--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have reached a little altitude where…" description: "\"“We have reached a little altitude where we may look down upon the Indian Thugs with a complacent shudder; and we may even hope for a day, many centuri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png" --- # We have reached a little altitude where we may look down… ![“We have reached a little altitude where we may look down upon the Indian Thugs with a complacent shudder; and we may even hope for a day, many centuries hence, when our posterity will look down upon us in the same way.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png) > ““We have reached a little altitude where we may look down upon the Indian Thugs with a complacent shudder; and we may even hope for a day, many centuries hence, when our posterity will look down upon us in the same way.”” [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. The speaker reflects on future generations judging the present, implying that history will view current actions with a mix of awe and criticism. **In simple terms:** Future people will judge us. Key Takeaway Consider legacy in today’s choices. Themes history legacy humility perspective Mood reflective critical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - public speaking - education - media reporting Key Concepts historical judgment generational perspective humility Questions to Reflect On - How will we be remembered? - What values should guide us today? A Different Perspective Present actions may be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altitude Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altitude-look-4263333/) [Centuries Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries-posterity-4263332/) [Indian Thugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian-thugs-4263334/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Shudder Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shudder-hope-4263335/) [Thugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thugs/) [Thugs Complacent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thugs-complacent-4263331/) ## Related quotes > [I'm married to the street; I ain't gonna switch over. I ain't gonna go religion on nobody. I believe in God - God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trick-daddy/i-m-married-to-the-street-i-ain-t-gonna-switch-over-i-ain-t-gonna-go/) [Trick Daddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trick-daddy/) > [“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/when-plunder-becomes-a-way-of-life-for-a-group-of-men-in-a-society/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I dun worry bout wat otha peole think bout me, cause it can't be half as bad as what I think of them..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew/i-dun-worry-bout-wat-otha-peole-think-bout-me-cause-it-can-t-be-half/) [Matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew/) > [Wtf is going on? I just caught 2 thugs walking out of justin bieber's new movie "Never Say"…lmao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/wtf-is-going-on-i-just-caught-2-thugs-walking-out-of-justin-bieber-s/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [For thugs from the ghetto, violence is a way of life - it's what helps you survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/for-thugs-from-the-ghetto-violence-is-a-way-of-life-it-s-what-helps/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) > [When you call me a bitch I just smile - giggle and walk away cuz i knew that long before you told me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew/when-you-call-me-a-bitch-i-just-smile-giggle-and-walk-away-cuz-i-knew/) [Matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew/) > [Keepin' it simple, the bone in me runnin with thugs so. To the temple, buck when you duck to the thuggish ruggish. T's St.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bizzy-bone/keepin-it-simple-the-bone-in-me-runnin-with-thugs-so-to-the-temple/) [Bizzy Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bizzy-bone/) > [\*..i'M siCc Of BoYs AnD dA GaMeZ dEy PLaY..sOmEtiMeZ i JuSs wAnT dEm To Go AwAy..\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew/i-m-sicc-of-boys-and-da-gamez-dey-play-sometimez-i-juss-want-dem-to/) [Matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew/) > [So, Ladies. I want a logical explanation on why ya'll love these dreaded, tatted ,thugs , who have no future. Explain this to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-heggs/so-ladies-i-want-a-logical-explanation-on-why-ya-ll-love-these/) [Christian Heggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-heggs/) > [“This isn't a job for trained soldiers and spies. It's a job for thugs and thieves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-isn-t-a-job-for-trained-soldiers-and-spies-it-s-a-job-for-thugs/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Missing out an apostrophe or two does not make you an idiot. But equating party allegiance with nationhood certainly makes you a thug. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/missing-out-an-apostrophe-or-two-does-not-make-you-an-idiot-but/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [“We are warriors of Allah.” “You are thugs with Korans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/we-are-warriors-of-allah-you-are-thugs-with-korans/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) > [“These thugs call everyone their “Cuz.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that expression I would have retired three times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-a-digiacomo/these-thugs-call-everyone-their-cuz-if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time/) [Marc A. DiGiacomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-a-digiacomo/) > [In some townships, political parties are run by thugs financed from Cape Town. If we don't have support of the police, we can not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-masekela/in-some-townships-political-parties-are-run-by-thugs-financed-from/) [Hugh Masekela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-masekela/) > [Somebody help me, tell me where to go from here cause even Thugs cry, but do the Lord care?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/somebody-help-me-tell-me-where-to-go-from-here-cause-even-thugs-cry/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) ## 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 Posterity quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [You have power over my body but the Lord Jesus hath power over my body and soul; and assure yourselves thus much, you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hutchinson/you-have-power-over-my-body-but-the-lord-jesus-hath-power-over-my/) [Anne Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hutchinson/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“Et peut-être la posterité me saura gré de lui avoir fait connaître que les Anciens n’ont pas tout su. ( And perhaps, posterity will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/et-peut-tre-la-posterit-me-saura-gr-de-lui-avoir-fait-conna-tre-que/) [Pierre De Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [May posterity show mercy when it look back upon the work we do today. We did what we could with what we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/may-posterity-show-mercy-when-it-look-back-upon-the-work-we-do-today/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Convinced that the republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/convinced-that-the-republican-is-the-only-form-of-government-which-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The principle office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-principle-office-of-history-i-take-to-be-this-to-prevent-virtuous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of-an-invention-which-the/) [David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/) > [Nearly all literature, in one sense, is made up of guide-books. 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The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/posterity-will-one-day-laugh-at-the-sublime-foolishness-of-the-modern/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Usually what goes through my mind before I hit the tweet button is, did I misspell or mis-grammatize anything, but also, is this worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-willett/usually-what-goes-through-my-mind-before-i-hit-the-tweet-button-is/) [Don Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-willett/) [Browse all 446 Posterity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have reached a little altitude where we may look down upon the Indian Thugs with a complacent shudder; and we may even hope for a day, many centuries hence, when our posterity will look down upon us in the same way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where-we-may-look-down-upon-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Posterity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where-we-may-look-down-upon-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/mark-twain-22_posterity_we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where_500521.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have reached a little altitude where we may look down upon the Indian Thugs with a complacent shudder…” — 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": "“We have reached a little altitude...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where-we-may-look-down-upon-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-have-reached-a-little-altitude-where-we-may-look-down-upon-the/#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 } } ] } ```