---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To disdain today is to prove that…"
description: "\"To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.\" — Maurice Maeterlinck"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg"
---

#  To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been…

![“To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg)

> “To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.”

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

## About This Quote

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

Misjudging the past leads to contempt for the present; understanding history prevents scorn.

**In simple terms:** Misunderstanding yesterday fuels today’s disdain.

Key Takeaway

Seek context before judging.

Themes

history perception wisdom

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- political debate
- media analysis
- education curricula

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology temporal awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- What assumptions about the past shape your view today?
- How can you reframe misunderstood histories?

A Different Perspective

People may cling to bias despite evidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain/) [Misunderstood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstood/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/)

## Related quotes

> [Let this day be a new adventure,a chance to prove that yesterday made you better,stronger and wiser!May your choices today make a better tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerose/let-this-day-be-a-new-adventure-a-chance-to-prove-that-yesterday-made/)

[Jerose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerose/)

> [Intellectual men who quickly wolf down whatever nourishment is necessary for their bodies with a kind of disdain, may be very rational and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-de-coulomb/intellectual-men-who-quickly-wolf-down-whatever-nourishment-is/)

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb

> [I was a trader for a company. That's different from the brokers who we sort of disdain as sort of just errand boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/i-was-a-trader-for-a-company-that-s-different-from-the-brokers-who-we/)

[Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/)

> [ I've always found that word \[“hipster”\] is used with such disdain, like it's always used by chubby bloggers who aren't getting laid anymore and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-mcinnes/i-ve-always-found-that-word-hipster-is-used-with-such-disdain-like-it/)

[Gavin McInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-mcinnes/)

> [...all his longings came out as a kind of disdain for what he longed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hollinghurst/all-his-longings-came-out-as-a-kind-of-disdain-for-what-he-longed-for/)

[Alan Hollinghurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hollinghurst/)

> [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [It seems I have a hard time being attracted to someone unless I respect what they do on some level. Otherwise, I would feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/it-seems-i-have-a-hard-time-being-attracted-to-someone-unless-i/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/marriage-is-a-reflection-of-your-life-in-general-how-you-treat-people/)

[William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/)

> [In each human heart terror survives The ravin it has gorged: the loftiest fear All that they would disdain to think were true: Hypocrisy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/in-each-human-heart-terror-survives-the-ravin-it-has-gorged-the/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-36-disdain-things-you-cannot-have-ignoring-them-is-the-best/)

[The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/)

> [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/)

[Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/)

> [If you increase the number of rockets you build and you buy, then it's the scale of the economy, the price is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/if-you-increase-the-number-of-rockets-you-build-and-you-buy-then-it-s/)

[Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/)

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

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

## More by Maurice Maeterlinck

> [Happiness is rarely absent; it is we that know not of its presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/happiness-is-rarely-absent-it-is-we-that-know-not-of-its-presence/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [He who sees without loving is only straining his eyes in the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/he-who-sees-without-loving-is-only-straining-his-eyes-in-the-darkness/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [We are never the same with others as when we are alone. We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/we-are-never-the-same-with-others-as-when-we-are-alone-we-are/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [The living are just the dead on holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-living-are-just-the-dead-on-holiday/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“I believe that poems die the moment they are outwardly expressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/i-believe-that-poems-die-the-moment-they-are-outwardly-expressed/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossway-on-the-road-that-leads-to-the-future-each/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“Our lives must be spent seeking our God, for God hides; but His artifices, once they be known, seem so simple and smiling! From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/our-lives-must-be-spent-seeking-our-god-for-god-hides-but-his/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“The angels that dry our eyes bear the form and the features of all we have said and thought—above all, of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-angels-that-dry-our-eyes-bear-the-form-and-the-features-of-all-we/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [What man is there that does not laboriously, though all unconsciously, himself fashion the sorrow that is to be the pivot of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/what-man-is-there-that-does-not-laboriously-though-all-unconsciously/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“For it is our most secret desire that governs and dominates all. If your eyes look for nothing but evil, you will always see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/for-it-is-our-most-secret-desire-that-governs-and-dominates-all-if/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-not-from-reason-that-justice-springs-but-goodness-is-born-of/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossroads-on-the-path-that-leads-to-the-future-tradition/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [“Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/niemand-is-waarlijk-mijn-vriend-voordat-we-geleerd-hebben-in/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

> [Sacrifice may be a flower that virtue will pluck on its road, but it was not to gather this flower that virtue set forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/sacrifice-may-be-a-flower-that-virtue-will-pluck-on-its-road-but-it/)

[Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

[Explore all 114 Maurice Maeterlinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/)

## More Disdain quotes

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

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

> [If you increase the number of rockets you build and you buy, then it's the scale of the economy, the price is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/if-you-increase-the-number-of-rockets-you-build-and-you-buy-then-it-s/)

[Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/)

> [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/)

[Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/)

> [Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-36-disdain-things-you-cannot-have-ignoring-them-is-the-best/)

[The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [In each human heart terror survives The ravin it has gorged: the loftiest fear All that they would disdain to think were true: Hypocrisy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/in-each-human-heart-terror-survives-the-ravin-it-has-gorged-the/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/marriage-is-a-reflection-of-your-life-in-general-how-you-treat-people/)

[William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/)

> [It seems I have a hard time being attracted to someone unless I respect what they do on some level. Otherwise, I would feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/it-seems-i-have-a-hard-time-being-attracted-to-someone-unless-i/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [...all his longings came out as a kind of disdain for what he longed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hollinghurst/all-his-longings-came-out-as-a-kind-of-disdain-for-what-he-longed-for/)

[Alan Hollinghurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hollinghurst/)

> [ I've always found that word \[“hipster”\] is used with such disdain, like it's always used by chubby bloggers who aren't getting laid anymore and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-mcinnes/i-ve-always-found-that-word-hipster-is-used-with-such-disdain-like-it/)

[Gavin McInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-mcinnes/)

> [I was a trader for a company. That's different from the brokers who we sort of disdain as sort of just errand boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/i-was-a-trader-for-a-company-that-s-different-from-the-brokers-who-we/)

[Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/)

> [Intellectual men who quickly wolf down whatever nourishment is necessary for their bodies with a kind of disdain, may be very rational and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-de-coulomb/intellectual-men-who-quickly-wolf-down-whatever-nourishment-is/)

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb

> [All human life is sunk deep in untruth; the individual cannot pull it out of this well without growing profoundly annoyed with his entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-human-life-is-sunk-deep-in-untruth-the-individual-cannot-pull-it/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Browse all 266 Disdain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Maurice Maeterlinck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Disdain"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_disdain_to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yester_494364.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.” — Maurice Maeterlinck",
                "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": "Maurice Maeterlinck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To disdain today is to prove...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
