--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like water leaking slowly through a dike…" description: "\"“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned Books: Ce..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg" --- # Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a… ![“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature)” quote by Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg) > ““Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature)”” [Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas spread like water, eventually overwhelming attempts to suppress them. **In simple terms:** Ideas flow and eventually break through censorship. Key Takeaway Persistently share ideas despite opposition. Themes censorship freedom of expression resilience Mood defiant hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - activism - publishing - education - digital media Key Concepts information flow social change Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help ideas evade suppression? - How does persistence change the power balance? A Different Perspective Censorship can adapt and find new methods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banned Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banned-book/) [Banned books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banned-books/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-censorship-4418168/) [Censor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censor/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Censorship Histories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship-histories-4418169/) [Elude Censor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elude-censor-4418170/) [World literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-literature/) ## Related quotes > [“For centuries censorship has created best sellers because, as Michel de Montaigne said, 'To forbid us anything is to make us have a mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/for-centuries-censorship-has-created-best-sellers-because-as-michel/) [Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) > [I always order the banned books from a black market dealer in California, figuring if the State of Mississippi banned them, they must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-always-order-the-banned-books-from-a-black-market-dealer-in/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [“I head down the steps to see if my mail-order copy of Catcher in the Rye is in the box. I always order the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-head-down-the-steps-to-see-if-my-mail-order-copy-of-catcher-in-the/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [I have boys, and boys are particularly resistant to reading books. I had some success recently with Sherman Alexie's great young adult novel 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-have-boys-and-boys-are-particularly-resistant-to-reading-books-i/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > ['The Prince's blunt candor has been a scandal for 500 years. The book was placed on the Papal Index of banned books in 1559,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-prince-s-blunt-candor-has-been-a-scandal-for-500-years-the-book/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Being an author of banned books is cool, I've decided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/being-an-author-of-banned-books-is-cool-i-ve-decided/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [“Every time they ban the book, it becomes national headlines. I sell more books, so it’s actually lucrative for me. We call Banned Books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/every-time-they-ban-the-book-it-becomes-national-headlines-i-sell/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Banned books always smell suspicious”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mars/banned-books-always-smell-suspicious/) [Juan Marsé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mars/) > [The book which most deserved to be banned would be a catalog of banned books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-book-which-most-deserved-to-be-banned-would-be-a-catalog-of/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“The choices you have for your children are not the same as mine. For me, there is no such thing as a banned book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ellie-mackenzie/the-choices-you-have-for-your-children-are-not-the-same-as-mine-for/) [Sara Ellie MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ellie-mackenzie/) > [Possession of books denounced as heretical was made a criminal offense. Copies of such books were burned and destroyed. But in Upper Egypt, someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/possession-of-books-denounced-as-heretical-was-made-a-criminal/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“Isn't he beautiful?" Hadley says longingly. Yes , I think, but not in the way she obviously sees him. He's beautiful in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-wolfe/isn-t-he-beautiful-hadley-says-longingly-yes-i-think-but-not-in-the/) [Trisha Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-wolfe/) > [“After Giles Palot was burned to death, Sylvie’s mother went into a depression. For Sylvie this was the most shocking of the traumas she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/after-giles-palot-was-burned-to-death-sylvie-s-mother-went-into-a/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [“I felt the heat of the animosity they bear towards me, the vindictive nature that drives a man to destroy his neighbour in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-felt-the-heat-of-the-animosity-they-bear-towards-me-the-vindictive/) [Sjón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [Few things in life seem more sexy than a banned book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/few-things-in-life-seem-more-sexy-than-a-banned-book/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Margaret Bald > [“Forbes did, in fact, break new ground for women...She was an irrepressible and independent traveler who took risky and difficult trips, braved the hostility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/forbes-did-in-fact-break-new-ground-for-women-she-was-an/) [Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) > [“For centuries censorship has created best sellers because, as Michel de Montaigne said, 'To forbid us anything is to make us have a mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/for-centuries-censorship-has-created-best-sellers-because-as-michel/) [Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) [Explore all 3 Margaret Bald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) ## More Banned books quotes > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“Well, the man who first translated the bible into English was burned at the stake, and they've been at it ever since. Must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/well-the-man-who-first-translated-the-bible-into-english-was-burned/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > [“When the Viennese government compiled a Catalogue of Forbidden Books in 1765, so many Austrians used it as a reading guide that the Hapsburg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-nelson/when-the-viennese-government-compiled-a-catalogue-of-forbidden-books/) [Craig Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-nelson/) > [“I'm not, like, a book guy, but isn't the point of all this book stuff like what Ms. Croft was teaching us -- that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-connis/i-m-not-like-a-book-guy-but-isn-t-the-point-of-all-this-book-stuff/) [David Connis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-connis/) > [“The choices you have for your children are not the same as mine. For me, there is no such thing as a banned book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ellie-mackenzie/the-choices-you-have-for-your-children-are-not-the-same-as-mine-for/) [Sara Ellie MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ellie-mackenzie/) > [“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control; About who is snapping the whip, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“He would tell you to think, next time, before you blindly chase your ideology. He would ask you to think, not just to feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanna-m-white/he-would-tell-you-to-think-next-time-before-you-blindly-chase-your/) [Roseanna M. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanna-m-white/) > [The book which most deserved to be banned would be a catalog of banned books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-book-which-most-deserved-to-be-banned-would-be-a-catalog-of/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“Let’s get one thing out of the way: Mexican immigration is an oxymoron. Mexicans are indigenous. So, in a strange way, I’m pleased that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/let-s-get-one-thing-out-of-the-way-mexican-immigration-is-an-oxymoron/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [There's more than one way to be a girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-faust/there-s-more-than-one-way-to-be-a-girl/) [Lauren Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-faust/) > [ Young minds - young brains - need stories and ideas like the ones in those \[censored and banned\] books in order to grow. They… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/young-minds-young-brains-need-stories-and-ideas-like-the-ones-in/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Yes. They're bringing in books from all over the world and burning them here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-suke-natsukawa/yes-they-re-bringing-in-books-from-all-over-the-world-and-burning/) [Sōsuke Natsukawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-suke-natsukawa/) > [“Everybody has the right to form their own opinion and read what they like and come to their own conclusion about it... I trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/everybody-has-the-right-to-form-their-own-opinion-and-read-what-they/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they were diseases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hate-it-that-americans-are-taught-to-fear-some-books-and-some-ideas/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 56 Banned books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banned-books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Bald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Banned books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/margaret-bald-80242_banned-books_like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike_524290.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably…” — Margaret Bald", "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": "Margaret Bald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Like water leaking slowly through a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/#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 } } ] } ```