--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the story-tellers could ha' got…" description: "\"If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals from true stories, who'd have troubled to invent parables?\" — Thomas Hardy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg" --- # If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals… ![“If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals from true stories, who'd have troubled to invent parables?” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg) > “If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals from true stories, who'd have troubled to invent parables?” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True stories provide moral lessons, reducing the need for invented parables. **In simple terms:** Real stories teach morals, so parables aren’t needed. Key Takeaway Value authenticity in teaching. Themes literature ethics storytelling education Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical didactic When to use this quote - classroom - family discussions - media analysis - public speaking Key Concepts morality narrative truth cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - Do real stories always convey clear morals? - When are parables more effective? A Different Perspective Parables can simplify complex truths for broader audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morals/) [Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parables/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [True story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-story/) ## Related quotes > [“When I get tired of new clunky writing, I resort to old fashioned story tellers, like Wilkie Collins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rumzi/when-i-get-tired-of-new-clunky-writing-i-resort-to-old-fashioned/) [Sonia Rumzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rumzi/) > [My family were great story-tellers. My mum was one of 12 and they were all fighting to tell stories. You have to tell a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/my-family-were-great-story-tellers-my-mum-was-one-of-12-and-they-were/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) > [Even if you got rid of paper, you would still have story-tellers. In fact, you had the story-tellers before you had the paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/even-if-you-got-rid-of-paper-you-would-still-have-story-tellers-in/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Conspiracy adepts love story-tellers who want to exorcise their fear, mixing rational and irrational elements to construct a plausible narrative for people craving a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/conspiracy-adepts-love-story-tellers-who-want-to-exorcise-their-fear/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“All people are natural story-tellers. We tell a story every time we tell someone what we did that day or share an opinion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/all-people-are-natural-story-tellers-we-tell-a-story-every-time-we/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [I've Grown Tired Of These F-ckin Grown Man Liars, Story Tellers, They Don't Even Need A Camp Fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-ve-grown-tired-of-these-f-ckin-grown-man-liars-story-tellers-they/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I grow tired of these fucking grown man liars, story tellers they don't even need a campfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-grow-tired-of-these-fucking-grown-man-liars-story-tellers-they-don/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“When many story-tellers occupy themselves with a social world which offers no great variety of lively action, their stories will probably resemble one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/when-many-story-tellers-occupy-themselves-with-a-social-world-which/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [And the people listened, and their faces were quiet with listening. The story tellers, gathering attention into their tales, spoke in great rhythms, spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-the-people-listened-and-their-faces-were-quiet-with-listening-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I usually dont like to spoon feed my audience, because I grew up idolizing story tellers who tell stories using symbolism, so it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-usually-dont-like-to-spoon-feed-my-audience-because-i-grew-up/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [It is not good for one's morals to see bad acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-not-good-for-one-s-morals-to-see-bad-acting/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [All are agreed, that the increase of learning and good morals are great blessings to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lancaster/all-are-agreed-that-the-increase-of-learning-and-good-morals-are/) [Joseph Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lancaster/) > [“Plantations of good morals are easily captivated, colonized and corrupted by the pests of a bad company. Spray away bad companies and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/plantations-of-good-morals-are-easily-captivated-colonized-and/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I've never been a bad person and always had quite good morals. There's always been a side of me that's been quite proper, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-never-been-a-bad-person-and-always-had-quite-good-morals-there-s/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/i-didn-t-grow-up-in-one-of-those-restrictive-christian-households/) [Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Decency quotes > [Come on, that was no foul! It may be a violation of all the basic rules of human decency, but its not a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/come-on-that-was-no-foul-it-may-be-a-violation-of-all-the-basic-rules/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [Listen, young people, I understand narcissism - clearly. But at least I have the decency to hate myself. And that's what's missing from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/listen-young-people-i-understand-narcissism-clearly-but-at-least-i/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Faye, if you got eaten by another shark, would you please at least have the decency to say so? My time is kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/faye-if-you-got-eaten-by-another-shark-would-you-please-at-least-have/) Elle Lothlorien > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships . . . which are basically a reflection of your sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/the-quality-of-your-life-ultimately-depends-on-the-quality-of-your/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“No woman deserves to be treated as little more than your toy. If you feel she is nothing more than a cheap hooker, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/no-woman-deserves-to-be-treated-as-little-more-than-your-toy-if-you/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [“Almost everything you think is sacred, good and decent, is a lie and an all-out assault against truth and decency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/almost-everything-you-think-is-sacred-good-and-decent-is-a-lie-and-an/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I am not a member of the chamber of commerce for show business, believe me, but there are some really good people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/i-am-not-a-member-of-the-chamber-of-commerce-for-show-business/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [Out of all the fighters that I have developed, clothed, financed, Gerrie Coetzee is the only one who had the decency to say 'thanks'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-king/out-of-all-the-fighters-that-i-have-developed-clothed-financed-gerrie/) [Don King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-king/) > [If I see that something is wrong, I don't care who says it. Whether it's a Republican or Democrat, the left or the right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aragones/if-i-see-that-something-is-wrong-i-don-t-care-who-says-it-whether-it/) [Sergio Aragones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aragones/) > [I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/i-love-our-shared-island-our-shared-ireland-and-its-core-decency-i/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) [Browse all 559 Decency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals from true stories, who'd have troubled to invent parables?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decency-and-good-morals-from-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decency-and-good-morals-from-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/thomas-hardy-410_decency_if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decenc_2563092.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the story-tellers could ha' got decency and good morals from true stories, who'd have troubled to invent…” — Thomas Hardy", "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": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the story-tellers could ha' got...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decency-and-good-morals-from-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-the-story-tellers-could-ha-got-decency-and-good-morals-from-true/#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 } } ] } ```