--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not envy or malice, as so many…" description: "\"It is not envy or malice, as so many people think, but utter despair that has persuaded many educational reformers to recommend the abolition of the En..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/peter-medawar-9996_abolition_it-is-not-envy-or-malice-as-so-many-peop_1736781.jpg" --- # It is not envy or malice, as so many people think, but… ![“It is not envy or malice, as so many people think, but utter despair that has persuaded many educational reformers to recommend the abolition of the English public schools.” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/peter-medawar-9996_abolition_it-is-not-envy-or-malice-as-so-many-peop_1736781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/peter-medawar-9996_abolition_it-is-not-envy-or-malice-as-so-many-peop_1736781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/peter-medawar-9996_abolition_it-is-not-envy-or-malice-as-so-many-peop_1736781.jpg) > “It is not envy or malice, as so many people think, but utter despair that has persuaded many educational reformers to recommend the abolition of the English public schools.” [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement argues that deep despair, not envy, drives some reformers to advocate for abolishing elite schools. **In simple terms:** Despair fuels radical reform ideas. Key Takeaway Despair can inspire radical change. Themes education reform despair Mood somber analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - educational reform - public discourse Key Concepts social critique institutional analysis Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives address despair without abolition? - How can reform balance tradition and equity? A Different Perspective Despair may be temporary and not solution‑oriented. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Malice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malice/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-school/) [Public schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-schools/) [Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Utter despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utter-despair/) ## Related quotes > [When you confuse personal love and cosmic heroism you are bound to fail in both spheres. 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I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/in-that-one-slight-motion-i-see-the-end-of-hope-beginning-of/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I think that historical processes have meaning and that we have to accept this - or else face utter despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/i-think-that-historical-processes-have-meaning-and-that-we-have-to/) [Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/) > [As Ecclesiastes tells it, a wholesale devotion to pleasure will, paradoxically, lead to a state of utter despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/as-ecclesiastes-tells-it-a-wholesale-devotion-to-pleasure-will/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [I believe that what so saddens the reformer is not his sympathy with his fellows in distress, but, though he be the holiest son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-believe-that-what-so-saddens-the-reformer-is-not-his-sympathy-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We will meet our challenges head on and we will do it by rejecting the politics of mediocrity and corruption. 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Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Peter Medawar > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/innocent-unbiased-observation-is-a-myth/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Science is the art of the solvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/science-is-the-art-of-the-solvable/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [ \[A certain class of explanations in science are\] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-science-are-analgesics-that-dull/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Twice in my life I have spent two weary and scientifically profitless years seeking evidence to corroborate dearly loved hypotheses that later proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/twice-in-my-life-i-have-spent-two-weary-and-scientifically-profitless/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If politics is the art of the possible, research is surely the art of the soluble. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-declared-that-the-notion-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I reckon that for all the use it has been to science about four-fifths of my time has been wasted, and I believe this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-reckon-that-for-all-the-use-it-has-been-to-science-about-four/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We shall not read it for its sociological insights, which are non-existent, nor as science fiction, because it has a general air of implausibility;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-shall-not-read-it-for-its-sociological-insights-which-are-non/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The Phenomenon of Man stands square in the tradition of Naturphilosophie, a philosophical indoor pastime of German origin which does not seem even by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-phenomenon-of-man-stands-square-in-the-tradition-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treatment-intended-to-make-him/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We cannot point to a single definitive solution of any one of the problems that confront us — political, economic, social or moral, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-cannot-point-to-a-single-definitive-solution-of-any-one-of-the/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) [Explore all 68 Peter Medawar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## More Abolition quotes > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. 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No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? 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