---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For never has there been, in modern…"
description: "\"For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric world, where so much value is pinned onto the utterance of name! Entire conversations, entire..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg"
---

#  For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric…

![“For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric world, where so much value is pinned onto the utterance of name! Entire conversations, entire lives, are devoted to the act of naming people, and in Pakistan the affluent would be totally devoid of talk if they were unable to take names in…” quote by Sara Suleri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg)

> “For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric world, where so much value is pinned onto the utterance of name! Entire conversations, entire lives, are devoted to the act of naming people, and in Pakistan the affluent would be totally devoid of talk if they were unable to take names in vain. Caste and all its subclassifications are recreated every day in the structure of a conversation that knows which names to name.”

Sara Suleri

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

In modern societies, especially Pakistan, personal identity and social hierarchy are constantly reinforced through the act of naming, making names a powerful tool for status and caste distinction.

**In simple terms:** Names are used to signal status and caste in everyday talk.

Key Takeaway

Be aware of how naming can reinforce social hierarchies.

Themes

identity status social hierarchy language culture

Mood

critical reflective analytical

Type

sociological commentary observational

When to use this quote

- political meetings
- family gatherings
- job interviews
- social media interactions
- class negotiations

Key Concepts

Sociolinguistics power dynamics symbolic interactionism

Questions to Reflect On

- How does naming affect your perception of others?
- Can you think of a time naming changed a social dynamic?

A Different Perspective

Names can also empower marginalized voices when reclaimed, not just oppress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Castes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castes/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Modern times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-times/) [Pakistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pakistan/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [Don't underestimate the value of beginning a headline by naming the people you want to reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-caples/don-t-underestimate-the-value-of-beginning-a-headline-by-naming-the/)

[John Caples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-caples/)

> [Jason Sudeikis said an SNL go-to for naming people was: regular first name, noun last name. My noun was Beard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-hunt/jason-sudeikis-said-an-snl-go-to-for-naming-people-was-regular-first/)

[Brendan Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-hunt/)

> [Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is a genuine project and a living proof of generosity of the people of Pakistan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadiqa-kiani/shaukat-khanum-memorial-cancer-hospital-and-research-centre-is-a/)

Hadiqa Kiani

> [It feels good that a lot of people from Pakistan have had a good experience in India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/it-feels-good-that-a-lot-of-people-from-pakistan-have-had-a-good/)

[Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/)

> [It is one thing being able to contest an election and to give the people hope that I can be the next prime minister.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/it-is-one-thing-being-able-to-contest-an-election-and-to-give-the/)

[Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/)

> [I believe that God and the people of Pakistan are with me, and I hope that, somewhere, justice is still alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawaz-sharif/i-believe-that-god-and-the-people-of-pakistan-are-with-me-and-i-hope/)

[Nawaz Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawaz-sharif/)

> [People of Pakistan want only development, prosperity, and peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shehbaz-sharif/people-of-pakistan-want-only-development-prosperity-and-peace/)

[Shehbaz Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shehbaz-sharif/)

> [I feel engaged with young people in Pakistan. But that said, it's still a small minority that reads novels, literary fiction. But it isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-feel-engaged-with-young-people-in-pakistan-but-that-said-it-s-still/)

[Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/)

> [ Our people are dying, poverty and unemployment are on the rise, but the rest of the world says that Musharraf is needed because \[only\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/our-people-are-dying-poverty-and-unemployment-are-on-the-rise-but-the/)

[Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/)

> [People of Pakistan don't want a ban on Indian content in their country, but it is their politicians who want it. In our country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-azmi/people-of-pakistan-don-t-want-a-ban-on-indian-content-in-their/)

[Shabana Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-azmi/)

> [I want to create awareness amongst the common people of Pakistan and I generally appeal to the Pakistani people living here and abroad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/i-want-to-create-awareness-amongst-the-common-people-of-pakistan-and/)

[Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/)

> [I believe in nature and humanity and am here to serve the common people of Pakistan. There is a great deal of suffering in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/i-believe-in-nature-and-humanity-and-am-here-to-serve-the-common/)

[Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/)

> [When the Bangladesh war happened, people in Pakistan who did not support it were called unpatriotic. My father was in the jail at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asma-jahangir/when-the-bangladesh-war-happened-people-in-pakistan-who-did-not/)

[Asma Jahangir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asma-jahangir/)

> [The people of Pakistan are some of the most hospitable, kinds and generous people I have met anywhere, in the over 70 countries I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/the-people-of-pakistan-are-some-of-the-most-hospitable-kinds-and/)

[Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/)

> [“Language itself is a major resource in the naming of what cannot be named”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simpson/language-itself-is-a-major-resource-in-the-naming-of-what-cannot-be/)

[David Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simpson/)

## More by Sara Suleri

> [New Haven cultivates ... an open gloom that seems happy to acknowledge disrepair and the superfluity of appearance. ... I realized that what cramped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/new-haven-cultivates-an-open-gloom-that-seems-happy-to-acknowledge/)

Sara Suleri

> [Shahid has grown increasingly committed to the art of indignation, waking up in the morning with an expression of incipient disgust already in stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/shahid-has-grown-increasingly-committed-to-the-art-of-indignation/)

Sara Suleri

> [To mourn, perhaps, is simply to prolong a posture of astonishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/to-mourn-perhaps-is-simply-to-prolong-a-posture-of-astonishment/)

Sara Suleri

Explore all 4 Sara Suleri quotes

## More Affluent quotes

> [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/)

[Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/)

> [Developed and benefited from the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption which have produced our present dilemma. It is clear that current lifestyles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/developed-and-benefited-from-the-unsustainable-patterns-of-production/)

[Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/)

> [Tax reduction has an almost irresistible appeal to the politician, and it is no doubt also gratifying to the citizen. It means more dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/tax-reduction-has-an-almost-irresistible-appeal-to-the-politician-and/)

[John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/)

> [Professionalism in medicine has given us medial miracles for the affluent but hospitals that will charge $35 for aspirin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-james/professionalism-in-medicine-has-given-us-medial-miracles-for-the/)

[Bill James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-james/)

> [We fought hard for socialism in a devastating war of independence and reunification. To build an affluent and prosperous society, we chose the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-minh-triet/we-fought-hard-for-socialism-in-a-devastating-war-of-independence-and/)

[Nguyen Minh Triet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-minh-triet/)

> [We get richer and richer in filthier and filthier communities until we reach a final state of affluent misery - crocus on a garbage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/we-get-richer-and-richer-in-filthier-and-filthier-communities-until/)

[John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/)

> [When I first began visiting West Germany in the early 1980s, I was startled by the contrast between Birmingham, where I went to school,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/when-i-first-began-visiting-west-germany-in-the-early-1980s-i-was/)

[Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/)

> [The American people are extraordinarily comfortable, affluent, and secure. It's easy for us to make the argument that God's purpose is being fulfilled through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/the-american-people-are-extraordinarily-comfortable-affluent-and/)

[Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/)

> [“It rankled her that people richer than she were so often less worthy and attractive. More slobbish and louty. Comfort could be found in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/it-rankled-her-that-people-richer-than-she-were-so-often-less-worthy/)

[Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/)

> [I come from a very affluent family. I have been educated in one of the finest institutions of the world. Money was never a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/i-come-from-a-very-affluent-family-i-have-been-educated-in-one-of-the/)

[Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/)

> [Rich people in poor places want to show off their wealth. And their less affluent counterparts feel pressure to fake it, at least in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/rich-people-in-poor-places-want-to-show-off-their-wealth-and-their/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [...no matter how complex or affluent, human societies are nothing but subsystems of the biosphere, the Earth's thin veneer of life, which is ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/no-matter-how-complex-or-affluent-human-societies-are-nothing-but/)

[Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/)

> [Obama's assault on the affluent rests upon a sky-high stack of lies. Obama is too well staffed and too well informed not to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deroy-murdock/obama-s-assault-on-the-affluent-rests-upon-a-sky-high-stack-of-lies/)

Deroy Murdock

> [“Integrity is more significant than income. Honor is more opulent than fame. Self worth is more affluent than net worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/integrity-is-more-significant-than-income-honor-is-more-opulent-than/)

[Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/)

> [It's amazing how people can get so excited about a rocket to the moon and not give a damn about smog, oil leaks, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/it-s-amazing-how-people-can-get-so-excited-about-a-rocket-to-the-moon/)

[Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/)

Browse all 164 Affluent quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric world, where so much value is pinned onto the utterance of name! Entire conversations, entire lives, are devoted to the act of naming people, and in Pakistan the affluent would be totally devoid of talk if they were unable to take names in vain. Caste and all its subclassifications are recreated every day in the structure of a conversation that knows which names to name.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sara Suleri"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times-such-a-homeric-world-where/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Affluent"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times-such-a-homeric-world-where/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/sara-suleri-66637_affluent_for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times_2572818.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“For never has there been, in modern times, such a Homeric world, where so much value is pinned onto the…” — Sara Suleri",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Sara Suleri",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-suleri/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "For never has there been, in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times-such-a-homeric-world-where/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/for-never-has-there-been-in-modern-times-such-a-homeric-world-where/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
