--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It takes two or three generations to do…" description: "\"“It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do in one; and my impulses--affections--vices perhaps they should be called-- were too strong ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/thomas-hardy-410_college_it-takes-two-or-three-generations-to-do_2473874.jpg" --- # It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do… ![“It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do in one; and my impulses--affections--vices perhaps they should be called-- were too strong not to hamper a man without advantages; who should be as cold-blooded as a fish and as selfish as a pig to have a really good chance of being one of…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/thomas-hardy-410_college_it-takes-two-or-three-generations-to-do_2473874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/thomas-hardy-410_college_it-takes-two-or-three-generations-to-do_2473874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/thomas-hardy-410_college_it-takes-two-or-three-generations-to-do_2473874.jpg) > ““It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do in one; and my impulses--affections--vices perhaps they should be called-- were too strong not to hamper a man without advantages; who should be as cold-blooded as a fish and as selfish as a pig to have a really good chance of being one of his country's worthies. You may ridicule me--I am quite willing that you should-- I am a fit subject, no doubt. But I think if you knew what I have gone through these last few years you would rather pity me. And if they knew"--he nodded towards the college at which the dons were severally arriving--"it is just possible they would do the same.”” [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. The narrator reflects on the difficulty of achieving personal success quickly, noting that others often rely on multiple generations and selfishness, while he feels disadvantaged and subject to ridicule. **In simple terms:** Success is hard and often requires generations, yet personal struggle feels unfair. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic barriers and seek supportive allies. Themes struggle generational selfishness social mobility humility Mood melancholic determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - family expectations - social activism - mental health - education access Key Concepts social inequality personal resilience legacy class struggle Questions to Reflect On - What can societies do to reduce generational inequities? - How can individuals balance ambition with ethical behavior? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize hardship, overlooking structural solutions and collective responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Generations Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-tried-789090/) [Impulses Affections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulses-affections-789092/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Takes Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-generations-789091/) [Three generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-generations/) [Years Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-pity-789093/) ## Related quotes > [If it takes a hundred years, it will be a pity, but I will not cease to work for it as long as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/if-it-takes-a-hundred-years-it-will-be-a-pity-but-i-will-not-cease-to/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Poverty is a curse. Don't call it. It takes few generations to come out from the curse of poverty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazmul-ahmed-noyon/poverty-is-a-curse-don-t-call-it-it-takes-few-generations-to-come-out/) [Nazmul Ahmed Noyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazmul-ahmed-noyon/) > [It takes more than a few generations to change a human nation. Those who are intent to bring (change) will do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-takes-more-than-a-few-generations-to-change-a-human-nation-those/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes-2/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Building a naval power takes generations, not so much to develop the necessary technology as to pass along the accumulated experience that creates good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/building-a-naval-power-takes-generations-not-so-much-to-develop-the/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [One act of violence takes four generations to heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generations-to-heal/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Once the fabric of a just society is undone, it takes generations to weave it back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/once-the-fabric-of-a-just-society-is-undone-it-takes-generations-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Any change in customs ... takes generations to accomplish, and must come about by general consent. Even a superficial study of sociology shows the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-fenwick/any-change-in-customs-takes-generations-to-accomplish-and-must-come/) [Millicent Fenwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-fenwick/) > [To become a world-class university takes a lot of time. There are simply no shortcuts. People tend to assume, and I have encountered this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/to-become-a-world-class-university-takes-a-lot-of-time-there-are/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [It takes four generations to recover from every act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-adamson/it-takes-four-generations-to-recover-from-every-act-of-violence/) [Rebecca Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-adamson/) > [“Who we are takes generations to create and doesn’t end with death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-siegel/who-we-are-takes-generations-to-create-and-doesn-t-end-with-death/) [Stanley Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-siegel/) > [“And isn’t it funny, she thought, that it takes two generations to kill off a man? … First him, and then his memory. …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-ann-grau/and-isn-t-it-funny-she-thought-that-it-takes-two-generations-to-kill/) [Shirley Ann Grau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-ann-grau/) > [It only takes twenty generations of selective breeding to create large differences or appearance and behavior in other mammals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/it-only-takes-twenty-generations-of-selective-breeding-to-create/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Men have slow reflexes. In general it takes several generations later for them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/men-have-slow-reflexes-in-general-it-takes-several-generations-later/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) ## 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 College quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. 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I was a reader, I didn't care about acting. I got into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/the-reason-i-got-into-acting-was-not-to-explore-myself-i-was-a-reader/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) [Browse all 7,391 College quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do in one; and my impulses--affections--vices perhaps they should be called-- were too strong not to hamper a man without advantages; who should be as cold-blooded as a fish and as selfish as a pig to have a really good chance of being one of his country's worthies. You may ridicule me--I am quite willing that you should-- I am a fit subject, no doubt. But I think if you knew what I have gone through these last few years you would rather pity me. 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