--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But now, instead of discussion and…" description: "\"But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 'Might..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/adin-ballou-91955_argument_but-now-instead-of-discussion-and-argume_1751069.png" --- # But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force… ![“But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 'Might makes right,' and hoary folly totters on in her mad career escorted by armies and navies.” quote by Adin Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/adin-ballou-91955_argument_but-now-instead-of-discussion-and-argume_1751069.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/adin-ballou-91955_argument_but-now-instead-of-discussion-and-argume_1751069.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/adin-ballou-91955_argument_but-now-instead-of-discussion-and-argume_1751069.png) > “But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 'Might makes right,' and hoary folly totters on in her mad career escorted by armies and navies.” [Adin Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adin-ballou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brute force replaces debate, crushing truth and justice, while might makes right. **In simple terms:** Force replaces reason, harming truth. Key Takeaway Seek dialogue over domination. Themes power truth justice argument force Mood serious concerned Type advice critique When to use this quote - conflict resolution - leadership - social movements Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - When is force justified? - How to protect truth? A Different Perspective Force can suppress valid dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Argument Brute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-brute-1605818/) [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Brute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brute/) [Brute force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brute-force/) [Brutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutes/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Crushes Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crushes-truth-1605817/) [Discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Force Rises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force-rises-1605819/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Might makes right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might-makes-right-122061/) [Navy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navy/) [Rescue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rescue/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [In the code of the satyagrahi, there is no such thing as surrender to brute force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-the-code-of-the-satyagrahi-there-is-no-such-thing-as-surrender-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ \[N\]o one's ever been able to show me any difference between democracy and brute force. It's just a majority ganging up on a minority… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/n-o-one-s-ever-been-able-to-show-me-any-difference-between-democracy/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, there is something profoundly un-American about using the brute force of government to bully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-don-t-care-if-you-re-a-republican-or-a-democrat-there-is-something/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [If brute force doesn't work, you aren't using enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-brute-force-doesn-t-work-you-aren-t-using-enough/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [To bathe a cat takes brute force, perseverance, courage of conviction - and a cat. 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It is hitting below the intellect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-can-stand-brute-force-but-brute-reason-is-quite-unbearable-there-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If brute force is not working you're not using enough”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-herfst/if-brute-force-is-not-working-you-re-not-using-enough/) [Stephen Herfst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-herfst/) > [Brain against brute force - and brain came out on the top - as its bound to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/brain-against-brute-force-and-brain-came-out-on-the-top-as-its-bound/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [“Brute force will sometimes get you through a challenge, but usually not without hurting and depleting yourself in the process.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/brute-force-will-sometimes-get-you-through-a-challenge-but-usually/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [In this age of the rule of brute force, it is almost impossible for anyone to believe that any one else could possibly reject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-this-age-of-the-rule-of-brute-force-it-is-almost-impossible-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/millions-around-the-world-increasingly-see-america-not-as-a-model-of/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Brute force is not our salvation, especially as directed by State central planning and done with little regard for the innocents...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-gregory/brute-force-is-not-our-salvation-especially-as-directed-by-state/) [Anthony Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-gregory/) > [“than he expects. But it's a purely brute force approach”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/than-he-expects-but-it-s-a-purely-brute-force-approach/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The notion that the 'leader' has the right to ask huge sacrifices of your generation for a notional future paradise - if you'd be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-notion-that-the-leader-has-the-right-to-ask-huge-sacrifices-of/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More by Adin Ballou > [How many does it take to metamorphose wickedness into righteousness? One man must not kill. If he does, it is murder… But a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adin-ballou/how-many-does-it-take-to-metamorphose-wickedness-into-righteousness/) [Adin Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adin-ballou/) [Explore all 2 Adin Ballou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adin-ballou/) ## More Argument quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. 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