--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Surely a man must be in a parlours state…" description: "\"“Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity, extremely weak to inspire sympathy, or very evil-looking to make a soul tremble in a den like..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png" --- # Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity… ![“Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity, extremely weak to inspire sympathy, or very evil-looking to make a soul tremble in a den like this, where pain must hold its tongue, poverty remain cheerful, and despair retain its self respect.” quote by Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png) > ““Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity, extremely weak to inspire sympathy, or very evil-looking to make a soul tremble in a den like this, where pain must hold its tongue, poverty remain cheerful, and despair retain its self respect.”” [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## 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 describes how extreme suffering can evoke pity, sympathy, or fear, depending on the observer's perception of weakness or evil. **In simple terms:** Suffering can inspire different emotional responses. Key Takeaway Consider how context shapes empathy. Themes suffering empathy perception social class humanity Mood reflective empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - poverty relief - mental health care - social services - community support Key Concepts psychology social critique literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What triggers pity versus fear? - How does class affect our response to suffering? A Different Perspective Emotions may be manipulated by presenting suffering in certain ways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balzac/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Excite Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excite-pity-3956880/) [Man Parlours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-parlours-3956882/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) [Sympathy Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy-evil-3956881/) ## Related quotes > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, may be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-may-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [If the purpose of lamentation be to excite pity, it is surely superfluous for age and weakness to tell their plaintive stories; for pity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/if-the-purpose-of-lamentation-be-to-excite-pity-it-is-surely/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“There is something noble as well as terrible about suicide. The downfall of many men is not dangerous, for they fall like children, too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/there-is-something-noble-as-well-as-terrible-about-suicide-the/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Journalism, look you, is the religion of modern society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/journalism-look-you-is-the-religion-of-modern-society/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“He looked like some plant bleached by darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/he-looked-like-some-plant-bleached-by-darkness/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Ha a nők elmésnek, tehetségesnek találják, a férfiak el fogják hinni, hogy az, hacsak maga ki nem ábrándítja őket. Akkor aztán mindent akarhat, mindenütt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/ha-a-n-k-elm-snek-tehets-gesnek-tal-lj-k-a-f-rfiak-el-fogj-k-hinni/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Thackeray and Balzac will make it possible for our descendants to live over again the England and France of to-day. Seen in this light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/thackeray-and-balzac-will-make-it-possible-for-our-descendants-to/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime. —HONORÉ DE BALZAC”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-silva/behind-every-great-fortune-lies-a-great-crime-honor-de-balzac/) [Daniel Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-silva/) > [It is scarcely exaggeration to say that if one is not a little mad about Balzac at twenty, one will never live; and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/it-is-scarcely-exaggeration-to-say-that-if-one-is-not-a-little-mad/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Balzac was pretty funny. His philosophy is plain and simple, says basically that pure materialism is a recipe for madness. The only true knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/balzac-was-pretty-funny-his-philosophy-is-plain-and-simple-says/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“I'm the next fucking Balzac. What about Proust?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/i-m-the-next-fucking-balzac-what-about-proust/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [My film is actually very critical of the level of French we're using back home. To have an immigrant from an ancient French colony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/my-film-is-actually-very-critical-of-the-level-of-french-we-re-using/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [“When Balzac was working, his writing schedule was brutal: He ate a light dinner at 6:00 P.M., then went to bed. At 1:00 A.M.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-currey/when-balzac-was-working-his-writing-schedule-was-brutal-he-ate-a/) [Mason Currey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-currey/) > [Translators who choose to work on canonized writers can usually lean on an extensive critical apparatus around either the author or the book in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/translators-who-choose-to-work-on-canonized-writers-can-usually-lean/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) ## More by Honoré de Balzac > [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honoré de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More Balzac quotes > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [Translators who choose to work on canonized writers can usually lean on an extensive critical apparatus around either the author or the book in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/translators-who-choose-to-work-on-canonized-writers-can-usually-lean/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [“When Balzac was working, his writing schedule was brutal: He ate a light dinner at 6:00 P.M., then went to bed. At 1:00 A.M.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-currey/when-balzac-was-working-his-writing-schedule-was-brutal-he-ate-a/) [Mason Currey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-currey/) > [My film is actually very critical of the level of French we're using back home. To have an immigrant from an ancient French colony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/my-film-is-actually-very-critical-of-the-level-of-french-we-re-using/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [“I'm the next fucking Balzac. What about Proust?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/i-m-the-next-fucking-balzac-what-about-proust/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [“Balzac was pretty funny. His philosophy is plain and simple, says basically that pure materialism is a recipe for madness. The only true knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/balzac-was-pretty-funny-his-philosophy-is-plain-and-simple-says/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It is scarcely exaggeration to say that if one is not a little mad about Balzac at twenty, one will never live; and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/it-is-scarcely-exaggeration-to-say-that-if-one-is-not-a-little-mad/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime. —HONORÉ DE BALZAC”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-silva/behind-every-great-fortune-lies-a-great-crime-honor-de-balzac/) [Daniel Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-silva/) > [Thackeray and Balzac will make it possible for our descendants to live over again the England and France of to-day. Seen in this light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/thackeray-and-balzac-will-make-it-possible-for-our-descendants-to/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [Balzac, you know, our great Balzac, he wrote interesting things about how in literature you keep distance in order to express great feelings. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-huppert/balzac-you-know-our-great-balzac-he-wrote-interesting-things-about/) [Isabelle Huppert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-huppert/) > [“Ha a nők elmésnek, tehetségesnek találják, a férfiak el fogják hinni, hogy az, hacsak maga ki nem ábrándítja őket. Akkor aztán mindent akarhat, mindenütt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/ha-a-n-k-elm-snek-tehets-gesnek-tal-lj-k-a-f-rfiak-el-fogj-k-hinni/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All the critics who could not make their reputations by discovering you are hoping to make them by predicting hopefully your approaching impotence, failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-the-critics-who-could-not-make-their-reputations-by-discovering/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Être aimé d'elle, ou mourir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balzac/tre-aim-d-elle-ou-mourir/) [Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balzac/) > [“Behind every great fortune there is a crime. —BALZAC”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-every-great-fortune-there-is-a-crime-balzac/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I belong to the opposition party, which is called life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-belong-to-the-opposition-party-which-is-called-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 33 Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balzac/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity, extremely weak to inspire sympathy, or very evil-looking to make a soul tremble in a den like this, where pain must hold its tongue, poverty remain cheerful, and despair retain its self respect.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Honoré de Balzac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state-to-excite-pity-extremely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balzac" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state-to-excite-pity-extremely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/honor-de-balzac-197_balzac_surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state_2064681.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Surely a man must be in a parlours state to excite pity, extremely weak to inspire sympathy, or very…” — Honoré de Balzac", "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": "Honoré de Balzac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Surely a man must be in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state-to-excite-pity-extremely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/surely-a-man-must-be-in-a-parlours-state-to-excite-pity-extremely/#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 } } ] } ```