--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beneath the surface of repartee and mock…" description: "\"Beneath the surface of repartee and mock seriousness, [Plato's Phaedrus] is asking whether we ought to prefer a neuter form of speech to the kind which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/richard-m-weaver-7447_asking_beneath-the-surface-of-repartee-and-mock_1324161.jpg" --- # Beneath the surface of repartee and mock seriousness… ![“Beneath the surface of repartee and mock seriousness, [Plato's Phaedrus] is asking whether we ought to prefer a neuter form of speech to the kind which is ever getting us aroused over things and provoking an expense of spirit.” quote by Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/richard-m-weaver-7447_asking_beneath-the-surface-of-repartee-and-mock_1324161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/richard-m-weaver-7447_asking_beneath-the-surface-of-repartee-and-mock_1324161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/richard-m-weaver-7447_asking_beneath-the-surface-of-repartee-and-mock_1324161.jpg) > “Beneath the surface of repartee and mock seriousness, \[Plato's Phaedrus\] is asking whether we ought to prefer a neuter form of speech to the kind which is ever getting us aroused over things and provoking an expense of spirit.” [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions whether speech should be restrained to avoid arousing passions and wasting spirit, favoring a neutral, measured discourse. **In simple terms:** Neutral speech conserves spirit; avoid overly emotional language. Key Takeaway Practice measured communication. Themes communication self-control philosophy Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - public speaking - debates - written arguments Key Concepts rhetoric ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does emotional language affect persuasion? - When is neutral speech appropriate? A Different Perspective May suppress genuine expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beneath the surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beneath-the-surface/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Repartee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repartee/) [Seriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seriousness/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) ## Related quotes > [Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/cannot-possibly-attend-first-night-will-attend-second-if-there-is-one/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Violence is the repartee of the illiterate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/violence-is-the-repartee-of-the-illiterate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't feel bad, Angela," Kami said. "You know guys, they only want one thing. Repartee. I can't count how many times men have admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/don-t-feel-bad-angela-kami-said-you-know-guys-they-only-want-one/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [One of the great things about the 'Iron Man' franchise is that they employ fascinating actors who don't necessarily do action movies. Before 'Iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/one-of-the-great-things-about-the-iron-man-franchise-is-that-they/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-love-to-engage-in-repartee-with-people-who-are-stupider-than-i-am/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [The impromptu reply is precisely the touchstone of the man of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/the-impromptu-reply-is-precisely-the-touchstone-of-the-man-of-wit/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Repartee is altogether a natural endowment, and is the lightning of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/repartee-is-altogether-a-natural-endowment-and-is-the-lightning-of/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [Repartee is the soul of conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/repartee-is-the-soul-of-conversation/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [A talent for repartee is one that increases with practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lothrop-motley/a-talent-for-repartee-is-one-that-increases-with-practice/) [John Lothrop Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lothrop-motley/) > [He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/he-has-never-been-known-to-use-a-word-that-might-send-a-reader-to-the/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Tell me now, fairy as you are - can't you give me a charm, or a philter, or something of that sort, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/tell-me-now-fairy-as-you-are-can-t-you-give-me-a-charm-or-a-philter/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [REPARTEE, n. Prudent insult in retort. Practiced by gentlemen with a constitutional aversion to violence, but a strong disposition to offend. In a war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/repartee-n-prudent-insult-in-retort-practiced-by-gentlemen-with-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Repartee is perfect when it effects its purpose with a double edge. It is the highest order of wit, as it indicates the coolest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/repartee-is-perfect-when-it-effects-its-purpose-with-a-double-edge-it/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [If we ever established contact with intelligent life on another world, there would be barriers to communication. First, they would be many light years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/if-we-ever-established-contact-with-intelligent-life-on-another-world/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/repartee-is-something-we-think-of-twenty-four-hours-too-late/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Richard M. Weaver > [Drill in exact translation is an excellent way of disposing the mind against that looseness and exaggeration with which the sensationalists have corrupted our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/drill-in-exact-translation-is-an-excellent-way-of-disposing-the-mind/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Piety is a discipline of the will through respect. It admits the right to exist of things larger than the ego, of things different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/piety-is-a-discipline-of-the-will-through-respect-it-admits-the-right/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The most important thing about the gentleman was that he was an idealist. ... He was bred up to a code of self-restraint which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-most-important-thing-about-the-gentleman-was-that-he-was-an/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“Man is constantly being assured today that he has more power than ever before in history, but his daily experience is one of powerlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/man-is-constantly-being-assured-today-that-he-has-more-power-than/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Man is constantly being assured that he has more power than ever before in history, but his daily experience is one of powerlessness. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/man-is-constantly-being-assured-that-he-has-more-power-than-ever/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The remark has been made that in the Civil War the North reaped the victory and the South the glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-remark-has-been-made-that-in-the-civil-war-the-north-reaped-the/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [No one can take culture seriously if he believes that it is only the uppermost of several layers of epiphenomena resting on a primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/no-one-can-take-culture-seriously-if-he-believes-that-it-is-only-the/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“It will be found that every attack upon religion, or upon characteristic ideas inherited from religion, when its assumptions are laid bare, turns out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/it-will-be-found-that-every-attack-upon-religion-or-upon/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [ Progress never defines its ultimate objective but thrusts its victims at once into an infinite series,' Mr. \[John Crowe\] Ransom said' 'Industrialism,' he declared,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/progress-never-defines-its-ultimate-objective-but-thrusts-its-victims/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Until the world perceives that "good" cannot be applied to a thing because it is our own, and "bad" because it is another's, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/until-the-world-perceives-that-good-cannot-be-applied-to-a-thing/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Any utterance is a major assumption of responsibility, and the assumption that one can avoid that responsibility by doing something to language itself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/any-utterance-is-a-major-assumption-of-responsibility-and-the/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [ A prejudice may be an unreasoned judgment, he \[Hibben\] pointed out, but an unreasoned judgment is not necessarily an illogical judgment. ... First, there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/a-prejudice-may-be-an-unreasoned-judgment-he-hibben-pointed-out-but/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [That it does not matter what a man believes is a statement heard on every side today. ... What he believes tells him what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/that-it-does-not-matter-what-a-man-believes-is-a-statement-heard-on/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The most likely way to kill a tradition is to over-formalize it, which is to carry it on in the same way after everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-most-likely-way-to-kill-a-tradition-is-to-over-formalize-it-which/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) [Explore all 91 Richard M. Weaver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? 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And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beneath the surface of repartee and mock seriousness, [Plato's Phaedrus] is asking whether we ought to prefer a neuter form of speech to the kind which is ever getting us aroused over things and provoking an expense of spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard M. 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