--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He [Maxime] was twenty, and already there…" description: "\"“He [Maxime] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms of debauchery..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/mile-zola-1188_debauchery_he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-w_283761.jpg" --- # He \[Maxime\] was twenty, and already there was nothing left… ![“He [Maxime] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms of debauchery. Vice with him was not an abyss, as with certain old men, but a natural, external growth.” quote by Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/mile-zola-1188_debauchery_he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-w_283761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/mile-zola-1188_debauchery_he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-w_283761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/mile-zola-1188_debauchery_he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-w_283761.jpg) > ““He \[Maxime\] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms of debauchery. Vice with him was not an abyss, as with certain old men, but a natural, external growth.”” [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The character experiences a loss of surprise, viewing extreme decadence as natural growth rather than an abyss. **In simple terms:** He sees debauchery as a normal development, not a void. Key Takeaway Accept that personal change can be natural, not always destructive. Themes decadence growth existential surprise Mood cynical thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - adulthood - moral decline - personal evolution - societal critique Key Concepts nihilism human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What defines the line between natural growth and moral decay? - How does society view extreme behavior as normal? A Different Perspective Normalizing excess may ignore its harmful impacts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Debauchery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debauchery/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) ## Related quotes > [“You can’t just jump into debauchery one night and expect to get the hang of it by morning. It takes years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/you-can-t-just-jump-into-debauchery-one-night-and-expect-to-get-the/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [“Despairing of love and of chastity, I at last bethought myself of debauchery, a substitute for love, which quiets the laughter, restores silence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/despairing-of-love-and-of-chastity-i-at-last-bethought-myself-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated-2/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hart/cutting-the-space-budget-really-restores-my-faith-in-humanity-it/) [Johnny Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hart/) > [“It is an Age where any sort of debauchery is tolerated, as long as it brings fame with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-pears/it-is-an-age-where-any-sort-of-debauchery-is-tolerated-as-long-as-it/) Ian Pears > [Civilizations die from philosophical calm, irony, and a sense of fair play quite as surely as they die of debauchery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/civilizations-die-from-philosophical-calm-irony-and-a-sense-of-fair/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Coming at twenty to his father's house, which was a very sink of filthy debauchery, he, chaste and pure as he was, simply withdrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coming-at-twenty-to-his-father-s-house-which-was-a-very-sink-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The military world is characterized by the absence of freedom - in other words, a rigorous discipline-enforced inactivity, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-military-world-is-characterized-by-the-absence-of-freedom-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“So tonight I'm, pursuing more commercial joys around the bedpost. And I plan to get drunk as a skunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sherwood/so-tonight-i-m-pursuing-more-commercial-joys-around-the-bedpost-and-i/) Valerie Sherwood > [“What is it the Bible teaches us? — repine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? — to believe that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-repine-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Debauchery conceived of as a kind of ascetic experience is not new, either for men or for women, but until Story of O no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/debauchery-conceived-of-as-a-kind-of-ascetic-experience-is-not-new/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Émile Zola > [“Hélène, her eyes once more raised and remote, was deep in a dream. She was Lady Rowena, she was in love, with the deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/h-l-ne-her-eyes-once-more-raised-and-remote-was-deep-in-a-dream-she/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The vague torment of ... ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-vague-torment-of-ambition/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [How evil life must be if it were indeed necessary that such imploring cries, such cries of physical and moral wretchedness, should ever and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/how-evil-life-must-be-if-it-were-indeed-necessary-that-such-imploring/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“he was carried aloft, for the moment, on one of those great waves of hope from which he was usually plunged deep into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/he-was-carried-aloft-for-the-moment-on-one-of-those-great-waves-of/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Death had to take her little by little, bit by bit, dragging her along to the bitter end of the miserable existence she'd made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/death-had-to-take-her-little-by-little-bit-by-bit-dragging-her-along/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [If something's just, I'll let myself be hacked to bits for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/if-something-s-just-i-ll-let-myself-be-hacked-to-bits-for-it/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Lastly, I accuse the first court-martial of having violated the law by condemning an accused person on one document kept secret, and I accuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/lastly-i-accuse-the-first-court-martial-of-having-violated-the-law-by/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“vexation, yet filled with unconscious regret for the terrible unknown things that might have, but had not, happened (23)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/vexation-yet-filled-with-unconscious-regret-for-the-terrible-unknown/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Good gracious!" she exclaimed, "she's been more than an hour in there! When the priests set about cleansing her of her sins, the choir-boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/good-gracious-she-exclaimed-she-s-been-more-than-an-hour-in-there/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The only basis for living is believing in life, loving it, and applying the whole force of one's intellect to know it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-only-basis-for-living-is-believing-in-life-loving-it-and-applying/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“A new dynasty is never founded without a struggle. Blood makes good manure. It will be a good thing for the Rougon family to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/a-new-dynasty-is-never-founded-without-a-struggle-blood-makes-good/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [I believe that all is illusion and vanity outside the treasure of truths slowly accumulated, and which will never again be lost. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/i-believe-that-all-is-illusion-and-vanity-outside-the-treasure-of/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“After a time, she believed in the reality of this comedy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/after-a-time-she-believed-in-the-reality-of-this-comedy/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“She wanted to live, and live fully, and to give life, she who loved life! What was the good of existing, if you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/she-wanted-to-live-and-live-fully-and-to-give-life-she-who-loved-life/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The fear of life, the fear of burdens and of duties, of annoyances and of catastrophes! The fear of life, which makes us, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-fear-of-life-the-fear-of-burdens-and-of-duties-of-annoyances-and/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) [Explore all 243 Émile Zola quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## More Debauchery quotes > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Debauchery conceived of as a kind of ascetic experience is not new, either for men or for women, but until Story of O no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/debauchery-conceived-of-as-a-kind-of-ascetic-experience-is-not-new/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [“What is it the Bible teaches us? — repine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? — to believe that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-repine-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“So tonight I'm, pursuing more commercial joys around the bedpost. And I plan to get drunk as a skunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sherwood/so-tonight-i-m-pursuing-more-commercial-joys-around-the-bedpost-and-i/) Valerie Sherwood > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [The military world is characterized by the absence of freedom - in other words, a rigorous discipline-enforced inactivity, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-military-world-is-characterized-by-the-absence-of-freedom-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Coming at twenty to his father's house, which was a very sink of filthy debauchery, he, chaste and pure as he was, simply withdrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coming-at-twenty-to-his-father-s-house-which-was-a-very-sink-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Civilizations die from philosophical calm, irony, and a sense of fair play quite as surely as they die of debauchery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/civilizations-die-from-philosophical-calm-irony-and-a-sense-of-fair/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [“It is an Age where any sort of debauchery is tolerated, as long as it brings fame with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-pears/it-is-an-age-where-any-sort-of-debauchery-is-tolerated-as-long-as-it/) Ian Pears > [Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hart/cutting-the-space-budget-really-restores-my-faith-in-humanity-it/) [Johnny Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hart/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated-2/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [“Despairing of love and of chastity, I at last bethought myself of debauchery, a substitute for love, which quiets the laughter, restores silence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/despairing-of-love-and-of-chastity-i-at-last-bethought-myself-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have grown weary of literature: silence alone comforts me. If I continue to write, it’s because I have nothing more to accomplish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-have-grown-weary-of-literature-silence-alone-comforts-me-if-i/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) [Browse all 79 Debauchery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debauchery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He [Maxime] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms of debauchery. 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