--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In civilized communities men's…" description: "\"In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/w-somerset-maugham-237_behavior_in-civilized-communities-men-s-idiosyncr_2792985.jpg" --- # In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are… ![“In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides their faces.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/w-somerset-maugham-237_behavior_in-civilized-communities-men-s-idiosyncr_2792985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/w-somerset-maugham-237_behavior_in-civilized-communities-men-s-idiosyncr_2792985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/w-somerset-maugham-237_behavior_in-civilized-communities-men-s-idiosyncr_2792985.jpg) > “In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides their faces.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Culture forces conformity, hiding true individuality behind social expectations. **In simple terms:** Culture hides true selves. Key Takeaway Recognize authentic self beyond social masks. Themes society conformity identity Mood reflective critical Type sociological observational When to use this quote - workplace - family gatherings - social media Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What masks do you wear? - How does culture shape your behavior? A Different Perspective Conformity can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Behavior Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior-culture-3393794/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Civilized Communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-communities-3325609/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform/) [Conforming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conforming/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-mask-3393793/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Idiosyncrasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiosyncrasies/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Idiosyncrasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-idiosyncrasies-3393792/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [Taxation is the price which civilized communities pay for the opportunity of remaining civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/taxation-is-the-price-which-civilized-communities-pay-for-the/) [Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/) > [Even in civilized communities, the embryo man passes through the hunter stage of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/even-in-civilized-communities-the-embryo-man-passes-through-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“DNA also reveals behavior. Culture can become embedded in our cells just as it gets buried in the floors of caves, bogs, and dwellings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/dna-also-reveals-behavior-culture-can-become-embedded-in-our-cells/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [To me, I learned along the way, you know, culture is behavior. That's all it is; culture is people's behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/to-me-i-learned-along-the-way-you-know-culture-is-behavior-that-s-all/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all. Whether certain behavior is culture or is not culture is argued. I think virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-controversial-at-all-whether/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [The rewards system is a powerful driver of behavior and therefore culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/the-rewards-system-is-a-powerful-driver-of-behavior-and-therefore/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [Common-sense appears to be only another name for the thoughtlessness of the unthinking. It is made of the prejudices of childhood, the idiosyncrasies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/common-sense-appears-to-be-only-another-name-for-the-thoughtlessness/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Conforming happens so naturally that we can forget how powerful it is. But the thing that makes us human are those times we listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/conforming-happens-so-naturally-that-we-can-forget-how-powerful-it-is/) [Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/) > [Conforming is not cool. Embracing who you are and what makes you different is actually what’s really cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/conforming-is-not-cool-embracing-who-you-are-and-what-makes-you/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [“Human history is the ancient story of the umbilical conflict between a lone individual versus a cabalistic society. A love-hate relationship defines our personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/human-history-is-the-ancient-story-of-the-umbilical-conflict-between/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [I don't care much about conforming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayim-bialik/i-don-t-care-much-about-conforming/) [Mayim Bialik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayim-bialik/) > [Conformism is a potent statement, and as much as we do talk about individuality in fashion, there's a sense that people are fearful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/conformism-is-a-potent-statement-and-as-much-as-we-do-talk-about/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [Try becoming a person people want to be with rather than conforming yourself to the false identity of what you conceive their ideal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/try-becoming-a-person-people-want-to-be-with-rather-than-conforming/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [moral, adj. Conforming to a local and mutable standard of right. Having the quality of general expediency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/moral-adj-conforming-to-a-local-and-mutable-standard-of-right-having/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ “Robert Jackall’s book \[ Moral Mazes \] impressed on me that corporate dress serves a far more important function than mere body covering. “Proper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/robert-jackall-s-book-moral-mazes-impressed-on-me-that-corporate/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides their faces.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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