--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My impressions were this: There is an…" description: "\"“My impressions were this: There is an insect called the hunting wasp. The female hunts for spiders and other insects and preys on them in an unusual w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/tom-robbins-169_good-man_my-impressions-were-this-there-is-an-ins_1904398.jpg" --- # My impressions were this: There is an insect called the… ![“My impressions were this: There is an insect called the hunting wasp. The female hunts for spiders and other insects and preys on them in an unusual way. She stings them in the large nerve ganglion on the underside of the thorax so that they are not killed but only paralyzed. She then lays an egg…” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/tom-robbins-169_good-man_my-impressions-were-this-there-is-an-ins_1904398.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/tom-robbins-169_good-man_my-impressions-were-this-there-is-an-ins_1904398.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/tom-robbins-169_good-man_my-impressions-were-this-there-is-an-ins_1904398.jpg) > ““My impressions were this: There is an insect called the hunting wasp. The female hunts for spiders and other insects and preys on them in an unusual way. She stings them in the large nerve ganglion on the underside of the thorax so that they are not killed but only paralyzed. She then lays an egg on the paralyzed victim (or within it’s body) and seals the prey up in a nest. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva commences to eat the prey, slowly, gradually, in a highly systemized way. The nonvital tissues and organs are eaten first, so that the paralyzed creature remains alive for a good many days. Eventually, of course, its guest eats away so much of it that it dies. During the whole long process of consumption, the prey cannot move, cry out or resist in any way.” “Now, suppose we view the Church as the hunting wasp, it’s stinger being represented by the nuns and priests who teach in the schools. And let us view the pupils as the paralyzed prey. The egg that is injected into them is the dogma, which in time must hatch into the larva-personal philosophy or religious attitude. This larva, as that of the wasp eats away from within, slowly and in a specialized manner, until the victim in destroyed. That is my impression of parochial education.”” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The analogy likens institutional religious education to a wasp’s methodical consumption of its prey, suggesting it slowly erodes independent thought. **In simple terms:** Religious schooling can suppress individuality over time. Key Takeaway Question and nurture critical thinking. Themes education religion control individuality Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - school curricula - parental guidance - faith-based programs - self‑study groups Key Concepts critical theory psychology of indoctrination Questions to Reflect On - How does your education shape your beliefs? - Can tradition coexist with independent thought? A Different Perspective Not all religious education is oppressive; many foster community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Hunting Wasp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting-wasp-2830335/) [Insects Preys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects-preys-2830337/) [Paralyzed Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paralyzed-prey-2830336/) [Wasp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasp/) [Wasp Eats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasp-eats-2830334/) ## Related quotes > [Petruchio: Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry. Katherine: If I be waspish, best beware my sting. Petruchio: My remedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/petruchio-come-come-you-wasp-i-faith-you-are-too-angry-katherine-if-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“You’re mine, Wasp,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/you-re-mine-wasp/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I'm a Southern WASP, and I just don't fit in Hollywood - I can't get hired for anything here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/i-m-a-southern-wasp-and-i-just-don-t-fit-in-hollywood-i-can-t-get/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [This man is the bee's knees, Arthur, he is the wasp's nipples. He is, I would go so far as to say, the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-man-is-the-bee-s-knees-arthur-he-is-the-wasp-s-nipples-he-is-i/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“If there is a wasp in the room, I’d like to be able to see it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-there-is-a-wasp-in-the-room-i-d-like-to-be-able-to-see-it/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Scandal is an importunate wasp, against which we must make no movement unless we are quite sure that we can kill it; otherwise it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/scandal-is-an-importunate-wasp-against-which-we-must-make-no-movement/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [ “\[A wasp\] was sucking jam on my plate, and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/a-wasp-was-sucking-jam-on-my-plate-and-i-cut-him-in-half-he-paid-no/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I never panic when I get a wasp at my ear. As soon as you strike out, they'll sting you. So just stay cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/i-never-panic-when-i-get-a-wasp-at-my-ear-as-soon-as-you-strike-out/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [“Kris decided to wait and see if this new Wasp was bigger than a bread box and smaller than the mythical telephone booth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shepherd/kris-decided-to-wait-and-see-if-this-new-wasp-was-bigger-than-a-bread/) [Mike Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shepherd/) > [“Then the raft rocked, and she turned to see Ender calmly crushing the life out of the wasp with one finger. "These are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/then-the-raft-rocked-and-she-turned-to-see-ender-calmly-crushing-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [At what point is a wasp ever going to have a chat with a spider?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/at-what-point-is-a-wasp-ever-going-to-have-a-chat-with-a-spider/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [As best I could make out, having never heard the term until I arrived in California, being a WASP meant being mossbacked, lockjawed, rigid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/as-best-i-could-make-out-having-never-heard-the-term-until-i-arrived/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“Why, what a wasp-stung and impatient fool Art thou, to break into this woman's mood, Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/why-what-a-wasp-stung-and-impatient-fool-art-thou-to-break-into-this/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Actual class struggles apart, one of the aesthetic ways you could prove that there was a class system in America was by cogitating on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/actual-class-struggles-apart-one-of-the-aesthetic-ways-you-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Anger is as a stone cast into a wasp's nest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/anger-is-as-a-stone-cast-into-a-wasp-s-nest/) [Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More Good man quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Good manners are not bred in moments, but in years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/good-manners-are-not-bred-in-moments-but-in-years/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-life-of-a-good-man-was-a-continual-warfare-with-his-passions/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [To follow good manners willingly is like paving the road and to tell somebody to follow them is like the road which is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-follow-good-manners-willingly-is-like-paving-the-road-and-to-tell/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“It is said that the hallmark of a gentleman is that he is only ever rude intentionally. Arthur Bryant was no gentleman. His rudeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fowler/it-is-said-that-the-hallmark-of-a-gentleman-is-that-he-is-only-ever/) [Christopher Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fowler/) > [I'm a good man with a good heart had a tough time, got a rough start But I finally learned to let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-a-good-man-with-a-good-heart-had-a-tough-time-got-a-rough-start/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [ I've often thought about that and the only suitable member to join me on that climb \[to Everest\] was George Lowe: he was strong,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/i-ve-often-thought-about-that-and-the-only-suitable-member-to-join-me/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [Of course, when you play football yourself you can think you want to become a manager but it does not make you a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaap-stam/of-course-when-you-play-football-yourself-you-can-think-you-want-to/) [Jaap Stam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaap-stam/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“Atticus adjusted his glasses as he peered down at the blanket. “Hey, is that the book Nellie told us about?” Jake’s eyes flicked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-watson/atticus-adjusted-his-glasses-as-he-peered-down-at-the-blanket-hey-is/) [Jude Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-watson/) > [A good man therefore is a standing lesson to us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/a-good-man-therefore-is-a-standing-lesson-to-us-all/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“Grits Glossary blues \\’blüz\\ n: nothing but a good man singing about hardship, sorrow, and the things he’s done wrong--but sake’s alive, they make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/grits-glossary-blues-bl-z-n-nothing-but-a-good-man-singing-about/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) [Browse all 2,081 Good man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My impressions were this: There is an insect called the hunting wasp. The female hunts for spiders and other insects and preys on them in an unusual way. She stings them in the large nerve ganglion on the underside of the thorax so that they are not killed but only paralyzed. She then lays an egg on the paralyzed victim (or within it’s body) and seals the prey up in a nest. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva commences to eat the prey, slowly, gradually, in a highly systemized way. The nonvital tissues and organs are eaten first, so that the paralyzed creature remains alive for a good many days. Eventually, of course, its guest eats away so much of it that it dies. During the whole long process of consumption, the prey cannot move, cry out or resist in any way.” “Now, suppose we view the Church as the hunting wasp, it’s stinger being represented by the nuns and priests who teach in the schools. And let us view the pupils as the paralyzed prey. The egg that is injected into them is the dogma, which in time must hatch into the larva-personal philosophy or religious attitude. This larva, as that of the wasp eats away from within, slowly and in a specialized manner, until the victim in destroyed. 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