--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Momma convinced us that not only was…" description: "\"“Momma convinced us that not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery. The”\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/maya-angelou-104_dirtiness_momma-convinced-us-that-not-only-was-cle_505185.png" --- # Momma convinced us that not only was cleanliness next to… ![“Momma convinced us that not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery. The” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/maya-angelou-104_dirtiness_momma-convinced-us-that-not-only-was-cle_505185.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/maya-angelou-104_dirtiness_momma-convinced-us-that-not-only-was-cle_505185.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/maya-angelou-104_dirtiness_momma-convinced-us-that-not-only-was-cle_505185.png) > ““Momma convinced us that not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery. The”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cleanliness is linked to spiritual well‑being; neglect leads to suffering and unhappiness. **In simple terms:** Cleanliness promotes happiness; dirt brings misery. Key Takeaway Keep spaces tidy for mental health. Themes hygiene spirituality well‑being habit mindset Mood motivational practical Type behavioral psychological When to use this quote - home organization - personal routines - public health campaigns - school cleanliness programs Key Concepts Psychology of environment cultural values Questions to Reflect On - Why do we associate cleanliness with purity? - How does a clean environment affect mood? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on cleanliness may cause obsessive behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cleanliness Godliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleanliness-godliness-513326/) [Convinced Cleanliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convinced-cleanliness-3881156/) [Dirtiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirtiness/) [Dirtiness Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirtiness-inventor-3600859/) [Godliness Dirtiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godliness-dirtiness-3600860/) ## Related quotes > [“not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/not-only-was-cleanliness-next-to-godliness-dirtiness-was-the-inventor/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“room confirmed the view I had of myself. I always felt as if I had been placed in storage in this house. However, regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/room-confirmed-the-view-i-had-of-myself-i-always-felt-as-if-i-had/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [what pudor pejorocracy affronts how awe, night-rest and neighborhood can rot what breeds where dirtiness is law what crawls below](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/what-pudor-pejorocracy-affronts-how-awe-night-rest-and-neighborhood/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [Really I don't know anything other than Jersey. I like the dirtiness of it. Now I'm getting to see the world, and it's great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/really-i-don-t-know-anything-other-than-jersey-i-like-the-dirtiness/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Creeds like pacifism or anarchism, which seem on the surface to imply a complete renunciation of power, rather encourage this habit of mind. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/creeds-like-pacifism-or-anarchism-which-seem-on-the-surface-to-imply/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [A distinctly ordinary player of extraordinary dirtiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-gill/a-distinctly-ordinary-player-of-extraordinary-dirtiness/) [Pete Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-gill/) > [So I let my shame own me, kill me, wilt me away into a thousand dead flakes, knowing if I kept it all in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/so-i-let-my-shame-own-me-kill-me-wilt-me-away-into-a-thousand-dead/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [I couldn't get that same feeling during the day, with my hands in dirty dish water and the hard sun showing up the dirtiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-couldn-t-get-that-same-feeling-during-the-day-with-my-hands-in/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [Roughly speaking, the more one pays for food, the more sweat and spittle one is obliged to eat with it… Dirtiness is inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/roughly-speaking-the-more-one-pays-for-food-the-more-sweat-and-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Soap is another article in great demand--the Continental allowance is too small, and dear, as every necessary of life is now got, a soldier's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/soap-is-another-article-in-great-demand-the-continental-allowance-is/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [A very weighty argument is this namely, that neither does the light which descends from thence, chiefly upon the world , mix itself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/a-very-weighty-argument-is-this-namely-that-neither-does-the-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself. Cleanliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of-2/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Sweat cleaned you as effectively as water. But this was the race which had invented the proverb that cleanliness was next to godliness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/sweat-cleaned-you-as-effectively-as-water-but-this-was-the-race-which/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Juliet's version of cleanliness was next to godliness, which was to say it was erratic, past all understanding and was seldom seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/juliet-s-version-of-cleanliness-was-next-to-godliness-which-was-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Women are dirt searchers; their greatest worth is irradicating rings on collars and tables. Never mind real-estate boards' corruption and racism, here's your soapsuds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florynce-kennedy/women-are-dirt-searchers-their-greatest-worth-is-irradicating-rings/) [Florynce Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florynce-kennedy/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Dirtiness quotes > [A very weighty argument is this namely, that neither does the light which descends from thence, chiefly upon the world , mix itself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/a-very-weighty-argument-is-this-namely-that-neither-does-the-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Soap is another article in great demand--the Continental allowance is too small, and dear, as every necessary of life is now got, a soldier's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/soap-is-another-article-in-great-demand-the-continental-allowance-is/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Roughly speaking, the more one pays for food, the more sweat and spittle one is obliged to eat with it… Dirtiness is inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/roughly-speaking-the-more-one-pays-for-food-the-more-sweat-and-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I couldn't get that same feeling during the day, with my hands in dirty dish water and the hard sun showing up the dirtiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-couldn-t-get-that-same-feeling-during-the-day-with-my-hands-in/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [So I let my shame own me, kill me, wilt me away into a thousand dead flakes, knowing if I kept it all in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/so-i-let-my-shame-own-me-kill-me-wilt-me-away-into-a-thousand-dead/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [“not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/not-only-was-cleanliness-next-to-godliness-dirtiness-was-the-inventor/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [A distinctly ordinary player of extraordinary dirtiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-gill/a-distinctly-ordinary-player-of-extraordinary-dirtiness/) [Pete Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-gill/) > [Creeds like pacifism or anarchism, which seem on the surface to imply a complete renunciation of power, rather encourage this habit of mind. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/creeds-like-pacifism-or-anarchism-which-seem-on-the-surface-to-imply/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Really I don't know anything other than Jersey. I like the dirtiness of it. Now I'm getting to see the world, and it's great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/really-i-don-t-know-anything-other-than-jersey-i-like-the-dirtiness/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [what pudor pejorocracy affronts how awe, night-rest and neighborhood can rot what breeds where dirtiness is law what crawls below](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/what-pudor-pejorocracy-affronts-how-awe-night-rest-and-neighborhood/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) [Browse all 11 Dirtiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirtiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Momma convinced us that not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery. 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