--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were the triumphant and insolent…" description: "\"They were the triumphant and insolent possessors; they had a hall, and a fire, and food and clothing and money, and so they might preach to hungry men,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/upton-sinclair-4341_be-humble_they-were-the-triumphant-and-insolent-po_682431.png" --- # They were the triumphant and insolent possessors; they had… ![“They were the triumphant and insolent possessors; they had a hall, and a fire, and food and clothing and money, and so they might preach to hungry men, and the hungry men must be humble and listen. They were trying to save their souls- and who but a fool could fail to see that all that was the…” quote by Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/upton-sinclair-4341_be-humble_they-were-the-triumphant-and-insolent-po_682431.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/upton-sinclair-4341_be-humble_they-were-the-triumphant-and-insolent-po_682431.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/upton-sinclair-4341_be-humble_they-were-the-triumphant-and-insolent-po_682431.png) > “They were the triumphant and insolent possessors; they had a hall, and a fire, and food and clothing and money, and so they might preach to hungry men, and the hungry men must be humble and listen. They were trying to save their souls- and who but a fool could fail to see that all that was the matter with their souls was that they had not managed to get a decent existence for their bodies?” [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealthy elites claim moral authority while neglecting basic human needs, exposing hypocrisy of preaching to the poor. **In simple terms:** Rich claim moral right but ignore basic needs. Key Takeaway Recognize and address material needs before moral preaching. Themes hypocrisy class poverty morality materialism Mood critical reflective Type sociopolitical philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - social work - community organizing - public policy - education Key Concepts social critique economic disparity human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How do material conditions shape moral authority? - What responsibilities do the privileged have to address basic needs? A Different Perspective Material deprivation undermines moral authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-humble/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clothings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothings/) [Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Halls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halls/) [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Hungry Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry-men-557308/) [Insolent Possessors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insolent-possessors-5397047/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-humble-5397046/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls/) [Souls Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls-fool-1656203/) [Triumphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphant/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“They were trying to save their souls- and who but a fool could fail to see that all that was the matter with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/they-were-trying-to-save-their-souls-and-who-but-a-fool-could-fail-to/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/surely-the-men-who-submit-and-the-women-who-submit-and-the-believing/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [The hungry men were seen, followed by their valets, roaming the quais and guards' quarters; gleaning from their outside friends all the dinners they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/the-hungry-men-were-seen-followed-by-their-valets-roaming-the-quais/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Hungry men are not known for their patience or their kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-essex/hungry-men-are-not-known-for-their-patience-or-their-kindness/) [Karen Essex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-essex/) > [Hungry men have no respect for law, authority or human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/hungry-men-have-no-respect-for-law-authority-or-human-life/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding together in turbulent mobs? No - no, your lean, hungry men who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/who-ever-hears-of-fat-men-heading-a-riot-or-herding-together-in/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Hungry men don't ask, they take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-kolb/hungry-men-don-t-ask-they-take/) [Kenneth Kolb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-kolb/) > [The world is out of shapewhen there are hungry men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/the-world-is-out-of-shapewhen-there-are-hungry-men/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Always enter like a kitten and leave like a lion. But NEVER enter like a lion and leave like a kitten. Always be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlson-gracie/always-enter-like-a-kitten-and-leave-like-a-lion-but-never-enter-like/) [Carlson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlson-gracie/) > [Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/humility-does-not-mean-weakness-it-does-not-mean-timidity-it-does-not/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Catch {a man} at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, "By jove, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/catch-a-man-at-the-moment-when-he-is-really-poor-in-spirit-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [ Be humble and say okay, all right, I have to prep myself. So everybody prepped, and we finished the film \[Valerian \] four days… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/be-humble-and-say-okay-all-right-i-have-to-prep-myself-so-everybody/) [Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/) > [Remember this-all the sighing, mourning, sobbing, and complaining in the world, does not so undeniably evidence a man to be humble, as his overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/remember-this-all-the-sighing-mourning-sobbing-and-complaining-in-the/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Well I think they broke the mould when they made me and being humble is one of my great assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/well-i-think-they-broke-the-mould-when-they-made-me-and-being-humble/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [To seek yourself in this world is to be lost; and to be humble is to be exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/to-seek-yourself-in-this-world-is-to-be-lost-and-to-be-humble-is-to/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) ## More by Upton Sinclair > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [You don't have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn't like the way I found America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/you-don-t-have-to-be-satisfied-with-america-as-you-find-it-you-can/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“A wonderful privilege it was to be thus admitted into the soul of a man of genius, to be allowed to share the ecstasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/a-wonderful-privilege-it-was-to-be-thus-admitted-into-the-soul-of-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“...the souls of none of them were dead, but only sleeping; now and then they would waken, and these were cruel times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-souls-of-none-of-them-were-dead-but-only-sleeping-now-and-then/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He learned that love is not all pleasure, but can be agony and heartache, martyrdom and sacrifice. He learned what the clergyman was talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-learned-that-love-is-not-all-pleasure-but-can-be-agony-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [I am sustained by a sense of the worthwhileness of what I am doing; a trust in the good faith of the process which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/i-am-sustained-by-a-sense-of-the-worthwhileness-of-what-i-am-doing-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“We have a flabby public opinion which would wring its hands in anguish if we took the labor leader by the scruff of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/we-have-a-flabby-public-opinion-which-would-wring-its-hands-in/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He seemed to be growing conservative, allying himself with Göring’s friends, the great industrialists, and forgetting the promises he had made to the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-seemed-to-be-growing-conservative-allying-himself-with-g-ring-s/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The first thing brought forth by the study of any religion, ancient or modern, is that it is based upon Fear, born of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-first-thing-brought-forth-by-the-study-of-any-religion-ancient-or/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [American journalism is a class institution, serving the rich and spurning the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/american-journalism-is-a-class-institution-serving-the-rich-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Now I ask you: could any muck-raker in a rage make up a list of titles more completely expressive of vulgarity, commercialism and general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/now-i-ask-you-could-any-muck-raker-in-a-rage-make-up-a-list-of-titles/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“In that country, rich or poor, a man was free... So America was a place of which lovers and young people dreamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-that-country-rich-or-poor-a-man-was-free-so-america-was-a-place-of/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Study and think and improve your mind, and keep it clear of all this fog of hatred and propaganda”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/study-and-think-and-improve-your-mind-and-keep-it-clear-of-all-this/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The private control of credit is the modern form of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-private-control-of-credit-is-the-modern-form-of-slavery/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“When one comes to the ultra-modern profession of advertising," responded Schliemann—"the science of persuading people to buy what they do not want—he is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/when-one-comes-to-the-ultra-modern-profession-of-advertising/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) [Explore all 112 Upton Sinclair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## More Be humble quotes > [To seek yourself in this world is to be lost; and to be humble is to be exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/to-seek-yourself-in-this-world-is-to-be-lost-and-to-be-humble-is-to/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Well I think they broke the mould when they made me and being humble is one of my great assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/well-i-think-they-broke-the-mould-when-they-made-me-and-being-humble/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [Remember this-all the sighing, mourning, sobbing, and complaining in the world, does not so undeniably evidence a man to be humble, as his overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/remember-this-all-the-sighing-mourning-sobbing-and-complaining-in-the/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [ Be humble and say okay, all right, I have to prep myself. So everybody prepped, and we finished the film \[Valerian \] four days… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/be-humble-and-say-okay-all-right-i-have-to-prep-myself-so-everybody/) [Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/) > [Catch {a man} at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, "By jove, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/catch-a-man-at-the-moment-when-he-is-really-poor-in-spirit-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/humility-does-not-mean-weakness-it-does-not-mean-timidity-it-does-not/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Always enter like a kitten and leave like a lion. But NEVER enter like a lion and leave like a kitten. Always be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlson-gracie/always-enter-like-a-kitten-and-leave-like-a-lion-but-never-enter-like/) [Carlson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlson-gracie/) > [There is no substitute for hardwork. Always be humble and hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/there-is-no-substitute-for-hardwork-always-be-humble-and-hungry/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [You've got to be humble really to be yourself or to get a chance to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/you-ve-got-to-be-humble-really-to-be-yourself-or-to-get-a-chance-to/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Learning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/learning-something-means-coming-into-contact-with-a-world-of-which/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Create your own job. Become the master of what you do. Fully imerse yourself in your culter. Be humble. You are never above having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/create-your-own-job-become-the-master-of-what-you-do-fully-imerse/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [It's very easy for us to be humble when no one else is around. There is no reason for us to demonstrate our superiority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-s-very-easy-for-us-to-be-humble-when-no-one-else-is-around-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm totally normal. I think it's obnoxious when people demand limos or bodyguards. I eat at McDonald's or Taco Bell. My parents always taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/i-m-totally-normal-i-think-it-s-obnoxious-when-people-demand-limos-or/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/you-have-to-know-when-to-be-arrogant-you-have-to-when-to-be-humble/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [I know that a Christian should be humble, but against the Pope I am going to be proud and say to him: "You, Pope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-know-that-a-christian-should-be-humble-but-against-the-pope-i-am/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) [Browse all 243 Be humble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-humble/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They were the triumphant and insolent possessors; they had a hall, and a fire, and food and clothing and money, and so they might preach to hungry men, and the hungry men must be humble and listen. 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