--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Persecution was at least a sign of…" description: "\"Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.\" — Frank Moore Colby" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/frank-moore-colby-16494_apathy_persecution-was-at-least-a-sign-of-perso_2577248.jpg" --- # Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest… ![“Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.” quote by Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/frank-moore-colby-16494_apathy_persecution-was-at-least-a-sign-of-perso_2577248.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/frank-moore-colby-16494_apathy_persecution-was-at-least-a-sign-of-perso_2577248.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/frank-moore-colby-16494_apathy_persecution-was-at-least-a-sign-of-perso_2577248.jpg) > “Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.” [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Persecution signals personal interest, while tolerance consists mostly of apathy with a small element of brotherly love. **In simple terms:** Persecution shows interest; tolerance is mostly apathy. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine tolerance. Themes ethics social behavior politics human nature Mood thoughtful critical reflective Type philosophical social ethical When to use this quote - civic engagement - interfaith dialogue - conflict resolution Key Concepts apathy brotherly love social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What drives persecution versus tolerance? - How can we increase brotherly love? A Different Perspective May simplify complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Brotherly love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherly-love/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) [Personal interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-interest/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) ## Related quotes > [Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/tolerance-is-composed-of-nine-parts-of-apathy-to-one-of-brotherly-love/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/persecution-was-at-least-a-sign-of-personal-interest/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [All persecution is a sign of fear; for if we did not fear the power of an opinion different from our own, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/all-persecution-is-a-sign-of-fear-for-if-we-did-not-fear-the-power-of/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [If, while hurrying ostensibly to the temple of truth, we hand the reins over to our personal interests which look aside at very different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/if-while-hurrying-ostensibly-to-the-temple-of-truth-we-hand-the-reins/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Playing by the rules, one does the best he can, irrespective of the social consequences. Whereas in making the rules, people ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/playing-by-the-rules-one-does-the-best-he-can-irrespective-of-the/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [“You cannot have qualifications without experience; and you cannot have experience without personal interest and bias. That may not be an ideal arrangement; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-cannot-have-qualifications-without-experience-and-you-cannot-have/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Morality means sacrificing your personal interest for the interest of the group and being immoral means keeping the interest of the self above the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awdhesh-singh/morality-means-sacrificing-your-personal-interest-for-the-interest-of/) [Awdhesh Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/awdhesh-singh/) > [None of us has any personal interest above the interests of the country. Our country is more important than our careers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/none-of-us-has-any-personal-interest-above-the-interests-of-the/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [The general public, formerly profoundly indifferent to everything to do with building, has been shaken out of its torpor; personal interest in architecture as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/the-general-public-formerly-profoundly-indifferent-to-everything-to/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [“God does not just save you for your personal interest but for you to become a channel for the salvation of others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/god-does-not-just-save-you-for-your-personal-interest-but-for-you-to/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Football is a personal interest which has been turned into a philanthropic initiative directed at encouraging social cohesion during the difficult process of African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-hussein-al-amoudi/football-is-a-personal-interest-which-has-been-turned-into-a/) Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi > [Sympathy is the first great lesson which man should learn. It will be ill for him if he proceeds no farther; if his emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-noon-talfourd/sympathy-is-the-first-great-lesson-which-man-should-learn-it-will-be/) [Thomas Noon Talfourd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-noon-talfourd/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) ## More by Frank Moore Colby > [Talk ought always to run obliquely, not nose to nose with no chance of mental escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/talk-ought-always-to-run-obliquely-not-nose-to-nose-with-no-chance-of/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [By rights, satire is a lonely and introspective occupation, for nobody can describe a fool to the life without much patient self-inspection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/by-rights-satire-is-a-lonely-and-introspective-occupation-for-nobody/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [One learns little more about a man from his feats of literary memory than from the feats of his alimentary canal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/one-learns-little-more-about-a-man-from-his-feats-of-literary-memory/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [I know of no more disagreeable situation than to be left feeling generally angry without anybody in particular to be angry at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/i-know-of-no-more-disagreeable-situation-than-to-be-left-feeling/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/every-improvement-in-communication-makes-the-bore-more-terrible/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [There ought to be some sign in a book about man, that the writer knows thoroughly one man at least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/there-ought-to-be-some-sign-in-a-book-about-man-that-the-writer-knows/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Women singly do a good deal of harm. Women in bulk are chastening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/women-singly-do-a-good-deal-of-harm-women-in-bulk-are-chastening/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [As wounded men may limp through life, so our war minds may not regain the balance of their thoughts for decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/as-wounded-men-may-limp-through-life-so-our-war-minds-may-not-regain/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Averageness is a quality we must put up with. Men march toward civilization in column formation, and by the time the van has learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/averageness-is-a-quality-we-must-put-up-with-men-march-toward/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [If a large city can, after intense intellectual efforts, choose for its mayor a man who merely will not steal from it, we consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/if-a-large-city-can-after-intense-intellectual-efforts-choose-for-its/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Cast your cares on God; that anchor holds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/cast-your-cares-on-god-that-anchor-holds/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/many-people-lose-their-tempers-merely-from-seeing-you-keep-yours/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [A new thinker is only one who does not know what the old thinkers have thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/a-new-thinker-is-only-one-who-does-not-know-what-the-old-thinkers/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [As crowds increase we build our forts of inattention, and the more we talk the easier it is to mean little and listen not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/as-crowds-increase-we-build-our-forts-of-inattention-and-the-more-we/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [One learns little more about a man from the feats of his literary memory than from the feats of his alimentary canal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/one-learns-little-more-about-a-man-from-the-feats-of-his-literary/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) [Explore all 39 Frank Moore Colby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“The young woman had read a good many novels, and she had seen a good many films; this education by newspaper, serial and film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-renard/the-young-woman-had-read-a-good-many-novels-and-she-had-seen-a-good/) [Maurice Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-renard/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) [Browse all 619 Apathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. 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