--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and…" description: "\"Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and most indubitable meaning is nothing but an instrument for the attainment of the government's ambitious and me..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/leo-tolstoy-55_aim_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1328018.png" --- # Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and most indubitable… ![“Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and most indubitable meaning is nothing but an instrument for the attainment of the government's ambitious and mercenary aims, and a renunciation of human dignity, common sense, and conscience by the governed, and a slavish submission to those who hold power…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/leo-tolstoy-55_aim_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1328018.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/leo-tolstoy-55_aim_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1328018.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/leo-tolstoy-55_aim_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1328018.png) > “Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and most indubitable meaning is nothing but an instrument for the attainment of the government's ambitious and mercenary aims, and a renunciation of human dignity, common sense, and conscience by the governed, and a slavish submission to those who hold power. That is what is really preached wherever patriotism is championed. Patriotism is slavery.” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriotism is portrayed as a tool for government exploitation, stripping citizens of dignity and conscience. **In simple terms:** Patriotism can be used to control people. Key Takeaway Question authority, protect individual dignity. Themes politics ethics nationalism power control Mood skeptical critical Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - government propaganda - public discourse - citizen activism Key Concepts instrumentalism human rights critical theory Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do citizens have? - Can patriotism be positive? A Different Perspective Patriotism can also inspire genuine solidarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Anti war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) [Attainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attainment/) [Championed Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/championed-patriotism-4446680/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Human dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-dignity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Mercenary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercenary/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Championed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-championed-4446677/) [Patriotism Simplest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-simplest-4039443/) [Patriotism Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-slavery-4446678/) [Preached Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preached-patriotism-4446679/) [Renunciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renunciation/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Simplest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplest/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Submission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/submission/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Pure mathematics offers no mercenary inducements to its followers, who is attracted to it by the importance and beauty of the truths in contains;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/pure-mathematics-offers-no-mercenary-inducements-to-its-followers-who/) [James Whitbread Lee Glaisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/) > [Vertue flies from the heart of a Mercenary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/vertue-flies-from-the-heart-of-a-mercenary-man/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The crisis besetting America is not just an economic or political crisis; something deeper is wreaking havoc across the land, a mercenary and utilitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/the-crisis-besetting-america-is-not-just-an-economic-or-political/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [The mercenary finished his coffee in a single gulp, It must have been piping hot, too. Boy, he was tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/the-mercenary-finished-his-coffee-in-a-single-gulp-it-must-have-been/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [You really turning mercenary on your favorite older brother? (Dev) No. I would never do that to Alain. (Aimee) Ouch! Bearswan got ‘tude. (Dev)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-really-turning-mercenary-on-your-favorite-older-brother-dev-no-i/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“The third mercenary—standing between Yrene and the mist—drew his short sword. Yrene didn’t have time to cry out in surprise or warning as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/the-third-mercenary-standing-between-yrene-and-the-mist-drew-his/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“What was it with evildoers trying to hire my boyfriend as a mercenary?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/what-was-it-with-evildoers-trying-to-hire-my-boyfriend-as-a-mercenary/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [New York is the city of privilege. Here is the seat of the Invisible Power represented by the allied forces of finance and industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/new-york-is-the-city-of-privilege-here-is-the-seat-of-the-invisible/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [When the public loses faith in democracy's ability to solve the problems it has created for itself, the game's almost over. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/when-the-public-loses-faith-in-democracy-s-ability-to-solve-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [“The writer is an infantryman. He knows that progress is measured in yards of dirt extracted from the enemy one day, one hour, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-writer-is-an-infantryman-he-knows-that-progress-is-measured-in/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [I'm a mercenary. That's what people hire me for, and I don't apologize for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-avenatti/i-m-a-mercenary-that-s-what-people-hire-me-for-and-i-don-t-apologize/) [Michael Avenatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-avenatti/) > [A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/a-cynical-mercenary-demagogic-press-will-produce-in-time-a-people-as/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) > [That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-devilish-iron-horse-whose-ear-rending-neigh-is-heard-throughout/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Here you can shoot the bad guys,' a mercenary says in Baghdad. 'In America we give them corporate bonuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robotham/here-you-can-shoot-the-bad-guys-a-mercenary-says-in-baghdad-in/) [Michael Robotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-robotham/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 3,047 Aim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Patriotism in its simplest, clearest, and most indubitable meaning is nothing but an instrument for the attainment of the government's ambitious and mercenary aims, and a renunciation of human dignity, common sense, and conscience by the governed, and a slavish submission to those who hold power. That is what is really preached wherever patriotism is championed. 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