--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to…" description: "\"In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in my hearing; the local pape..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png" --- # In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was… ![“In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in my hearing; the local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, and that the doubter need only look in the…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png) > “In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in my hearing; the local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, and that the doubter need only look in the Bible if he wished to settle his mind.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A personal recollection exposing how societal norms and religious rhetoric can obscure moral blindness toward oppression. **In simple terms:** Social conditioning hides injustice. Key Takeaway Question authority's moral claims. Themes morality social conditioning religion historical injustice critical thinking Mood reflective critical Type personal anecdote social critique When to use this quote - growing up in a pro‑slavery community - receiving religious justification for oppression - unquestioned acceptance of societal norms Key Concepts cognitive dissonance cultural hegemony ethical relativism Practical Applications - educational curricula on moral history - media literacy programs Questions to Reflect On - How do we recognize when prevailing beliefs mask injustice? - What role should personal reflection play in confronting inherited biases? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approved/) [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Aversion Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion-slavery-825982/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Doubters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubters/) [Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Locals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locals/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Papers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/papers/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Pulpit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulpit/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Settling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settling/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-aware-825983/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-god-493359/) [Taught us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-us/) ## Related quotes > [If science exterminates a disease which has been working for God, it is God that gets the credit and all the pulpits break into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-science-exterminates-a-disease-which-has-been-working-for-god-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There was no place in the land where the seeker could not find some small budding sign of pity for the slave. No place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-was-no-place-in-the-land-where-the-seeker-could-not-find-some/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The pulpit and the optimist are always talking about the human race's steady march toward ultimate perfection. As usual, they leave out the statistics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-pulpit-and-the-optimist-are-always-talking-about-the-human-race-s/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It is plain that there is one moral law for heaven and another for the earth. The pulpit assures us that wherever we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-plain-that-there-is-one-moral-law-for-heaven-and-another-for/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I do not know what we should do without the pulpit. We could better spare the sun-the moon, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-do-not-know-what-we-should-do-without-the-pulpit-we-could-better/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Nevertheless we have this curious spectacle: daily the trained parrot in the pulpit gravely delivers himself of these ironies, which he has acquired at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-spectacle-daily-the-trained-parrot/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Eternal rest sounds comforting in the pulpit; well, you try it once, and see how heavy time will hang on your hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/eternal-rest-sounds-comforting-in-the-pulpit-well-you-try-it-once-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [As an Indian and as a Hindu, I have been taught to see God everywhere right from my childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-nath/as-an-indian-and-as-a-hindu-i-have-been-taught-to-see-god-everywhere/) [Alok Nath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alok-nath/) > [One who views thing as they are in reality, and not as they are said or thought to be, is truly wise, taught by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/one-who-views-thing-as-they-are-in-reality-and-not-as-they-are-said/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [That's just my - I think that I made a decision when I was 16 - I grew up in a family that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/that-s-just-my-i-think-that-i-made-a-decision-when-i-was-16-i-grew-up/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [Those, and those only, can expect to be taught by God, who are ready and willing to do as they are taught... Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/those-and-those-only-can-expect-to-be-taught-by-god-who-are-ready-and/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [I began to hear what I was being taught about God, by the priest and my parish, and my exterior teaching did not coincide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/i-began-to-hear-what-i-was-being-taught-about-god-by-the-priest-and/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Even though my Sunday school upbringing had taught me that God loved me, inwardly I always suspected that maybe He was more interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ludy/even-though-my-sunday-school-upbringing-had-taught-me-that-god-loved/) [Eric Ludy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ludy/) > [I am persuaded, from all the facts that have come to me, that it would have been possible, if we had functioned as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/i-am-persuaded-from-all-the-facts-that-have-come-to-me-that-it-would/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [As touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/as-touching-brotherly-love-ye-need-not-that-i-write-unto-you-for-ye/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Approved quotes > [In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year - plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-hastings/in-mid-may-the-house-of-representatives-approved-the-full-amount-of/) [Doc Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-hastings/) > [Foreign journalists have to have an approved interpreter assigned them, which they have to pay for, who also acts as guide. As an Iranian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/foreign-journalists-have-to-have-an-approved-interpreter-assigned/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The White House approved an exemption in Obamacare coverage for Congress and members of their staff. Members complained that the Affordable Care Act will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-white-house-approved-an-exemption-in-obamacare-coverage-for/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [When I came to explain to them the 'Nelson Touch', it was like an electric shock. Some shed tears, all approved - 'It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-came-to-explain-to-them-the-nelson-touch-it-was-like-an/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [As much as the next person, I want to be approved of, but I'm not greedy for that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/as-much-as-the-next-person-i-want-to-be-approved-of-but-i-m-not/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [The SEC got more than 100 rules to write under Dodd-Frank, the lion's share of all the agencies. And we've moved, I think, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schapiro/the-sec-got-more-than-100-rules-to-write-under-dodd-frank-the-lion-s/) [Mary Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schapiro/) > [When I first began examining the global-warming scare, I found nothing more puzzling than the way officially approved scientists kept on being shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-booker/when-i-first-began-examining-the-global-warming-scare-i-found-nothing/) [Christopher Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-booker/) > [There is nothing that can bring you closer to fearlessness about everything else in the world than being a parent - because everyday fears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/there-is-nothing-that-can-bring-you-closer-to-fearlessness-about/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [I should have known something was wrong with my first wife. When I brought her home to meet my parents, they approved of her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-should-have-known-something-was-wrong-with-my-first-wife-when-i/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [You wouldn't want to live a life in which you are loved or approved by all people on Earth or even within your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/you-wouldn-t-want-to-live-a-life-in-which-you-are-loved-or-approved/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [That which concerns everyone must also be discussed and approved by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-verhofstadt/that-which-concerns-everyone-must-also-be-discussed-and-approved-by/) [Guy Verhofstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-verhofstadt/) > [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I think Martin Luther King would always keep track of collective insurgencies among poor and working people. He was concerned about the treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-martin-luther-king-would-always-keep-track-of-collective/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [New planted Colonies are generally attended with a Force and Necessity of Planting the known and approved Staple and Product of the Country, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lawson/new-planted-colonies-are-generally-attended-with-a-force-and/) [John Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lawson/) [Browse all 251 Approved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in my hearing; the local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, and that the doubter need only look in the Bible if he wished to settle his mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Approved" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/mark-twain-22_approved_in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-t_60458.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In my schoolboy days I had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/#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 } } ] } ```