--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With his white collar he forges god’s…" description: "\"“With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word he speaks”\" — John Updike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png" --- # With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word… ![“With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word he speaks” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png) > ““With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word he speaks”” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that the speaker’s polished, professional demeanor gives his words a divine authority, implying that status can imbue language with power. **In simple terms:** A refined speaker makes his words seem sacred. Key Takeaway Recognize how presentation influences perceived credibility. Themes authority language status perception power Mood critical contemplative Type observational analytical When to use this quote - public speaking - corporate communication - political discourse - media commentary Key Concepts symbolism rhetoric social influence Questions to Reflect On - Does style outweigh substance? - How does status affect trust? A Different Perspective The impact of authority can be questioned when content lacks substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [White collar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-collar/) ## Related quotes > [God is the word that speaks itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-is-the-word-that-speaks-itself/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Anyone can say 'no'. It is the first word a child learns and often the first word he speaks. It is a cheap word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/anyone-can-say-no-it-is-the-first-word-a-child-learns-and-often-the/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [“Babe,” he replies, grinning then said no more. Still being helpful, I explained, “I know you think that word speaks volumes but, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/babe-he-replies-grinning-then-said-no-more-still-being-helpful-i/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“The sixth chapter of Mark describes Jesus as “just a carpenter.” I suppose he could have come in a flashier way, and his refusal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannan-martin/the-sixth-chapter-of-mark-describes-jesus-as-just-a-carpenter-i/) [Shannan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannan-martin/) > [White collar crime must be taken as seriously as any other crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/white-collar-crime-must-be-taken-as-seriously-as-any-other-crime/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [Where's my white collarless shirt from Fred Segal? It's my most capable-looking outfit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/where-s-my-white-collarless-shirt-from-fred-segal-it-s-my-most/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [I did a bunch of blue-collar jobs, because I knew I'd wind up with a white-collar job at some point, and I wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/i-did-a-bunch-of-blue-collar-jobs-because-i-knew-i-d-wind-up-with-a/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [“When his son was dressed Mr. Button regarded him with depression. The costume consisted of dotted socks, pink pants, and a belted blouse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/when-his-son-was-dressed-mr-button-regarded-him-with-depression-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The possibility of bringing white-collar criminals to justice is ever receding over the horizon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/the-possibility-of-bringing-white-collar-criminals-to-justice-is-ever/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I am told that today rather more than 60 per cent of the men who go to the universities go on a Government grant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-am-told-that-today-rather-more-than-60-per-cent-of-the-men-who-go/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Some people see writing as a white-collar career, but I've always approached it as a blue-collar writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/some-people-see-writing-as-a-white-collar-career-but-i-ve-always/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [“Imama looked at the black sweater and the white collar peeking out of it. She put her arms around his neck and rested her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umera-ahmed/imama-looked-at-the-black-sweater-and-the-white-collar-peeking-out-of/) [Umera Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umera-ahmed/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Doing 'White Collar,' quite often my character goes undercover, so therein lies the compounding of the imagination. I get to play Peter Burke and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dekay/doing-white-collar-quite-often-my-character-goes-undercover-so/) [Tim DeKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dekay/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More White collar quotes > [Doing 'White Collar,' quite often my character goes undercover, so therein lies the compounding of the imagination. I get to play Peter Burke and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dekay/doing-white-collar-quite-often-my-character-goes-undercover-so/) [Tim DeKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dekay/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Imama looked at the black sweater and the white collar peeking out of it. She put her arms around his neck and rested her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umera-ahmed/imama-looked-at-the-black-sweater-and-the-white-collar-peeking-out-of/) [Umera Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umera-ahmed/) > [Some people see writing as a white-collar career, but I've always approached it as a blue-collar writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/some-people-see-writing-as-a-white-collar-career-but-i-ve-always/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I am told that today rather more than 60 per cent of the men who go to the universities go on a Government grant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-am-told-that-today-rather-more-than-60-per-cent-of-the-men-who-go/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The possibility of bringing white-collar criminals to justice is ever receding over the horizon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/the-possibility-of-bringing-white-collar-criminals-to-justice-is-ever/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [“When his son was dressed Mr. Button regarded him with depression. The costume consisted of dotted socks, pink pants, and a belted blouse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/when-his-son-was-dressed-mr-button-regarded-him-with-depression-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I did a bunch of blue-collar jobs, because I knew I'd wind up with a white-collar job at some point, and I wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/i-did-a-bunch-of-blue-collar-jobs-because-i-knew-i-d-wind-up-with-a/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Where's my white collarless shirt from Fred Segal? It's my most capable-looking outfit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/where-s-my-white-collarless-shirt-from-fred-segal-it-s-my-most/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [White collar crime must be taken as seriously as any other crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/white-collar-crime-must-be-taken-as-seriously-as-any-other-crime/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [“The sixth chapter of Mark describes Jesus as “just a carpenter.” I suppose he could have come in a flashier way, and his refusal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannan-martin/the-sixth-chapter-of-mark-describes-jesus-as-just-a-carpenter-i/) [Shannan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannan-martin/) > [If blue collar jobs are leaving and white collar jobs are outsourced what color collar jobs are left?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-edwards/if-blue-collar-jobs-are-leaving-and-white-collar-jobs-are-outsourced/) [Bob Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-edwards/) > [“Today, white-collar job insecurity is no longer a function of the business cycle--rising as the stock market falls and declining again when the numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/today-white-collar-job-insecurity-is-no-longer-a-function-of-the/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [For every role, I brought certain elements of the character. Even on 'White Collar' over six years, I tried to keep the set fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/for-every-role-i-brought-certain-elements-of-the-character-even-on/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) [Browse all 103 White collar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-collar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word he speaks”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-name-on-every-word-he-speaks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "White collar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-name-on-every-word-he-speaks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/john-updike-396_white-collar_with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-na_167679.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With his white collar he forges god’s name on every word he speaks” — John Updike", "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": "John Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“With his white collar he forges...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-name-on-every-word-he-speaks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/with-his-white-collar-he-forges-god-s-name-on-every-word-he-speaks/#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 } } ] } ```