American politics is a struggle, not of men but of forces. The men become every year more and more creatures of force, massed about central power houses.
Henry AdamsRead
No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Communication often fails to convey true intentions since words can be misleading.
Henry Adams highlights the complexity of communication, suggesting that what people express often does not fully represent their thoughts and feelings. The metaphor of 'slippery' words and 'viscous' thought illustrates how difficult it is to align verbal expressions with genuine meaning, indicating that both the speaker and the listener must navigate this uncertainty.
Themes
CommunicationMeaningWordsThoughtExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the nature of honesty, this quote can remind us of the complexities of communication.
More from Henry Adams
All quotes βOf all studies, the one he would rather have avoided was that of his own mind. He knew no tragedy so heartrending as introspection.
Henry AdamsRead
Simplicity is the most deceitful mistress that ever betrayed man.
Henry AdamsRead
Church and State, Soul and Body, God and Man, are all one at Mont Saint Michel, and the business of all is to fight, each in his own way, or to stand guard for each other.
Henry AdamsRead
The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port to seek.
Henry AdamsRead
The effect of power and publicity on all men is the aggravation of self, a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim's sympathies.
Henry AdamsRead
Similar quotes
America is the only nation in the world that is founded on creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
The world without spirit is a wasteland. People have the notion of saving the world by shifting things around, changing the rules, and who's on top, and so forth. No, no! Any world is a valid world if it's alive. The thing to do is to bring life to it, and the only way to do that is to find in your own case where the life is and become alive yourself.
Joseph CampbellRead
Hibernation is a covert preparation for a more overt action.
Ralph EllisonRead
I am marooned on a Crag of Superiority in an ocean of soldiers.
Wilfred OwenRead
Today Americans are overcome not by the sense of endless possibility but by the banality of the social order they have erected against it.
Christopher LaschRead
Witness testimony is always flawed. It's better than circumstantial evidence, sure, but people aren't camcorders; they don't record every action and reaction, and the very act of remembering involves chosing words, actions and images. In other words, any witness who was supposed to be giving a court facts is really just giving them a version of fiction.
Jodi PicoultRead