--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a…" description: "\"“Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg" --- # Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the… ![“Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg) > ““Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field.”” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses natural imagery to argue that silent, powerful forces exist alongside noisy ones, warning against equating noise with significance. **In simple terms:** Quiet strength matters too. Key Takeaway Recognize unseen influences. Themes nature politics perception Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental policy - organizational leadership - community building Key Concepts ecosystem dynamics social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify silent contributors? - What role does quiet power play in your field? A Different Perspective Noise can distract from deeper truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under-a-fern-make-the-field-ring-2/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/if-all-mankind-minus-one-were-of-one-opinion-and-only-one-person-were/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“...so bear in mind that majorities, especially respectable ones, are nine times out of ten in the wrong; and that if you see man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/so-bear-in-mind-that-majorities-especially-respectable-ones-are-nine/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [When a man makes alliance with the Almighty, giants look like grasshoppers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/when-a-man-makes-alliance-with-the-almighty-giants-look-like/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [And I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper. If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/and-i-am-sure-that-i-never-read-any-memorable-news-in-a-newspaper-if/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Chiefs who no more in bloody fights engage, But wise through time, and narrative with age, In summer-days like grasshoppers rejoice - A bloodless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/chiefs-who-no-more-in-bloody-fights-engage-but-wise-through-time-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [One hundred trout are needed to support one man for a year. The trout, in turn, must consume 90,000 frogs, that must consume 27…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-tyler-miller/one-hundred-trout-are-needed-to-support-one-man-for-a-year-the-trout/) G. Tyler Miller > [The continuation that obeys only obvious stack semantics, O grasshopper, is not the true continuation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-steele/the-continuation-that-obeys-only-obvious-stack-semantics-o/) [Guy Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-steele/) > [A worm is as good a traveler as a grasshopper or a cricket, and a much wiser settler. With all their activity these do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-worm-is-as-good-a-traveler-as-a-grasshopper-or-a-cricket-and-a-much/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Yes,” Howie said solemnly. “I can teach you how to be more ‘street’”. “For God’s sake…” “Or is it ‘urban’? I can’t remember. 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The driver was telling how he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/a-big-business-man-was-telling-henry-ford-about-a-coach-driver-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Grasshopper always wrong in argument with chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/grasshopper-always-wrong-in-argument-with-chicken/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. 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Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [Grasshopper always wrong in argument with chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/grasshopper-always-wrong-in-argument-with-chicken/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [A big business man was telling Henry Ford about a coach driver of super-expertness with his whip. The driver was telling how he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/a-big-business-man-was-telling-henry-ford-about-a-coach-driver-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [How narrow is the vision that exalts the busyness of the ant above the singing of the grasshopper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/how-narrow-is-the-vision-that-exalts-the-busyness-of-the-ant-above/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The horses sped through the dense autumn grass, their hooves kicking up moths in various colors: pinks, oranges, whites, blues. There were also green,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiang-rong/the-horses-sped-through-the-dense-autumn-grass-their-hooves-kicking/) [Jiang Rong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiang-rong/) > [Yes,” Howie said solemnly. “I can teach you how to be more ‘street’”. “For God’s sake…” “Or is it ‘urban’? I can’t remember. Anyway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/yes-howie-said-solemnly-i-can-teach-you-how-to-be-more-street-for-god/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [A worm is as good a traveler as a grasshopper or a cricket, and a much wiser settler. With all their activity these do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-worm-is-as-good-a-traveler-as-a-grasshopper-or-a-cricket-and-a-much/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The continuation that obeys only obvious stack semantics, O grasshopper, is not the true continuation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-steele/the-continuation-that-obeys-only-obvious-stack-semantics-o/) [Guy Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-steele/) > [One hundred trout are needed to support one man for a year. The trout, in turn, must consume 90,000 frogs, that must consume 27…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-tyler-miller/one-hundred-trout-are-needed-to-support-one-man-for-a-year-the-trout/) G. Tyler Miller > [Chiefs who no more in bloody fights engage, But wise through time, and narrative with age, In summer-days like grasshoppers rejoice - A bloodless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/chiefs-who-no-more-in-bloody-fights-engage-but-wise-through-time-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [And I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper. If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/and-i-am-sure-that-i-never-read-any-memorable-news-in-a-newspaper-if/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When a man makes alliance with the Almighty, giants look like grasshoppers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/when-a-man-makes-alliance-with-the-almighty-giants-look-like/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [There's a lot of food restriction in the Bible, but it does say you're allowed to eat crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-jacobs-2/there-s-a-lot-of-food-restriction-in-the-bible-but-it-does-say-you-re/) [A. J. Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-jacobs-2/) > [When other helpers fail and comforts flee, when the senses decay and the mind moves in a narrower and narrower circle, when the grasshopper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/when-other-helpers-fail-and-comforts-flee-when-the-senses-decay-and/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [The white people were as thick and numerous and aimless as grasshoppers, moving always in a hurry but never seeming to get to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-white-people-were-as-thick-and-numerous-and-aimless-as/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) Browse all 65 Grasshoppers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under-a-fern-make-the-field-ring/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grasshoppers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under-a-fern-make-the-field-ring/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89e/edmund-burke-400_majority-v-minority_because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under_1269855.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst…” — Edmund Burke", "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": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Because half a dozen grasshoppers under...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under-a-fern-make-the-field-ring/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/because-half-a-dozen-grasshoppers-under-a-fern-make-the-field-ring/#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 } } ] } ```