--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they…" description: "\"When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in this manner..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/washington-irving-1386_chairs_when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-foun_414847.jpg" --- # When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators… ![“When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in this manner they suffered death without resistance or supplication. Such conduct was in them applauded as noble and magnanimous; in the hapless Indians it was…” quote by Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/washington-irving-1386_chairs_when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-foun_414847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/washington-irving-1386_chairs_when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-foun_414847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/washington-irving-1386_chairs_when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-foun_414847.jpg) > “When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in this manner they suffered death without resistance or supplication. Such conduct was in them applauded as noble and magnanimous; in the hapless Indians it was reviled as both obstinate and sullen. How truly are we the dupes of show and circumstances! How different is virtue, clothed in purple and enthroned in state, from virtue, naked and destitute, and perishing obscurely in a wilderness.” [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts how society praises dignified death in power while despising humble, solitary suffering, exposing how appearances shape moral judgments. **In simple terms:** People value noble death in power but scorn humble suffering. Key Takeaway Question appearances over substance. Themes virtue perception power humility societal judgment Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical observational historical When to use this quote - political leaders facing downfall - individuals confronting poverty - historical narratives of heroism - media portrayal of tragedy Key Concepts moral relativism social construct status symbols Questions to Reflect On - Do we judge virtue by status? - How can we honor humble suffering? A Different Perspective The view may overgeneralize and ignore personal agency in suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Magnanimous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnanimous/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Robes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robes/) [Rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rome/) [Supplication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplication/) [Tranquillity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tranquillity/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [If we lived in a state where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us saintly. But since we see that avarice, anger, pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-lived-in-a-state-where-virtue-was-profitable-common-sense-would-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bolt/if-we-lived-in-a-state-where-virtue-was-profitable-common-sense-would/) [Robert Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bolt/) > [Virtue, though clothed in a beggar's garb, commands respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/virtue-though-clothed-in-a-beggar-s-garb-commands-respect/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [For what accords better and more aptly with faith than to acknowledge ourselves divested of all virtue that we may be clothed by God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-what-accords-better-and-more-aptly-with-faith-than-to-acknowledge/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Genius and virtue are to be more often found clothed in gray than in peacock bright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/genius-and-virtue-are-to-be-more-often-found-clothed-in-gray-than-in/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [In proportion as we perceive and embrace the truth do we become just, heroic, magnanimous, divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/in-proportion-as-we-perceive-and-embrace-the-truth-do-we-become-just/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [We must not let the actions or words of others determine our responses. Magnanimous people make the choice to respond to the indignities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/we-must-not-let-the-actions-or-words-of-others-determine-our/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [It takes no effort to love. The state has its own innate joy. ...When you have the experience of love, either giving it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/it-takes-no-effort-to-love-the-state-has-its-own-innate-joy-when-you/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/magnanimous-people-have-no-vanity-they-have-no-jealousy-and-they-feed/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [I feel like most people aren't either/or, they're both/and. You're both magnanimous and petty. You're both kind and cruel. You're never just one thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-feel-like-most-people-aren-t-either-or-they-re-both-and-you-re-both/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [For it is true now, as it always was and always will be, that to be free is the same thing as to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/for-it-is-true-now-as-it-always-was-and-always-will-be-that-to-be/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [There exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/there-exists-in-the-economy-and-course-of-nature-an-indissoluble/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If I have not the power to put myself in the place of other people, but must be continually burrowing inward, I shall never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-i-have-not-the-power-to-put-myself-in-the-place-of-other-people/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is not merely true that a creed unites men. Nay, a difference of creed unites men - so long as it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-not-merely-true-that-a-creed-unites-men-nay-a-difference-of/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Mighty of heart, mighty of mind, magnanimous-to be this is indeed to be great in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/mighty-of-heart-mighty-of-mind-magnanimous-to-be-this-is-indeed-to-be/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## More by Washington Irving > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's life is a history of the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America, for the universal education of the poorest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/over-no-nation-does-the-press-hold-a-more-absolute-control-than-over/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-no-character-in-the-comedy-of-human-life-more-difficult-to/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Redundancy of language is never found with deep reflection. Verbiage may indicate observation, but not thinking. He who thinks much says but little in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/redundancy-of-language-is-never-found-with-deep-reflection-verbiage/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is a majestic grandeur in tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-a-majestic-grandeur-in-tranquillity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-rise-authors-now-and-then-who-seem-proof-against-the-mutability/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-nothing-in-england-that-exercises-a-more-delightful-spell/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It is but seldom that any one overt act produces hostilities between two nations; there exists, more commonly, a previous jealousy and ill will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/it-is-but-seldom-that-any-one-overt-act-produces-hostilities-between/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Explore all 244 Washington Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## More Chairs quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/dentists-tell-you-not-to-pick-your-teeth-with-any-sharp-metal-object/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I'm not a big hijinker. 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He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) Browse all 1,120 Chairs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in this manner they suffered death without resistance or supplication. Such conduct was in them applauded as noble and magnanimous; in the hapless Indians it was reviled as both obstinate and sullen. How truly are we the dupes of show and circumstances! 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