--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was young, beautiful ancient…" description: "\"When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted… Nothing was gained, unless horses and asses had als..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg" --- # When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were… ![“When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted… Nothing was gained, unless horses and asses had also been castrated.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg) > “When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted… Nothing was gained, unless horses and asses had also been castrated.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage uses a metaphor of castrating statues and animals to illustrate how extreme measures to prevent corruption can be futile and harmful. **In simple terms:** Extreme protection can cause unnecessary damage. Key Takeaway Avoid over‑protecting at the cost of harm. Themes protection corruption extremism metaphor Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - art preservation - animal rights - policy making Key Concepts philosophical critique ethical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - Is it better to accept some risk than to over‑control? - When does protection become oppression? A Different Perspective Excessive control may create new problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient Statues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-statues-3629996/) [Ass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ass/) [Asses Castrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asses-castrated-3629994/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Castrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castrated-250739/) [Castrated Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castrated-eye-3629995/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Statues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statues/) [Statues Castrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statues-castrated-3629993/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [Ambition sufficiently plagues her proselytes, by keeping themselves always in show, like the statue of a public place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/ambition-sufficiently-plagues-her-proselytes-by-keeping-themselves/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“It's strange to see such an evil-looking pair of eyes fill with pity. You couldn't get a more sympathetic response if Raffe had just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/it-s-strange-to-see-such-an-evil-looking-pair-of-eyes-fill-with-pity/) [Susan ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/) > [“Communism is Christianity castrated by Ockham's Razor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-shamir/communism-is-christianity-castrated-by-ockham-s-razor/) [Israel Shamir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-shamir/) > [I think when a person has been found guilty of rape he should be castrated. That would stop him pretty quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-when-a-person-has-been-found-guilty-of-rape-he-should-be/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The tragedy of contemporary philosophy is that it has been castrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-tragedy-of-contemporary-philosophy-is-that-it-has-been-castrated/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [They made me sound as if I'd been castrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/they-made-me-sound-as-if-i-d-been-castrated/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [We have castrated society through fear and intimidation. Its manhood exists only in combination with a feminine outward appearance. Being so neutered, the populace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wallace-rosenthal/we-have-castrated-society-through-fear-and-intimidation-its-manhood/) [Harold Wallace Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wallace-rosenthal/) > [“Della pretty much told him the same thing. And she gave him hell. The kind of hell only Della can dish out. Told him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/della-pretty-much-told-him-the-same-thing-and-she-gave-him-hell-the/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [“Dude deserves to be castrated, if you ask me.' Ry chokes a bit, a strangled laugh. "Remind me never to piss you off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/dude-deserves-to-be-castrated-if-you-ask-me-ry-chokes-a-bit-a/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Photographs are still being taken but aren't being shown. There's one of a skeleton bound at the wrists with pants still around its ankles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof-2/photographs-are-still-being-taken-but-aren-t-being-shown-there-s-one/) [Nicholas D Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof-2/) > [“Yep. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve just seen a girl at the bar whose cat I castrated last week. She kept flirting with me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-ashton/yep-now-if-you-don-t-mind-i-ve-just-seen-a-girl-at-the-bar-whose-cat/) [Nikki Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-ashton/) > [“castrato n. (pl. castrati ) HISTORICAL a male singer castrated in boyhood so as to retain a soprano or alto voice. The practice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amazon-dictionary-account/castrato-n-pl-castrati-historical-a-male-singer-castrated-in-boyhood/) [Amazon Dictionary Account](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amazon-dictionary-account/) > [“You want to know what it feels like to be castrated? Try having your nine-year-old brother protect you from your ex-girlfriend after you've told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/you-want-to-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-castrated-try-having-your/) [T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [They don't hardly make 'em like him any more - but just to be on the safe side, he should be castrated anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/they-don-t-hardly-make-em-like-him-any-more-but-just-to-be-on-the/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [... no man can be psychologically castrated without his co-operation!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/no-man-can-be-psychologically-castrated-without-his-co-operation/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted… Nothing was gained, unless horses and asses had also been castrated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statues-were-castrated-so-that-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statues-were-castrated-so-that-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statu_2016730.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted… Nothing…” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was young, beautiful ancient...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statues-were-castrated-so-that-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/when-i-was-young-beautiful-ancient-statues-were-castrated-so-that-the/#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 } } ] } ```