---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he was…"
description: "\"[On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. His critics think he simply fell off it ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg"
---

#  \[On Malcolm Muggeridge:\] He thinks he was knocked off his…

![“&#91;On Malcolm Muggeridge:&#93; He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. His critics think he simply fell off it from old age.” quote by Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg)

> “\[On Malcolm Muggeridge:\] He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. His critics think he simply fell off it from old age.”

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Muggeridge claims a divine encounter knocked him off his horse, while critics attribute it to old age, highlighting differing interpretations of a dramatic event.

**In simple terms:** He says God knocked him off his horse; critics say he fell due to age.

Key Takeaway

Consider multiple perspectives on extraordinary claims.

Themes

faith skepticism interpretation

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

biographical critical

When to use this quote

- biography
- historical research
- media critique

Key Concepts

religious experience historical analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- What evidence would support a divine cause?
- How do we evaluate personal narratives versus external observations?

A Different Perspective

Both explanations may be incomplete.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-think-258659/) [Damascus Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damascus-critics-1686632/) [Fell Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell-old-1686631/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malcolm-muggeridge-222710/) [Muggeridge Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muggeridge-thinks-1686630/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinks Knocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-knocked-1686633/)

## Related quotes

> [Now I know I am an intellectual. I saw Malcolm Muggeridge on the television last night, and I understood nearly every word. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/now-i-know-i-am-an-intellectual-i-saw-malcolm-muggeridge-on-the/)

[Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/)

> [“Reading Mr. Malcolm Muggeridge's brilliant and depressing book, "The Thirties", I thought of a rather cruel trick I once played on a wasp. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/reading-mr-malcolm-muggeridge-s-brilliant-and-depressing-book-the/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Malcolm Muggeridge, once a keen British social and cultural critic who in his old age became something of a religious fanatic. While working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/malcolm-muggeridge-once-a-keen-british-social-and-cultural-critic-who/)

[S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/)

> [“Never mind,’ said Mr Kishore. ‘If you’re tired, I know just the thing for you—a nice cup of tea.’ I think it was Malcolm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/never-mind-said-mr-kishore-if-you-re-tired-i-know-just-the-thing-for/)

[Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/)

> [“Even so, his friend the journalist Malcolm Muggeridge would conclude that “he was at heart strongly anti-Semitic.” At”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-ricks/even-so-his-friend-the-journalist-malcolm-muggeridge-would-conclude/)

[Thomas E Ricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-ricks/)

> [1 - 2 An orgy looks particularly alluring seen through the mists of righteous indignation. Malcolm Muggeridge Bad humor is an evasion of reality;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/1-2-an-orgy-looks-particularly-alluring-seen-through-the-mists-of/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [“Later the place was as deserted as Malcolm Muggeridge's Christmas party of fellow intellectuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-donaldson/later-the-place-was-as-deserted-as-malcolm-muggeridge-s-christmas/)

[William Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-donaldson/)

> [There are some directors who actually fear the possible success of music. They fear that the audience or the critics will think the film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/there-are-some-directors-who-actually-fear-the-possible-success-of/)

[Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/)

> [The people who relate to Playboy, both readers and people who produce it, are not the way the critics think they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-hefner/the-people-who-relate-to-playboy-both-readers-and-people-who-produce/)

[Christie Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-hefner/)

> [I don't like to write like God. It is only because you never do it, though, that the critics think you can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-don-t-like-to-write-like-god-it-is-only-because-you-never-do-it/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-critics-repeat-what-the-artists/)

[Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/)

> [Music critics think of lyrics first and don't consider melody but so many songs are lyrically depressing but musically great, and that's why they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aloe-blacc/music-critics-think-of-lyrics-first-and-don-t-consider-melody-but-so/)

[Aloe Blacc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aloe-blacc/)

> [In some ways, it is difficult for contemporary composers to find an audience. Both men and women would love a culture that embraced and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-harbach/in-some-ways-it-is-difficult-for-contemporary-composers-to-find-an/)

[Barbara Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-harbach/)

> [The great mystery to me is how restaurant critics think they can get away with doing their job without anybody noticing who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-allen/the-great-mystery-to-me-is-how-restaurant-critics-think-they-can-get/)

[Ted Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-allen/)

> [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

## More by Katharine Whitehorn

> [It's a pity more men are not bastards by birth instead of vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/it-s-a-pity-more-men-are-not-bastards-by-birth-instead-of-vocation/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [Why do born-again people so often make you wish they'd never been born the first time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/why-do-born-again-people-so-often-make-you-wish-they-d-never-been/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [Filing is concerned with the past; anything you actually need to see again has to do with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/filing-is-concerned-with-the-past-anything-you-actually-need-to-see/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [Things a mother should know: how to comfort a son without exactly saying Daddy was wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/things-a-mother-should-know-how-to-comfort-a-son-without-exactly/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [The wind of change, whatever it is, blows most freely through an open mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/the-wind-of-change-whatever-it-is-blows-most-freely-through-an-open/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [In my next life I want to be a pessimist. Then other people could spend all their time cheering me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/in-my-next-life-i-want-to-be-a-pessimist-then-other-people-could/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [Hats divide generally into three classes: offensive hats, defensive hats, and shrapnel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/hats-divide-generally-into-three-classes-offensive-hats-defensive/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [No nice men are good at getting taxis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/no-nice-men-are-good-at-getting-taxis/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [I used to think the only use for sport was to give small boys something else to kick besides me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/i-used-to-think-the-only-use-for-sport-was-to-give-small-boys/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [One reason you are stricken when your parents die is that the audience you've been aiming at all your life - shocking it, pleasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/one-reason-you-are-stricken-when-your-parents-die-is-that-the/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [People get a bad impression of it by continually trying to treat it as if it was a bank clerk, who ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/people-get-a-bad-impression-of-it-by-continually-trying-to-treat-it/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [The great rule is not to talk about money with people who have much more or much less than you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/the-great-rule-is-not-to-talk-about-money-with-people-who-have-much/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [Find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/find-out-what-you-like-doing-best-and-get-someone-to-pay-you-for-it/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [I blame Rousseau, myself. "Man is born free", indeed. Man is not born free, he is born attached to his mother by a cord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/i-blame-rousseau-myself-man-is-born-free-indeed-man-is-not-born-free/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

> [I yield to no one in my admiration for the office as a social center, but it's no place actually to get any work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/i-yield-to-no-one-in-my-admiration-for-the-office-as-a-social-center/)

[Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

[Explore all 55 Katharine Whitehorn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "[On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. His critics think he simply fell off it from old age.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Katharine Whitehorn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-knocked-off-his-horse-by-god/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-knocked-off-his-horse-by-god/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/katharine-whitehorn-12429_age_on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-k_1760252.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“[On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to…” — Katharine Whitehorn",
                "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": "Katharine Whitehorn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "[On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-knocked-off-his-horse-by-god/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/on-malcolm-muggeridge-he-thinks-he-was-knocked-off-his-horse-by-god/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
