--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did…" description: "\"“Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our convenience,\" said Marie. \"I'm sure, if we consulted that, we might let them all go at once.\" Evang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg" --- # Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our… ![“Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our convenience," said Marie. "I'm sure, if we consulted that, we might let them all go at once." Evangeline fixed her large, serious eyes on her mother's face, with an earnest and perplexed expression, and said, simply, "What do you keep them for…” quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg) > ““Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our convenience," said Marie. "I'm sure, if we consulted that, we might let them all go at once." Evangeline fixed her large, serious eyes on her mother's face, with an earnest and perplexed expression, and said, simply, "What do you keep them for, mamma?" "I don't know, I'm sure, except for a plague; they are the plague of my life. I believe that more of my ill health is caused by them than by any one thing; and ours, I know, are the very worst that ever anybody was plagued with.”” [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## 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 reflects on how the burdens they carry (slaves) are a source of illness and misery, questioning their purpose. **In simple terms:** Burdens cause harm and need questioning. Key Takeaway Reevaluate what you cling to. Themes burden health reflection Mood melful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - family dialogue - historical context Key Concepts slavery psychology self‑examination Questions to Reflect On - What burdens in your life harm you? - How can you let go responsibly? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex social issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ill health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill-health/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ## Related quotes > [It was a marvel, an enigma in abolition latitudes, that the slaves did not rise en-masse, at the beginning of hostilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-latimer-felton/it-was-a-marvel-an-enigma-in-abolition-latitudes-that-the-slaves-did/) Rebecca Latimer Felton > [The difference between slaves in Roman and Ottoman days and today's employees is that slaves did not need to flatter their boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-difference-between-slaves-in-roman-and-ottoman-days-and-today-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I find it more than a little disingenuous to act as if keeping slaves was something that set Thomas Jefferson apart from all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-gordon-reed/i-find-it-more-than-a-little-disingenuous-to-act-as-if-keeping-slaves/) [Annette Gordon-Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-gordon-reed/) > [“When I was little and Nick got hit by a car,' I said, 'Marie told me that he'd used up all our family's bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-barter/when-i-was-little-and-nick-got-hit-by-a-car-i-said-marie-told-me-that/) Catherine Barter > [“He waxed poetic over her gentle manners and soft voice. With all the sweet and kind descriptions he used, I half wonder if this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-shea/he-waxed-poetic-over-her-gentle-manners-and-soft-voice-with-all-the/) [K.M. Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-shea/) > [Jefferson owned slaves. He did not believe that all were created equal. He was a racist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/jefferson-owned-slaves-he-did-not-believe-that-all-were-created-equal/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [From some things that I have said one may get the idea that some of the slaves did not want freedom. This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/from-some-things-that-i-have-said-one-may-get-the-idea-that-some-of/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“The son knows about himself as a masculine figure through the eyes of the mother, not the eyes of the father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-kohlrieser/the-son-knows-about-himself-as-a-masculine-figure-through-the-eyes-of/) [George Kohlrieser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-kohlrieser/) > [“And my eyes, my mother gave me my eyes, no eyelids, as if they were carved on a jack-o'-lantern with two swift cuts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/and-my-eyes-my-mother-gave-me-my-eyes-no-eyelids-as-if-they-were/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [The child had his mother's eyes, his mother's nose, and his mother's mouth. Which leaves his mother with a pretty blank expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-child-had-his-mother-s-eyes-his-mother-s-nose-and-his-mother-s/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“You have made me give up the hair Father gave me, the eyes Mother left me, the Color I was born to, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/you-have-made-me-give-up-the-hair-father-gave-me-the-eyes-mother-left/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“He wrote with terrible rapidity, the twig in his fingers rilling blood without renewal; but in the middle of a sentence his hands denied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/he-wrote-with-terrible-rapidity-the-twig-in-his-fingers-rilling-blood/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“I dreamed that I woke up and there was a little girl, not more than three or four years old, standing outside my window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-hammond/i-dreamed-that-i-woke-up-and-there-was-a-little-girl-not-more-than/) [Darrell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-hammond/) > [“As her vision flickered one last time, the man was gone; it was her mother looking into her eyes. Her mother’s eyes were filled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cormack/as-her-vision-flickered-one-last-time-the-man-was-gone-it-was-her/) [Kim Cormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cormack/) > [Can anything harm us, mother, after the night-lights are lit?" Nothing, precious," she said; "they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-anything-harm-us-mother-after-the-night-lights-are-lit-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Harriet Beecher Stowe > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/i-wrote-what-i-did-because-as-a-woman-as-a-mother-i-was-oppressed-and/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [People who hate trouble generally get a good deal of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/people-who-hate-trouble-generally-get-a-good-deal-of-it/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/common-sense-is-seeing-things-as-they-are-and-doing-things-as-they/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Love needs new leaves every summer of life, as much as your elm-tree, and new branches to grow broader and wider, and new flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/love-needs-new-leaves-every-summer-of-life-as-much-as-your-elm-tree/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [God has always been to me not so much like a father as like a dear and tender mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/god-has-always-been-to-me-not-so-much-like-a-father-as-like-a-dear/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [If I am to write, I must have a room to myself, which shall be my room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/if-i-am-to-write-i-must-have-a-room-to-myself-which-shall-be-my-room/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [The longest way must have its close - the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-longest-way-must-have-its-close-the-gloomiest-night-will-wear-on/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserved; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/home-is-a-place-not-only-of-strong-affections-but-of-entire/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I am speaking now of the highest duty we owe our friends, the noblest, the most sacred - that of keeping their own nobleness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/i-am-speaking-now-of-the-highest-duty-we-owe-our-friends-the-noblest/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [No ornament of a house can compare with books; they are constant company in a room, even when you are not reading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/no-ornament-of-a-house-can-compare-with-books-they-are-constant/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [The greater the interest involved in a truth the more careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-greater-the-interest-involved-in-a-truth-the-more-careful-self/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [We can make ourselves say the kind things that rise in our hearts and tremble on our lips - do the gentle and helpful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/we-can-make-ourselves-say-the-kind-things-that-rise-in-our-hearts-and/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-s-a-matter-of-taking-the-side-of-the-weak-against-the-strong/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [What's your hurry?" Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/what-s-your-hurry-because-now-is-the-only-time-there-ever-is-to-do-a/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) [Explore all 280 Harriet Beecher Stowe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## More Ill health quotes > [“When we step out of our Perfect You, we will be in conflict and this will make us frustrated and unhappy, and even temporarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-step-out-of-our-perfect-you-we-will-be-in-conflict-and-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When a living system is suffering from ill health, the remedy is found by connecting with more of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-varela/when-a-living-system-is-suffering-from-ill-health-the-remedy-is-found/) [Francisco Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-varela/) > [I suffered most inconvenience from the difficulty of getting news from the civilised world down river, from the irregularity of receipt of letters, parcels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-walter-bates/i-suffered-most-inconvenience-from-the-difficulty-of-getting-news/) [Henry Walter Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-walter-bates/) > [Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability, and many do not have access to mental health services and face significant social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tedros-adhanom/depression-is-a-leading-cause-of-ill-health-and-disability-and-many/) [Tedros Adhanom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tedros-adhanom/) > [If we could make up our minds to spare our friends all details of ill health, of money losses, of domestic annoyances, of altercations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/if-we-could-make-up-our-minds-to-spare-our-friends-all-details-of-ill/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [“Lying there in silence, Elim thought about how quickly a person’s fate could change, how precious life and health are. He had walked into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/lying-there-in-silence-elim-thought-about-how-quickly-a-person-s-fate/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [“I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/i-am-of-the-nature-to-grow-old-there-is-no-way-to-escape-growing-old/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [The Caribbean is the region in the Americas worst affected by the epidemic of NCDs. These diseases are responsible for over two- thirds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freundel-stuart/the-caribbean-is-the-region-in-the-americas-worst-affected-by-the/) Freundel Stuart > [In the West, we have become addicted to work. Americans now work the longest hours in the world. And the result is not health,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/in-the-west-we-have-become-addicted-to-work-americans-now-work-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [“One third of managers are victims of "Information Fatigue Syndrome." 49 percent said they are unable to handle the vast amounts of information received.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-davidson/one-third-of-managers-are-victims-of-information-fatigue-syndrome-49/) [Jeff Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-davidson/) > [“Once we have reached a certain degree of enfeeblement, whether caused by age or by ill health, all pleasure taken at the expense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/once-we-have-reached-a-certain-degree-of-enfeeblement-whether-caused/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Patterns of interaction are transmitted, more or less faithfully, from one generation to another. Thus the inheritance of mental health and of mental ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duffy-robbins/patterns-of-interaction-are-transmitted-more-or-less-faithfully-from/) [Duffy Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duffy-robbins/) > [We also heard the usual old nonsense that banning hunting would affect employment if we abolished crime we would put all the police out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-widdecombe/we-also-heard-the-usual-old-nonsense-that-banning-hunting-would/) [Ann Widdecombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-widdecombe/) > [People who relax by watching TV instead of going out to engage with the world tend to be far less energetic. the benefits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-miller/people-who-relax-by-watching-tv-instead-of-going-out-to-engage-with/) [Liz Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-miller/) > [What are the 10 major legacies that European colonization have left behind? Issues of illiteracy. Issues of ill health. Issues of poor infrastructure. Issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-beckles/what-are-the-10-major-legacies-that-european-colonization-have-left/) [Hilary Beckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-beckles/) [Browse all 95 Ill health quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill-health/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our convenience,\" said Marie. \"I'm sure, if we consulted that, we might let them all go at once.\" Evangeline fixed her large, serious eyes on her mother's face, with an earnest and perplexed expression, and said, simply, \"What do you keep them for, mamma?\" \"I don't know, I'm sure, except for a plague; they are the plague of my life. I believe that more of my ill health is caused by them than by any one thing; and ours, I know, are the very worst that ever anybody was plagued with.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harriet Beecher Stowe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-it-for-our-convenience-said/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ill health" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-it-for-our-convenience-said/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_ill-health_talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-i_384888.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Talk about keeping slaves, as if we did it for our convenience,\" said Marie. \"I'm sure, if we consulted…” — Harriet Beecher Stowe", "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": "Harriet Beecher Stowe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Talk about keeping slaves, as if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-it-for-our-convenience-said/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/talk-about-keeping-slaves-as-if-we-did-it-for-our-convenience-said/#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 } } ] } ```