--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was pitiful for a person born in a…" description: "\"“It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free atmosphere to listen to their humble and hearty outpourings of loyalty toward their king and Chur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_it-was-pitiful-for-a-person-born-in-a-wh_755638.png" --- # It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free… ![“It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free atmosphere to listen to their humble and hearty outpourings of loyalty toward their king and Church and nobility; as if they had any more occasion to love and honor king and Church and noble than a slave has to love and honor the lash, or a dog…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_it-was-pitiful-for-a-person-born-in-a-wh_755638.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_it-was-pitiful-for-a-person-born-in-a-wh_755638.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/mark-twain-22_aristocracy_it-was-pitiful-for-a-person-born-in-a-wh_755638.png) > ““It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free atmosphere to listen to their humble and hearty outpourings of loyalty toward their king and Church and nobility; as if they had any more occasion to love and honor king and Church and noble than a slave has to love and honor the lash, or a dog has to love and honor the stranger that kicks him! Why, dear me, ANY kind of royalty, howsoever modified, ANY kind of aristocracy, howsoever pruned, is rightly an insult; but if you are born and brought up under that sort of arrangement you probably never find it out for yourself, and don't believe it when somebody else tells you. It is enough to make a body ashamed of his race to think of the sort of froth that has always occupied its thrones without shadow of right or reason, and the seventh-rate people that have always figured as its aristocracies -- a company of monarchs and nobles who, as a rule, would have achieved only poverty and obscurity if left, like their betters, to their own exertions... The truth was, the nation as a body was in the world for one object, and one only: to grovel before king and Church and noble; to slave for them, sweat blood for them, starve that they might be fed, work that they might play, drink misery to the dregs that they might be happy, go naked that they might wear silks and jewels, pay taxes that they might be spared from paying them, be familiar all their lives with the degrading language and postures of adulation that they might walk in pride and think themselves the gods of this world. And for all this, the thanks they got were cuffs and contempt; and so poor-spirited were they that they took even this sort of attention as an honor.”” [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 scathing critique of blind loyalty to authority and the hollow promises of aristocracy. **In simple terms:** Blind loyalty to rulers is a harmful illusion. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek personal truth. Themes power loyalty aristocracy critique Mood critical ironic provocative Type satirical political commentary When to use this quote - political protest - educational curricula - personal reflection Key Concepts social hierarchy illusion human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How does blind loyalty affect societies? - What alternatives to hierarchical obedience exist? A Different Perspective May generalize complex historical contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Love and honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-honor/) [Monarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Serfdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serfdom/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth was, the nation as a body was in the world for one object, and one only: to grovel before king and Church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-truth-was-the-nation-as-a-body-was-in-the-world-for-one-object/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“There might be cheats or possible cheats amongst them, men who beat their wives, men with perverse instincts, greedy men, cowardly men, lying men;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/there-might-be-cheats-or-possible-cheats-amongst-them-men-who-beat/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [“Many if not most slaves would have each readily jumped, and many if not most slaves would each readily jump, at the opportunity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/many-if-not-most-slaves-would-have-each-readily-jumped-and-many-if/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The confused mass of rules of conduct called law, which has been bequeathed to us by slavery, serfdom, feudalism, and royalty, has taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kropotkin/the-confused-mass-of-rules-of-conduct-called-law-which-has-been/) [Peter Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kropotkin/) > [Financial dependence on the state is the foundation of modern serfdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/financial-dependence-on-the-state-is-the-foundation-of-modern-serfdom/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [Feudalism, serfdom, slavery — all tyrannical institutions, are merely the most vigorous kinds of rule, springing out of, and necessary to, a bad state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/feudalism-serfdom-slavery-all-tyrannical-institutions-are-merely-the-2/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The truth is that the whole life of the worker is simply a continuous and dismaying succession of terms of serfdom - voluntary from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-truth-is-that-the-whole-life-of-the-worker-is-simply-a-continuous/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Feudalism, serfdom, slavery, all tyrannical institutions, are merely the most vigorous kind to rule, springing out of, and necessarily to, a bad state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/feudalism-serfdom-slavery-all-tyrannical-institutions-are-merely-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“This was a cruelty made by history. 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O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“We are never so free as when we own our sacred serfdom...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spurgeon-c-h-charles-haddon/we-are-never-so-free-as-when-we-own-our-sacred-serfdom/) Spurgeon C. H. (Charles Haddon > [“The Neo-Feudalism of UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is reviving serfdom as the condition of the future. If you let it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-koire-behind-the-green-mask/the-neo-feudalism-of-un-agenda-21-sustainable-development-is-reviving/) Rosa Koire Behind the Green Mask > [It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/it-is-a-mark-of-how-far-we-have-gone-on-the-road-to-serfdom-that/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“This was laughable, of course, but that’s always the way with totalitarian regimes. Language gets turned on its head. Serfdom is freedom. Repression is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/this-was-laughable-of-course-but-that-s-always-the-way-with/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) ## 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. 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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 Aristocracy quotes > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [24.9 percent of American children live in poverty, while the proportions in Germany, France and Italy are 8.6, 7.4 and 10.5 percent. And once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hutton/24-9-percent-of-american-children-live-in-poverty-while-the/) [Will Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hutton/) > [Tomorrow every Duchess in London will be waiting to kiss me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macdonald/tomorrow-every-duchess-in-london-will-be-waiting-to-kiss-me/) [Ramsay MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macdonald/) > [“Why do these big old country houses always have family portraits in the dining room? 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The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) [Browse all 426 Aristocracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free atmosphere to listen to their humble and hearty outpourings of loyalty toward their king and Church and nobility; as if they had any more occasion to love and honor king and Church and noble than a slave has to love and honor the lash, or a dog has to love and honor the stranger that kicks him! Why, dear me, ANY kind of royalty, howsoever modified, ANY kind of aristocracy, howsoever pruned, is rightly an insult; but if you are born and brought up under that sort of arrangement you probably never find it out for yourself, and don't believe it when somebody else tells you. It is enough to make a body ashamed of his race to think of the sort of froth that has always occupied its thrones without shadow of right or reason, and the seventh-rate people that have always figured as its aristocracies -- a company of monarchs and nobles who, as a rule, would have achieved only poverty and obscurity if left, like their betters, to their own exertions... The truth was, the nation as a body was in the world for one object, and one only: to grovel before king and Church and noble; to slave for them, sweat blood for them, starve that they might be fed, work that they might play, drink misery to the dregs that they might be happy, go naked that they might wear silks and jewels, pay taxes that they might be spared from paying them, be familiar all their lives with the degrading language and postures of adulation that they might walk in pride and think themselves the gods of this world. 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