--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All books can be indecent books, though…" description: "\"All books can be indecent books, though recent books are bolder. For filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/tom-lehrer-3442_book_all-books-can-be-indecent-books-though-r_2006364.jpg" --- # All books can be indecent books, though recent books are… ![“All books can be indecent books, though recent books are bolder. For filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, everything is lewd. I could tell you things about Peter Pan and the Wizard of OZ, there's a dirty old man!” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/tom-lehrer-3442_book_all-books-can-be-indecent-books-though-r_2006364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/tom-lehrer-3442_book_all-books-can-be-indecent-books-though-r_2006364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/tom-lehrer-3442_book_all-books-can-be-indecent-books-though-r_2006364.jpg) > “All books can be indecent books, though recent books are bolder. For filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, everything is lewd. I could tell you things about Peter Pan and the Wizard of OZ, there's a dirty old man!” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indecency is subjective; moral judgments depend on personal perspective. **In simple terms:** What’s indecent varies by viewer. Key Takeaway Recognize subjectivity of taste. Themes subjectivity morality perception Mood playful provocative Type satire philosophical When to use this quote - literary criticism - censorship debates - personal taste Key Concepts cultural relativism artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - Do you think all art should be judged by the creator’s intent? - How does personal bias shape moral judgments? A Different Perspective May ignore harmful content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Indecent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-indecent-3557767/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Indecent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indecent/) [Indecent Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indecent-books-3557766/) [Lewd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lewd/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Viewed Lewd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewed-lewd-1579736/) ## Related quotes > [Filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. 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They didn't see me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/people-had-a-habit-of-looking-at-me-as-if-i-were-some-kind-of-mirror/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Appalling numbers of youth have been led into a cynical ultra-sophisticated attitude which regards drinking as a badge of social aptitude, which makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parker-yockey/appalling-numbers-of-youth-have-been-led-into-a-cynical-ultra/) [Francis Parker Yockey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parker-yockey/) > [“Most priests wish they were as righteous as they seem to most members of their congregations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-priests-wish-they-were-as-righteous-as-they-seem-to-most-members/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? 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Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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