---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if you persuade me, you won’t…"
description: "\"Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.\" — Aristophanes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png"
---

#  Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.

![“Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.” quote by Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png)

> “Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.”

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Persuasion cannot change someone who is already convinced; effort may be wasted.

**In simple terms:** Persuasion fails when mind is closed.

Key Takeaway

Accept resistance and seek common ground.

Themes

communication resistance conviction

Mood

frustrated reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- debates
- personal discussions
- political campaigning

Key Concepts

rhetoric psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do people cling to beliefs despite evidence?
- How can you recognize when to stop persuading?

A Different Perspective

Even strong arguments may not shift entrenched beliefs.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/) [Persuade Won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade-won-3649275/) [Won Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/won-persuade-3649276/)

## Related quotes

> [“Don't think you can persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/don-t-think-you-can-persuade-me-with-appeals-to-my-intellectual-vanity/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [It was not hard to persuade people that the market was sound; as always in such times they asked only that the dispiriting voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/it-was-not-hard-to-persuade-people-that-the-market-was-sound-as/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Even within the band, if I cannot manage to persuade the members of what I see to be the next course of action, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fripp/even-within-the-band-if-i-cannot-manage-to-persuade-the-members-of/)

[Robert Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fripp/)

> [I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/i-would-rather-try-to-persuade-a-man-to-go-along-because-once-i-have/)

[Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/)

> [I know people who will gently persuade you to be forthcoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-know-people-who-will-gently-persuade-you-to-be-forthcoming/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [For thousands of years, humans have used the art of storytelling to motivate and persuade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-soltis-anderson/for-thousands-of-years-humans-have-used-the-art-of-storytelling-to/)

[Kristen Soltis Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-soltis-anderson/)

> [I have noticed that no sooner do people embark on a course of action which they do not find wholly satisfactory than they muster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morice/i-have-noticed-that-no-sooner-do-people-embark-on-a-course-of-action/)

[Anne Morice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morice/)

> [ I like \[Barak\] Obama. I like him. So how far does rationality help to persuade anybody? You know, I'm not so sure. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-like-barak-obama-i-like-him-so-how-far-does-rationality-help-to/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“Convince is for thought; persuade is for action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/convince-is-for-thought-persuade-is-for-action/)

[Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/)

> [One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears by listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-rusk/one-of-the-best-ways-to-persuade-others-is-with-your-ears-by/)

[Dean Rusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-rusk/)

> [Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/presidents-are-evaluated-not-by-what-they-did-by-the-stroke-of-their/)

[H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/)

> [“And if I am asked today to advise a young writer who has not yet made up his mind what way to go, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/and-if-i-am-asked-today-to-advise-a-young-writer-who-has-not-yet-made/)

[Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/)

> [To design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/to-design-is-much-more-than-simply-to-assemble-to-order-or-even-to/)

[Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/)

> [I always believed as a speechwriter that if you could persuade the president to commit himself to certain words, he would feel himself committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/i-always-believed-as-a-speechwriter-that-if-you-could-persuade-the/)

[David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/)

> [If you go into a bank or a shop and you want them to believe that you're going to shoot them, that's an acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mullan/if-you-go-into-a-bank-or-a-shop-and-you-want-them-to-believe-that-you/)

[Peter Mullan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mullan/)

## More by Aristophanes

> [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA By the Goddesses, you'll find that here await you Four companies of most pugnacious women Armed cap-a-pie from the topmost louring curl To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-by-the-goddesses-you-ll-find-that-here-await-you-four/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Thou shouldst not decide until thou hast heard what both have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/thou-shouldst-not-decide-until-thou-hast-heard-what-both-have-to-say/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/love-is-simply-the-name-for-the-desire-and-the-pursuit-of-the-whole/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Tis not for us to warn a wilful sinner; We stay him not, but let him run his course, Till by misfortunes rous'd, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/tis-not-for-us-to-warn-a-wilful-sinner-we-stay-him-not-but-let-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never passing up a chance to wangle a drink, a great boon to bartenders but a bane to us--not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/women-you-overheated-dipsomaniacs-never-passing-up-a-chance-to-wangle/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA You know how to work. Play with him, lead him on, Seduce him to the cozening-point—kiss him, kiss him, Then slip your mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-you-know-how-to-work-play-with-him-lead-him-on-seduce-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ \[Y\]ou \[man\] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with \[woman=\] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/y-ou-man-are-fool-enough-it-seems-to-dare-to-war-with-woman-me-when/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-cannot-teach-a-crab-to-walk-straight/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [How can I study from below, that which is above?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/how-can-i-study-from-below-that-which-is-above/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [First listen, my friend, and then you may shriek and bluster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/first-listen-my-friend-and-then-you-may-shriek-and-bluster/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [If a man owes me money, I never seem to forget. But if I do the owing, I somehow never remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-a-man-owes-me-money-i-never-seem-to-forget-but-if-i-do-the-owing-i/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

[Explore all 132 Aristophanes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## More Persuade quotes

> [“Don't think you can persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/don-t-think-you-can-persuade-me-with-appeals-to-my-intellectual-vanity/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [I always believed as a speechwriter that if you could persuade the president to commit himself to certain words, he would feel himself committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/i-always-believed-as-a-speechwriter-that-if-you-could-persuade-the/)

[David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/)

> [To design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/to-design-is-much-more-than-simply-to-assemble-to-order-or-even-to/)

[Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/)

> [“And if I am asked today to advise a young writer who has not yet made up his mind what way to go, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/and-if-i-am-asked-today-to-advise-a-young-writer-who-has-not-yet-made/)

[Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/)

> [Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/presidents-are-evaluated-not-by-what-they-did-by-the-stroke-of-their/)

[H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/)

> [One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears by listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-rusk/one-of-the-best-ways-to-persuade-others-is-with-your-ears-by/)

[Dean Rusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-rusk/)

> [“Convince is for thought; persuade is for action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/convince-is-for-thought-persuade-is-for-action/)

[Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/)

> [ I like \[Barak\] Obama. I like him. So how far does rationality help to persuade anybody? You know, I'm not so sure. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-like-barak-obama-i-like-him-so-how-far-does-rationality-help-to/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [I have noticed that no sooner do people embark on a course of action which they do not find wholly satisfactory than they muster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morice/i-have-noticed-that-no-sooner-do-people-embark-on-a-course-of-action/)

[Anne Morice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morice/)

> [For thousands of years, humans have used the art of storytelling to motivate and persuade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-soltis-anderson/for-thousands-of-years-humans-have-used-the-art-of-storytelling-to/)

[Kristen Soltis Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-soltis-anderson/)

> [I know people who will gently persuade you to be forthcoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-know-people-who-will-gently-persuade-you-to-be-forthcoming/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/i-would-rather-try-to-persuade-a-man-to-go-along-because-once-i-have/)

[Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/)

> [Even within the band, if I cannot manage to persuade the members of what I see to be the next course of action, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fripp/even-within-the-band-if-i-cannot-manage-to-persuade-the-members-of/)

[Robert Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fripp/)

> [It was not hard to persuade people that the market was sound; as always in such times they asked only that the dispiriting voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/it-was-not-hard-to-persuade-people-that-the-market-was-sound-as/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [If you go into a bank or a shop and you want them to believe that you're going to shoot them, that's an acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mullan/if-you-go-into-a-bank-or-a-shop-and-you-want-them-to-believe-that-you/)

[Peter Mullan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mullan/)

[Browse all 215 Persuade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aristophanes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persuade-me/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Persuade"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persuade-me/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/aristophanes-3340_persuade_even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persua_1207968.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Even if you persuade me, you won’t persuade me.” — Aristophanes",
                "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": "Aristophanes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Even if you persuade me, you...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persuade-me/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/even-if-you-persuade-me-you-won-t-persuade-me/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
