--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces…" description: "\"Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7a/frances-hardinge-1417_arms_truth-is-dangerous-it-topples-palaces-an_3125302.png" --- # Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It… ![“Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those…” quote by Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7a/frances-hardinge-1417_arms_truth-is-dangerous-it-topples-palaces-an_3125302.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7a/frances-hardinge-1417_arms_truth-is-dangerous-it-topples-palaces-an_3125302.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7a/frances-hardinge-1417_arms_truth-is-dangerous-it-topples-palaces-an_3125302.png) > “Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those who would silence Truth’s voice are more destructive by far. It is most perilous to be a speaker of Truth. Sometimes one must choose to be silent, or be silenced. But if a truth cannot be spoken, it must at least be known. Even if you dare not speak truth to others, never lie to yourself.” [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth can destabilize power structures and provoke conflict, yet suppressing it is even more harmful. **In simple terms:** Truth disrupts power; silence is dangerous. Key Takeaway Speak truth, even if quietly. Themes power truth silence conflict responsibility Mood tense reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - personal reflection - journalism - leadership - education Key Concepts political theory ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance truth‑telling with personal safety? - When is silence justified? A Different Perspective Silencing truth may protect short‑term stability but erodes trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Grievance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grievance/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Never lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-lie/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Palaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palaces/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sleepless night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleepless-night/) [Sleepless nights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleepless-nights/) [Speak the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-the-truth/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [“Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/truth-is-dangerous-it-topples-palaces-and-kills-kings-it-stirs-gentle/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Silence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence Silence is the Self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/silence-is-truth-silence-is-bliss-silence-is-peace-and-hence-silence/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“Lately I have come to believe that an as yet undiscovered human need and even a property of matter is the desire for revelation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/lately-i-have-come-to-believe-that-an-as-yet-undiscovered-human-need/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“There is a great risk that Christians may become idolaters if they lose the meaning of silence. Our words inebriate us; they confine us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sarah/there-is-a-great-risk-that-christians-may-become-idolaters-if-they/) [Robert Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sarah/) > [History is written by the victors, the strongest, the most determined. Truth is found most often in the silence, in the quiet places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-written-by-the-victors-the-strongest-the-most-determined/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Invisible World reveals to us this Truth within its silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-ripstein/the-invisible-world-reveals-to-us-this-truth-within-its-silence/) [Jacqueline Ripstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-ripstein/) > [If there is no silence beyond and within the many words of doctrine, there is no religion, only a religious ideology. For religion goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-there-is-no-silence-beyond-and-within-the-many-words-of-doctrine/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Prayer begins by talking to God, but it ends by listening to Him. In the face of Absolute Truth, silence is the soul's language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/prayer-begins-by-talking-to-god-but-it-ends-by-listening-to-him-in/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Now he seeks truth in silence. He seeks God in the same, although he has come to believe that truth and God are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/now-he-seeks-truth-in-silence-he-seeks-god-in-the-same-although-he/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I'd rather suffer the consequences of truth than of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-d-rather-suffer-the-consequences-of-truth-than-of-silence/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth. By simply not mentioning certain subjects... totalitarian propagandists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/great-is-truth-but-still-greater-from-a-practical-point-of-view-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The greatest triumphs of propoganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-greatest-triumphs-of-propoganda-have-been-accomplished-not-by/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“In silence, truth can’t hide, motive rings out with a crystalline clarity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-i-brooks/in-silence-truth-can-t-hide-motive-rings-out-with-a-crystalline/) Michelle I. Brooks > [“I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-99-times-and-find-nothing-i-stop-thinking-swim-in-silence-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## More by Frances Hardinge > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Clent, however, suppressed any sense of pity without the slightest difficulty. His brain was busy with the icy clockwork of calculation. If only this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/clent-however-suppressed-any-sense-of-pity-without-the-slightest/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“I swam across the torrent of my madness, and pulled myself upon the shore of a new and better sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/i-swam-across-the-torrent-of-my-madness-and-pulled-myself-upon-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Before her escort could react, she sprinted out from their little pool of lantern-light into the darkness, her feet pounding the soft, treacherous clods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/before-her-escort-could-react-she-sprinted-out-from-their-little-pool/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“She was not undamaged, however, and she knew it. No food or drink had passed her lips, but she had drunk deep of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-was-not-undamaged-however-and-she-knew-it-no-food-or-drink-had/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“All her life, Neverfell had suffered the dull, embarrassed ache of the knowledge that she was always the maddest person in the room. Funnily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/all-her-life-neverfell-had-suffered-the-dull-embarrassed-ache-of-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Well, if you are to help me with my work, you had better get used to stories without endings. True stories seldom have endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/well-if-you-are-to-help-me-with-my-work-you-had-better-get-used-to/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“And you may comfort yourself with the thought that you have been the caltrop under her satin shoe every step of the way. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/and-you-may-comfort-yourself-with-the-thought-that-you-have-been-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“The little pedlar, it seemed, fancied that he had the tools to fix the wheel. The footmen were glad to hear this, and agreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/the-little-pedlar-it-seemed-fancied-that-he-had-the-tools-to-fix-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“For a second, she could almost see Caverna as the Kleptomancer did, a murky, monstrous beauty, smiling her fine-fanged smile as she prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/for-a-second-she-could-almost-see-caverna-as-the-kleptomancer-did-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re sane? That you’ve always been sane? That perhaps you’re the sanest person in the city?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/has-it-ever-occurred-to-you-that-maybe-you-re-sane-that-you-ve-always/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Thank you," she whispered. "I promise I will not interfere in Court business again." "Oh yes, you will." Zouelle looked up to see her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/thank-you-she-whispered-i-promise-i-will-not-interfere-in-court/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“People's personalities took up space, he sometimes thought. When they were trapped in a house or a job or a school together, they rubbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/people-s-personalities-took-up-space-he-sometimes-thought-when-they/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Revenge is a dish best served unexpectedly and from a distance - like a thrown trifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-unexpectedly-and-from-a-distance-like-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Little god, you see the world through such black eyes." "Got no choice. My father give ’em to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/little-god-you-see-the-world-through-such-black-eyes-got-no-choice-my/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) [Explore all 244 Frances Hardinge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. 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"I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those who would silence Truth’s voice are more destructive by far. It is most perilous to be a speaker of Truth. Sometimes one must choose to be silent, or be silenced. But if a truth cannot be spoken, it must at least be known. 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