---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ill-digested principles are, if anything…"
description: "\"Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and there is cure for it, whereas the former ruin..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg"
---

#  Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than…

![“Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and there is cure for it, whereas the former ruins the soul and there is no cure for it.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg)

> “Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and there is cure for it, whereas the former ruins the soul and there is no cure for it.”

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## About This Quote

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

Bad ideas damage the soul more deeply than bad food harms the body, and are harder to heal.

**In simple terms:** Bad ideas hurt the soul.

Key Takeaway

Guard your mind against harmful ideas.

Themes

morality mental health philosophy

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical warning

When to use this quote

- personal development
- education
- media consumption

Key Concepts

spirituality critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- What ideas have you let influence you?
- How do you evaluate ideas?

A Different Perspective

Some ideas can inspire positive change despite risks.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Digested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digested-720628/) [Digested Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digested-food-3003828/) [Digested Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digested-principles-3003825/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Ill Digested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill-digested-3003826/) [Latter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latter/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Principles Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles-worse-3003827/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/)

## Related quotes

> [Knowledge that is not put into practice is like food that is not digested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/knowledge-that-is-not-put-into-practice-is-like-food-that-is-not/)

[Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/)

> [Wine that cost nothing is digested before it be drunke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/wine-that-cost-nothing-is-digested-before-it-be-drunke/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [“One thing I don't like about crap: its size that is too big to be digested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/one-thing-i-don-t-like-about-crap-its-size-that-is-too-big-to-be/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [“The ducks of Mackinac Island are apparently not easily taken down. “Found a portion of the Lungs as large as a turkey’s egg protruding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-ducks-of-mackinac-island-are-apparently-not-easily-taken-down/)

[Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/)

> [A page digested is better than a volume hurriedly read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-page-digested-is-better-than-a-volume-hurriedly-read/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/some-books-are-to-be-tasted-others-to-be-swallowed-and-some-few-to-be/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [“For knowledge to be digested, it must be absorbed with relish," wrote Anatole France.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-knowledge-to-be-digested-it-must-be-absorbed-with-relish-wrote/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The reason honey is so easy to digest is that its already been digested by a bee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-honey-is-so-easy-to-digest-is-that-its-already-been/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I didn't just eat hot dogs. I studied how the food went into your system and how it would be digested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-chestnut/i-didn-t-just-eat-hot-dogs-i-studied-how-the-food-went-into-your/)

[Joey Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-chestnut/)

> [Journeying through secret doors, curving corridors, and connecting rooms into the mountain was like being digested by the different organs of a deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grey/journeying-through-secret-doors-curving-corridors-and-connecting/)

[Alex Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-grey/)

> [“Francis Bacon once remarked that “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-j-adler/francis-bacon-once-remarked-that-some-books-are-to-be-tasted-others/)

[Mortimer J. Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/)

> [A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgos-seferis/a-lion-is-made-up-of-the-lambs-he-s-digested/)

[Giorgos Seferis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgos-seferis/)

> [“Isn't the information about your ability enough to digest right now?" " The info is digested , Michael. As a matter of fact, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myra-mcentire/isn-t-the-information-about-your-ability-enough-to-digest-right-now/)

[Myra McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myra-mcentire/)

> [“They had just digested a recent meal of prepositions and were happily farting out apostrophes and ampersands; the air was heav'y with th'em&.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/they-had-just-digested-a-recent-meal-of-prepositions-and-were-happily/)

[Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/)

> [“Welcome each day like a good meal. The essence of a life well digested comes from knowing your strengths, overdosing on the senses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/welcome-each-day-like-a-good-meal-the-essence-of-a-life-well-digested/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Mahatma Gandhi

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

[Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## More Body quotes

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/)

[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/)

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

[Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/)

> [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/)

[Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/)

> [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/)

> [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/)

[Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/)

[Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/)

> [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/)

[Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/)

> [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/)

[Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/)

> [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

[Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and there is cure for it, whereas the former ruins the soul and there is no cure for it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mahatma Gandhi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything-worse-than-ill-digested-food/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Body"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything-worse-than-ill-digested-food/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/mahatma-gandhi-23_body_ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything_2737633.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and…” — Mahatma Gandhi",
                "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": "Mahatma Gandhi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything-worse-than-ill-digested-food/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ill-digested-principles-are-if-anything-worse-than-ill-digested-food/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```