--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Undergraduates owe their happiness…" description: "\"Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the consciousness that they are no longer at school. The nonsense which was knocked out of them at school..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png" --- # Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the… ![“Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the consciousness that they are no longer at school. The nonsense which was knocked out of them at school is all put gently back at Oxford or Cambridge.” quote by Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png) > “Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the consciousness that they are no longer at school. The nonsense which was knocked out of them at school is all put gently back at Oxford or Cambridge.” [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Graduates find happiness in realizing they are no longer bound by school constraints, yet the same constraints reappear in elite universities. **In simple terms:** Freedom from school brings joy, but similar pressures return at top universities. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage recurring pressures. Themes education happiness freedom Mood thoughtful observational Type sociological psychological When to use this quote - career start - postgraduate life - social expectations Key Concepts psychology of adulthood institutional pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain freedom after school? - What habits help avoid old constraints? A Different Perspective Even elite schools can replicate old stresses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cambridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cambridge/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) ## Related quotes > [I sometimes think if I had gone to Oxford or Cambridge and looked like a handsome young guy who could be in an Evelyn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-marsan/i-sometimes-think-if-i-had-gone-to-oxford-or-cambridge-and-looked/) [Eddie Marsan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-marsan/) > [The dons of Oxford and Cambridge are too busy educating the young men to be able to teach them anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-dons-of-oxford-and-cambridge-are-too-busy-educating-the-young-men/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I did really well at school, and I would have loved to have gone to Oxford or Cambridge. I would have read English, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-rigby/i-did-really-well-at-school-and-i-would-have-loved-to-have-gone-to/) [Emma Rigby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-rigby/) > [In real life, Oxford and Cambridge are two excellent universities, like many others in the country. They are full of highly intelligent, hard-working, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/in-real-life-oxford-and-cambridge-are-two-excellent-universities-like/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Washing dishes as a 17-year-old in an Oxford college and seeing the privileged lifestyles of the undergraduates there convinced me that a system that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-grady/washing-dishes-as-a-17-year-old-in-an-oxford-college-and-seeing-the/) [Frances O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-grady/) > [Since my education, I've done quite untraditional things. There are very few Etonians who went to Rada. And far fewer Etonians - certainly when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/since-my-education-i-ve-done-quite-untraditional-things-there-are/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones' mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/universities-such-as-cambridge-oxford-and-harvard-all-began-as-jesus/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [My parents didn't go to university and weren't brought up in England. They hadn't heard of any other universities other than 'Cambridge' or 'Oxford.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ayoade/my-parents-didn-t-go-to-university-and-weren-t-brought-up-in-england/) [Richard Ayoade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ayoade/) > [In the UK cycling was very popular until the end of the 1950's but it really lost out to our love affair with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-bell/in-the-uk-cycling-was-very-popular-until-the-end-of-the-1950-s-but-it/) [Adrian Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-bell/) > [Beginning under the Roman Empire, intellectual leadership in the West had been provided by Christianity. In the middle ages, who invented the first universities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/beginning-under-the-roman-empire-intellectual-leadership-in-the-west/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [A learned parson, rusting in his cell at Oxford or Cambridge, will reason admirably well upon the nature of man; will profoundly analyze the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/a-learned-parson-rusting-in-his-cell-at-oxford-or-cambridge-will/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/oxford-is-oxford-not-a-mere-receptacle-for-youth-like-cambridge/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“The landed classes neglected technical education, taking refuge in classical studies; as late as 1930, for example, long after Ernest Rutherford at Cambridge had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rhodes/the-landed-classes-neglected-technical-education-taking-refuge-in/) [Richard Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rhodes/) > [The great thing about writing about the ancient Spartans or Athenians is that so much knowledge is no longer extant that no one, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-great-thing-about-writing-about-the-ancient-spartans-or-athenians/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [I was not proficient in Latin and so was not able to go to Oxford or Cambridge. However, I did enter the first-rate chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/i-was-not-proficient-in-latin-and-so-was-not-able-to-go-to-oxford-or/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) ## More by Max Beerbohm > [Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/only-mediocrity-can-be-trusted-to-be-always-at-its-best/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [People are either born hosts or born guests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/people-are-either-born-hosts-or-born-guests/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [By its very looseness, by its way of evoking rather than defining, suggesting rather than saying, English is a magnificent vehicle for emotional poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/by-its-very-looseness-by-its-way-of-evoking-rather-than-defining/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [There is much to be said for failure. It is more interesting than success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/there-is-much-to-be-said-for-failure-it-is-more-interesting-than/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [I believe the twenty-four hour day has come to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/i-believe-the-twenty-four-hour-day-has-come-to-stay/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [“As she sat here in the bay-window of her room, she was not reviewing the splendid pageant of her past. She was a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/as-she-sat-here-in-the-bay-window-of-her-room-she-was-not-reviewing/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [As a teacher, as a propagandist, Mr. Shaw is no good at all, even in his own generation. But as a personality, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/as-a-teacher-as-a-propagandist-mr-shaw-is-no-good-at-all-even-in-his/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [She was one of those people who said I don't know anything about music, but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/she-was-one-of-those-people-who-said-i-don-t-know-anything-about/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [Men of genius are not quick judges of character. Deep thinking and high imagining blunt that trivial instinct by which you and I size…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/men-of-genius-are-not-quick-judges-of-character-deep-thinking-and/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [But to die of laughter--this, too, seems to me a great euthanasia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/but-to-die-of-laughter-this-too-seems-to-me-a-great-euthanasia/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [You will find that the woman who is really kind to dogs is always one who has failed to inspire sympathy in men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/you-will-find-that-the-woman-who-is-really-kind-to-dogs-is-always-one/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [True dandyism is the result of an artistic temperament working upon a fine body within the wide limits of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/true-dandyism-is-the-result-of-an-artistic-temperament-working-upon-a/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [“One is taught to refrain from irony, because mankind does tend to take it literally. In the hearing of the gods, who hear all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/one-is-taught-to-refrain-from-irony-because-mankind-does-tend-to-take/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [Every one, even the richest and most munificent of men, pays much by cheque more light-heartedly than he pays little in specie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/every-one-even-the-richest-and-most-munificent-of-men-pays-much-by/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [Men of genius are not quick judges of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/men-of-genius-are-not-quick-judges-of-character/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) [Explore all 108 Max Beerbohm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) ## More Cambridge quotes > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [If your memory was OK you could descend upon on a bookshop – a big enough one so that the staff wouldn’t hassle a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/if-your-memory-was-ok-you-could-descend-upon-on-a-bookshop-a-big/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [The use of data for political purposes wasn't invented by Cambridge Analytica.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-kaiser/the-use-of-data-for-political-purposes-wasn-t-invented-by-cambridge/) [Brittany Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-kaiser/) > [Cambridge was the place for someone from the Colonies or the Dominions to go on to, and it was to the Cavendish Laboratory that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klug/cambridge-was-the-place-for-someone-from-the-colonies-or-the/) [Aaron Klug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klug/) > [But she has gathered that Americans, in spite of their public declarations of affection, in spite of their miniskirts and bikinis, in spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/but-she-has-gathered-that-americans-in-spite-of-their-public/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [When I was at Cambridge in the early fifties, there was a school nearby for training Army officers in Russian, and some imaginative genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/when-i-was-at-cambridge-in-the-early-fifties-there-was-a-school/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [I was educated at King's College, Taunton and went to the University of Cambridge in 1942.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-hewish/i-was-educated-at-king-s-college-taunton-and-went-to-the-university/) [Antony Hewish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-hewish/) > [At one time in the mid-'70s I became the president of the Boston-Cambridge chapter of the World Future Society. Because I'd been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-one-time-in-the-mid-70s-i-became-the-president-of-the-boston/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [Having little money to spend was a valuable learning experience. My schooling also shaped my work ethic because while other children were listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/having-little-money-to-spend-was-a-valuable-learning-experience-my/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I did not enjoy Cambridge. But I shouldn't blame Cambridge alone. I wasn't ready for university or for the wrench of leaving home. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomie-harris/i-did-not-enjoy-cambridge-but-i-shouldn-t-blame-cambridge-alone-i/) [Naomie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomie-harris/) > [I was not proficient in Latin and so was not able to go to Oxford or Cambridge. However, I did enter the first-rate chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/i-was-not-proficient-in-latin-and-so-was-not-able-to-go-to-oxford-or/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) > [The great thing about writing about the ancient Spartans or Athenians is that so much knowledge is no longer extant that no one, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-great-thing-about-writing-about-the-ancient-spartans-or-athenians/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [I did not end up as broadly educated as my Cambridge colleagues, but I graduated probably better equipped to write a book on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-did-not-end-up-as-broadly-educated-as-my-cambridge-colleagues-but-i/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I suppose my little Martin acoustic guitar is quickly becoming a prize possession. It's a lovely guitar. I bought it at the Cambridge Folk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-coxon/i-suppose-my-little-martin-acoustic-guitar-is-quickly-becoming-a/) [Graham Coxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-coxon/) > [He had extracted himself from the Cambridge one-way system by the usual method, which involved going round and round it faster and faster until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/he-had-extracted-himself-from-the-cambridge-one-way-system-by-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Browse all 199 Cambridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cambridge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the consciousness that they are no longer at school. The nonsense which was knocked out of them at school is all put gently back at Oxford or Cambridge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Beerbohm" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chiefly-to-the-consciousness-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cambridge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chiefly-to-the-consciousness-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/max-beerbohm-4658_cambridge_undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chief_2568124.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to the consciousness that they are no longer at school. The…” — Max Beerbohm", "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": "Max Beerbohm", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Undergraduates owe their happiness chiefly to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chiefly-to-the-consciousness-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/undergraduates-owe-their-happiness-chiefly-to-the-consciousness-that/#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 } } ] } ```