A great empire and little minds go ill together.
Edmund BurkeRead
A very great part of the mischiefs that vex the world arises from words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words can create misunderstandings and conflicts in society.
In this quote, Edmund Burke emphasizes the significant role that language plays in shaping human interactions and societal issues. He suggests that much of the trouble and discord in the world stems from the way words are used, highlighting the importance of careful communication and the potential for words to cause harm or misunderstanding.
Themes
WordsCommunicationConflictUnderstandingSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about social issues, this quote serves as a reminder to choose words wisely.
More from Edmund Burke
All quotes βTo read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
Edmund BurkeRead
Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.
Edmund BurkeRead
The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.
Edmund BurkeRead
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel.
Edmund BurkeRead
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund BurkeRead
Similar quotes
I was brought up to appreciate the here and now, and, knowing this is your only life, to view death as an inevitable and reassuring end.
Richard E. GrantRead
Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.
Lord ActonRead
Christianity has taken the part of all the weak, the low, the botched; it has made an ideal out of antagonism to all the self preservative instincts of sound life; it has corrupted even the faculties of those natures that are intellectually most vigorous, by representing the highest intellectual values as sinful, as misleading, as full of temptation.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Words were useless. At times, they might sound wonderful, but they let you down the moment you really needed them. You could never find the right words, never, and where would you look for them? The heart is as silent as a fish, however much the tongue tries to give it a voice.
Cornelia FunkeRead
A habit of basing convictions upon evidence, and of giving to them only that degree or certainty which the evidence warrants, would, if it became general, cure most of the ills from which the world suffers.
Bertrand RussellRead
We are not afraid of predators, we're transfixed by them, prone to weave stories and fables and chatter endlessly about them, because fascination creates preparedness, and preparedness, survival. In a deeply tribal way, we love our monsters.
E. O. WilsonRead