--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For centuries, as pope and emperor tore…" description: "\"For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power, the excluded went on living on the fringe, like lepers, of whom ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/umberto-eco-313_century_for-centuries-as-pope-and-emperor-tore-e_2555184.jpg" --- # For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart… ![“For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power, the excluded went on living on the fringe, like lepers, of whom true lepers are only the illustration ordained by God to make us understand this wondrous parable, so that in saying 'lepers' we would understand…” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/umberto-eco-313_century_for-centuries-as-pope-and-emperor-tore-e_2555184.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/umberto-eco-313_century_for-centuries-as-pope-and-emperor-tore-e_2555184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/umberto-eco-313_century_for-centuries-as-pope-and-emperor-tore-e_2555184.jpg) > “For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power, the excluded went on living on the fringe, like lepers, of whom true lepers are only the illustration ordained by God to make us understand this wondrous parable, so that in saying 'lepers' we would understand 'outcast, poor, simple, excluded, uprooted from the countryside, humiliated in the cities.' But we did not understand; the mystery of leprosy has continued to haunt us because we have not recognized the nature of the sign.” [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The allegory shows how societies label marginalized groups, using disease metaphors to justify exclusion and ignore deeper meanings. **In simple terms:** Societies label outsiders with disease metaphors, missing their true significance. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge harmful labels. Themes marginalization power religion language identity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - political discourse - community building - education - advocacy Key Concepts symbolism social critique theology Questions to Reflect On - How do modern metaphors shape our view of the 'other'? - What can we do to see beyond labels? A Different Perspective Labels can oversimplify complex social issues, risking further alienation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Countryside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countryside/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) [Fringe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fringe/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Outcast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outcast/) [Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parables/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) ## Related quotes > [And the sad act like lepers They stick to the shadows They long to ring bells of warning To tell of their coming So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/and-the-sad-act-like-lepers-they-stick-to-the-shadows-they-long-to/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [“Perhaps the bereaved ought to be isolated in special settlements like lepers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/perhaps-the-bereaved-ought-to-be-isolated-in-special-settlements-like/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Even more than this, however, the sick - like lepers - were often reviled because people believed that they had brought their torments upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lewis-allen/even-more-than-this-however-the-sick-like-lepers-were-often-reviled/) [Peter Lewis Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lewis-allen/) > [Lepers were a common sight all over India and in every part of Calcutta, but extending help beyond dropping a coin or two into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharati-mukherjee/lepers-were-a-common-sight-all-over-india-and-in-every-part-of/) [Bharati Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharati-mukherjee/) > [AIDS is the leprosy of the 21st Century. Where did Jesus hang out? With lepers. Jesus would love on people with AIDS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/aids-is-the-leprosy-of-the-21st-century-where-did-jesus-hang-out-with/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I feel no disgust when I hear the confessions of those near their end, whose wounds are full of maggots...This may give you some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/father-damien/i-feel-no-disgust-when-i-hear-the-confessions-of-those-near-their-end/) [Father Damien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/father-damien/) > [I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tama-janowitz/i-was-like-a-social-worker-for-lepers-my-clients-had-a-chunk-of-their/) [Tama Janowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tama-janowitz/) > [Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/jesus-specialized-in-menial-tasks-that-everyone-else-tried-to-avoid/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [ \[Naaman\] dipped himself," it says, "seven times in Jordan." It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/naaman-dipped-himself-it-says-seven-times-in-jordan-it-was-not-for/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/father-damien/i-make-myself-a-leper-with-the-lepers-to-gain-all-to-jesus-christ/) [Father Damien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/father-damien/) > [“When we judge a brother’s or sister’s sin as so much worse than our own, we are like lepers counting spots. “She has more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/when-we-judge-a-brother-s-or-sister-s-sin-as-so-much-worse-than-our/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“They’re a jolly lot, the lepers,” said Father Liam. “People who’ve suffered don’t have time to grumble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/they-re-a-jolly-lot-the-lepers-said-father-liam-people-who-ve/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“In life, not everyone you help would remember to appreciate it. The search still continues for the other 9 lepers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faithful-akpaloo/in-life-not-everyone-you-help-would-remember-to-appreciate-it-the/) [Faithful Akpaloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faithful-akpaloo/) > [“Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or did people simply prefer to turn away, as if from lepers?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/was-unhappiness-really-so-invisible-or-did-people-simply-prefer-to/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [I know that even now, having watched enough television, you probably won't even refer to them as lepers so as to spare their feelings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/i-know-that-even-now-having-watched-enough-television-you-probably/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) ## More by Umberto Eco > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/followers-of-the-occult-believe-in-only-what-they-already-know-and-in/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [With all of its defects, the global market makes war less likely, even between the USA and China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/with-all-of-its-defects-the-global-market-makes-war-less-likely-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [They say that a cat, if it falls from a window and hits its nose, can lose its sense of smell and then, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-say-that-a-cat-if-it-falls-from-a-window-and-hits-its-nose-can/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are magic moments, involving great physical fatigue and intense motor excitement, that produce visions of people known in the past. As I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-magic-moments-involving-great-physical-fatigue-and-intense/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) [Explore all 600 Umberto Eco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power, the excluded went on living on the fringe, like lepers, of whom true lepers are only the illustration ordained by God to make us understand this wondrous parable, so that in saying 'lepers' we would understand 'outcast, poor, simple, excluded, uprooted from the countryside, humiliated in the cities.' 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