--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Society is held together by our need; we…" description: "\"Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg" --- # Society is held together by our need; we bind it together… ![“Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within which, like the earth before the Word was spoken, the foundations of society are hidden.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg) > “Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within which, like the earth before the Word was spoken, the foundations of society are hidden.” [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. Society relies on shared narratives, myths, and coercion to maintain cohesion, otherwise it risks falling into chaos. **In simple terms:** Stories and myths hold society together. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of narratives. Themes culture myth social cohesion Mood analytical critical Type philosophical scholarly When to use this quote - education - media - government policy Key Concepts anthropology political theory Questions to Reflect On - How do myths shape your worldview? - What happens when narratives fail? A Different Perspective May ignore individual autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundation/) [Held Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-need-2239416/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-coercion-2239417/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Society Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-held-659770/) [Society Hidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-hidden-2239415/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [“Classical conventionalism shows us everywhere, behind passive society, a hidden power, under the names of Law, or Legislator (or, by a mode of expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/classical-conventionalism-shows-us-everywhere-behind-passive-society/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [And I feel that we in our society should not be held by any such myth; that we should do everything we can to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minoru-yamasaki/and-i-feel-that-we-in-our-society-should-not-be-held-by-any-such-myth/) [Minoru Yamasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minoru-yamasaki/) > [“The real determinant of society is hidden behind the state and the economy: it is the way in which our everyday activity is organised,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-real-determinant-of-society-is-hidden-behind-the-state-and-the/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [All society is held together by nonviolence even as the earth is held in her position by gravitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/all-society-is-held-together-by-nonviolence-even-as-the-earth-is-held/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights - the "right" to education, the "right" to health care, the "right" to food and housing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-an-endlessly-expanding-list-of-rights-the-right-to-education/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Free curiosity has greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion. Nevertheless, the free ranging flux of curiosity is channeled by discipline under Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/free-curiosity-has-greater-power-to-stimulate-learning-than-rigorous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All pregnant woman give birth to a baby while my mother gave birth to a legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-pregnant-woman-give-birth-to-a-baby-while-my-mother-gave-birth-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Storytellers seldom let facts get in the way of perpetuating a legend, although a few facts add seasoning and make the legend more believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/storytellers-seldom-let-facts-get-in-the-way-of-perpetuating-a-legend/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-all-i-believe-that-legends-and-myths-are-largely-made-of-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If there is one fable, which would seem entitled to escape the analysis, which we have undertaken of religious poems and sacred legends, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-there-is-one-fable-which-would-seem-entitled-to-escape-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But pearls are for tears, the old legend says," Gilbert had objected. "I'm not afraid of that. And tears can be happy as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-pearls-are-for-tears-the-old-legend-says-gilbert-had-objected-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I read, with a kind of hopeless envy, histories and legends of people of our craft who do not write for money. It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-read-with-a-kind-of-hopeless-envy-histories-and-legends-of-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is not our guide, it is not our friend. It is a passing stranger, one which shadows legend, sprinkling it with the seeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-not-our-guide-it-is-not-our-friend-it-is-a-passing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So, the world happens twice-- once what we see it as; second it legends itself deep, the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-the-world-happens-twice-once-what-we-see-it-as-second-it-legends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-do-not-depend-upon-mere-legends-and-myths-they-are-not/) [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 Coercion quotes > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) [Joel McDurmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mcdurmon/) > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“If you require force to promote your ideal, there is something wrong with your ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jsb-morse/if-you-require-force-to-promote-your-ideal-there-is-something-wrong/) [JSB Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jsb-morse/) > [The idea of painless, nonthreatening coercion is an illusion. Fear is the inseparable companion of coercion, and its inescapable consequence. If you think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/the-idea-of-painless-nonthreatening-coercion-is-an-illusion-fear-is/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [To say that we mutually agree to coercion is not to say that we are required to enjoy it, or even to pretend we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/to-say-that-we-mutually-agree-to-coercion-is-not-to-say-that-we-are/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [“There are always a dozen reasons for doing nothing," Ann liked to say--it was a favourite apologia, indeed, for many of her misdemeanours. "There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/there-are-always-a-dozen-reasons-for-doing-nothing-ann-liked-to-say/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The state is the only institution entitled to apply coercion and compulsion and to inflict harm upon individuals. This tremendous power cannot be abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-state-is-the-only-institution-entitled-to-apply-coercion-and/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/so-what-is-government-very-simply-it-is-an-agency-of-coercion-of/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [“Coercing attitude drains your strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/coercing-attitude-drains-your-strength/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) [Browse all 310 Coercion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within which, like the earth before the Word was spoken, the foundations of society are hidden.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we-bind-it-together-with-legend/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coercion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we-bind-it-together-with-legend/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/anonymous-1_coercion_society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we_2637293.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without…” — 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": "Society is held together by our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we-bind-it-together-with-legend/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-is-held-together-by-our-need-we-bind-it-together-with-legend/#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 } } ] } ```