--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was something so benign and so…" description: "\"“There was something so benign and so friendly in the lady's manner that Catalina felt impelled to tell her sad story. It had happened when they were b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/w-somerset-maugham-237_bull_there-was-something-so-benign-and-so-fri_2771697.jpg" --- # There was something so benign and so friendly in the… ![“There was something so benign and so friendly in the lady's manner that Catalina felt impelled to tell her sad story. It had happened when they were bringing in the young bulls for the bull-fight on Easter Day and everyone in the town had collected to see them being driven in under the safe…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/w-somerset-maugham-237_bull_there-was-something-so-benign-and-so-fri_2771697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/w-somerset-maugham-237_bull_there-was-something-so-benign-and-so-fri_2771697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/w-somerset-maugham-237_bull_there-was-something-so-benign-and-so-fri_2771697.jpg) > ““There was something so benign and so friendly in the lady's manner that Catalina felt impelled to tell her sad story. It had happened when they were bringing in the young bulls for the bull-fight on Easter Day and everyone in the town had collected to see them being driven in under the safe conduct of the oxen. Ahead of them on their prancing horses rode a group of young nobles. Suddenly one of the bulls escaped and charged down a side street. There was a panic and the crowd scattered to right and left. One man was tossed and the bull rushed on. Catalina running as fast as her legs would carry her slipped and fell just as the beast was reaching her. She screamed and fainted. When she came to they told her that the bull in his mad charge had trampled over her, but had run wildly on. She was bruised, but not wounded; they said that in a little while she would be none the worse, but in a day or two she complained that she could not move her leg. The doctors examined it and found it was paralysed; they pricked it with needles, but she could find nothing; they bled her and purged her and gave her draughts of nauseous medicine, but nothing helped. The leg was like a dead thing.”” [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. A seemingly gentle encounter leads to a sudden, chaotic disaster, highlighting vulnerability and the limits of medical knowledge. **In simple terms:** Gentle moments can turn chaotic, exposing fragility. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden risks in calm situations. Themes vulnerability chaos medical limits human fragility unexpected danger Mood tense somber Type narrative cautionary When to use this quote - hospital wards - emergency response - public safety drills - risk assessment training Key Concepts Narrative tension bodily autonomy medical uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - What does this story say about trust in authority? - How can we better prepare for sudden crises? A Different Perspective Medical interventions may be ineffective without proper diagnosis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bullfighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullfighting/) [Easter day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easter-day/) ## Related quotes > [This my young bull he can fight yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-my-young-bull-he-can-fight-yo/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The average man doesn't wish to be told that it is a bull or a bear market. What he desires is to be told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lauriston-livermore/the-average-man-doesn-t-wish-to-be-told-that-it-is-a-bull-or-a-bear/) [Jesse Lauriston Livermore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lauriston-livermore/) > [But I think the other is a little more like bullfighting, a little more daring and although I appreciate good acting and I liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-klein/but-i-think-the-other-is-a-little-more-like-bullfighting-a-little/) [Robert Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-klein/) > [It's almost impossible to imagine bullfighting abolished from Spain entirely. Values do change, though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/it-s-almost-impossible-to-imagine-bullfighting-abolished-from-spain/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Only bullfighting, mountain climbing and auto racing are sports, the rest are merely games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barnaby-conrad/only-bullfighting-mountain-climbing-and-auto-racing-are-sports-the/) Barnaby Conrad > [Madrid reacting with the forceful protection of bullfighting as an art form is an example of the survival of the old values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/madrid-reacting-with-the-forceful-protection-of-bullfighting-as-an/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Bulls can do nothing to demand justice. They can only defend themselves as best they can in a fight with a pre-determined ending and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/bulls-can-do-nothing-to-demand-justice-they-can-only-defend/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [College football is a sport that bears the same relation to education that bullfighting does to agriculture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/college-football-is-a-sport-that-bears-the-same-relation-to-education/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/bullfighting-is-the-only-art-in-which-the-artist-is-in-danger-of/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“If the bulls were allowed to increase their knowledge as the bullfighter does, and if those bulls which are not killed in the allotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/if-the-bulls-were-allowed-to-increase-their-knowledge-as-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“To protest about bullfighting in Spain, the eating of dogs in South Korea, or the slaughter of baby seals in Canada while continuing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/to-protest-about-bullfighting-in-spain-the-eating-of-dogs-in-south/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [In bullfighting there is a term called querencia. The querencia is the spot in the ring to which the bull returns. Each bull has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/in-bullfighting-there-is-a-term-called-querencia-the-querencia-is-the/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [For me, bullfighting was this very spiritual engagement with power, with power and death. You're pitting yourself against a force that's stronger than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/for-me-bullfighting-was-this-very-spiritual-engagement-with-power/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Bullfighting can be an art Boxing can be an art Loving can be an art Opening a can of sardines can be an art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bullfighting-can-be-an-art-boxing-can-be-an-art-loving-can-be-an-art/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Why write if this too easy activity of pushing a pen across paper is not given a certain bullfighting risk and we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/why-write-if-this-too-easy-activity-of-pushing-a-pen-across-paper-is/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## 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 Bull quotes > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Bullfights are hugely popular because you can sit comfortably with a hot dog and possibly watch a man die. It wont be me, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/bullfights-are-hugely-popular-because-you-can-sit-comfortably-with-a/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [I'll Ride With You Through All The Bull Shit , But Just Don't Bull Shit Mee .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marixsol/i-ll-ride-with-you-through-all-the-bull-shit-but-just-don-t-bull-shit/) Marixsol > [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/) > ['Raging Bull' was just a dream to work on, but it took a lot of work to get all those fights to work right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/raging-bull-was-just-a-dream-to-work-on-but-it-took-a-lot-of-work-to/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [“Where’s the bull? (Callie) Tied to a tree, eating my boot. I’m just glad my leg is no longer in it. (Sin) Lad, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinley-macgregor/where-s-the-bull-callie-tied-to-a-tree-eating-my-boot-i-m-just-glad/) [Kinley MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinley-macgregor/) > [A bull will try to outwit you. It will stop and hook when the last thing you expect from it is that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/a-bull-will-try-to-outwit-you-it-will-stop-and-hook-when-the-last/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [“Had a gay bull I had to sell last year. That was a damn nuisance. Gay son? That don't cost me nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/had-a-gay-bull-i-had-to-sell-last-year-that-was-a-damn-nuisance-gay/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [This my bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-my-bull/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This my young bull he can fight yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-my-young-bull-he-can-fight-yo/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Bull in a China Shop The metaphor “bull in a china shop” appropriately describes how a clumsy (or socially awkward) person can sometimes find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/bull-in-a-china-shop-the-metaphor-bull-in-a-china-shop-appropriately/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“How in the world did they just jump from politics, to a ball, and now to daimon attacks? And here I’d thought I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/how-in-the-world-did-they-just-jump-from-politics-to-a-ball-and-now/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I bet you my body is three-quarters Red Bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-bet-you-my-body-is-three-quarters-red-bull/) [Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [On a ruinous wall I came upon a poster dating from the previous year and announcing that ‘six handsome bulls’ would be killed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/on-a-ruinous-wall-i-came-upon-a-poster-dating-from-the-previous-year/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But in truth,' said Bull, 'we are going nowhere. That my friend, is the irony of our constant movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/but-in-truth-said-bull-we-are-going-nowhere-that-my-friend-is-the/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) Browse all 308 Bull quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was something so benign and so friendly in the lady's manner that Catalina felt impelled to tell her sad story. It had happened when they were bringing in the young bulls for the bull-fight on Easter Day and everyone in the town had collected to see them being driven in under the safe conduct of the oxen. Ahead of them on their prancing horses rode a group of young nobles. Suddenly one of the bulls escaped and charged down a side street. There was a panic and the crowd scattered to right and left. One man was tossed and the bull rushed on. Catalina running as fast as her legs would carry her slipped and fell just as the beast was reaching her. She screamed and fainted. When she came to they told her that the bull in his mad charge had trampled over her, but had run wildly on. She was bruised, but not wounded; they said that in a little while she would be none the worse, but in a day or two she complained that she could not move her leg. The doctors examined it and found it was paralysed; they pricked it with needles, but she could find nothing; they bled her and purged her and gave her draughts of nauseous medicine, but nothing helped. The leg was like a dead thing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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