--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have these guilts about never having…" description: "\"I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon / Middle English by a friend who had to take it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg" --- # I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I… ![“I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon / Middle English by a friend who had to take it for her Ph.D. They told her to write an essay in Early Anglo-Saxon on any-subject-of-her-own-choosing. “Which is all very well,” she said bitterly…” quote by Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg) > “I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon / Middle English by a friend who had to take it for her Ph.D. They told her to write an essay in Early Anglo-Saxon on any-subject-of-her-own-choosing. “Which is all very well,” she said bitterly, “but the only essay subject you can find enough Early Anglo-Saxon words for is ‘How to Slaughter a Thousand Men in a Mead Hall’.” [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding academic study can lead to humorous regret, highlighting the value of confronting challenging subjects directly. **In simple terms:** Skipping tough learning can cause later regret. Key Takeaway Face difficult topics head‑on. Themes humor regret learning literature Mood wry thoughtful Type anecdotal humorous When to use this quote - language study - literary appreciation - personal growth Key Concepts academic avoidance personal anecdote Questions to Reflect On - What subject have you avoided? - How might confronting it change your perspective? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex scholarly work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anglo saxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anglo-saxon/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Middle english](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-english/) [Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughter/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have an unconscious burglar living in my mind: If I read something, it's mine. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/is-it-true-english-is-a-really-a-form-of-plattdeutsch-or-lowland/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [“We can trace the communitarian fantasy that lies at the root of all humanism back to the model of a literary society, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/we-can-trace-the-communitarian-fantasy-that-lies-at-the-root-of-all/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [“pedagogue n. FORMAL or HUMOROUS a teacher, especially a strict or pedantic one. late Middle English: via Latin from Greek paidagōgos, denoting a slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-stevenson/pedagogue-n-formal-or-humorous-a-teacher-especially-a-strict-or/) [Angus Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-stevenson/) > [“We closed the deal and moved to New York. Where in fact I had lived before, from the time I was twenty-one and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/we-closed-the-deal-and-moved-to-new-york-where-in-fact-i-had-lived/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [A dash derives from "to dash," to shatter, strike violently, to throw suddenly or violently, hence to throw carelessly in or on, hence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-partridge/a-dash-derives-from-to-dash-to-shatter-strike-violently-to-throw/) [Eric Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-partridge/) > [“To Michael Soule's three C's-cores, carnivores, and corridors-Foreman added "three W's: wilderness, wildways, and my favorite word in the English language, wildeor, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-hannibal/to-michael-soule-s-three-c-s-cores-carnivores-and-corridors-foreman/) Mary Ellen Hannibal > [Middle English is an exciting field - almost uncharted, I begin to think, because as soon as one turns detailed personal attention on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/middle-english-is-an-exciting-field-almost-uncharted-i-begin-to-think/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [“The language of Shakespeare is the first and lasting affirmation of the great changes that took place in the sixteenth century, leaving the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/the-language-of-shakespeare-is-the-first-and-lasting-affirmation-of/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“For a moment it seemed that her impeccably impractical education—in which she'd learned about Middle English and Duchamp's urinal and sub-Saharan droughts but had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-sassone/for-a-moment-it-seemed-that-her-impeccably-impractical-education-in/) Ralph Sassone > [“C'mon. I'll show you." "Thou speakest strange!" Pearl said. "So do thou!" I said. "Thee!" "Thou!" I said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-favorite/c-mon-i-ll-show-you-thou-speakest-strange-pearl-said-so-do-thou-i/) [Eileen Favorite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-favorite/) > [Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/whan-that-aprill-with-his-shoures-soote-the-droghte-of-march-hath/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Oberon "Did Middle English hounds bark with an extra syllable on the end? like 'woofe'?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/oberon-did-middle-english-hounds-bark-with-an-extra-syllable-on-the/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“Modern Our Father, who is in heaven, blessed be your name. Give us our daily bread today. All three of these languages were rich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcwhorter/modern-our-father-who-is-in-heaven-blessed-be-your-name-give-us-our/) [John McWhorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcwhorter/) ## More by Helene Hanff > [“Somewhere along the way I came upon a mews with a small sign on the entrance gate addressed to the passing world. The sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/somewhere-along-the-way-i-came-upon-a-mews-with-a-small-sign-on-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times. I only stop when at the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/my-problem-is-that-while-other-people-are-reading-fifty-books-i-m/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-do-love-secondhand-books-that-open-to-the-page-some-previous-owner/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“I houseclean my books every spring and throw out those I'm never going to read again like I throw out clothes I'm never going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-houseclean-my-books-every-spring-and-throw-out-those-i-m-never/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [It's against my principles to buy a book I haven't read, it's like buying a dress you haven't tried on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/it-s-against-my-principles-to-buy-a-book-i-haven-t-read-it-s-like/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I wish you hadn't been so over-courteous about putting the inscription on a card instead of on the flyleaf. It's the bookseller coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous-about-putting-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I personally can't think of anything less sacrosanct than a bad book or even a mediocre book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-personally-can-t-think-of-anything-less-sacrosanct-than-a-bad-book/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [What fortune teller would ever have had the nerve to predict that the best years of my life would turn out to be my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/what-fortune-teller-would-ever-have-had-the-nerve-to-predict-that-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“Please write and tell me about London, I live for the day when I step off the boat-train and feel its dirty sidewalks under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/please-write-and-tell-me-about-london-i-live-for-the-day-when-i-step/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I despair of ever getting it through anybody's head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-despair-of-ever-getting-it-through-anybody-s-head-i-am-not/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I liked reading about the nun who ate so dainty with her fingers she never dripped any grease on herself. I've never been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-liked-reading-about-the-nun-who-ate-so-dainty-with-her-fingers-she/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/if-you-happen-to-pass-by-84-charing-cross-road-kiss-it-for-me-i-owe/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [Talent is the infinite capacity for taking pains. Genius is the infinite capacity for achievement without taking any pains at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/talent-is-the-infinite-capacity-for-taking-pains-genius-is-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [Why is it that people who wouldn't dream of stealing anything else think it's perfectly all right to steal books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/why-is-it-that-people-who-wouldn-t-dream-of-stealing-anything-else/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) [Explore all 37 Helene Hanff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) ## More Anglo saxon quotes > [The really royal calling of the philosopher (as expressed by Alcuin the Anglo-Saxon): To correct what is wrong, and strengthen the right, and raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-really-royal-calling-of-the-philosopher-as-expressed-by-alcuin/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“Often we have three terms for the same thing--one Anglo-Saxon, one French, and one clearly absorbed from Latin or Greek. The Anglo-Saxon word is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hitchings/often-we-have-three-terms-for-the-same-thing-one-anglo-saxon-one/) Henry Hitchings > [Africa is still lying ready for us, it is our duty to take it. It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-rhodes/africa-is-still-lying-ready-for-us-it-is-our-duty-to-take-it-it-is/) [Cecil Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-rhodes/) > [The embrace of present and past time, in which English antiquarianism becomes a form of alchemy, engenders a strange timelessness. It is as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/the-embrace-of-present-and-past-time-in-which-english-antiquarianism/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“The English language is the tongue now current in England and her colonies throughout the world and also throughout the greater part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-devlin/the-english-language-is-the-tongue-now-current-in-england-and-her/) [Joseph Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-devlin/) > [We have a lot of black Anglo-Saxons. Their skin is black, but their brain is white. When I get real mad at them, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mooney/we-have-a-lot-of-black-anglo-saxons-their-skin-is-black-but-their/) [Paul Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mooney/) > [The American model was celebrated by Thatcherites and New Labour alike, California worshipped as the model of the future, 'Anglo-Saxon' embalmed as the fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/the-american-model-was-celebrated-by-thatcherites-and-new-labour/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [I know this isn't a widespread view in the Anglo Saxon world, but I believe that much of the reconciliation between more centralized governance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-monti/i-know-this-isn-t-a-widespread-view-in-the-anglo-saxon-world-but-i/) [Mario Monti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-monti/) > [The US and UK governments' relentless backing for the global spread of genetically modified seeds was in fact the implementation of a decades long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-william-engdahl/the-us-and-uk-governments-relentless-backing-for-the-global-spread-of/) [F. William Engdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-william-engdahl/) > [Spanish and English have such different music, and in my own poetry I feel much less drawn to fluid sounds than I do toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/spanish-and-english-have-such-different-music-and-in-my-own-poetry-i/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I don't trust most journalists who belong to Anglo Saxon stock because we know what your inclinations are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/i-don-t-trust-most-journalists-who-belong-to-anglo-saxon-stock/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [Frequently also some fair-weather finery ripped off a vessel by a storm near the coast was nailed up against an outhouse. I saw fastened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/frequently-also-some-fair-weather-finery-ripped-off-a-vessel-by-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“There is an Anglo-Saxon form of riddling that plays with the polarities of words like bright and dark, cold and warm, throwing them against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-hausman/there-is-an-anglo-saxon-form-of-riddling-that-plays-with-the/) [Gerald Hausman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-hausman/) > [I always feel more comfortable in chaotic surroundings. I don't know why that is. I think order is dull. There is something about this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-mclaren/i-always-feel-more-comfortable-in-chaotic-surroundings-i-don-t-know/) [Malcolm Mclaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-mclaren/) [Browse all 96 Anglo saxon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anglo-saxon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon / Middle English by a friend who had to take it for her Ph.D. They told her to write an essay in Early Anglo-Saxon on any-subject-of-her-own-choosing. “Which is all very well,” she said bitterly, “but the only essay subject you can find enough Early Anglo-Saxon words for is ‘How to Slaughter a Thousand Men in a Mead Hall’.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helene Hanff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-read-chaucer-but-i-was-talked/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anglo saxon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-read-chaucer-but-i-was-talked/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/helene-hanff-17131_anglo-saxon_i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-r_749614.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon /…” — Helene Hanff", "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": "Helene Hanff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have these guilts about never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-read-chaucer-but-i-was-talked/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-read-chaucer-but-i-was-talked/#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 } } ] } ```