--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the Party could thrust its hand into…" description: "\"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg" --- # If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say… ![“If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg) > “If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author suggests that altering history would be more terrifying than physical suffering. **In simple terms:** Changing history is terrifying. Key Takeaway Consider the power of memory. Themes history memory trauma Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - historical research - education - media narratives Key Concepts counterfactuals psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - What would be lost if history were rewritten? - Can we ever fully know the past? A Different Perspective Altering facts can erase lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Mere Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere-torture-2071494/) [Surely Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surely-terrifying-2071495/) [Terrifying Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying-mere-2071497/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Torture Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-death-2071496/) ## Related quotes > [Unfortunately, as a society, we do not teach our children that they need to tend carefully the garden of their minds. Without structure, censorship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unfortunately-as-a-society-we-do-not-teach-our-children-that-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Censorship defeats the right to self determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/censorship-defeats-the-right-to-self-determination/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Censorship in any form is the enemy of creativity, since it cuts off the life blood of creativity: ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/censorship-in-any-form-is-the-enemy-of-creativity-since-it-cuts-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Imprisoning philosophy within the professionalizations and specializations of an institutionalized curriculum, after the manner of our contemporary European and North American culture, is arguably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imprisoning-philosophy-within-the-professionalizations-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/vietnam-was-the-first-war-ever-fought-without-any-censorship-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing will shake a man-or at any rate a man like me-out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-will-shake-a-man-or-at-any-rate-a-man-like-me-out-of-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-torture-the-data-long-enough-it-will-confess/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you teach your son, you teach your son's son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-teach-your-son-you-teach-your-son-s-son/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was still plenty of water in the basement, and I felt it soaking me from the knees on down. If someone wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-still-plenty-of-water-in-the-basement-and-i-felt-it-soaking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thinking is the greatest torture in the world for most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thinking-is-the-greatest-torture-in-the-world-for-most-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As to the report's expected findings that "torture was used and it didn't work, she is flat wrong," Yoo said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-to-the-report-s-expected-findings-that-torture-was-used-and-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A material resurrection seems strange and even absurd except for purposes of punishment, and all punishment which is to revenge rather than correct must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-material-resurrection-seems-strange-and-even-absurd-except-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When our favorite anime characters finally realize what torture we're putting them thru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-our-favorite-anime-characters-finally-realize-what-torture-we-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-learn-more-from-what-you-are-than-what-you-teach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Censorship quotes > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I don't believe in censorship in any form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-don-t-believe-in-censorship-in-any-form/) [Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/) > [We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/we-must-be-talented-powerful-and-resilient-creatures-indeed-given-how/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When there is official censorship it is a sign that speech is serious. Where there is none, it is pretty certain that the official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/when-there-is-official-censorship-it-is-a-sign-that-speech-is-serious/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“I agree that it's a shame some books have to suffer ratings that clearly are invalid. However I can't think of a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-y-chandler/i-agree-that-it-s-a-shame-some-books-have-to-suffer-ratings-that/) [Otis Y. Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-y-chandler/) > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-think-that-honestly-people-s-censorship-issues-are-personal-but-i/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The tendency to want what has been banned and therefore to presume that it is more worthwhile is not limited to such commodities as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/the-tendency-to-want-what-has-been-banned-and-therefore-to-presume/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/in-a-feature-film-the-question-of-censorship-always-comes-up/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) [Browse all 884 Censorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into-the-past-and-say-of-this-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Censorship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into-the-past-and-say-of-this-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/anonymous-1_censorship_if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into_197571.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the Party could thrust its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into-the-past-and-say-of-this-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into-the-past-and-say-of-this-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```