Docility Quotes

“And the looks on the faces of my countrymenpassive heads bent arms at their trousers everyone guilty of not being their best of not earning their daily bread the kind of docility I had never expected from Americans even after so many years of our decline. Here was the tiredness of failure imposed on a country that believed only in its opposite. Here was the end product of our deep moral exhaustion.”
― Gary Shteyngart, Super Sad True Love Story

“I dare say a good many... would have kept quiet and thought about keeping on the right side of the Chief, but I'm afraid I'm not much good at that.”
― Richard Adams, Watership Down

“A man in trouble laments that he did not listen to his teachers, and thus he finds himself in a sad state, utter ruin. A candid admission of a blunder is refreshing and not often heard in human affairs. It is the saint alone who is large-minded enough to think and speak in this way. This is part of his authenticity.

The person who is swift to hear and slow to respond is a stranger to an all-knowing illuminism. He believes that others, too, have some truth, and he is willing to be instructed by them. He is ready for the mind of God.”
― Fr. Thomas Dubay

“They look stern at first, do a lot of scowling, but behind their eyes, once you get them talking, there's a hurt, docile quality, possibly related to past wrongs done them, a quality I associate with the thunked-as-kids: Long ago the world turned on them in some unexpected and unpleasant way, and they are, not unreasonably, expecting that it could happen again at any moment.”
― George Saunders, The Braindead Megaphone

“Life is not all about being rich,
Or popular, or highly educated,
Virtually perfect with no stitch.
It’s about being real ad elated,
Not down by things that itch,
Growth by loving not deflated.”
― Ana Claudia Antunes, ACross Tic

“In addition to selecting for infantile physical features in many of our pet breeds, we have carefully cultivated an infant-like dependency in many of them. Excessive demonstrations of affection have turned our dogs into eternal children, hyperdomesticated, docile, and servile to the extreme.”
― Charles Danten, Un vétérinaire en colère - Essai sur la condition animale

“At some point, Maxwell, you have to decide to stop waiting, for adults or anyone else your age. As you say, perhaps some rules are good, and they are there for a reason. I am not saying you should not follow those rules. I am saying you have to stop waiting for other people to tell you what to do. You have to stop waiting for other people to tell you how and who to be. You have to stop waiting for other people to give you permission to live your life.”
― Matt Wallace, The Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid