--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: laws and conditions appropriate to a…" description: "\"laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.\" — Anthony Burgess" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg" --- # laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation… ![“laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg) > “laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human-made systems impose rules; the writer wields words as a weapon against them. **In simple terms:** Words fight mechanical constraints. Key Takeaway Use writing to challenge oppressive systems. Themes creativity authority resistance Mood defiant inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - activist writing - software critique - artistic protest Key Concepts literature philosophy technology Questions to Reflect On - What can writers realistically achieve? - How to combine art with concrete action? A Different Perspective Words alone may not change entrenched structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clockwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clockwork/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [“My world burns severe. Pockets of sweltering air attack every inch of me exposed, heated by fire spewed forth from the lungs of dragons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/my-world-burns-severe-pockets-of-sweltering-air-attack-every-inch-of/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“That in every life, without exception, illnesses are unavoidable. That we will age, and that we cannot elude death. These are the laws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/that-in-every-life-without-exception-illnesses-are-unavoidable-that/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali-jinnah/there-are-two-powers-in-the-world-one-is-the-sword-and-the-other-is/) [Muhammad Ali Jinnah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali-jinnah/) > [“What avail is honour or a sword against a pen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/what-avail-is-honour-or-a-sword-against-a-pen/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“You can only fight one man at a time with a sword, but, with a pen, you can compose a lecture to bore legions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-buroker/you-can-only-fight-one-man-at-a-time-with-a-sword-but-with-a-pen-you/) [Lindsay Buroker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-buroker/) > [“Mightier than the sword, the pen may be; but the tongue is mightiest of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/mightier-than-the-sword-the-pen-may-be-but-the-tongue-is-mightiest-of/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“I heard there was a battle, between a pen and a sword. Between a few deathly strikes, and one simple word The sword could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majutsu-shi/i-heard-there-was-a-battle-between-a-pen-and-a-sword-between-a-few/) Majutsu-Shi > [You needn't take it any further, sir. You've proved to me that all this ultraviolence and killing is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/you-needn-t-take-it-any-further-sir-you-ve-proved-to-me-that-all-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Where do I come into all of this? Am I just some animal or dog?' And that started them off govoreeting real loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/where-do-i-come-into-all-of-this-am-i-just-some-animal-or-dog-and/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Suddenly, I viddied what I had to do, and what I had wanted to do, and that was to do myself in; to snuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/suddenly-i-viddied-what-i-had-to-do-and-what-i-had-wanted-to-do-and/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is sustained by the grinding opposition of moral entities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-sustained-by-the-grinding-opposition-of-moral-entities/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Well, well, well, well. If it isn't fat, stinking billygoat Billy-Boy in poison. How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap, stinking chip-oil? Come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/well-well-well-well-if-it-isn-t-fat-stinking-billygoat-billy-boy-in/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The 21st chapter gives the novel the quality of genuine fiction, an art founded on the principle that human beings change. ----- "A Clockwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-21st-chapter-gives-the-novel-the-quality-of-genuine-fiction-an/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good-in-order-that-moral-choice-may/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. A vastly overrated city, I'd say. It trades on belief just as Stratford trades on Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/rome-s-just-a-city-like-anywhere-else-a-vastly-overrated-city-i-d-say/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/by-definition-a-human-being-is-endowed-with-free-will-he-can-use-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) [Explore all 261 Anthony Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More Appropriate quotes > [“Appropriate is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-w-kohlhagen/appropriate-is-overrated/) Steven W. Kohlhagen > [I was for many years myself a journalist and it is not appropriate to say a programme should not be broadcast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-monckton/i-was-for-many-years-myself-a-journalist-and-it-is-not-appropriate-to/) [Christopher Monckton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-monckton/) > [I don't think 'This Means War' is an appropriate picture to do in 3-D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcg/i-don-t-think-this-means-war-is-an-appropriate-picture-to-do-in-3-d/) [McG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcg/) > [There is no single best kind of death. A good death is one that is "appropriate" for that person. It is a death in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-s-shneidman/there-is-no-single-best-kind-of-death-a-good-death-is-one-that-is/) [Edwin S. Shneidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-s-shneidman/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I would not, under any circumstances, try to impose my personal faith and belief on the rest of the country. I don't think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edwards/i-would-not-under-any-circumstances-try-to-impose-my-personal-faith/) [John Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edwards/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/while-the-intelligence-profession-oftentimes-demands-secrecy-it-is/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [For Father's Day, my kids always give me a bottle of cologne called English Leather. It's appropriate! To them I always smell like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/for-father-s-day-my-kids-always-give-me-a-bottle-of-cologne-called/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [As Mayor, I will fully support my Arts Commission and its professional selection committees so that they can commission a full range of public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/as-mayor-i-will-fully-support-my-arts-commission-and-its-professional/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [I'm very sensitive in real life. I cannot not cry if someone around me is crying. I will start to cry if someone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-m-very-sensitive-in-real-life-i-cannot-not-cry-if-someone-around-me/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behaviors; in a sense, he has to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/hate-demands-existence-and-he-who-hates-has-to-show-his-hate-in/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/a-reader-does-not-suddenly-comprehend-what-is-being-read-or-studied/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) Browse all 1,130 Appropriate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Burgess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mechanical-creation-against-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appropriate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mechanical-creation-against-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/anthony-burgess-1167_appropriate_laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mec_640688.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.” — Anthony Burgess", "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": "Anthony Burgess", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "laws and conditions appropriate to a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mechanical-creation-against-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/laws-and-conditions-appropriate-to-a-mechanical-creation-against-this/#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 } } ] } ```