--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is often easier to compel a…" description: "\"“But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do what you could never compel one person to do. The lone man must consult his conscience, that s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg" --- # But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do… ![“But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do what you could never compel one person to do. The lone man must consult his conscience, that stern and unflattering arbiter. A man in a crowd, though, can turn to the others, as the others turn to one another, each justifying the deed by…” quote by Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg) > ““But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do what you could never compel one person to do. The lone man must consult his conscience, that stern and unflattering arbiter. A man in a crowd, though, can turn to the others, as the others turn to one another, each justifying the deed by referring to the next man, or to the force of all the men together. This”” [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective pressure can override individual conscience, making people act in ways they wouldn't alone. **In simple terms:** Crowds can push people to do things they wouldn't solo. Key Takeaway Beware groupthink and moral diffusion. Themes ethics social influence conscience Mood cautious reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political rallies - corporate decisions - online mob behavior - peer pressure Key Concepts collective responsibility moral diffusion group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal integrity in a crowd? - What mechanisms can prevent moral diffusion? A Different Perspective Individual accountability may still be required despite group pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ## Related quotes > [Dear rulers ... I maintain that the civil authorities are under obligation to compel the people to send their children to school. ... If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/dear-rulers-i-maintain-that-the-civil-authorities-are-under/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“As he had said to his daughter, no one knows where the shoe pinches but the wearer. There are some points on which no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/as-he-had-said-to-his-daughter-no-one-knows-where-the-shoe-pinches/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [A culture's ability to understand the world and itself is critical to its survival. But today we are led into the arena of public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-culture-s-ability-to-understand-the-world-and-itself-is-critical-to/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Real confidence comes from knowing and accepting yourself. Consult your conscience, NOT popular opinion. The conscience is a brake, NOT a guide. Never go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/real-confidence-comes-from-knowing-and-accepting-yourself-consult/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [There are some points on which no man can be contented to follow the advice of another - some subjects on which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-are-some-points-on-which-no-man-can-be-contented-to-follow-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [AugustineThe wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. To love with sternness is better than to deceive with gentleness……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/augustinethe-wounds-of-a-friend-are-better-than-the-kisses-of-an/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## More by Anthony M. Esolen > [“Romano Guardini, surveying the moral and intellectual ruin that was Europe after the Second World War, wrote that we had entered the era of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/romano-guardini-surveying-the-moral-and-intellectual-ruin-that-was/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“If you knew there was a beach where you could pick up gold nuggets like pebble stones, would you not go there? Go there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/if-you-knew-there-was-a-beach-where-you-could-pick-up-gold-nuggets/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“the judge Don Achille speaks up, with sly and devastating irony, saying that the whole history of mankind is the history of rhetoric: that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/the-judge-don-achille-speaks-up-with-sly-and-devastating-irony-saying/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“The computer on the desk of the student in school knows no history. It is not like a book, worn at the edges by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/the-computer-on-the-desk-of-the-student-in-school-knows-no-history-it/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“To give yourself over to an evil is, in some measure, to pretend that what you know is wrong is right, and then, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/to-give-yourself-over-to-an-evil-is-in-some-measure-to-pretend-that/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“Truly tolerant people are hard to offend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/truly-tolerant-people-are-hard-to-offend/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“after all these programs and scholarships, after all the work done by organized athletics at all levels, the number of boys actually playing baseball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/after-all-these-programs-and-scholarships-after-all-the-work-done-by/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“Every encounter with human truth—Jane Austen deftly showing how little we know our own motives; Dickens revealing the meaning of “economy” in the cheerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/every-encounter-with-human-truth-jane-austen-deftly-showing-how/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“Millions of women rose up, said G. K. Chesterton, to declare that they would no longer be dictated to, and promptly became stenographers. Why”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/millions-of-women-rose-up-said-g-k-chesterton-to-declare-that-they/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“In East Bangor, Pennsylvania (population 800), there’s a little diner named for the trolley that used to take people to the once-bustling steel town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/in-east-bangor-pennsylvania-population-800-there-s-a-little-diner/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“What Homer could never have foreseen is the double idiocy into which we now educate our children. We have what look like our equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/what-homer-could-never-have-foreseen-is-the-double-idiocy-into-which/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [“For the mob is a congregation of compulsions. It does not matter who or what squats upon the altar: Robespierre, Beelzebub, Mussolini, Belial, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/for-the-mob-is-a-congregation-of-compulsions-it-does-not-matter-who/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) [Explore all 13 Anthony M. Esolen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do what you could never compel one person to do. The lone man must consult his conscience, that stern and unflattering arbiter. A man in a crowd, though, can turn to the others, as the others turn to one another, each justifying the deed by referring to the next man, or to the force of all the men together. This”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony M. Esolen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundred-people-to-do-what-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundred-people-to-do-what-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/anthony-m-esolen-35659_quote_but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundr_845525.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it is often easier to compel a hundred people to do what you could never compel one person to do. The…” — Anthony M. Esolen", "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 M. Esolen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But it is often easier to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundred-people-to-do-what-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/but-it-is-often-easier-to-compel-a-hundred-people-to-do-what-you/#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 } } ] } ```