-so-much-those-persons-who-insist-upon-telling-you-everything/) [Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/) > [I have been a hundred times on the point of killing myself, but still was fond of life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-been-a-hundred-times-on-the-point-of-killing-myself-but-still/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [My chief virtue (or if you like, defect) has been a tireless lifelong search for an original, individual musical idiom. I detest imitation, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/my-chief-virtue-or-if-you-like-defect-has-been-a-tireless-lifelong/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) [Browse all 203 Detest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort that exist in real life”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feelings-the-sort-that-exist-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Detest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feelings-the-sort-that-exist-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/gustave-flaubert-354_detest_i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feel_2426090.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I detest common heroes and moderate feelings, the sort that exist in real life” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I detest common heroes and moderate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feelings-the-sort-that-exist-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-detest-common-heroes-and-moderate-feelings-the-sort-that-exist-in/#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 } } ] } ```