--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Common sense will tell us, that the power…" description: "\"Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.\" — Thomas Paine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-paine-267_common_common-sense-will-tell-us-that-the-power_2428010.png" --- # Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath… ![“Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-paine-267_common_common-sense-will-tell-us-that-the-power_2428010.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-paine-267_common_common-sense-will-tell-us-that-the-power_2428010.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-paine-267_common_common-sense-will-tell-us-that-the-power_2428010.png) > “Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most dangerous force is one that claims to protect us but actually oppresses us; vigilance is required. **In simple terms:** Beware of false protectors. Key Takeaway Question authority that claims to defend you. Themes political philosophy power dynamics civil liberties Mood cautious critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - activism - media consumption - legal reform Key Concepts authoritarianism liberty critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Who claims to protect you? - How can you verify their motives? A Different Perspective Not all power is overt; subtle control exists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend/) [Improper Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improper-defend-243675/) [Subdue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subdue/) [Subdue Improper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subdue-improper-243676/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody certainly has the right to defend themselves. That's not to say that they should defy common sense by avoiding or diffusing confrontation. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-seagal/everybody-certainly-has-the-right-to-defend-themselves-that-s-not-to/) [Steven Seagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-seagal/) > [“To resist and subdue Nature is to make for one's self a personal and imperishable life: it is to break free from the vicissitudes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/to-resist-and-subdue-nature-is-to-make-for-one-s-self-a-personal-and/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [No confict is so severe as his who labors to subdue himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/no-confict-is-so-severe-as-his-who-labors-to-subdue-himself/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [“. . . the sole aim of Okinawa Karate is to teach A person to handle violence and violent individuals; whether it is tactile, mental or spiritual”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soke-behzad-ahmadi/the-sole-aim-of-okinawa-karate-is-to-teach-a-person-to-handle/) [Soke Behzad Ahmadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soke-behzad-ahmadi/) > [“To subdue matter is the first step; to realize the ideal is the second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-subdue-matter-is-the-first-step-to-realize-the-ideal-is-the-second/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Any time someone gives you drugs, the purpose is to subdue. Always. Whether it is from a dealer, a friend, your mother/brother/sister/son, or your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northern-adams/any-time-someone-gives-you-drugs-the-purpose-is-to-subdue-always/) [Northern Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northern-adams/) > [“. . . to serve so selflessly, you have to subdue something in yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/to-serve-so-selflessly-you-have-to-subdue-something-in-yourself/) [Allison Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pearson/) > [Only a habit can subdue another habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/only-a-habit-can-subdue-another-habit/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“We subdue that in others which we have learned to subdue in ourselves. 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To subdue means “to dominate or control,” not in the negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/subdue-fruitfulness-increase-and-filling-lead-naturally-to-the-end/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [“Don't be in temper, to leave so quickly, that I may be dying. But all too soon, the leaves and debris will gather elsewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-be-in-temper-to-leave-so-quickly-that-i-may-be-dying-but-all/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“When people’s parallel truth collides with their real truth, they may have a hard time in subduing all the fanciful items and characters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-people-s-parallel-truth-collides-with-their-real-truth-they-may/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Subdue your passion or it will subdue you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/subdue-your-passion-or-it-will-subdue-you/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. 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Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. 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