--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who haven't natural gumption never…" description: "\"“People who haven't natural gumption never learn,\" retorted Aunt Jamesina, \"neither in college nor life. If they live to be a hundred they really don't..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/l-m-montgomery-567_aunt_people-who-haven-t-natural-gumption-neve_558517.jpg" --- # People who haven't natural gumption never learn," retorted… ![“People who haven't natural gumption never learn," retorted Aunt Jamesina, "neither in college nor life. If they live to be a hundred they really don't know anything more than when they were born.” quote by L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/l-m-montgomery-567_aunt_people-who-haven-t-natural-gumption-neve_558517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/l-m-montgomery-567_aunt_people-who-haven-t-natural-gumption-neve_558517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/l-m-montgomery-567_aunt_people-who-haven-t-natural-gumption-neve_558517.jpg) > ““People who haven't natural gumption never learn," retorted Aunt Jamesina, "neither in college nor life. If they live to be a hundred they really don't know anything more than when they were born.”” [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of initiative prevents learning; without drive, life offers no growth beyond birth. **In simple terms:** No drive, no growth. Key Takeaway Cultivate gumption to keep learning. Themes education personal growth initiative Mood reflective encouraging Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - school - career - personal projects Key Concepts motivation lifelong learning self‑development Questions to Reflect On - What drives your learning? - How can you foster gumption in others? A Different Perspective Not everyone values formal education equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“Never mind. Thank goodness air and salvation are still free," said Aunt Jamesina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mind-thank-goodness-air-and-salvation-are-still-free-said-aunt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't believe Old Nick can be so very ugly,' said Aunt Jamesina reflectively. 'He wouldn't do so much harm if he was. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-believe-old-nick-can-be-so-very-ugly-said-aunt-jamesina/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“You've been four of the dearest, sweetest, goodest girls who ever went together through college,' averred Aunt Jamesina, who never spoiled a compliment by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/you-ve-been-four-of-the-dearest-sweetest-goodest-girls-who-ever-went/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [My aunt got me interested in journalism - she found an old typewriter, had it worked over, put it on the dining room table,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/my-aunt-got-me-interested-in-journalism-she-found-an-old-typewriter/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-only-wanted-uncle-vernon-standing-by-his-own-car-a-hudson-on-a/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [“I look like Barbara Bush in drag." Aunt Jettie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/i-look-like-barbara-bush-in-drag-aunt-jettie/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [In the summer of 1964, my sister and I went to South Ballston, Virginia, to stay with my aunt and her kids. They passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/in-the-summer-of-1964-my-sister-and-i-went-to-south-ballston-virginia/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [I'll just do a round around of the house and make sure the rest of the family are fast asleep. We don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/i-ll-just-do-a-round-around-of-the-house-and-make-sure-the-rest-of/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [“Aunt Helen Beck had many intentions about her death. 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Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More by L.M. Montgomery > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-help-that-it-s-your-habit-what-would-you-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I told you the Bible was more to be depended on than newspapers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-told-you-the-bible-was-more-to-be-depended-on-than-newspapers/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“On a day like this there's no such word as fail in my bright lexicon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/on-a-day-like-this-there-s-no-such-word-as-fail-in-my-bright-lexicon/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I took the brooch because I was too overcome with irresistible temptation. I was imagining I was Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald, and I just had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-took-the-brooch-because-i-was-too-overcome-with-irresistible/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“…she made a poem on it at once, the lines singing themselves through her consciousness without effort. With one side of her nature she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-made-a-poem-on-it-at-once-the-lines-singing-themselves-through/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I think there are two kinds of TRUE THINGS-- true things that ARE, and true things that ARE NOT, but MIGHT be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-think-there-are-two-kinds-of-true-things-true-things-that-are-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“when the darkness is close to us it is a friend. But when we sorter push it away from us—divorce ourselves from it, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-the-darkness-is-close-to-us-it-is-a-friend-but-when-we-sorter/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/yesterday-she-had-been-all-her-own-now-she-was-this-man-s/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I suppose that's how it looks in prose. But it's very different if you look at it through poetry…and I think it's nicer…' Anne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-suppose-that-s-how-it-looks-in-prose-but-it-s-very-different-if-you/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Nothing seems worthwhile. My very thoughts are old. I've thought them all before. What is the use of living after all, Anne?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/nothing-seems-worthwhile-my-very-thoughts-are-old-i-ve-thought-them/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Explore all 463 L.M. Montgomery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More Aunt quotes > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [My aunt and uncle are clearly civilians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-kimmel/my-aunt-and-uncle-are-clearly-civilians/) [Jimmy Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-kimmel/) > [“Aunt Helen Beck had many intentions about her death. She was about being dead the way some people are about being British - she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/aunt-helen-beck-had-many-intentions-about-her-death-she-was-about/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [I'll just do a round around of the house and make sure the rest of the family are fast asleep. We don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/i-ll-just-do-a-round-around-of-the-house-and-make-sure-the-rest-of/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [In the summer of 1964, my sister and I went to South Ballston, Virginia, to stay with my aunt and her kids. They passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/in-the-summer-of-1964-my-sister-and-i-went-to-south-ballston-virginia/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [“I look like Barbara Bush in drag." Aunt Jettie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/i-look-like-barbara-bush-in-drag-aunt-jettie/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-only-wanted-uncle-vernon-standing-by-his-own-car-a-hudson-on-a/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [My aunt got me interested in journalism - she found an old typewriter, had it worked over, put it on the dining room table,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/my-aunt-got-me-interested-in-journalism-she-found-an-old-typewriter/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [This kind of thing always amazed Ginny--people who just walked away from institutions. People who left school when they didn't see the point. Aunt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/this-kind-of-thing-always-amazed-ginny-people-who-just-walked-away/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“You will not be able to shelter her forever,” my aunt insists. “What will happen when you are gone someday, and all the suitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-forest/you-will-not-be-able-to-shelter-her-forever-my-aunt-insists-what-will/) [Laurie Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-forest/) > [my sweet old etcetera aunt lucy during the recent war could and what is more did tell you just what everybody was fighting for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sweet-old-etcetera-aunt-lucy-during-the-recent-war-could-and-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 720 Aunt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People who haven't natural gumption never learn,\" retorted Aunt Jamesina, \"neither in college nor life. 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