--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if ever, by some unlucky chance…" description: "\"“And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/huxley-aldous-48137_drugs_and-if-ever-by-some-unlucky-chance-anyth_2415563.jpg" --- # And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant… ![“And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish…” quote by Huxley, Aldous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/huxley-aldous-48137_drugs_and-if-ever-by-some-unlucky-chance-anyth_2415563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/huxley-aldous-48137_drugs_and-if-ever-by-some-unlucky-chance-anyth_2415563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/huxley-aldous-48137_drugs_and-if-ever-by-some-unlucky-chance-anyth_2415563.jpg) > ““And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears–that's what soma is.”” [Huxley, Aldous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huxley-aldous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern comforts like "soma" replace the hard work of moral development, making virtue seem effortless but superficial. **In simple terms:** Convenient shortcuts cheapen true moral effort. Key Takeaway Seek genuine growth, not quick fixes. Themes technology morality convenience illusion Mood skeptical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal development - education - healthcare - political policy Key Concepts philosophy ethics consumerism Questions to Reflect On - What does true virtue require in today's world? - How can societies balance comfort with moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Reliance on easy solutions can erode deep character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Soma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soma/) ## Related quotes > [And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/and-there-s-always-soma-to-calm-your-anger-to-reconcile-you-to-your/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Christianity without tears—that's what soma is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/christianity-without-tears-that-s-what-soma-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Nothing, in all of the Universe is more delicious than to be in this physical body allowing the fullness that is you to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/nothing-in-all-of-the-universe-is-more-delicious-than-to-be-in-this/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [What happens if I try to build a life dedicated to avoiding all danger and all unnecessary risk?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/what-happens-if-i-try-to-build-a-life-dedicated-to-avoiding-all/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Ultimately the body will rebel. Even if it can be temporarily pacified with the help of drugs, cigarettes or medicine, it usually has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/ultimately-the-body-will-rebel-even-if-it-can-be-temporarily-pacified/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We have more experience of movement and more capacity for it than of feeling and thought... 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It is something we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-noe/perception-is-not-something-that-happens-to-us-or-in-us-it-is/) [Alva Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-noe/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [All parts of the human body get tired eventually - except the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-adenauer/all-parts-of-the-human-body-get-tired-eventually-except-the-tongue/) [Konrad Adenauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-adenauer/) ## More by Huxley, Aldous > [“... the Helmholtz of daily life who forgot and forgave, not the Helmholtz of a half-gramme holiday.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huxley-aldous/the-helmholtz-of-daily-life-who-forgot-and-forgave-not-the-helmholtz/) [Huxley, Aldous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huxley-aldous/) > [“Why don't you make everybody an Alpha Double Plus while you're about it?" Mustapha Mond laughed. "Because we have no wish to have our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huxley-aldous/why-don-t-you-make-everybody-an-alpha-double-plus-while-you-re-about/) [Huxley, Aldous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huxley-aldous/) > [“It was the sort of idea that might easily decondition the more unsettled minds among the higher castes—make them lose their faith in happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huxley-aldous/it-was-the-sort-of-idea-that-might-easily-decondition-the-more/) [Huxley, Aldous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huxley-aldous/) > [“Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. 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Not scared to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/progrezza/raves-when-it-was-safe-to-be-free-wave-your-hands-in-the-air-like-you/) [Progrezza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/progrezza/) > [Rock n roll is about drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/rock-n-roll-is-about-drugs/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/if-you-don-t-think-drugs-have-done-good-things-for-us-then-take-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I don't like drug, but drug like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammar-farini/i-don-t-like-drug-but-drug-like-me/) Ammar Farini > [“If Barack Obama had come up in a time when the drug war was being waged as intensely as it is now, we probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/if-barack-obama-had-come-up-in-a-time-when-the-drug-war-was-being/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [“Whenever the wife wants to do drugs, she thinks about Sartre. 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Keck Observatory is the only employer that has surprised me during my employment with urine tests for illegal drugs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-w-m-keck-observatory-is-the-only-employer-that-has-surprised-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I think religion is bad and drugs are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-think-religion-is-bad-and-drugs-are-good/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [You're my drugs because you help me see the beauty of life upside down and you help me escape the ugliness of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-my-drugs-because-you-help-me-see-the-beauty-of-life-upside/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,085 Drugs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. 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