--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Patriotism is the last refuge of the…" description: "\"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png" --- # Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. ![“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png) > “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriotism can be a cover for selfish or immoral actions. **In simple terms:** Blind loyalty hides wrongdoing. Key Takeaway Question motives behind patriotic claims. Themes politics ethics nationalism Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political speeches - public debates - media analysis Key Concepts Moral relativism propaganda identity politics Questions to Reflect On - When is patriotism justified? - How to distinguish sincere from manipulative patriotism? A Different Perspective Patriotism can also inspire genuine sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-refuge-589440/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Refuge Scoundrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge-scoundrel-589442/) [Scoundrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrel/) ## Related quotes > [Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-to-which-a-scoundrel-clings/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [What every Englishman thinks about patriotism, the last refuge of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/what-every-englishman-thinks-about-patriotism-the-last-refuge-of-a/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Whether or not patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, national security can be the last refuge of the tyrant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-walker-of-gestingthorpe-robert-walker/whether-or-not-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe Robert Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-walker-of-gestingthorpe-robert-walker/) > [I'm an advocate of the great Dr. Johnson, the English man of letters who said that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/i-m-an-advocate-of-the-great-dr-johnson-the-english-man-of-letters/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heywood-broun/a-technical-objection-is-the-first-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Heywood Broun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heywood-broun/) > [“Politics is the last refuge of a scoundrel'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-r-jacob/politics-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [J.F.R. Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-f-r-jacob/) > [Public office is the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boies-penrose/public-office-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Boies Penrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boies-penrose/) > [They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-to-which-a-scoundrel/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Public office is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/public-office-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Safety is the last refuge of the scoundrel!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/safety-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The first derivative is the last refuge of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-p-kindleberger/the-first-derivative-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Charles P. Kindleberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-p-kindleberger/) > [Someone said that patriotism is the last refuge of cowards; those without moral principles usually wrap a flag around themselves, and those bastards always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/someone-said-that-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-cowards-those/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [When Dr. Johnson defined patriotism as the last refuge of a scoundrel, he ignored the enormous possibilities of the word reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roscoe-conkling/when-dr-johnson-defined-patriotism-as-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Roscoe Conkling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roscoe-conkling/) > [Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o'clock is a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whoever-thinks-of-going-to-bed-before-twelve-o-clock-is-a-scoundrel/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Patriotism quotes > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am not a nationalist in any way, and I hate flag waving, and I don't think much good has come out of nationalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/i-am-not-a-nationalist-in-any-way-and-i-hate-flag-waving-and-i-don-t/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Patriotism is a fierce love for the nation’s soul - its land, its people, its core, coupled with a burning contempt for a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njau-kihia/patriotism-is-a-fierce-love-for-the-nation-s-soul-its-land-its-people/) [Njau Kihia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/njau-kihia/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Cricket, politics, and cinema is what a majority in our country are most passionate about. They have the power to divide the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-deverakonda/cricket-politics-and-cinema-is-what-a-majority-in-our-country-are/) [Vijay Deverakonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-deverakonda/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I will do everything I can always for my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-massa/i-will-do-everything-i-can-always-for-my-country/) [Felipe Massa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-massa/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) [Browse all 5,882 Patriotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Patriotism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/samuel-johnson-50_patriotism_patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sco_2475920.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Patriotism is the last refuge of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/#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 } } ] } ```