--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An idea or institution may arise for one…" description: "\"An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.\" — Joseph McCabe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png" --- # An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be… ![“An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.” quote by Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png) > “An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.” [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutions often persist because of later benefits or inertia, not their original purpose. **In simple terms:** Purpose shifts over time Key Takeaway Origins and maintenance can diverge Themes Institutional inertia Purpose evolution Historical reinterpretation Social dynamics Power structures Mood Reflective Analytical Type Observation Critique When to use this quote - Analyzing corporate policies - Studying legal reforms - Evaluating cultural traditions - Assessing political movements Key Concepts Institutional change Motivation Historical context Sociology Practical Applications - Policy redesign - Organizational audits Questions to Reflect On - Why do institutions outlive their founding goals? - How can we align current practices with original intentions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Arise Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise-reason-401519/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-reason-401518/) [Idea Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-institution-401515/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Institution Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution-arise-401516/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Maintained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-maintained-401517/) ## Related quotes > [The element of change has been the thing, really. We put out the first one, then the second... then a third LP totally different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-element-of-change-has-been-the-thing-really-we-put-out-the-first/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [Being different is one of the most beautiful things on earth. God made us all look different for a reason. Embrace yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mulfat/being-different-is-one-of-the-most-beautiful-things-on-earth-god-made/) [Mulfat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mulfat/) > [ Every city and country just has a different reason for wanting to host the \[Olympic\] games. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hustwit/every-city-and-country-just-has-a-different-reason-for-wanting-to/) [Gary Hustwit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hustwit/) > [I know you made me different for a reason God, I think I know why. I know you put me through it for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/i-know-you-made-me-different-for-a-reason-god-i-think-i-know-why-i/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [Every tear that slides down my cheek, I cry for a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-tear-that-slides-down-my-cheek-i-cry-for-a-different-reason/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the world will tell you that you do what you do for a different reason than your reason. And if you let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/sometimes-the-world-will-tell-you-that-you-do-what-you-do-for-a/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) ## More by Joseph McCabe > [“In his numerous historical and Scriptural works Bauer rejects all supernatural religion, and represents Christianity as a natural product of the mingling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/in-his-numerous-historical-and-scriptural-works-bauer-rejects-all/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [Evolution throws a wonderful light on all the struggles, eccentricities, tortuous developments of the human conscience in the past. It is the only theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/evolution-throws-a-wonderful-light-on-all-the-struggles/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The Papacy was corrupt for whole centuries: especially from about 880 to 1050 and (with a short decent pontificate at rare intervals) 1290 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-papacy-was-corrupt-for-whole-centuries-especially-from-about-880/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [If, it was natural to reason, God punishes men with eternal torment, it is surely lawful for men to use doses of it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/if-it-was-natural-to-reason-god-punishes-men-with-eternal-torment-it/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [Not material or economic conditions in the ordinary sense, but perverse religious ideas explain the suspension of civilization in Europe from the 5th to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/not-material-or-economic-conditions-in-the-ordinary-sense-but/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [Today we know not only that there is a terrible amount of disorder in the heavens - great catastrophes or conflagrations occur frequently -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/today-we-know-not-only-that-there-is-a-terrible-amount-of-disorder-in/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [I took a sheet of paper, divided it into debt and credit columns on the arguments for and against God and immortality. On Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/i-took-a-sheet-of-paper-divided-it-into-debt-and-credit-columns-on/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The sentiments attributed to Christ are in the Old Testament. They were familiar in the Jewish schools and to all the Pharisees, long before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-sentiments-attributed-to-christ-are-in-the-old-testament-they/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [“{ McCabe on the influential scientist Luther Burbank } His magnificent work, which added an incalculable sum to the wealth of America and left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/mccabe-on-the-influential-scientist-luther-burbank-his-magnificent/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [“The absence of theistic belief... { Defining the word 'atheism' }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-absence-of-theistic-belief-defining-the-word-atheism/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [No pope ever condemned slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/no-pope-ever-condemned-slavery/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The absence of theistic belief...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-absence-of-theistic-belief/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The making of an Atheist implies a mental stimulation and training which brings into play the primary factors of social progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-making-of-an-atheist-implies-a-mental-stimulation-and-training/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The Rationalist case needs no straining of evidence and always gains by the severest self-criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-rationalist-case-needs-no-straining-of-evidence-and-always-gains/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [If a single one of these gentlemen is correct, if a believer of any type is right, the essential truth for man, the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/if-a-single-one-of-these-gentlemen-is-correct-if-a-believer-of-any/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) [Explore all 21 Joseph McCabe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) ## More Arise quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/) [Julietta Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julietta-suzuki/) > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Mission arises from the heart of God Himself and is communicated from His heart to ours. Mission is the global outreach of the global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/mission-arises-from-the-heart-of-god-himself-and-is-communicated-from/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) [Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph McCabe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arise" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/joseph-mccabe-26676_arise_an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one_22468.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.” — Joseph McCabe", "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": "Joseph McCabe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An idea or institution may arise...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/#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 } } ] } ```