--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And confronting these men, wild and…" description: "\"“And confronting these men, wild and terrible as we agree that they were, there were men of quite another kind, smiling and adorned with ribbons and st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/victor-hugo-32_barbarians_and-confronting-these-men-wild-and-terri_3206990.jpg" --- # And confronting these men, wild and terrible as we agree… ![“And confronting these men, wild and terrible as we agree that they were, there were men of quite another kind, smiling and adorned with ribbons and stars, silk stockinged, yellow gloved and with polished boots; men who insisted on the preservation of the past, of the Middle Ages, of divine right…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/victor-hugo-32_barbarians_and-confronting-these-men-wild-and-terri_3206990.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/victor-hugo-32_barbarians_and-confronting-these-men-wild-and-terri_3206990.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/victor-hugo-32_barbarians_and-confronting-these-men-wild-and-terri_3206990.jpg) > ““And confronting these men, wild and terrible as we agree that they were, there were men of quite another kind, smiling and adorned with ribbons and stars, silk stockinged, yellow gloved and with polished boots; men who insisted on the preservation of the past, of the Middle Ages, of divine right, of bigotry, ignorance, enslavement, the death penalty and war, and who, talking in polished undertones, glorified the sword and the executioners' block. For our part, if we had to choose between the barbarians of civilization and those civilized upholders of barbarism we would choose the former.”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts barbaric savagery with those who cling to oppressive traditions, urging a choice of true humanity over false civility. **In simple terms:** Choose genuine humanity over oppressive traditions. Key Takeaway Reject outdated, oppressive ideals. Themes justice tradition humanity civilization choice Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debates - education - cultural preservation Key Concepts historical oppression moral philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What defines true civilization? - How can societies move beyond harmful traditions? 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She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Barbarians quotes > [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [One simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/one-simply-cannot-engage-in-barbarous-action-without-becoming-a/) [J. 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Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Browse all 280 Barbarians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And confronting these men, wild and terrible as we agree that they were, there were men of quite another kind, smiling and adorned with ribbons and stars, silk stockinged, yellow gloved and with polished boots; men who insisted on the preservation of the past, of the Middle Ages, of divine right, of bigotry, ignorance, enslavement, the death penalty and war, and who, talking in polished undertones, glorified the sword and the executioners' block. 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