--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writers, especially when they act in a…" description: "\"Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg" --- # Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one… ![“Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg) > “Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.” [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. Highlights how writers can shape public opinion when they present a unified, purposeful narrative. **In simple terms:** Writers can steer public thought with clear, directed messages. Key Takeaway Use focused storytelling to influence societal views. Themes politics communication public opinion leadership Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - campaigns - policy advocacy - educational curricula - media strategy Key Concepts rhetoric mass media Questions to Reflect On - What responsibility do writers have to truth? - How can multiple voices be balanced? A Different Perspective Oversimplification may ignore diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Great influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-influence/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Influence Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence-public-333974/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [One direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-direction/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-especially-1312069/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writers, especially those of us with roots in other countries, are rarely left to ourselves. We are asked to declare our allegiances, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/writers-especially-those-of-us-with-roots-in-other-countries-are/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Sallust is indisputably one of the best historians among the Romans, both for the purity of his language and the elegance of his style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/sallust-is-indisputably-one-of-the-best-historians-among-the-romans/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [It's hard to tell writers, especially in movies, that words are secondary. Behavior is important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caan/it-s-hard-to-tell-writers-especially-in-movies-that-words-are/) [James Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caan/) > [We don't stop Russia or any other country from trying to influence public debate in the United States on any issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/we-don-t-stop-russia-or-any-other-country-from-trying-to-influence/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Politicians or pundits can distort or cherry-pick climate science any way they want to try and gain temporary influence with the public. But any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/politicians-or-pundits-can-distort-or-cherry-pick-climate-science-any/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [The Press, which is mostly controlled by vested interests, has an excessive influence on public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-press-which-is-mostly-controlled-by-vested-interests-has-an/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Everyone has an influence on public affairs if he will take the trouble to exert it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/everyone-has-an-influence-on-public-affairs-if-he-will-take-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [We are going to mint new astronauts from all communities. We want to influence public policy and opinion... by changing the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-taylor/we-are-going-to-mint-new-astronauts-from-all-communities-we-want-to/) [Dylan Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-taylor/) > [The vested interests-if we explain the situation by their influence-can only get the public to act as they wish by manipulating public opinion, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-angell/the-vested-interests-if-we-explain-the-situation-by-their-influence/) [Norman Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-angell/) > [To straddle the middle ground and win elections, we have to be in charge of the political agenda. This can only be done by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/to-straddle-the-middle-ground-and-win-elections-we-have-to-be-in/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [In the long run the ideas of the majority, however detrimental they may be, will carry on. The future of mankind depends on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-the-long-run-the-ideas-of-the-majority-however-detrimental-they/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [When the initial effort of political and business leaders to influence public opinion on an issue is to threaten rather than to engage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/when-the-initial-effort-of-political-and-business-leaders-to/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) > [I want my work to influence public conversation, to turn heads, and to bear witness to this problem that's raging in our cities. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-want-my-work-to-influence-public-conversation-to-turn-heads-and-to/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Sound conviction should influence us rather than public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/sound-conviction-should-influence-us-rather-than-public-opinion/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Iran and Russia have taken specific actions to influence public opinion related to our elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratcliffe/iran-and-russia-have-taken-specific-actions-to-influence-public/) [John Ratcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratcliffe/) ## 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. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. 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To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More Authorship quotes > [To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/to-write-well-is-to-think-well-to-feel-well-and-to-render-well-it-is/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The writer, like a priest, must be exempted from secular labor. His work needs a frolic health; he must be at the top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-writer-like-a-priest-must-be-exempted-from-secular-labor-his-work/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“If there's a will, there's a way! I feel larger than LIFE--and look up to the stars who shine down on me and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-scrima-black/if-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-way-i-feel-larger-than-life-and-look-up/) [Donna Scrima-Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-scrima-black/) > [“Every article and review and book that I have ever published has constituted an appeal to the person or persons to whom I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-article-and-review-and-book-that-i-have-ever-published-has/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ Ye who write, choose a subject suited to your abilities. \[Lat., Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam Viribus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/ye-who-write-choose-a-subject-suited-to-your-abilities-lat-sumite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Authorship, according to the spirit in which it is pursued, is an infancy, a pastime, a labor, a handicraft, an art, a science, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/authorship-according-to-the-spirit-in-which-it-is-pursued-is-an/) [August Wilhelm Von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/) > [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [So there's a lot of people tied into believing that the traditional response to the authorship question. In terms of actors, some people get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rylance/so-there-s-a-lot-of-people-tied-into-believing-that-the-traditional/) [Mark Rylance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rylance/) > [Our favorites are few; since only what rises from the heart reaches it, being caught and carried on the tongues of men wheresoever love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/our-favorites-are-few-since-only-what-rises-from-the-heart-reaches-it/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [Subtract from many modern poets all that may be found in Shakespeare, and trash will remain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/subtract-from-many-modern-poets-all-that-may-be-found-in-shakespeare/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [ All these teachers and \[screenwriting\] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/all-these-teachers-and-screenwriting-books-mean-you-see-movies-that/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [That author, however, who has thought more than he has read, read more than he has written, and written more than he has published,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-author-however-who-has-thought-more-than-he-has-read-read-more/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To expect an author to talk as he writes is ridiculous; or even if he did you would find fault with him as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-expect-an-author-to-talk-as-he-writes-is-ridiculous-or-even-if-he/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Try to be someone upon whom nothing is lost!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/try-to-be-someone-upon-whom-nothing-is-lost/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Browse all 190 Authorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-body-and-with-one-direction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authorship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-body-and-with-one-direction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/edmund-burke-400_authorship_writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-bo_3150203.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.” — 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": "Writers, especially when they act in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-body-and-with-one-direction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/writers-especially-when-they-act-in-a-body-and-with-one-direction/#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 } } ] } ```