--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had reached that condition of mind…" description: "\"“He had reached that condition of mind which the old Vikings used to call Berserk and which among modern Malays is termed running amok.”\" — P.G. Wodehouse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/p-g-wodehouse-723_berserk_he-had-reached-that-condition-of-mind-wh_1944073.jpg" --- # He had reached that condition of mind which the old… ![“He had reached that condition of mind which the old Vikings used to call Berserk and which among modern Malays is termed running amok.” quote by P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/p-g-wodehouse-723_berserk_he-had-reached-that-condition-of-mind-wh_1944073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/p-g-wodehouse-723_berserk_he-had-reached-that-condition-of-mind-wh_1944073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/p-g-wodehouse-723_berserk_he-had-reached-that-condition-of-mind-wh_1944073.jpg) > ““He had reached that condition of mind which the old Vikings used to call Berserk and which among modern Malays is termed running amok.”” [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extreme emotional states can be described by historic or cultural terms like berserk or amok. **In simple terms:** Intense rage has cultural labels. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage extreme emotions. Themes emotion culture history psychology Mood humorous observational Type literary satirical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - stressful work - sports aggression - personal anger Key Concepts Anthropology psychopathology Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your “berserk” moments? - How can you channel intense energy positively? A Different Perspective Labels may oversimplify complex feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Berserk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berserk/) [Berserk Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berserk-modern-3115460/) [Malays Termed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malays-termed-3115461/) [Old Vikings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-vikings-3115462/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Running Amok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-amok-3115463/) [Scotland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotland/) ## Related quotes > [“Running amok, just like a phoenix you obtain this new life arising from the ashes of the old one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-realm/running-amok-just-like-a-phoenix-you-obtain-this-new-life-arising/) [Maya Realm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-realm/) > [I'm running for president because I've had enough of the oil barons, the status-quo apologists, the special-interest lobbyists running amok.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/i-m-running-for-president-because-i-ve-had-enough-of-the-oil-barons/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [“He wanted to laugh; the vision of her pounding that wee boy in a fury of berserk rage, hair flying in the wind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/he-wanted-to-laugh-the-vision-of-her-pounding-that-wee-boy-in-a-fury/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Meditation is hard. You are constantly trying to focus on one thing, usually your breath, and your mind is going to go berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/meditation-is-hard-you-are-constantly-trying-to-focus-on-one-thing/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [“That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough, it was more like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/that-thing-was-too-big-to-be-called-a-sword-too-big-too-thick-too/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [Obsessions of the Orient, of the desert, of its ardor and its emptiness, of the shadows of palm gardens, of the garments white and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/obsessions-of-the-orient-of-the-desert-of-its-ardor-and-its-emptiness/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rodgers/if-you-want-to-win-a-race-you-have-to-go-a-little-berserk/) [Bill Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rodgers/) > [I always know a lie when I hear it, and the effect it has on me is no good at all. I go berserk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-always-know-a-lie-when-i-hear-it-and-the-effect-it-has-on-me-is-no/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Look at my jacket and hat. So damn berserk. So down to earth. I'm bringing gravity back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinie-tempah/look-at-my-jacket-and-hat-so-damn-berserk-so-down-to-earth-i-m/) [Tinie Tempah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinie-tempah/) > [in the press, my sex life was something else again. I was Lady Bountiful of the Sheets. Some of the best fiction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/in-the-press-my-sex-life-was-something-else-again-i-was-lady/) [Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/) > [If you want to win anything - a race, yourself, your life - you have to go a little berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-sheehan/if-you-want-to-win-anything-a-race-yourself-your-life-you-have-to-go/) [George A. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-sheehan/) > [“If you meet god, tell him to just leave me alone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/if-you-meet-god-tell-him-to-just-leave-me-alone/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [In politics, Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck. Daffy's always going berserk, jumping up and down, yelling. Bugs's got that sly smile, like he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-politics-bugs-bunny-always-beats-daffy-duck-daffy-s-always-going/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) ## More by P.G. Wodehouse > [“Love, Miss Halliday, is a delicate plant. It needs tending, nurturing, assiduous fostering. This cannot be done by throwing the breakfast bacon at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/love-miss-halliday-is-a-delicate-plant-it-needs-tending-nurturing/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [ “\[A\]lways get to the dialogue as soon as possible. I always feel the thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/a-lways-get-to-the-dialogue-as-soon-as-possible-i-always-feel-the/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Good Lord, Jeeves! Is there anything you don’t know?’ ‘I couldn’t say, sir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/good-lord-jeeves-is-there-anything-you-don-t-know-i-couldn-t-say-sir/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Ask the first lion cub you meet, and it will tell you that, once you’ve tasted blood, there is no pulling up, and it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/ask-the-first-lion-cub-you-meet-and-it-will-tell-you-that-once-you-ve/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“He will lunch with you at your flat tomorrow at one-thirty. Please remember that he drinks no wine, strongly disapproves of smoking, and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/he-will-lunch-with-you-at-your-flat-tomorrow-at-one-thirty-please/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Too often on such occasions one feels, as I feel so strongly with regard to poor old Stilton, that the kindly thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/too-often-on-such-occasions-one-feels-as-i-feel-so-strongly-with/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“My late Uncle Henry, you see, was by way of being the blot on the Wooster escutcheon. An extremely decent chappie personally, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/my-late-uncle-henry-you-see-was-by-way-of-being-the-blot-on-the/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [ “...he switched on the \[flashlight\]. When he did so, he instantly became the center attraction to a rowdy mob of those gnats, moths, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/he-switched-on-the-flashlight-when-he-did-so-he-instantly-became-the/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Conversationally, I am like a clockwork toy. I have to be set going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/conversationally-i-am-like-a-clockwork-toy-i-have-to-be-set-going/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“One of the advantages a sister has when arguing with a brother is that she is under no obligation to be tactful. If she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/one-of-the-advantages-a-sister-has-when-arguing-with-a-brother-is/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Liz," said Mr. Cootes, lost in admiration, "when it comes to doping out a scheme, you're the snake's eyebrows!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/liz-said-mr-cootes-lost-in-admiration-when-it-comes-to-doping-out-a/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“a chap who's supposed to stop chaps pinching things from chaps having a chap come along and pinch something from him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/a-chap-who-s-supposed-to-stop-chaps-pinching-things-from-chaps-having/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Bertie, do you read Tennyson?" "Not if I can help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/bertie-do-you-read-tennyson-not-if-i-can-help/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“It seems to be one of Nature’s laws that the most attractive girls should have the least attractive brothers. Fillmore Nicholas had not worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/it-seems-to-be-one-of-nature-s-laws-that-the-most-attractive-girls/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) [Explore all 389 P.G. Wodehouse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) ## More Berserk quotes > [In politics, Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck. Daffy's always going berserk, jumping up and down, yelling. Bugs's got that sly smile, like he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-politics-bugs-bunny-always-beats-daffy-duck-daffy-s-always-going/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“If you meet god, tell him to just leave me alone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/if-you-meet-god-tell-him-to-just-leave-me-alone/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [If you want to win anything - a race, yourself, your life - you have to go a little berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-sheehan/if-you-want-to-win-anything-a-race-yourself-your-life-you-have-to-go/) [George A. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-sheehan/) > [in the press, my sex life was something else again. I was Lady Bountiful of the Sheets. Some of the best fiction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/in-the-press-my-sex-life-was-something-else-again-i-was-lady/) [Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/) > [Look at my jacket and hat. So damn berserk. So down to earth. I'm bringing gravity back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinie-tempah/look-at-my-jacket-and-hat-so-damn-berserk-so-down-to-earth-i-m/) [Tinie Tempah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinie-tempah/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I always know a lie when I hear it, and the effect it has on me is no good at all. I go berserk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-always-know-a-lie-when-i-hear-it-and-the-effect-it-has-on-me-is-no/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rodgers/if-you-want-to-win-a-race-you-have-to-go-a-little-berserk/) [Bill Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rodgers/) > [Obsessions of the Orient, of the desert, of its ardor and its emptiness, of the shadows of palm gardens, of the garments white and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/obsessions-of-the-orient-of-the-desert-of-its-ardor-and-its-emptiness/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough, it was more like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/that-thing-was-too-big-to-be-called-a-sword-too-big-too-thick-too/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [Meditation is hard. You are constantly trying to focus on one thing, usually your breath, and your mind is going to go berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/meditation-is-hard-you-are-constantly-trying-to-focus-on-one-thing/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [“He wanted to laugh; the vision of her pounding that wee boy in a fury of berserk rage, hair flying in the wind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/he-wanted-to-laugh-the-vision-of-her-pounding-that-wee-boy-in-a-fury/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The horrible thing about Death of princess Diana - the sacrificial lamb, which she was. And I believe, in a sense, John Kennedy, Jr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/the-horrible-thing-about-death-of-princess-diana-the-sacrificial-lamb/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [I'm a really skinny guy, I'm real tall, and I have a very high metabolism, so if I drink anything with caffeine in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hosler/i-m-a-really-skinny-guy-i-m-real-tall-and-i-have-a-very-high/) [Mark Hosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hosler/) [Browse all 53 Berserk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berserk/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had reached that condition of mind which the old Vikings used to call Berserk and which among modern Malays is termed running amok.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "P.G. 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