--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language furnishes the best proof that a…" description: "\"Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a community is a thing that is tolerated and not a rule to which all freely consent.\" — Ferdin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_accepted_language-furnishes-the-best-proof-that-a_1922759.jpg" --- # Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a… ![“Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a community is a thing that is tolerated and not a rule to which all freely consent.” quote by Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_accepted_language-furnishes-the-best-proof-that-a_1922759.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_accepted_language-furnishes-the-best-proof-that-a_1922759.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_accepted_language-furnishes-the-best-proof-that-a_1922759.jpg) > “Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a community is a thing that is tolerated and not a rule to which all freely consent.” [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language shows that societal norms are tolerated conventions, not universally consented rules. **In simple terms:** Norms are tolerated, not fully agreed. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between acceptance and consent. Themes language society norms consent power Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - legal debates - policy making - community meetings - education curricula Key Concepts Sociolinguistics social contract normative theory Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish tolerated norms from consensual rules? - What mechanisms ensure true consent? A Different Perspective Tolerated norms may still marginalize minorities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepted/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Consent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent/) [Freely Consent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freely-consent-2962763/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-accepted-2962762/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Proof Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-law-2962764/) [Rule Freely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-freely-2962765/) [Tolerated Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerated-rule-2962766/) ## Related quotes > [Indictments obtained in the absence of sufficient proof under the law do not stand up and are not fundamentally fair to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/indictments-obtained-in-the-absence-of-sufficient-proof-under-the-law/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [Fate does not seek our consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/fate-does-not-seek-our-consent/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [“There are some wounds unreachable by words, some sins immune to apology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hatvany/there-are-some-wounds-unreachable-by-words-some-sins-immune-to-apology/) [Amy Hatvany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hatvany/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [I can never consent to being dictated to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyler/i-can-never-consent-to-being-dictated-to/) [John Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyler/) > [“Silence does not mean yes. No can be thought and felt but never said. It can be screamed silently on the inside. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/silence-does-not-mean-yes-no-can-be-thought-and-felt-but-never-said/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [We live in an age rather skeptical of truth, of its existence." 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The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Ferdinand de Saussure > [Nearly all institutions, it might be said, are based on signs, but these signs do not directly evoke things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/nearly-all-institutions-it-might-be-said-are-based-on-signs-but-these/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues, treating them in quite a different spirit from traditional grammar; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/in-general-the-philological-movement-opened-up-countless-sources/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The ultimate law of language is, dare we say, that nothing can ever reside in a single term. This is a direct consequence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-ultimate-law-of-language-is-dare-we-say-that-nothing-can-ever/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [It is useful to the historian, among others, to be able to see the commonest forms of different phenomena, whether phonetic, morphological or other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/it-is-useful-to-the-historian-among-others-to-be-able-to-see-the/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [It is only since linguistics has become more aware of its object of study, i.e. perceives the whole extent of it, that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/it-is-only-since-linguistics-has-become-more-aware-of-its-object-of/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [A language presupposes that all the individual users possess the organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/a-language-presupposes-that-all-the-individual-users-possess-the/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/of-all-social-institutions-language-is-least-amenable-to-initiative/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The business, task or object of the scientific study of languages will if possible be 1) to trace the history of all known languages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-business-task-or-object-of-the-scientific-study-of-languages-will/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The first of these phases is that of grammar, invented by the Greeks and carried on unchanged by the French. It never had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-first-of-these-phases-is-that-of-grammar-invented-by-the-greeks/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/written-forms-obscure-our-view-of-language-they-are-not-so-much-a/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/everyone-left-to-his-own-devices-forms-an-idea-about-what-goes-on-in/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/time-changes-all-things-there-is-no-reason-why-language-should-escape/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Linguistics will have to recognise laws operating universally in language, and in a strictly rational manner, separating general phenomena from those restricted to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/linguistics-will-have-to-recognise-laws-operating-universally-in/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Without language, thought is a vague, uncharted nebula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/without-language-thought-is-a-vague-uncharted-nebula/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [I’m almost never serious, and I’m always too serious. Too deep, too shallow. Too sensitive, too cold hearted. I’m like a collection of paradoxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/i-m-almost-never-serious-and-i-m-always-too-serious-too-deep-too/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) [Explore all 30 Ferdinand de Saussure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) ## More Accepted quotes > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. 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