--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I note the derogatory rumors concerning…" description: "\"I note the derogatory rumors concerning the use of alcoholic stimulants and lavish living. It is the penalty of greatness.\" — W. C. Fields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/w-c-fields-1625_alcoholics_i-note-the-derogatory-rumors-concerning_2585742.png" --- # I note the derogatory rumors concerning the use of… ![“I note the derogatory rumors concerning the use of alcoholic stimulants and lavish living. It is the penalty of greatness.” quote by W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/w-c-fields-1625_alcoholics_i-note-the-derogatory-rumors-concerning_2585742.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/w-c-fields-1625_alcoholics_i-note-the-derogatory-rumors-concerning_2585742.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/w-c-fields-1625_alcoholics_i-note-the-derogatory-rumors-concerning_2585742.png) > “I note the derogatory rumors concerning the use of alcoholic stimulants and lavish living. It is the penalty of greatness.” [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rumors about alcohol and lavish living are seen as a side effect of greatness, implying that fame brings scandal. **In simple terms:** Greatness often attracts scandalous rumors. Key Takeaway Maintain integrity despite public scrutiny. Themes celebrity scandal greatness Mood wry critical Type observational satirical When to use this quote - politics - entertainment - personal branding Key Concepts media public perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect reputation under scrutiny? - Can greatness exist without scandal? A Different Perspective Not all fame leads to negative rumors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) [Derogatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derogatory/) [Derogatory Rumors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derogatory-rumors-1816998/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Note Derogatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/note-derogatory-1817001/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Penalties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penalties/) [Rumor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rumor/) [Rumors Concerning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rumors-concerning-1817000/) [Stimulants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stimulants/) [Stimulants Lavish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stimulants-lavish-1816999/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Inevitably, the flood of literary pornography loosed on us is dulling our reactions of surprise or shock. Its writers are forced to raise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/inevitably-the-flood-of-literary-pornography-loosed-on-us-is-dulling/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) > [The Japanese, if I understand them, are masters of the unsaid and the unstated, of subtlety and ambiguity, all of which constitute powerful stimulants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/the-japanese-if-i-understand-them-are-masters-of-the-unsaid-and-the/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [All that the world most needs today, is combined in the most seductive manner in his art, — the three great stimulants of exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-that-the-world-most-needs-today-is-combined-in-the-most-seductive/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I like artificial stimulants,” I protested. “They usually mean nobody’s trying to kill me. Unlike the natural kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/i-like-artificial-stimulants-i-protested-they-usually-mean-nobody-s/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [Every desire bears its death in its very gratification. Curiosity languishes under repeated stimulants, and novelties cease to excite and surprise, until at length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/every-desire-bears-its-death-in-its-very-gratification-curiosity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [We are close to dead. There are faces and bodies like gorged maggots on the dance floor, on the highway, in the city, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/we-are-close-to-dead-there-are-faces-and-bodies-like-gorged-maggots/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Strong hope is a much greater stimulant of life than any single realised joy could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/strong-hope-is-a-much-greater-stimulant-of-life-than-any-single/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [For 50 years bike racers have been taking stimulants. Obviously we can do without them in a race, but then we will pedal 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-anquetil/for-50-years-bike-racers-have-been-taking-stimulants-obviously-we-can/) [Jacques Anquetil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-anquetil/) > [Formulae are the anaesthetics of thought, not its stimulants and to make any one think is far better worth while than cramming him with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/formulae-are-the-anaesthetics-of-thought-not-its-stimulants-and-to/) [Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/) > [A sense of power is the most intoxicating stimulant a mortal can enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-swallow-richards/a-sense-of-power-is-the-most-intoxicating-stimulant-a-mortal-can-enjoy/) [Ellen Swallow Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-swallow-richards/) > [Success: a marvelous stimulant, bubbling with inspiration and incitement. But for all except the few who are strong and steadfast, there lurks beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hopkins-adams/success-a-marvelous-stimulant-bubbling-with-inspiration-and/) [Samuel Hopkins Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hopkins-adams/) > [I like to write early in the morning, like, 5 a.m. If I'm really on my game, I don't have any coffee or stimulants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-morrison/i-like-to-write-early-in-the-morning-like-5-a-m-if-i-m-really-on-my/) [Travis Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-morrison/) > [I drink mate every day during training camp, and just in general. It's packed full of vitamins and nutrients and a lot of B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-algieri/i-drink-mate-every-day-during-training-camp-and-just-in-general-it-s/) [Chris Algieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-algieri/) > [What is it in absinthe that makes it a separate cult? The effects of its abuse are totally distinct from those of other stimulants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-it-in-absinthe-that-makes-it-a-separate-cult-the-effects-of/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Scenery can be a violent stimulant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/scenery-can-be-a-violent-stimulant/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) ## More by W. C. Fields > [Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house unless they have a well-stocked bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/thou-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbor-s-house-unless-they-have-a-well/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Take me down to the bar! We'll drink breakfast together!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/take-me-down-to-the-bar-we-ll-drink-breakfast-together/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [If pigs had wings, they would be pigeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-pigs-had-wings-they-would-be-pigeons/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [I feel like a midget with muddy feet had been walking over my tongue all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-feel-like-a-midget-with-muddy-feet-had-been-walking-over-my-tongue/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [What would you do if you were President, and, on the first day of May, the Russian Ambassador presented you with a beautiful cake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-president-and-on-the-first-day-of-may/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/my-illness-is-due-to-my-doctor-s-insistence-that-i-drink-milk-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [I am an expert of electricity. My father occupied the chair of applied electricity at the state prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-am-an-expert-of-electricity-my-father-occupied-the-chair-of-applied/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Bert Williams was the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/bert-williams-was-the-funniest-man-i-ever-saw-and-the-saddest-man-i/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [A comic should suffer as much over a single line as a man with a hernia would in picking up a heavy barbell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/a-comic-should-suffer-as-much-over-a-single-line-as-a-man-with-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [All my available funds are completely tied up in cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/all-my-available-funds-are-completely-tied-up-in-cash/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Back in my rummy days, I would tremble and shake for hours upon arising. It was the only exercise I got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/back-in-my-rummy-days-i-would-tremble-and-shake-for-hours-upon/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Happiness means quiet nerves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/happiness-means-quiet-nerves/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [W. C. Fields, a lifetime agnostic, was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed. ''I'm looking for a loop-hole,'' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/w-c-fields-a-lifetime-agnostic-was-discovered-reading-a-bible-on-his/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [The movie people would have nothing to do with me until they heard me speak in a Broadway play, then they all wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/the-movie-people-would-have-nothing-to-do-with-me-until-they-heard-me/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) [Explore all 221 W. C. Fields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) ## More Alcoholics quotes > [Sometimes they were together so often that it felt as though they really were a couple; sometimes weeks and months would go by before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-they-were-together-so-often-that-it-felt-as-though-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm not an alcoholic, I am freedom fighter against the teetotal taliban.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-murray/i-m-not-an-alcoholic-i-am-freedom-fighter-against-the-teetotal-taliban/) [Al Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-murray/) > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. This way, until the alcoholic begins removing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-you-decide-on-having-an-alcoholic-at-your-party-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I started drinking when I was like 15, and by the time I was 19 everybody knew I was an alcoholic. So I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-esparza/i-started-drinking-when-i-was-like-15-and-by-the-time-i-was-19/) [Felipe Esparza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-esparza/) > [There are plenty of alcoholics who can be magnificent when drunk: it does not make them any less alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/there-are-plenty-of-alcoholics-who-can-be-magnificent-when-drunk-it/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [The idea that the creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time. ... Substance abusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-the-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It is most absurdly said, in popular language, of any man, that he is disguised in liquor; for, on the contrary, most men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/it-is-most-absurdly-said-in-popular-language-of-any-man-that-he-is/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/your-alcoholics-may-include-some-of-your-brightest-stars-the-problem/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I haven't had an alcoholic drink in 22 years, but when I did drink I'd go for either Canadian whisky or Budweiser. 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