--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and…" description: "\"Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and cov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png" --- # Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable… ![“Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires, and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity, reason, conscience, and a slavish enthrallment to those in power.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png) > “Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires, and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity, reason, conscience, and a slavish enthrallment to those in power.” [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 rulers to fulfill ambitions while stripping citizens of dignity and autonomy. **In simple terms:** Patriotism can be a means of oppression. Key Takeaway Recognize and question manipulative nationalism. Themes politics power human rights ethics Mood critical skeptical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government propaganda - citizen activism - education curricula - media narratives Key Concepts authoritarianism psychology of obedience social control Questions to Reflect On - How does patriotism affect personal freedom? - Can patriotism ever be truly selfless? A Different Perspective It may overlook genuine collective identity and solidarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abdication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abdication/) [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Human dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-dignity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Indubitable Signification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indubitable-signification-4039444/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Obtaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obtaining/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Simplest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-simplest-4039443/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [Rulers Ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers-ambitions-4039446/) [Signification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signification-1083003/) [Signification Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signification-means-4039445/) [Simplest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplest/) ## Related quotes > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable-meaning-is/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Just as all thought, and primarily that of non-signification, signifies something, so there is no art that has no signification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/just-as-all-thought-and-primarily-that-of-non-signification-signifies/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [He is the intermediary between us, his audience, the living, and they, the dolls, the undead, who cannot live at all and yet who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/he-is-the-intermediary-between-us-his-audience-the-living-and-they/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The sentence completes its signification only with its last term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lacan/the-sentence-completes-its-signification-only-with-its-last-term/) [Jacques Lacan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lacan/) > [Language operates between literal and metaphorical signification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/language-operates-between-literal-and-metaphorical-signification/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [Words, in their primary or immediate signification, stand for nothing but the ideas in the mind of him who uses them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/words-in-their-primary-or-immediate-signification-stand-for-nothing/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [“In wrestling, nothing exists unless it exists totally, there is no symbol, no allusion, everything is given exhaustively; leaving nothing in shadow, the gesture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/in-wrestling-nothing-exists-unless-it-exists-totally-there-is-no/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Language operates between literal and metaphorical signification. The power of a word lies in the very inadequacy of the context it is placed, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/language-operates-between-literal-and-metaphorical-signification-the/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [Judge not, that ye be not judge"... is an abdication of moral responsibility: it is a moral blank check one gives to others in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/judge-not-that-ye-be-not-judge-is-an-abdication-of-moral/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Voter apathy is a civic abdication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-blow/voter-apathy-is-a-civic-abdication/) [Charles M. Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-blow/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [ The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we \[journalists\], too often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-reality-is-that-the-media-are-probably-the-most-powerful-of-all/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Often a certain abdication of prudence and foresight is an element of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/often-a-certain-abdication-of-prudence-and-foresight-is-an-element-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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 Abdication quotes > [Often a certain abdication of prudence and foresight is an element of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/often-a-certain-abdication-of-prudence-and-foresight-is-an-element-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [ The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we \[journalists\], too often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-reality-is-that-the-media-are-probably-the-most-powerful-of-all/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Voter apathy is a civic abdication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-blow/voter-apathy-is-a-civic-abdication/) [Charles M. Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-blow/) > [Judge not, that ye be not judge"... is an abdication of moral responsibility: it is a moral blank check one gives to others in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/judge-not-that-ye-be-not-judge-is-an-abdication-of-moral/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty and necessarily ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-idea-of-god-implies-the-abdication-of-human-reason-and-justice-it/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“Stagnation is self-abdication.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-talbot/stagnation-is-self-abdication/) [Ryan Talbot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-talbot/) > [“Soon after this meeting with the Morelands came the period of crisis leading up to the Abdication, one of those public events which occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/soon-after-this-meeting-with-the-morelands-came-the-period-of-crisis/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [The truly and deliberately evil men are a very small minority; it is the appeaser who unleashes them on mankind; it is the appeaser's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-truly-and-deliberately-evil-men-are-a-very-small-minority-it-is/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I’ve learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/people-think-that-a-liar-gains-a-victory-over-his-victim-what-i-ve/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Our 'normal' 'adjusted' state is too often the abdication of ecstasy, the betrayal of our true potentialities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-normal-adjusted-state-is-too-often-the-abdication-of-ecstasy-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our happiest times are those in which we forget ourselves, usually in being kind to someone else. That tiny moment of self-abdication is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/our-happiest-times-are-those-in-which-we-forget-ourselves-usually-in/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Ignorance is king. Many would not profit by his abdication. Many enrich themselves by means of his dark monarchy. They are his Court, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/ignorance-is-king-many-would-not-profit-by-his-abdication-many-enrich/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) [Browse all 43 Abdication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abdication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires, and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity, reason, conscience, and a slavish enthrallment to those in power.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abdication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/leo-tolstoy-55_abdication_patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and_1265821.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of…” — Leo Tolstoy", "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": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/patriotism-in-its-simplest-clearest-and-most-indubitable/#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 } } ] } ```