--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The intelligent man quickly reaches…" description: "\"“The intelligent man quickly reaches reactionary conclusions. Today, however, the universal consensus of fools turns him into a coward. When they inter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_intelligent-man_the-intelligent-man-quickly-reaches-reac_723429.png" --- # The intelligent man quickly reaches reactionary… ![“The intelligent man quickly reaches reactionary conclusions. Today, however, the universal consensus of fools turns him into a coward. When they interrogate him in public, he denies being a Galilean.” quote by Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_intelligent-man_the-intelligent-man-quickly-reaches-reac_723429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_intelligent-man_the-intelligent-man-quickly-reaches-reac_723429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_intelligent-man_the-intelligent-man-quickly-reaches-reac_723429.png) > ““The intelligent man quickly reaches reactionary conclusions. Today, however, the universal consensus of fools turns him into a coward. When they interrogate him in public, he denies being a Galilean.”” [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligent people are forced to adopt reactionary views because society rewards conformity, and they hide their true ideas under denial. **In simple terms:** Smart people become cautious and deny their ideas. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist social pressure to conform. Themes conformity intelligence politics courage Mood reflective critical cautious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic debate - political activism - personal decision-making - public speaking Key Concepts social psychology philosophy of truth public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How does fear of ridicule shape your opinions? - When have you hidden your true view? A Different Perspective Even the wise may self-censor to avoid backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Precisely because Galilean science is, in the formation of its concepts, the technic of a specific Lebenswelt , it does not and cannot transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/precisely-because-galilean-science-is-in-the-formation-of-its/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Is it any wonder that to this day this Galilean is too much for our small hearts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/is-it-any-wonder-that-to-this-day-this-galilean-is-too-much-for-our/) [H. G. 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So far from owing him any thanks for his favor, I cannot avoid confessing that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-galilean-is-not-a-favorite-of-mine-so-far-from-owing-him-any/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Thou has conquered, O pale Galilean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/thou-has-conquered-o-pale-galilean/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [I'm an intelligent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soupy-sales/i-m-an-intelligent-man/) [Soupy Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soupy-sales/) > [A really intelligent man makes an indifferent painter. 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Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/out-on-the-edge-you-see-all-kinds-of-things-you-can-t-see-from-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [Cynical realism is the intelligent man's best excuse for doing nothing in an intolerable situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/cynical-realism-is-the-intelligent-man-s-best-excuse-for-doing/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) ## More by Nicolás Gómez Dávila > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The liberation promised by every invention ends with the growing submission of the man who adopts it to the man who manufactures it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-liberation-promised-by-every-invention-ends-with-the-growing/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Revolution is progressivist and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance. The revolutionary is a potential government official;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/revolution-is-progressivist-and-seeks-the-strengthening-of-the-state/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Rather than humanizing technology, modern man prefers to technify man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/rather-than-humanizing-technology-modern-man-prefers-to-technify-man/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“As they cannot be defined univocally, nor irrefutably demonstrated, so-called “human rights” serve as a pretext for the individual who rebels against a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/as-they-cannot-be-defined-univocally-nor-irrefutably-demonstrated-so/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The most ominous of modern perversions is the shame of appearing naïve if we do not flirt with evil. 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What is relative are opinions about truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/truths-are-not-relative-what-is-relative-are-opinions-about-truth/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Every individual with “ideals” is a potential murderer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/every-individual-with-ideals-is-a-potential-murderer/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/hierarchies-are-celestial-in-hell-all-are-equal/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Faith is not knowledge of an object but communion with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/faith-is-not-knowledge-of-an-object-but-communion-with-it/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“An atheist is respectable as long as he does not teach that the dignity of man is the basis of ethics and that love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/an-atheist-is-respectable-as-long-as-he-does-not-teach-that-the/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [The genuine coherence of our ideas does not come from the reasoning that ties them together, but from the spiritual impulse that gives rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-genuine-coherence-of-our-ideas-does-not-come-from-the-reasoning/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Progress ages badly. Each generation brings a new model of progressivism which discards with contempt the previous model. Nothing is more grotesque than yesterday’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/progress-ages-badly-each-generation-brings-a-new-model-of/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) [Explore all 67 Nicolás Gómez Dávila quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) ## More Intelligent man quotes > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Cynical realism is the intelligent man's best excuse for doing nothing in an intolerable situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/cynical-realism-is-the-intelligent-man-s-best-excuse-for-doing/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/out-on-the-edge-you-see-all-kinds-of-things-you-can-t-see-from-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [The intelligent man is one who has successfully fulfilled many accomplishments, and is yet willing to learn more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-parker/the-intelligent-man-is-one-who-has-successfully-fulfilled-many/) [Ed Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-parker/) > [The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow- witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-most-difficult-subjects-can-be-explained-to-the-most-slow-witted/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [A really intelligent man makes an indifferent painter. For painting requires a certain blindness, a partial refusal to be aware of all the options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/a-really-intelligent-man-makes-an-indifferent-painter-for-painting/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I'm an intelligent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soupy-sales/i-m-an-intelligent-man/) [Soupy Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soupy-sales/) > [“If you were smart," Genghis said, "you would have borrowed the silverware of one of your friends." "We never thought of that," Klaus said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/if-you-were-smart-genghis-said-you-would-have-borrowed-the-silverware/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Speaking of which, about assuming you had a condom—I just meant that you, with your experience, would be prepared for responsible sex, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-pearce/speaking-of-which-about-assuming-you-had-a-condom-i-just-meant-that/) [Roberta Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberta-pearce/) > [How does it come about that what an intelligent man expresses is much stupider than what remains inside him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/how-does-it-come-about-that-what-an-intelligent-man-expresses-is-much/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [I think they must mix blood, otherwise the human race is bound to degenerate. Mixing blood is marvelous. It makes strong and intelligent men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-baker/i-think-they-must-mix-blood-otherwise-the-human-race-is-bound-to/) [Josephine Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-baker/) > [“The satires of Isaiah against the makers of idols of wood and gold apply just as much to the makers of conceptual idols. the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-le-saux/the-satires-of-isaiah-against-the-makers-of-idols-of-wood-and-gold/) Henri Le Saux Browse all 178 Intelligent man quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The intelligent man quickly reaches reactionary conclusions. Today, however, the universal consensus of fools turns him into a coward. 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