"If we keep an open mind, too much is likely to fall into it"
About this Quote
Aphorisms like this one make a sport of puncturing self-congratulation, and Barney aims straight at one of modernity's favorite virtues: the open mind. She turns it from a badge of enlightenment into a kind of intellectual draftiness, a head left unlatched while anything convenient, fashionable, or flattering blows in. The joke lands because it swaps the usual moral geometry. "Open" is supposed to mean brave and generous; Barney makes it sound like negligence.
The line is engineered around a sly double meaning. "Fall into it" evokes both ideas arriving and junk dropping in. The mind becomes not a beacon but a container, vulnerable to clutter. There's a coded warning here about credulity, about confusing receptivity with rigor. Barney isn't arguing for closed-mindedness; she's arguing for taste, selection, a gatekeeping function that progressive rhetoric often pretends is unnecessary. The subtext: discernment is the unsexy cousin of tolerance, and far more important.
Context sharpens the barb. Barney, a famously independent writer and salon host in Paris, operated in a world where "advanced" opinions and artistic poses circulated like currency. Salons thrive on novelty; they also attract performative radicalism. Her wit reads as self-defense against the tyranny of the latest idea, the newest manifesto, the most talkable scandal. It's a line that flatters the skeptical listener while gently accusing the rest of being too eager to be seen as open. In seven words, she draws a boundary: think widely, yes, but don't mistake mental hospitality for intelligence.
The line is engineered around a sly double meaning. "Fall into it" evokes both ideas arriving and junk dropping in. The mind becomes not a beacon but a container, vulnerable to clutter. There's a coded warning here about credulity, about confusing receptivity with rigor. Barney isn't arguing for closed-mindedness; she's arguing for taste, selection, a gatekeeping function that progressive rhetoric often pretends is unnecessary. The subtext: discernment is the unsexy cousin of tolerance, and far more important.
Context sharpens the barb. Barney, a famously independent writer and salon host in Paris, operated in a world where "advanced" opinions and artistic poses circulated like currency. Salons thrive on novelty; they also attract performative radicalism. Her wit reads as self-defense against the tyranny of the latest idea, the newest manifesto, the most talkable scandal. It's a line that flatters the skeptical listener while gently accusing the rest of being too eager to be seen as open. In seven words, she draws a boundary: think widely, yes, but don't mistake mental hospitality for intelligence.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Barney, Natalie Clifford. (n.d.). If we keep an open mind, too much is likely to fall into it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-keep-an-open-mind-too-much-is-likely-to-93778/
Chicago Style
Barney, Natalie Clifford. "If we keep an open mind, too much is likely to fall into it." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-keep-an-open-mind-too-much-is-likely-to-93778/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If we keep an open mind, too much is likely to fall into it." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-keep-an-open-mind-too-much-is-likely-to-93778/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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