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Not only do words infect, egotize, narcotize, and paralyze, but they enter into and colour the minutest cells of the brain. . . .
Rudyard Kipling
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Words have a profound impact on our thoughts and feelings, influencing us deeply.

This quote by Rudyard Kipling emphasizes the powerful role that words play in shaping our minds and emotions. It suggests that language is not merely a tool for communication, but a force that can affect our mental state, alter our perceptions, and invoke strong reactions, affecting even the smallest parts of our brain and, consequently, our behavior and worldview.

Themes

WordsInfluenceBrainPowerCommunication

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about the power of positivity, this quote can highlight the significance of uplifting language.

More from Rudyard Kipling

We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
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Humble because of knowledge; mighty by sacrifice.
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Hear and attend and listen; for this is what befell and be-happened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild -as wild as wild could be - and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself and all places were alike to him
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I keep six honest serving men.
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
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Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
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