--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One has often wondered whether upon the…" description: "\"One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there is anything so unintelligent, so unapt to perceive how the world is really going, as an ordin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg" --- # One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there… ![“One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there is anything so unintelligent, so unapt to perceive how the world is really going, as an ordinary young Englishman of our upper class.” quote by Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg) > “One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there is anything so unintelligent, so unapt to perceive how the world is really going, as an ordinary young Englishman of our upper class.” [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. The quote satirically critiques the limited perspective of privileged youth, suggesting they are blind to deeper truths. **In simple terms:** Privileged youth often miss deeper realities. Key Takeaway Recognize and broaden your own perspective. Themes class perception ignorance satire Mood reflective critical wry Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - university lectures - political debates - media analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts social critique elitism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does your background shape what you notice? - Can privilege ever be fully overcome? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize and dismiss genuine insights from some individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Unintelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-unintelligent-989745/) [Englishmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/englishmen/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Old money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-money/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-young-989746/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) [Unintelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unintelligent/) [Upper class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-class/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Wondered Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered-earth-989747/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [“He wondered why on earth he had asked these people, and what one really expected to get from bunching human beings up together. "Cows,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/he-wondered-why-on-earth-he-had-asked-these-people-and-what-one/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [How shall we ever know if it's morning if there's no servant to pull up the blinds?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-barrie/how-shall-we-ever-know-if-it-s-morning-if-there-s-no-servant-to-pull/) [James M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-barrie/) > [Having photographs around the house is fine - if they're royal and on the grand piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/having-photographs-around-the-house-is-fine-if-they-re-royal-and-on/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I was once naïve enough to ask the late Duke of Devonshire why he liked the town of Eastbourne. He replied with a self-deprecating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/i-was-once-na-ve-enough-to-ask-the-late-duke-of-devonshire-why-he/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [Inequality has the natural and necessary effect, under the present circumstances, of materializing our upper class, vulgarizing our middle class, and brutalizing our lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/inequality-has-the-natural-and-necessary-effect-under-the-present/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Our inequality materializes our upper class, vulgarizes our middle class, brutalizes our lower class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/our-inequality-materializes-our-upper-class-vulgarizes-our-middle/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [My father came from old money. There was less of an expectation for the children to earn a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/my-father-came-from-old-money-there-was-less-of-an-expectation-for/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [I've always been fascinated with aristocracy. I'm really interested in the Ivy Leagues, the final clubs, all the really old-money families, the concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-with-aristocracy-i-m-really-interested-in/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/gatsby-believed-in-the-green-light-the-orgastic-future-that-year-by/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [If you want to live a long time, don't fool with nothing old but money, nothing big but a bank roll, nothing black but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satchel-paige/if-you-want-to-live-a-long-time-don-t-fool-with-nothing-old-but-money/) [Satchel Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satchel-paige/) > [I always wanted so much glamour in my life, so I have always been obsessed with class, and from dating a few people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-leggero/i-always-wanted-so-much-glamour-in-my-life-so-i-have-always-been/) [Natasha Leggero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-leggero/) > [They were indeed what was known as 'old money', which meant that it had been made so long ago that the black deeds which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/they-were-indeed-what-was-known-as-old-money-which-meant-that-it-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I don't want nothing old but some old money. Buy me some young ideas. That's what I'm gonna do with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/i-don-t-want-nothing-old-but-some-old-money-buy-me-some-young-ideas/) [Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/) > [“Or look at the old money, with its florins and half crowns and thrupenny bits, and imagine what it was like in the days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/or-look-at-the-old-money-with-its-florins-and-half-crowns-and/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## 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 Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Right now, for many Americans, class is being foregrounded like never before because of the economic situation. It doesn't mean that race doesn't matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/right-now-for-many-americans-class-is-being-foregrounded-like-never/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [We are not going back to the failed policies of the past. We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) [Browse all 7,637 Class quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there is anything so unintelligent, so unapt to perceive how the world is really going, as an ordinary young Englishman of our upper class.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Arnold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the-whole-earth-there-is-anything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Class" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the-whole-earth-there-is-anything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/matthew-arnold-1235_class_one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the_2493387.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One has often wondered whether upon the whole earth there is anything so unintelligent, so unapt to perceive…” — Matthew Arnold", "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": "Matthew Arnold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One has often wondered whether upon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the-whole-earth-there-is-anything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-has-often-wondered-whether-upon-the-whole-earth-there-is-anything/#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 } } ] } ```