Who said “One who shows signs of mental aberration is, inevitably, perhaps, but cruelly, shut off…”?

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Charles Horton Cooley. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceHuman Nature and the Social Order, 1902, p. 259 (1964)

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“One who shows signs of mental aberration is, inevitably, perhaps, but cruelly, shut off from familiar, thoughtless intercourse, partly excommunicated; his isolation is unwittingly proclaimed to him on every countenance by curiosity, indifference, aversion, or pity, and in so far as he is human enough to need free and equal communication and feel the lack of it, he suffers pain and loss of a kind and degree which others can only faintly imagine, and for the most part ignore.”
— Charles Horton Cooley
VerifiedHuman Nature and the Social Order, 1902, p. 259 (1964) · evidenceMadness
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Human Nature and the Social Order, 1902, p. 259 (1964).

APA

Cooley, C. H. (n.d.). One who shows signs of mental aberration is, inevitably, perhaps, but cruelly, shut off from familiar, thoughtless intercourse, partly excommunicated; his isolation is unwittingly proclaimed to him on every countenance by curiosity, indifference, aversion, or pity, and in so far as he is human enough to need free and equal communication and feel the lack of it, he suffers pain and loss of a kind and degree which others can only faintly imagine, and for the most part ignore. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/28004-one-who-shows-signs-of-mental-aberration-is/

MLA

Cooley, Charles Horton. “One who shows signs of mental aberration is, inevitably, perhaps, but cruelly, shut off from familiar, thoughtless intercourse, partly excommunicated; his isolation is unwittingly proclaimed to him on every countenance by curiosity, indifference, aversion, or pity, and in so far as he is human enough to need free and equal communication and feel the lack of it, he suffers pain and loss of a kind and degree which others can only faintly imagine, and for the most part ignore.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/28004-one-who-shows-signs-of-mental-aberration-is/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Cooley, Charles Horton. “One who shows signs of mental aberration is, inevitably, perhaps, but cruelly, shut off from familiar, thoughtless intercourse, partly excommunicated; his isolation is unwittingly proclaimed to him on every countenance by curiosity, indifference, aversion, or pity, and in so far as he is human enough to need free and equal communication and feel the lack of it, he suffers pain and loss of a kind and degree which others can only faintly imagine, and for the most part ignore.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/28004-one-who-shows-signs-of-mental-aberration-is/.

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