There is a silence, the child of love, which expresses everything, and proclaims more loudly than the tongue is able to do.
William DrummondRead
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; and he that dares not reason is a slave.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the importance of reasoning and critical thinking as essential to personal freedom and enlightenment.
William Drummond's quote underscores the significance of reasoning in human life. It suggests that rejecting reason leads to bigotry, an inability to reason leaves one foolish, and that avoiding reasoning altogether results in a form of slavery. This emphasizes the vital role that critical thinking and open-mindedness play in achieving freedom and understanding in life.
Themes
ReasoningCritical ThinkingFreedomBigotryFoolSlaveryEnlightenment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about the importance of rational discourse in society.
More from William Drummond
All quotes βPut a bridle on thy tongue; set a guard before thy lips, lest the words of thine own mouth destroy thy peace... on much speaking cometh repentance, but in silence is safety.
William DrummondRead
Study what thou art Whereof thou art a part What thou knowest of this art This is really what thou art. All that is without thee also is within.
William DrummondRead
Similar quotes
My thinking is first and last and always for the sake of my doing, and I can only do one thing at a time.
William JamesRead
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
William BlakeRead
Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Mark TwainRead
All good qualities must be sown and cultivated. We canβt expect to change overnight from an ordinary person into one with high realizations.
Dalai LamaRead
It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Thought expands, but paralyzes; action animates, but narrows.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead