--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, the Philistines have long since…" description: "\"You know, the Philistines have long since discarded the rack and stake as a means of suppressing the opinions they feared: they've discovered a much mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/w-somerset-maugham-237_destruction_you-know-the-philistines-have-long-since_1043033.jpg" --- # You know, the Philistines have long since discarded the… ![“You know, the Philistines have long since discarded the rack and stake as a means of suppressing the opinions they feared: they've discovered a much more deadly weapon of destruction -- the wisecrack.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/w-somerset-maugham-237_destruction_you-know-the-philistines-have-long-since_1043033.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/w-somerset-maugham-237_destruction_you-know-the-philistines-have-long-since_1043033.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/w-somerset-maugham-237_destruction_you-know-the-philistines-have-long-since_1043033.jpg) > “You know, the Philistines have long since discarded the rack and stake as a means of suppressing the opinions they feared: they've discovered a much more deadly weapon of destruction -- the wisecrack.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas are now suppressed by humor and sarcasm rather than physical force. **In simple terms:** Wit replaces violence. Key Takeaway Use humor wisely, not destructively. Themes speech humor power dynamics Mood satirical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political debates - social media - classroom discussions - activism Key Concepts political science communication psychology Questions to Reflect On - When does a joke become harmful? - Can satire inspire change? A Different Perspective Humor can mask serious oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Philistines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philistines/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [“Love is not a dead sentence and should never be used as a weapon of destruction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-ambu/love-is-not-a-dead-sentence-and-should-never-be-used-as-a-weapon-of/) [Joan Ambu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-ambu/) > [It would be a terrific innovation if you could get your mind to stretch a little further than the next wisecrack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/it-would-be-a-terrific-innovation-if-you-could-get-your-mind-to/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [“There's poverty in wealth. If a man is wealthy without good health, is he not poor? If a man is wealthy without children, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-s-poverty-in-wealth-if-a-man-is-wealthy-without-good-health-is/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“You're like candy. People lick your knowledge to become wise, lick your words from your powerful mouth and say it even better than you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-like-candy-people-lick-your-knowledge-to-become-wise-lick-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why can't the black man have a God? What's so wrong when a black man says his God will protect him form his white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/why-can-t-the-black-man-have-a-god-what-s-so-wrong-when-a-black-man/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Philistine - a word which I understand properly to denote indifference to the higher intellectual interests. The word may also be defined, however, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/philistine-a-word-which-i-understand-properly-to-denote-indifference/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [No difference exists between American and European manners. A proletarian from Chicago can be just as Philistine as an English duke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/no-difference-exists-between-american-and-european-manners-a/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Trinidad may seem complex, but to anyone who knows it, it is a simple, colonial, philistine society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/trinidad-may-seem-complex-but-to-anyone-who-knows-it-it-is-a-simple/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Everything about me is a contradiction, and so is everything about everybody else. We are made out of oppositions; we live between two poles.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/everything-about-me-is-a-contradiction-and-so-is-everything-about/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [It has been wisely said, "that well may thy guardian angel suffer thee to lose thy locks, when thou darest wilfully to lay thy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-porter/it-has-been-wisely-said-that-well-may-thy-guardian-angel-suffer-thee/) [Jane Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-porter/) > [I started to shed the monstrous aesthetic affectation of my youth so as to make room for the monstrous philistine postures of middle age,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-started-to-shed-the-monstrous-aesthetic-affectation-of-my-youth-so/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [When temptation comes your way, name that boastful, deceitful giant “Goliath!” and do with it as David did to the Philistine of Gath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/when-temptation-comes-your-way-name-that-boastful-deceitful-giant/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The society of the Culture-Philistines makes life a burden to exceptional men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-brandes/the-society-of-the-culture-philistines-makes-life-a-burden-to/) [Georg Brandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-brandes/) > [A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from boredom they are always in need of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is-that-idealities-afford-them/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/any-test-that-turns-on-what-is-offensive-to-the-community-s-standards/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You know, the Philistines have long since discarded the rack and stake as a means of suppressing the opinions they feared: they've discovered a much more deadly weapon of destruction -- the wisecrack.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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