--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fresh-bearded young men with beautiful…" description: "\"“Fresh-bearded young men with beautiful skin and long guns on Boulevard Voltaire gazing into the beautiful, disbelieving eyes of their own generation. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/ian-mcewan-494_long-ago_fresh-bearded-young-men-with-beautiful-s_2452184.jpg" --- # Fresh-bearded young men with beautiful skin and long guns… ![“Fresh-bearded young men with beautiful skin and long guns on Boulevard Voltaire gazing into the beautiful, disbelieving eyes of their own generation. It wasn’t hatred that killed the innocents but faith, that famished ghost, still revered, even in the mildest quarters. Long ago, someone pronounced…” quote by Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/ian-mcewan-494_long-ago_fresh-bearded-young-men-with-beautiful-s_2452184.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/ian-mcewan-494_long-ago_fresh-bearded-young-men-with-beautiful-s_2452184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/ian-mcewan-494_long-ago_fresh-bearded-young-men-with-beautiful-s_2452184.jpg) > ““Fresh-bearded young men with beautiful skin and long guns on Boulevard Voltaire gazing into the beautiful, disbelieving eyes of their own generation. It wasn’t hatred that killed the innocents but faith, that famished ghost, still revered, even in the mildest quarters. Long ago, someone pronounced groundless certainty a virtue.”” [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## 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 portrays youthful rebellion, faith, and the danger of unquestioned certainty. **In simple terms:** Youthful rebels, faith, and dangerous certainty. Key Takeaway Question blind certainty. Themes youth faith certainty rebellion Mood critical poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - cultural analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does faith shape actions? - What risks come from unquestioned belief? A Different Perspective May romanticize violence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [What I've never understood is why some women use plastic surgery to make themselves more attractive to men. 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Italian men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/to-my-taste-the-men-in-rome-are-ridiculously-hurtfully-stupidly/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I think Asian men are beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/i-think-asian-men-are-beautiful/) [Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/) > [“She thought of Robbie at dinner when there had been something manic and glazed in his look. Might he be smoking the reefers she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/she-thought-of-robbie-at-dinner-when-there-had-been-something-manic/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Voltaire was a smart cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/voltaire-was-a-smart-cookie/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) ## More by Ian McEwan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. 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