We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act worthy of its aid and protection
Samuel AdamsRead
How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how those in power can manipulate language for their own benefit, altering its intended meaning.
Samuel Adams suggests that tyrants can distort the meanings of words, using language as a weapon to deceive and control the perception of truth. This manipulation can change the way people understand reality, leading to a society where the original meanings of words are lost or skewed, ultimately serving the interests of those who wield power.
Themes
TyrannyLanguageManipulationPowerTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of clear language in politics, one might invoke this quote to illustrate the dangers of manipulation.
More from Samuel Adams
All quotes βNothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters.
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If taxes are laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal representation where they are laid, are we not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary slaves? We claim British rights not by charter only! We are born to them.
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Let no man thirst for good beer.
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He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.
Samuel AdamsRead
We boast of our freedom, and we have your example for it. We talk the language we have always heard you speak.
Samuel AdamsRead
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