---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One is never so dangerous when one has no…"
description: "\"One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when one has grown too old to blush.\" — Marquis de Sade"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg"
---

#  One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when…

![“One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when one has grown too old to blush.” quote by Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg)

> “One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when one has grown too old to blush.”

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

## About This Quote

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

Shame and age affect danger; lacking shame is less risky than aging without embarrassment.

**In simple terms:** Age without shame is dangerous.

Key Takeaway

Beware complacency with age.

Themes

morality age shame

Mood

reflective serious

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal development
- interpersonal relations
- ethical behavior

Key Concepts

psychology social norms

Questions to Reflect On

- How does shame influence behavior over a lifetime?
- Can aging reduce fear of consequences?

A Different Perspective

Aging may bring wisdom, not just danger.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [We live in a world where most people still subscribe to the belief that shame is a good tool for keeping people in line.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-live-in-a-world-where-most-people-still-subscribe-to-the-belief/)

[Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/)

> [“had grown old everywhere but in his heart, that one organ he had never worn out because he’d never dared to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/had-grown-old-everywhere-but-in-his-heart-that-one-organ-he-had-never/)

[Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/)

> [Sometimes we need to listen to the ravings of a child and take it as an advice even though we have grown old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldyna-threesya/sometimes-we-need-to-listen-to-the-ravings-of-a-child-and-take-it-as/)

[Aldyna Threesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldyna-threesya/)

> [“You are surprised that the world is losing its grip, that the world is grown old? Think of a man: he is born, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/you-are-surprised-that-the-world-is-losing-its-grip-that-the-world-is-2/)

[Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/)

> [I've grown up, but not grown old; I hope there's a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-rudd/i-ve-grown-up-but-not-grown-old-i-hope-there-s-a-difference/)

[Phil Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-rudd/)

> [Might not most men be as well named boys grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/might-not-most-men-be-as-well-named-boys-grown-old/)

[Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/)

> [You don't stop cheering because you've grown old - you grow old because you've stopped cheering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/consequences/you-don-t-stop-cheering-because-you-ve-grown-old-you-grow-old-because/)

Consequences

> [“When we lose our spiritual child then that is when we have grown old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/when-we-lose-our-spiritual-child-then-that-is-when-we-have-grown-old/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [But wanderlust is like a pretty girl - you wake up one morning, find she's grown old and decide that either you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-leduff/but-wanderlust-is-like-a-pretty-girl-you-wake-up-one-morning-find-she/)

[Charlie LeDuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-leduff/)

> [On that first day when we look back, either happily or with remorse, to the stony ways over which we have traveled, losing concern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/on-that-first-day-when-we-look-back-either-happily-or-with-remorse-to/)

[Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/)

> [Child who's grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/child-who-s-grown-old/)

[Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/)

> [“He could have loved her as a man loves a woman, protected her, provided for her, given her children, grown old with her and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-could-have-loved-her-as-a-man-loves-a-woman-protected-her-provided/)

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

> [In childhood, death stirred me not; in middle age, it pursued me like a prowling bandit on the road; now, grown an old man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/in-childhood-death-stirred-me-not-in-middle-age-it-pursued-me-like-a/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [They that have grown old in a single state are generally found to be morose, fretful and captious; tenacious of their own practices and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/they-that-have-grown-old-in-a-single-state-are-generally-found-to-be/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [When our memories outweigh our dreams, we have grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/when-our-memories-outweigh-our-dreams-we-have-grown-old/)

[Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/)

## More by Marquis de Sade

> [What you call disorder is nothing else than one of the laws of the order you comprehend not and which you have erroneously named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-you-call-disorder-is-nothing-else-than-one-of-the-laws-of-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [And if I were a naughty little boy, the idea is to spank me into good behavior?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/and-if-i-were-a-naughty-little-boy-the-idea-is-to-spank-me-into-good/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege or the profanation of the objects offered us for worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/there-is-a-kind-of-pleasure-which-comes-from-sacrilege-or-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [“To enlighten mankind and improve its morals is the only lesson which we offer in this story. In reading it, may the world discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/to-enlighten-mankind-and-improve-its-morals-is-the-only-lesson-which/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [What we are doing here is only the image of what we would like to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-we-are-doing-here-is-only-the-image-of-what-we-would-like-to-do/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Happiness lies neither in vice nor in virtue; but in the manner we appreciate the one and the other, and the choice we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/happiness-lies-neither-in-vice-nor-in-virtue-but-in-the-manner-we/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [What does one want when one is engaged in the sexual act? That everything around you give you its utter attention, think only of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-does-one-want-when-one-is-engaged-in-the-sexual-act-that/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Between understanding and faith immediate connections must subsist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/between-understanding-and-faith-immediate-connections-must-subsist/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [My passions, concentrated on a single point, resemble the rays of a sun assembled by a magnifying glass: they immediately set fire to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/my-passions-concentrated-on-a-single-point-resemble-the-rays-of-a-sun/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-idea-of-god-is-the-sole-wrong-for-which-i-cannot-forgive-mankind/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/imperious-choleric-irascible-extreme-in-everything-with-a-dissolute/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/lust-s-passion-will-be-served-it-demands-it-militates-it-tyrannizes/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [“In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/in-order-to-know-virtue-we-must-acquaint-ourselves-with-vice-only/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/never-may-an-act-of-possession-be-exercised-upon-a-free-being-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

[Explore all 181 Marquis de Sade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

## More Dangerous quotes

> [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/)

[Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/)

> [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/)

[Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/)

> [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/)

[Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/)

> [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/)

[Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/)

> [In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/in-my-youth-team-days-i-was-always-a-left-winger-who-would-stay-close/)

[Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/)

> [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/)

[George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/)

> [Die gefährlichste Weltanschauung ist die Weltanschauung derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben. (The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/die-gef-hrlichste-weltanschauung-ist-die-weltanschauung-derer-die-die/)

[Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/)

> [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The more people that learn about you, even if you're an underdog, then you can come under fire a lot and the more attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/the-more-people-that-learn-about-you-even-if-you-re-an-underdog-then/)

[Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/)

> [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/)

[Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/)

Browse all 6,450 Dangerous quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when one has grown too old to blush.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marquis de Sade"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-no-shame-than-when-one-has/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dangerous"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-no-shame-than-when-one-has/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/marquis-de-sade-1964_dangerous_one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-n_2426625.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“One is never so dangerous when one has no shame, than when one has grown too old to blush.” — Marquis de Sade",
                "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": "Marquis de Sade",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "One is never so dangerous when...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-no-shame-than-when-one-has/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/one-is-never-so-dangerous-when-one-has-no-shame-than-when-one-has/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
