--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Central to everything I am and believe…" description: "\"Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my astonishment, naive as it seems to people, that you can use human speech both to bless, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg" --- # Central to everything I am and believe and have written is… ![“Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my astonishment, naive as it seems to people, that you can use human speech both to bless, to love, to build, to forgive and also to torture, to hate, to destroy and to annihilate.” quote by George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg) > “Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my astonishment, naive as it seems to people, that you can use human speech both to bless, to love, to build, to forgive and also to torture, to hate, to destroy and to annihilate.” [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human language can create or destroy, blessing or torturing, depending on its use. **In simple terms:** Words can heal or harm. Key Takeaway Use speech responsibly. Themes communication ethics power Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - politics - education - media - interpersonal relationships Key Concepts rhetoric human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose your words? - Can speech ever be truly neutral? A Different Perspective Words alone cannot fix systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astonishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishment/) [Astonishment Naive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishment-naive-6074100/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Bless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bless/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Human Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-speech-830651/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Naive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naive/) [Naive People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naive-people-2600584/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech Bless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-bless-3143610/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [“A Christian’s speech should bless, not berate or abuse. 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An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us-2/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [“The inception of human consciousness, the genesis of awareness, must have entailed prolonged 'condensations' around intractable nodes of wonder and terror, at the discriminations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-inception-of-human-consciousness-the-genesis-of-awareness-must/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The immense majority of human biographies are a gray transit between domestic spasm and oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-immense-majority-of-human-biographies-are-a-gray-transit-between/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The new sound-sphere is global. 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The Ancient of Days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/what-shall-i-say-and-how-shall-i-describe-this-birth-to-you-for-this/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) [Browse all 227 Astonishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my astonishment, naive as it seems to people, that you can use human speech both to bless, to love, to build, to forgive and also to torture, to hate, to destroy and to annihilate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Steiner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-and-have-written-is-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astonishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-and-have-written-is-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f84/george-steiner-4683_astonishment_central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-a_790863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my astonishment, naive as it seems to people…” — George Steiner", "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": "George Steiner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Central to everything I am and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-and-have-written-is-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/central-to-everything-i-am-and-believe-and-have-written-is-my/#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 } } ] } ```