--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be it or be it not true that Man is…" description: "\"Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg" --- # Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and… ![“Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.” quote by Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg) > “Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.” [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature is flawed, but governments arise from aggressive impulses. **In simple terms:** People are imperfect; governments stem from aggression. Key Takeaway Recognize aggression as a root of political power. Themes politics human nature government aggression Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - political debate - historical study - international relations - activism Key Concepts social contract power dynamics moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does aggression shape policy? - Can governance be ethical despite aggressive origins? A Different Perspective Aggression alone does not explain all governmental forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Iniquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iniquity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [Of all the difficulties in a state, the temper of a true government most felicifies and perpetuates it; too sudden alterations distemper it. Had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/of-all-the-difficulties-in-a-state-the-temper-of-a-true-government/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [“I guess what they say is true. Anything the government wants to hide, they stick it in New Mexico”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/i-guess-what-they-say-is-true-anything-the-government-wants-to-hide/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [It's true: Whenever I see a government rule that could clearly be used to punish people for doing innocuous things, it is never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/it-s-true-whenever-i-see-a-government-rule-that-could-clearly-be-used/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [It is perfectly true that that government is best which governs least. It is equally true that that government is best which provides most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/it-is-perfectly-true-that-that-government-is-best-which-governs-least/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [It is as disastrous to true government in the state, and home, to teach all womankind to submit to the authority of man, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-as-disastrous-to-true-government-in-the-state-and-home-to-teach/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [What a burden to think one is conceived in sin rather than in pleasure; that one is born into evil rather than into joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/what-a-burden-to-think-one-is-conceived-in-sin-rather-than-in/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/man-is-conceived-in-sin-and-born-in-corruption-and-he-passeth-from/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Others drink for sterility and commit murder on the human not yet sown. Some when they sense that they have conceived by sin, consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/others-drink-for-sterility-and-commit-murder-on-the-human-not-yet/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“Your short understanding, your clipped mind, your hollow heart, will make more of mankind than it has the power to become. Make of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-von-saaz/your-short-understanding-your-clipped-mind-your-hollow-heart-will/) [Johannes von Saaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-von-saaz/) > [Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/man-is-conceived-in-sin-and-born-in-corruption-and-he-passeth-from-2/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Language is conceived in sin and science is its redemption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/language-is-conceived-in-sin-and-science-is-its-redemption/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [“And he said, 'Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/and-he-said-man-is-conceived-in-sin-and-born-in-corruption-and/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [What, then, do they want a government for? Not to regulate commerce; not to educate the people; not to teach religion, not to administer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/what-then-do-they-want-a-government-for-not-to-regulate-commerce-not/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Courage is worthy of respect when displayed in the maintenance of legitimate claims and in the repelling of aggressions, bodily or other. Courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/courage-is-worthy-of-respect-when-displayed-in-the-maintenance-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## More by Herbert Spencer > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When a man's knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has the greater will be his confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/when-a-man-s-knowledge-is-not-in-order-the-more-of-it-he-has-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The cruelty of a Fijian god, who, represented as devouring the souls of the dead, may be supposed to inflict torture during the process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-cruelty-of-a-fijian-god-who-represented-as-devouring-the-souls-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The liberty the citizen enjoys is to be measured not by governmental machinery he lives under, whether representative or other, but by the paucity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-liberty-the-citizen-enjoys-is-to-be-measured-not-by-governmental/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I had a great dislike to the annoyances entailed by baggage; and it was always with some feeling of elation that I cut myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/i-had-a-great-dislike-to-the-annoyances-entailed-by-baggage-and-it/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity…It is a part of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/progress-therefore-is-not-an-accident-but-a-necessity-it-is-a-part-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Surely in much talk there cannot choose but be much vanity. Loquacity is the fistula of the mind,--ever-running and almost incurable, let every man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/surely-in-much-talk-there-cannot-choose-but-be-much-vanity-loquacity/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-one-can-be-perfectly-free-till-all-are-free-no-one-can-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Only when Genius is married to Science can the highest results be produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/only-when-genius-is-married-to-science-can-the-highest-results-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It cannot but happen?that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/it-cannot-but-happen-that-those-will-survive-whose-functions-happen/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/before-he-can-remake-his-society-his-society-must-make-him/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) [Explore all 210 Herbert Spencer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More Aggression quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Boxing can be so important to young people, it keeps you off the street and you can channel your energy and aggression in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/boxing-can-be-so-important-to-young-people-it-keeps-you-off-the/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“That which is of great value cannot be attained through aggression. You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [I can remember watching MTV Cribs - these amazing houses - and looking around my house where there was no carpet on the floors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-can-remember-watching-mtv-cribs-these-amazing-houses-and-looking/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I really like battle ropes. They're so versatile; you can get a terrific workout doing a ton of different exercises with them. My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) Empress Dowager Cixi > [I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/i-m-not-going-to-appeal-to-violence-or-aggression-of-course-not/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [This is passive-aggression in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-passive-aggression-in-action/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-child-hits-a-child-we-call-it-aggression-when-a-child-hits-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Browse all 860 Aggression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Spencer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shapen-in-iniquity-and-conceived/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aggression" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shapen-in-iniquity-and-conceived/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/herbert-spencer-1765_aggression_be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shap_1236156.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that…” — Herbert Spencer", "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": "Herbert Spencer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be it or be it not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shapen-in-iniquity-and-conceived/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/be-it-or-be-it-not-true-that-man-is-shapen-in-iniquity-and-conceived/#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 } } ] } ```