--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It does not try to reach down to the…" description: "\"It does not try to reach down to the level of inferior classes; it does not try to win them for this or that sect of its own, with ready-made judgments..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/matthew-arnold-1235_atmosphere_it-does-not-try-to-reach-down-to-the-lev_1195723.jpg" --- # It does not try to reach down to the level of inferior… ![“It does not try to reach down to the level of inferior classes; it does not try to win them for this or that sect of its own, with ready-made judgments and watchwords of its own. It seeks to away with classes, to make the best that has been taught and known in the world current everywhere, to make…” quote by Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/matthew-arnold-1235_atmosphere_it-does-not-try-to-reach-down-to-the-lev_1195723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/matthew-arnold-1235_atmosphere_it-does-not-try-to-reach-down-to-the-lev_1195723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/matthew-arnold-1235_atmosphere_it-does-not-try-to-reach-down-to-the-lev_1195723.jpg) > “It does not try to reach down to the level of inferior classes; it does not try to win them for this or that sect of its own, with ready-made judgments and watchwords of its own. It seeks to away with classes, to make the best that has been taught and known in the world current everywhere, to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness and light, where they may use ideas, as it uses them itself, freely--nourished, and not bound by them.” [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Arnold argues that culture should transcend class divisions, offering universal enlightenment rather than sectarian judgments. **In simple terms:** Culture should unite, not divide. Key Takeaway Promote inclusive, idea‑driven societies. Themes culture class enlightenment universality Mood reflective optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public policy - educational reform - community building - media programming Key Concepts humanism social cohesion education Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions foster shared cultural values? - What barriers prevent universal access to ideas? A Different Perspective May overlook existing power structures that resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Classes Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classes-does-3565016/) [Classes Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classes-make-3565015/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inferior Classes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inferior-classes-3565014/) [Inferiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inferiors/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Level Inferior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/level-inferior-3565017/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Make Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-men/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Sects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sects/) [Sweetness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetness/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Your most memorable students are in your first classes and your last classes: make your last years the finest of your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/your-most-memorable-students-are-in-your-first-classes-and-your-last/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [I divide the world into three Classes - The few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, the overwhelming majority who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/i-divide-the-world-into-three-classes-the-few-who-make-things-happen/) [Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/) > [There's something about me; even without make-up men always made a beeline for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/there-s-something-about-me-even-without-make-up-men-always-made-a/) [Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/) > [“Men may make progress, but man never changes. Man loves power and money. No matter the skin color, religion or income level. These symbols…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/men-may-make-progress-but-man-never-changes-man-loves-power-and-money/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [I've never run across anybody who suggested that women need to be reprogrammed. I don't think I've even come across anybody who wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-ve-never-run-across-anybody-who-suggested-that-women-need-to-be/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Calling us men doesn't make us men. No creature on earth has a right to think himself a human being if he doesn't know at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/calling-us-men-doesn-t-make-us-men-no-creature-on-earth-has-a-right/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [Being wise doth either make men our friends or discourage them from being our enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile-1st-marquess-of-halifax/being-wise-doth-either-make-men-our-friends-or-discourage-them-from/) [George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile-1st-marquess-of-halifax/) > [The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-landry/the-job-of-a-football-coach-is-to-make-men-do-what-they-don-t-want-to/) [Tom Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-landry/) > [“You must either make a tool of the creature, or a man of him. You cannot make both. Men were not intended to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-must-either-make-a-tool-of-the-creature-or-a-man-of-him-you/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I've always loved strong women, which is lucky for me because once you're over about twenty-five there is no other kind. Women blow my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-ve-always-loved-strong-women-which-is-lucky-for-me-because-once-you/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [Poverty, Poetry, and new Titles of Honor, make Men ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/poverty-poetry-and-new-titles-of-honor-make-men-ridiculous/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Men's clothing is more pure in design. It's more simple and has no decoration. Women want that. When I started designing, I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yohji-yamamoto/men-s-clothing-is-more-pure-in-design-it-s-more-simple-and-has-no/) [Yohji Yamamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yohji-yamamoto/) > [The Bible does not profess to make men omniscient, but simply to tell them enough to make them happy and good, if they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/the-bible-does-not-profess-to-make-men-omniscient-but-simply-to-tell/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Father, write Your Word in our heart; make us men and women who understand Your truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/father-write-your-word-in-our-heart-make-us-men-and-women-who/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [I can't fall in love with anyone, I make men believe what they want to believe. from Moulin Rouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-can-t-fall-in-love-with-anyone-i-make-men-believe-what-they-want-to/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) ## More by Matthew Arnold > [Culture looks beyond machinery, culture hates hatred; culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-looks-beyond-machinery-culture-hates-hatred-culture-has-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [We must hold fast to the austere but true doctrine as to what really governs politics and saves or destroys states. Having in mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/we-must-hold-fast-to-the-austere-but-true-doctrine-as-to-what-really/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Culture is the endeavour to know the best and to make this knowledge prevail for the good of all humankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-the-endeavour-to-know-the-best-and-to-make-this-knowledge/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [The difference between genuine poetry and the poetry of Dryden, Pope, and all their school, is briefly this: their poetry is conceived and composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-difference-between-genuine-poetry-and-the-poetry-of-dryden-pope/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-the-acquainting-ourselves-with-the-best-that-has-been-known/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Strew on her roses, roses, And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes; Ah, would that I did too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/strew-on-her-roses-roses-and-never-a-spray-of-yew-in-quiet-she/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Nature, with equal mind, Sees all her sons at play, Sees man control the wind, The wind sweep man away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-with-equal-mind-sees-all-her-sons-at-play-sees-man-control-the/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Six years-six little years-six drops of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/six-years-six-little-years-six-drops-of-time/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Let the long contention cease! / Geese are swans, and swans are geese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/let-the-long-contention-cease-geese-are-swans-and-swans-are-geese/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [It is almost impossible to exaggerate the proneness of the human mind to take miracles as evidence, and to seek for miracles as evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/it-is-almost-impossible-to-exaggerate-the-proneness-of-the-human-mind/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Religion is ethics heightened, enkindled, lit up by feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/religion-is-ethics-heightened-enkindled-lit-up-by-feeling/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Genius is mainly an affair of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/genius-is-mainly-an-affair-of-energy/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture is both an intellectual phenomenon and a moral one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-both-an-intellectual-phenomenon-and-a-moral-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [English civilization the humanizing, the bringing into one harmonious and truly humane life, of the whole body of English society that is what interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/english-civilization-the-humanizing-the-bringing-into-one-harmonious/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Wandering between two worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head Like these, on earth I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/wandering-between-two-worlds-one-dead-the-other-powerless-to-be-born/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) [Explore all 267 Matthew Arnold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) [Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It does not try to reach down to the level of inferior classes; it does not try to win them for this or that sect of its own, with ready-made judgments and watchwords of its own. 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