--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Experience was to be taken as showing…" description: "\"Experience was to be taken as showing that one might get a five-pound note as one got a light for a cigarette; but one had to check the friendly impuls..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/457/henry-james-417_asks_experience-was-to-be-taken-as-showing-th_2867289.png" --- # Experience was to be taken as showing that one might get a… ![“Experience was to be taken as showing that one might get a five-pound note as one got a light for a cigarette; but one had to check the friendly impulse to ask for it in the same way.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/457/henry-james-417_asks_experience-was-to-be-taken-as-showing-th_2867289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/457/henry-james-417_asks_experience-was-to-be-taken-as-showing-th_2867289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/457/henry-james-417_asks_experience-was-to-be-taken-as-showing-th_2867289.png) > “Experience was to be taken as showing that one might get a five-pound note as one got a light for a cigarette; but one had to check the friendly impulse to ask for it in the same way.” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests that one should verify the willingness of others before assuming generosity, using a metaphor of buying a cigarette light. **In simple terms:** Check if others are willing to help before expecting assistance. Key Takeaway Ask before assuming help. Themes social etiquette expectation interaction Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - everyday negotiations - social favors - personal interactions Key Concepts reciprocity trust Questions to Reflect On - What if the request is perceived as burdensome? - How do cultural norms affect this behavior? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Checks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checks/) [Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) [Cigarette Check](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette-check-3902886/) [Experience Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-taken-2081577/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly/) [Friendly Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly-impulse-3902885/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Note Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/note-got-3902887/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Pound Note](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pound-note-2185474/) [Pounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pounds/) [Tact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tact/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I'm still carrying the note you never got from me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-carrying-the-note-you-never-got-from-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes getting hurt culminates into experience if taken gracefully. Experience gives wings to further endeavor. Go for action any way. It is action which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-kumar-sinha/sometimes-getting-hurt-culminates-into-experience-if-taken-gracefully/) [Anil Kumar Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-kumar-sinha/) > [“So I shut up and hold out a one-pound note, but he throws it on the ground, snatches back both pieces of bread, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basma-abdel-aziz/so-i-shut-up-and-hold-out-a-one-pound-note-but-he-throws-it-on-the/) [Basma Abdel Aziz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basma-abdel-aziz/) > [“However, that publisher did nothing with the book but allow dust to collect, and when she applied to have the rights revert to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-boyd/however-that-publisher-did-nothing-with-the-book-but-allow-dust-to/) [Christina Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-boyd/) > [A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five-pound note. He or she is a radiating focus of goodwill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-happy-man-or-woman-is-a-better-thing-to-find-than-a-five-pound-note/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“I appear inadvertently to have caused much trouble, sir." "Jeeves!" I said. "Sir?" "How much money is there on the dressing-table?" "In addition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/i-appear-inadvertently-to-have-caused-much-trouble-sir-jeeves-i-said/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [Wisdom is acquired by experience when taken as learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kumar-sinha/wisdom-is-acquired-by-experience-when-taken-as-learning/) [Dr Anil Kumar Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kumar-sinha/) > [With BSG, sci-fi is the human experience taken beyond the envelope. When I first became involved with the project, I knew that I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcdonnell/with-bsg-sci-fi-is-the-human-experience-taken-beyond-the-envelope/) [Mary McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcdonnell/) > [A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-piece-of-music-is-an-experience-to-be-taken-by-itself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [A Positive Mental Attitude is the right mental attitude. What is the right mental attitude? It is most often comprised of the "plus" characteristics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-positive-mental-attitude-is-the-right-mental-attitude-what-is-the/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“A schoolmate of Matt Chandler's with the locker next to his: "I need to tell you about Jesus. When do you want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/a-schoolmate-of-matt-chandler-s-with-the-locker-next-to-his-i-need-to/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tact-is-the-ability-to-describe-others-as-they-see-themselves/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education… The three R's, a littlemusic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-majority-of-colored-men-do-not-yet-think-it-worth-while-that/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [If you use tact you can say anything, then make it funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/if-you-use-tact-you-can-say-anything-then-make-it-funny/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. 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He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. 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