--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never learned to say shit before a…" description: "\"“I never learned to say shit before a lady. I don't believe in progress in quite the way you seem to. You believe in it more than Grandmother did. As f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/wallace-stegner-1352_civilization_i-never-learned-to-say-shit-before-a-lad_2109937.png" --- # I never learned to say shit before a lady. I don't believe… ![“I never learned to say shit before a lady. I don't believe in progress in quite the way you seem to. You believe in it more than Grandmother did. As for those purely cultural patterns of convention you think I ought to escape from, they happen to add up to civilization, and I'd rather be civilized…” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/wallace-stegner-1352_civilization_i-never-learned-to-say-shit-before-a-lad_2109937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/wallace-stegner-1352_civilization_i-never-learned-to-say-shit-before-a-lad_2109937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/wallace-stegner-1352_civilization_i-never-learned-to-say-shit-before-a-lad_2109937.png) > ““I never learned to say shit before a lady. I don't believe in progress in quite the way you seem to. You believe in it more than Grandmother did. As for those purely cultural patterns of convention you think I ought to escape from, they happen to add up to civilization, and I'd rather be civilized than tribal or uncouth.”” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values civilization's refined conventions over raw tribal instincts, preferring polite behavior despite its restrictive nature. **In simple terms:** He prefers polite, civilized behavior over crude habits. Key Takeaway Embrace courtesy while questioning its limits. Themes civilization politeness tradition individualism Mood thoughtful conflicted Type philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - social gatherings - formal events - interpersonal communication Key Concepts cultural norms social etiquette personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel civility limits your true self? - When is breaking convention beneficial? A Different Perspective Politeness can suppress authentic expression and cause inner conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Convention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convention/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Grandparents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandparents/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Tribalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribalism/) ## Related quotes > [“I believe your grandmother needs lessons in sucking eggs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flaxman-s/i-believe-your-grandmother-needs-lessons-in-sucking-eggs/) John Flaxman's > [I challenged myself to carry on the style of guitar that my grandmother did: the Carter scratch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-carter/i-challenged-myself-to-carry-on-the-style-of-guitar-that-my/) [Carlene Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-carter/) > [“These yanks into someone's personal past, that's the kind of history I like. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saina-nehwal/i-was-really-surprised-when-i-was-told-that-my-grandmother-did-not/) [Saina Nehwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saina-nehwal/) > [The point of civilization is to be civilized; the purpose of action is to perpetuate society, for only in society can philosophy truly take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-pears/the-point-of-civilization-is-to-be-civilized-the-purpose-of-action-is/) [Iain Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-pears/) > [The great lie is that it is civilization. It's not civilized. It has been literally the most blood thirsty brutalizing system ever imposed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/the-great-lie-is-that-it-is-civilization-it-s-not-civilized-it-has/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [If the humanism that makes civilization civilized is to be preserved into the new century, it will need advocates. 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Kenya has 42 tribes. to say that the decision of 2 tribes is the decision of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akuku-mach-pep/kenya-does-not-belong-to-2-tribes-only-kenya-has-42-tribes-to-say/) [Akuku Mach Pep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akuku-mach-pep/) > [I'm a military man, I did what I did only because my country had to be saved from tribalism and feudalism. If I failed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mengistu-haile-mariam/i-m-a-military-man-i-did-what-i-did-only-because-my-country-had-to-be/) [Mengistu Haile Mariam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mengistu-haile-mariam/) > [“More I try to straighten my life, more I'm overcome with the paradox I am. Once the sea attains its vastness, it is impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/more-i-try-to-straighten-my-life-more-i-m-overcome-with-the-paradox-i/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. 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Mine is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/some-people-i-am-told-have-memories-like-computers-nothing-to-do-but/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Explore all 251 Wallace Stegner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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