--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Heretics have been hated from the…" description: "\"Heretics have been hated from the beginning of recorded time; they have been ostracized, exiled, tortured, maimed, and butchered; but it has generally ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/learned-hand-5343_hated_heretics-have-been-hated-from-the-beginn_1187855.png" --- # Heretics have been hated from the beginning of recorded… ![“Heretics have been hated from the beginning of recorded time; they have been ostracized, exiled, tortured, maimed, and butchered; but it has generally proved impossible to smother them; and when it has not, the society that has succeeded has always declined.” quote by Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/learned-hand-5343_hated_heretics-have-been-hated-from-the-beginn_1187855.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/learned-hand-5343_hated_heretics-have-been-hated-from-the-beginn_1187855.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/learned-hand-5343_hated_heretics-have-been-hated-from-the-beginn_1187855.png) > “Heretics have been hated from the beginning of recorded time; they have been ostracized, exiled, tortured, maimed, and butchered; but it has generally proved impossible to smother them; and when it has not, the society that has succeeded has always declined.” [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies that suppress dissenting ideas eventually weaken and collapse because truth cannot be permanently silenced. **In simple terms:** Suppressing dissent leads to societal decline. Key Takeaway Protect free thought. Themes freedom societal health dissent Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - academic debate - political activism - legal reform - education - media criticism Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance order with tolerance for dissent? - What mechanisms protect dissenting voices? A Different Perspective Oppressive regimes may temporarily quell dissent without addressing underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exiled Tortured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiled-tortured-3510767/) [Hated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hated/) [Heretic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretic/) [Heretics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretics/) [Heretics Hated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretics-hated-3510765/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Ostracized Exiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ostracized-exiled-3510766/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Lives of great men all remind us, Greatness takes no easy way, All the heroes of tomorrow, Are the heretics of today. Socrates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yip-harburg/lives-of-great-men-all-remind-us-greatness-takes-no-easy-way-all-the/) [Yip Harburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yip-harburg/) > [Heretics think false things about God and call it their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/heretics-think-false-things-about-god-and-call-it-their-faith/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“We owe a wealth of gratitude to the many heretics that have gone before us, those that had thought independently, and courageously, and dared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-sage-owens/we-owe-a-wealth-of-gratitude-to-the-many-heretics-that-have-gone/) [Beth Sage Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-sage-owens/) > [Many who burnt heretics in the ordinary way of their business were otherwise excellent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-trevelyan/many-who-burnt-heretics-in-the-ordinary-way-of-their-business-were/) [G. M. 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Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [The history of creation is but a succession of battles between amateurs of genius-inspired heretics- and orthodox professionals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-history-of-creation-is-but-a-succession-of-battles-between/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [I myself have read the writings and teachings of the heretics, polluting my soul for a while with their abominable notions, though deriving this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eusebius/i-myself-have-read-the-writings-and-teachings-of-the-heretics/) [Eusebius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eusebius/) > [I can understand why Christians call us heretics. But most important, who will God call a heretic? From God's point of view, my revelation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/i-can-understand-why-christians-call-us-heretics-but-most-important/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) > [The world is kept alive only by heretics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-world-is-kept-alive-only-by-heretics/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Consequently, heretics and schismatics, separated from the unity of this Body, are able to receive the same Sacrament, but with no benefit to themselves;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/consequently-heretics-and-schismatics-separated-from-the-unity-of/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientists-were-rated-as-great-heretics-by-the-church-but-they-were/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Learned Hand > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... 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