Quote
"Men despise what they do not understand."
C
Contempt"Grown all to all, from no one vice exempt, And most contemptible to shun contempt."
In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotion rather than the constellation of mentality and feelings that produce an attitude. Paul Ekman categorises contempt as the seventh basic emotion, along with an
"Men despise what they do not understand."
"When they talkd of their Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff, He shifted his trumpet, and only took snuff."
"Ah, there is nothing more beautiful than the difference between the thought about sinful creatures which is natural to a holy being, and the thought about sinful creatures which is natural to a self-righteous being. The one is all contempt: the other, all pity."
"I had rather chop this hand off at a blow, And with the other fling it at thy face, Than bear so low a sail, to strike to thee."
"Sympathy [often] makes up part of the feeling of contempt.… Most people are generous enough to feel some pity for the dog with some touch of the cur and mongrel in it, which finds itself in the pure-bred and often snobbish society of a dog-show."
"There is always some contempt in pity. One pities poor old Oedipus, but one doesnt pity Job."