--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When an Englishman wants something…" description: "\"“When an Englishman wants something, George Bernard Shaw observed, he never publicly admits to his wanting it; instead, his want is expressed as ‘a bur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/shashi-tharoor-2698_bernard-shaw_when-an-englishman-wants-something-georg_1584732.jpg" --- # When an Englishman wants something, George Bernard Shaw… ![“When an Englishman wants something, George Bernard Shaw observed, he never publicly admits to his wanting it; instead, his want is expressed as ‘a burning conviction that it is his moral and religious duty to conquer those who possess the thing he wants’. Durant is scathing about this pretence…” quote by Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/shashi-tharoor-2698_bernard-shaw_when-an-englishman-wants-something-georg_1584732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/shashi-tharoor-2698_bernard-shaw_when-an-englishman-wants-something-georg_1584732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/shashi-tharoor-2698_bernard-shaw_when-an-englishman-wants-something-georg_1584732.jpg) > ““When an Englishman wants something, George Bernard Shaw observed, he never publicly admits to his wanting it; instead, his want is expressed as ‘a burning conviction that it is his moral and religious duty to conquer those who possess the thing he wants’. Durant is scathing about this pretence: ‘Hypocrisy was added to brutality, while the robbery went on.’ And”” [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how people mask selfish desires as moral duties, revealing hypocrisy and underlying aggression. **In simple terms:** People hide selfish motives behind moral claims. Key Takeaway Question motives behind proclaimed duties. Themes hypocrisy power morality politics selfishness Mood critical skeptical Type sociopolitical observational When to use this quote - political campaigns - business negotiations - personal ambitions Key Concepts social dynamics ethical rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to disguise desires? - How can we detect true intentions? A Different Perspective Sometimes genuine belief and self-interest coexist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) ## Related quotes > [“When an Englishman wants something, he never publicly admits to his wanting it; instead, his want is expressed as a 'burning conviction that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/when-an-englishman-wants-something-he-never-publicly-admits-to-his/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Some men see things as they are, and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were, and say, ‘Why not?’” —GEORGE BERNARD SHAW”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-robbins/some-men-see-things-as-they-are-and-say-why-i-dream-of-things-that-2/) [Anthony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-robbins/) > [“His method resembles George Bernard Shaw’s way of using the /f/ sound of GH in “tough,” the /i/ sound of o in “women,” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/his-method-resembles-george-bernard-shaw-s-way-of-using-the-f-sound/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [“George Bernard Shaw once observed: “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/george-bernard-shaw-once-observed-people-become-attached-to-their/) [William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/) > [I made use of the college library by borrowing books other than scientific books, such as all of the plays by George Bernard Shaw,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/i-made-use-of-the-college-library-by-borrowing-books-other-than/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [People believe pictures. It's a photograph that's in your passport, not a painting. Now, George Bernard Shaw said, 'I would exchange every painting of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jones-griffiths/people-believe-pictures-it-s-a-photograph-that-s-in-your-passport-not/) [Philip Jones Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jones-griffiths/) > [“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable-one/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-levinson/the-people-who-get-on-in-this-world-are-the-people-who-get-up-and/) Steve Levinson > [Rees's First Law of Quotations: When in doubt, ascribe all quotations to George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/rees-s-first-law-of-quotations-when-in-doubt-ascribe-all-quotations/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) > [“It was George Bernard Shaw who famously said that you should not do to others as you would wish to be done to -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-buckingham/it-was-george-bernard-shaw-who-famously-said-that-you-should-not-do/) Will Buckingham > [If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-can-t-get-rid-of-the-skeleton-in-your-closet-you-d-best-teach/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Nobody can read Freud without realizing that he was the scientific equivalent of another nuisance, George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/nobody-can-read-freud-without-realizing-that-he-was-the-scientific/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [If a farmer calls me to a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/if-a-farmer-calls-me-to-a-sick-animal-he-couldn-t-care-less-if-i-were/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [Churchill was one of the few men I have met who even in the flesh give me the impression of genius. George Bernard Shaw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-low/churchill-was-one-of-the-few-men-i-have-met-who-even-in-the-flesh/) [David Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-low/) ## More by Shashi Tharoor > [“six decades of Independence have wrought significant change, as exposure to British practices has faded and India’s natural boisterousness has reasserted itself. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/six-decades-of-independence-have-wrought-significant-change-as/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“My China Diary and Walking With Lions, were memoirs of his diplomatic and political experiences. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/my-china-diary-and-walking-with-lions-were-memoirs-of-his-diplomatic/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [The U.N. guards the vital principles entrenched in its charter, notably the sovereign equality of states and the inadmissibility of interference in their internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-u-n-guards-the-vital-principles-entrenched-in-its-charter-notably/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“control. The people’s character is deliberately debased, their mind is denationalized and perpetually kept in ignorance and fed with stories of England’s greatness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/control-the-people-s-character-is-deliberately-debased-their-mind-is/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“The past is not necessarily a guide to the future, but it does partly help explain the present. 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But I seek nothing from history—only an account of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/india-is-my-country-and-in-that-sense-my-outrage-is-personal-but-i/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [I make no bones about the fact that India matters to me, and I would like to matter to India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/i-make-no-bones-about-the-fact-that-india-matters-to-me-and-i-would/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“In debate he thought high and aimed low.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/in-debate-he-thought-high-and-aimed-low/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“Jawaharlal Nehru, who wrote in a 1936 letter to an Englishman, Lord Lothian, that British rule is ‘based on an extreme form of widespread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/jawaharlal-nehru-who-wrote-in-a-1936-letter-to-an-englishman-lord/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [Much of the conventional analysis of India's stature in the world relies on the all-too-familiar economic assumptions. But we are famously a land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/much-of-the-conventional-analysis-of-india-s-stature-in-the-world/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [Universality of the UN is a worthwhile thing in its own self because it means that every country belongs, feels it has a stake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/universality-of-the-un-is-a-worthwhile-thing-in-its-own-self-because/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [The Chinese, as befits a Communist autocracy, approached the task of dominating the Olympics with top-down military discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-chinese-as-befits-a-communist-autocracy-approached-the-task-of/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) [Explore all 153 Shashi Tharoor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) ## More Bernard shaw quotes > [Plato was only a Bernard Shaw who unfortunately made his jokes in Greek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/plato-was-only-a-bernard-shaw-who-unfortunately-made-his-jokes-in/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [My toils in the quotation field have led me to formulate two or three laws about the way people use and abuse quotations. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/my-toils-in-the-quotation-field-have-led-me-to-formulate-two-or-three/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) > [Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/erik-erikson-has-commented-potentially-creative-men-like-bernard-shaw/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Bernard Shaw remains the only model we have of what the citizen of a democracy should be: an informed participant in all things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/bernard-shaw-remains-the-only-model-we-have-of-what-the-citizen-of-a/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [If a farmer calls me to a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/if-a-farmer-calls-me-to-a-sick-animal-he-couldn-t-care-less-if-i-were/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [In two thousand years all our generals and politicians may be forgotten, but Einstein and Madame Curie and Bernard Shaw and Stravinsky will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/in-two-thousand-years-all-our-generals-and-politicians-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [I must say Bernard Shaw is greatly improved by music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/i-must-say-bernard-shaw-is-greatly-improved-by-music/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Nobody can read Freud without realizing that he was the scientific equivalent of another nuisance, George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/nobody-can-read-freud-without-realizing-that-he-was-the-scientific/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [The way Bernard Shaw believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many people believe in no God at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-zangwill/the-way-bernard-shaw-believes-in-himself-is-very-refreshing-in-these/) [Israel Zangwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-zangwill/) > [If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-can-t-get-rid-of-the-skeleton-in-your-closet-you-d-best-teach/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“It was George Bernard Shaw who famously said that you should not do to others as you would wish to be done to -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-buckingham/it-was-george-bernard-shaw-who-famously-said-that-you-should-not-do/) Will Buckingham > [We depend on the critics to give us a glimpse of what happened. Bernard Shaw championed Ibsen, who got the most terrible notices for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rigg/we-depend-on-the-critics-to-give-us-a-glimpse-of-what-happened/) [Diana Rigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rigg/) > [As yet, Bernard Shaw hasn't become prominent enough to have any enemies, but none of his friends like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-yet-bernard-shaw-hasn-t-become-prominent-enough-to-have-any/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Rees's First Law of Quotations: When in doubt, ascribe all quotations to George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/rees-s-first-law-of-quotations-when-in-doubt-ascribe-all-quotations/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) Browse all 79 Bernard shaw quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When an Englishman wants something, George Bernard Shaw observed, he never publicly admits to his wanting it; instead, his want is expressed as ‘a burning conviction that it is his moral and religious duty to conquer those who possess the thing he wants’. 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