--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are the slaves of slaves" description: "\"We are the slaves of slaves\" — William Nicholson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png" --- # We are the slaves of slaves ![“We are the slaves of slaves” quote by William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png) > “We are the slaves of slaves” [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We become subservient to those who dominate, losing autonomy. **In simple terms:** We are controlled by others. Key Takeaway Regain personal agency. Themes power control autonomy Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - personal relationships - social hierarchies Key Concepts subjugation psychological dependence Questions to Reflect On - Who holds power over you and why? - How can you assert independence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) [Slaves Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves-slaves-959705/) ## Related quotes > [If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-tubman/if-i-could-have-convinced-more-slaves-that-they-were-slaves-i-could/) [Harriet Tubman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-tubman/) > [“I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-d-like-to-run-away-to-flee-from-what-i-know-from-what-is-mine-from/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [...How can Americans living in the freest country in the world be 'slaves'? We don't even enjoy the liberty of serfs. ( A serf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-w-royce/how-can-americans-living-in-the-freest-country-in-the-world-be-slaves/) [Kenneth W. Royce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-w-royce/) > [When the passage "All men are born free and equal," when that passage was being written were not some of the signers legalised owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/when-the-passage-all-men-are-born-free-and-equal-when-that-passage/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Slaves who are underfed, diseased, resentful, despairing, and filled with hate will never yield that maximum of output which they might achieve under normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-sauckel/slaves-who-are-underfed-diseased-resentful-despairing-and-filled-with/) [Fritz Sauckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-sauckel/) > [When white men were willing to put their own offspring in the kitchen and corn field and allowed them to be sold into bondage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-latimer-felton/when-white-men-were-willing-to-put-their-own-offspring-in-the-kitchen/) [Rebecca Latimer Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-latimer-felton/) > [The slaves who were ourselves had known terror intimately, confused sunrise with pain, & accepted indifference as kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/the-slaves-who-were-ourselves-had-known-terror-intimately-confused/) [Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [The slaves in Rome were incapable of leisure and so their masters gave them entertainment to keep them pacified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-slaves-in-rome-were-incapable-of-leisure-and-so-their-masters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [They are hare-brain'd slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-are-hare-brain-d-slaves/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Once slavery in America was not seen as radical. It became, instead, a revolutionary idea that slaves should be freed. When we have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/once-slavery-in-america-was-not-seen-as-radical-it-became-instead-a/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The master doesn’t need to chain his slaves; their needs will chain them to him. You can end slavery by the stroke of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-master-doesn-t-need-to-chain-his-slaves-their-needs-will-chain/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by William Nicholson > [Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/self-sufficiency-is-the-enemy-of-salvation-if-you-are-self-sufficient/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [My study is a converted garage which is largely lined with bookshelves and cardboard boxes filled with manuscripts of my film scripts, plays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/my-study-is-a-converted-garage-which-is-largely-lined-with/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/experience-is-a-brutal-teacher-but-you-learn-fast/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [Madly, futilely, I wrote novel after novel, eight in all, that failed to find a publisher. I persisted because for me the novel was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/madly-futilely-i-wrote-novel-after-novel-eight-in-all-that-failed-to/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [God creates us free, free to be selfish, but He adds a mechanism that will penetrate our selfishness and wake us up to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/god-creates-us-free-free-to-be-selfish-but-he-adds-a-mechanism-that/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [Use your power gently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/use-your-power-gently/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [When I began to write seriously, 40 years ago now, my chosen form was the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/when-i-began-to-write-seriously-40-years-ago-now-my-chosen-form-was/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [He accepted what each moment brough him, and never troubled himself with matters that were outside his control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/he-accepted-what-each-moment-brough-him-and-never-troubled-himself/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [All the fear in the world, and the violence that comes from the fear, and the hatred that comes from the violence, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/all-the-fear-in-the-world-and-the-violence-that-comes-from-the-fear/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [There is this notion that the lives of the comfortable-off middle class don't merit being treated seriously and with compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/there-is-this-notion-that-the-lives-of-the-comfortable-off-middle/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [We write to know we are not alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/we-write-to-know-we-are-not-alone/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [“It was wonderful, Eddy. It was perfect.' 'No,' he says. 'But it will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/it-was-wonderful-eddy-it-was-perfect-no-he-says-but-it-will-be/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [I am as I am. The world is as it is. Whether I am content with that has very little to do with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/i-am-as-i-am-the-world-is-as-it-is-whether-i-am-content-with-that-has/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [“HARRINGTON: And God hears your prayer, doesn't he? We hear Joy's getting better. ... LEWIS: That's not why I pray, Harry. I pray because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/harrington-and-god-hears-your-prayer-doesn-t-he-we-hear-joy-s-getting/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [To put it another way, pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Why must it be pain? Why can't he rouse us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/to-put-it-another-way-pain-is-god-s-megaphone-to-rouse-a-deaf-world/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) [Explore all 28 William Nicholson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) ## More Slave quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I didn't want to be a slave to any passion anymore. I gave up card playing altogether, even bridge and gambling - more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-didn-t-want-to-be-a-slave-to-any-passion-anymore-i-gave-up-card/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/my-favorite-founding-fathers-christians-like-john-adams-were/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Being a slave is to have nothing but still having something left to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalita-tedemy/being-a-slave-is-to-have-nothing-but-still-having-something-left-to/) [Lalita Tedemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalita-tedemy/) > [“Whoever then would be free, let him wish for nothing, let him decline nothing, which depends on others; else he must necessarily be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus-epictetus/whoever-then-would-be-free-let-him-wish-for-nothing-let-him-decline/) [Epictetus Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus-epictetus/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Don't become a slave to non-crucial matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ringer/don-t-become-a-slave-to-non-crucial-matters/) [Robert Ringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ringer/) > [“People think blood red, but blood don't got no colour. Not when blood wash the floor she lying on as she scream for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/people-think-blood-red-but-blood-don-t-got-no-colour-not-when-blood/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) [Browse all 2,844 Slave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are the slaves of slaves", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Nicholson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Slave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/william-nicholson-18696_slave_we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves-3076241_3076241.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are the slaves of slaves” — William Nicholson", "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": "William Nicholson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are the slaves of slaves", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/we-are-the-slaves-of-slaves/#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 } } ] } ```