--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er…" description: "\"Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural man's gentility, which erupts now and agai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg" --- # Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile… ![“Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural man's gentility, which erupts now and again like pimples on an angel's arse?” quote by John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg) > “Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural man's gentility, which erupts now and again like pimples on an angel's arse?” [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature may oscillate between refined manners and underlying savagery, surfacing intermittently. **In simple terms:** Man has both manners and savagery. Key Takeaway Accept complexity of human behavior. Themes human nature civilization primal instincts Mood wry thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - social interactions - conflict resolution - personal introspection Key Concepts philosophy literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What moments reveal your primal side? - How do you balance civility with instinct? A Different Perspective Moral judgments can oversimplify this duality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Arses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arses/) [Gentility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentility/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Man Gentility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-gentility-3139771/) [Man Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-savage-2395483/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Manners Savagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners-savagery-3139770/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Pimples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pimples/) [Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage/) [Savagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savagery/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) ## Related quotes > [Man is still a savage to the extent that he has little respect for anything that cannot hurt him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/man-is-still-a-savage-to-the-extent-that-he-has-little-respect-for/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [Touch. It is touch that is the deadliest enemy of chastity, loyalty, monogamy, gentility with its codes and conventions and restraints. By touch we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/touch-it-is-touch-that-is-the-deadliest-enemy-of-chastity-loyalty/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I have never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from other men. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-have-never-thought-much-of-the-courage-of-a-lion-tamer-inside-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [He was one of the masters of the thriller and he really was one of the great signposts, because he took the spy thriller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-forsyth/he-was-one-of-the-masters-of-the-thriller-and-he-really-was-one-of/) [Frederick Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-forsyth/) > [A man can buy nothing in the market with gentility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cecil-1st-baron-burghley/a-man-can-buy-nothing-in-the-market-with-gentility/) [William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cecil-1st-baron-burghley/) > [“Politeness is the first thing people lose once they get the power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/politeness-is-the-first-thing-people-lose-once-they-get-the-power/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [English life, while very pleasant, is rather bland. I expected kindness and gentility and I found it, but there is such a thing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-perelman/english-life-while-very-pleasant-is-rather-bland-i-expected-kindness/) [S. J. Perelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-perelman/) > [The perpetual danger which besets religion is that it may substitute gentility and aestheticism for prophetic insight and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-harkness/the-perpetual-danger-which-besets-religion-is-that-it-may-substitute/) [Georgia Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-harkness/) > [Big wave surfers are human beings that have powers. They are men of enormous gentility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-doc-paskowitz/big-wave-surfers-are-human-beings-that-have-powers-they-are-men-of/) [Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-doc-paskowitz/) > [“There we were, filled with pure animal need, as he pinned me to the wooden table, and cruelly whipped my naked bottom; the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-thrust/there-we-were-filled-with-pure-animal-need-as-he-pinned-me-to-the/) [Fiona Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-thrust/) > [Until changing economic conditions made the thing actually happen, struggling early society would hardly have guessed that woman's road to gentility would lie through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-james-smith-putnam/until-changing-economic-conditions-made-the-thing-actually-happen/) [Emily James Smith Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-james-smith-putnam/) > [He had not an ounce of superfluous flesh on his bones, and leanness goes a great way towards gentility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-had-not-an-ounce-of-superfluous-flesh-on-his-bones-and-leanness/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Gentility is what is left over from rich ancestors after the money is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/gentility-is-what-is-left-over-from-rich-ancestors-after-the-money-is/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world - only to serve the People of Israel,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovadia-yosef/goyim-were-born-only-to-serve-us-without-that-they-have-no-place-in/) [Ovadia Yosef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovadia-yosef/) > [To think of playing cricket for hard cash! Money and gentility would ruin any pastime under the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/to-think-of-playing-cricket-for-hard-cash-money-and-gentility-would/) [Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/) ## More by John Barth > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“So, I begin each day with a gesture of cynicism, and close it with a gesture of faith; or, if you prefer, begin it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/so-i-begin-each-day-with-a-gesture-of-cynicism-and-close-it-with-a/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [I admire writers who can make complicated things simple, but my own talent has been to make simple things complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/i-admire-writers-who-can-make-complicated-things-simple-but-my-own/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“That clever folk care less for what ye think than why ye think it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/that-clever-folk-care-less-for-what-ye-think-than-why-ye-think-it/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Printed prose is historically a most peculiar, almost an aberrant way of telling stories, and by far the most inherently anesthetic: It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/printed-prose-is-historically-a-most-peculiar-almost-an-aberrant-way/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“There's a great difficulty in making choices if you have any imagination at all. Faced with such a multitude of desireable choices, no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/there-s-a-great-difficulty-in-making-choices-if-you-have-any/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Self knowledge is always bad news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/self-knowledge-is-always-bad-news/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [The first obligation of the writer is to be interesting. To be interesting; not to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/the-first-obligation-of-the-writer-is-to-be-interesting-to-be/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Yet everyone begins in the same place; how is it that most go along without difficulty but a few lose their way?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/yet-everyone-begins-in-the-same-place-how-is-it-that-most-go-along/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [A curious thing about written literature: It is about four thousand years old, but we have no way of knowing whether four thousand years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/a-curious-thing-about-written-literature-it-is-about-four-thousand/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Nothing is loathsomer than the self-loathing of a self one loathes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/nothing-is-loathsomer-than-the-self-loathing-of-a-self-one-loathes/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [He wishes he had never entered the funhouse. But he has. Then he wishes he were dead. But he's not. Therefore he will construct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/he-wishes-he-had-never-entered-the-funhouse-but-he-has-then-he-wishes/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“Am I boring you? I don't really care, I suppose, but I'll be more comfortable if I knew all this interested you. No doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/am-i-boring-you-i-don-t-really-care-i-suppose-but-i-ll-be-more/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Though life's tuition is always ruinous, inexorably we learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/though-life-s-tuition-is-always-ruinous-inexorably-we-learn/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“The difference here 'twixt simple and witty folk, if the truth be known, is that your plain man cares much for what stand ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/the-difference-here-twixt-simple-and-witty-folk-if-the-truth-be-known/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) [Explore all 97 John Barth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural man's gentility, which erupts now and again like pimples on an angel's arse?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Barth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-with-fragile-manners-or-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-with-fragile-manners-or-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/john-barth-5311_angel_is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-wi_2756760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural…” — John Barth", "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": "John Barth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Is man a savage at heart,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-with-fragile-manners-or-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/is-man-a-savage-at-heart-skinned-o-er-with-fragile-manners-or-is/#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 } } ] } ```