--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never have things of the spirit counted…" description: "\"“Never have things of the spirit counted for so little. Never has hatred for everything great been so manifest – disdain for Beauty, execration of lite..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/gustave-flaubert-354_beauty_never-have-things-of-the-spirit-counted_1002570.jpg" --- # Never have things of the spirit counted for so little… ![“Never have things of the spirit counted for so little. Never has hatred for everything great been so manifest – disdain for Beauty, execration of literature. I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/gustave-flaubert-354_beauty_never-have-things-of-the-spirit-counted_1002570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/gustave-flaubert-354_beauty_never-have-things-of-the-spirit-counted_1002570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/gustave-flaubert-354_beauty_never-have-things-of-the-spirit-counted_1002570.jpg) > ““Never have things of the spirit counted for so little. Never has hatred for everything great been so manifest – disdain for Beauty, execration of literature. I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it.”” [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 spiritual and cultural values are being devalued, while hatred and contempt for greatness rise, threatening the purity of intellectual pursuits. **In simple terms:** Spiritual values are ignored, hatred for greatness grows. Key Takeaway Protect and cherish cultural and spiritual ideals. Themes culture spirituality decay intellectualism Mood disillusioned critical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic life - political discourse - art criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts nihilism modernism cultural criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal integrity amid widespread cynicism? - What can be done to revive respect for beauty and literature? A Different Perspective Even in an ivory tower, external negativity can infiltrate and erode ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-great-2124791/) [Ivory tower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ivory-tower/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Manifest Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifest-disdain-2124789/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit Counted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-counted-2124790/) [Things Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-spirit-556161/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [I think human self-hatred may be the great untold story of the millennium. 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