--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, the first thing is that truth and…" description: "\"Well, the first thing is that truth and power for me form an antithesis, an antagonism, which will hardly ever be resolved. I can define in fact, can s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/wole-soyinka-1587_antagonism_well-the-first-thing-is-that-truth-and-p_2768176.jpg" --- # Well, the first thing is that truth and power for me form… ![“Well, the first thing is that truth and power for me form an antithesis, an antagonism, which will hardly ever be resolved. I can define in fact, can simplify the history of human society, the evolution of human society, as a contest between power and freedom.” quote by Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/wole-soyinka-1587_antagonism_well-the-first-thing-is-that-truth-and-p_2768176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/wole-soyinka-1587_antagonism_well-the-first-thing-is-that-truth-and-p_2768176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/wole-soyinka-1587_antagonism_well-the-first-thing-is-that-truth-and-p_2768176.jpg) > “Well, the first thing is that truth and power for me form an antithesis, an antagonism, which will hardly ever be resolved. I can define in fact, can simplify the history of human society, the evolution of human society, as a contest between power and freedom.” [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power and truth are fundamentally opposed, creating an ongoing struggle between domination and liberty. **In simple terms:** Power conflicts with truth. Key Takeaway Question authority. Themes politics truth freedom Mood critical provocative Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - public discourse - policy making Key Concepts antithesis conflict societal evolution Questions to Reflect On - How can truth survive under oppressive power? - What role does freedom play in societal progress? A Different Perspective Resolution may be elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonism/) [Antithesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Power And Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-and-freedom/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/to-whom-will-the-technology-give-greater-power-and-freedom-and-whose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [The mediated world has approached us from a lot of different directions and we have freely chosen our automobiles and our skyscrapers and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/the-mediated-world-has-approached-us-from-a-lot-of-different/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [We've got to remain energy-independent. It gives us much more power and freedom than to be worried about what goes on in the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-ve-got-to-remain-energy-independent-it-gives-us-much-more-power/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“The dark net is a world of power and freedom: of expression, of creativity, of information, of ideas. Power and freedom endow our creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bartlett/the-dark-net-is-a-world-of-power-and-freedom-of-expression-of/) [Jamie Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bartlett/) > [“Lovers of transpersonal power seek the empowerment of selves and others—realizing that power and freedom are sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/lovers-of-transpersonal-power-seek-the-empowerment-of-selves-and/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) > [“Our growing dependence on technologies no one seems to understand or control has given rise to feelings of powerlessness and victimization. We find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/our-growing-dependence-on-technologies-no-one-seems-to-understand-or/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Driving, for me, means power and freedom. 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I don’t have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanti-christo-foundation/can-you-allow-the-thought-to-emerge-in-the-mind-when-you-arise-in-the/) [Shanti Christo Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanti-christo-foundation/) > [Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/money-is-power-freedom-a-cushion-the-root-of-all-evil-the-sum-of/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) ## More by Wole Soyinka > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [When I tried to create a new political party, which I stressed that this is not my party. I believe very much that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/when-i-tried-to-create-a-new-political-party-which-i-stressed-that/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/each-time-i-think-i-ve-created-time-for-myself-along-comes-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I began writing early - very, very early... I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-began-writing-early-very-very-early-i-was-already-writing-short/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading the writers of poems, seeing a painting, listening to some music, some opera, which has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/my-horizon-on-humanity-is-enlarged-by-reading-the-writers-of-poems/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remains is a fiefdom, a planet of slaves regimented by aliens from outer-space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/under-a-dictatorship-a-nation-ceases-to-exist-all-that-remains-is-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The phenomenon of creativity, we know, is closely related to the ability to yoke together separate, and even seemingly incompatible, matrices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-phenomenon-of-creativity-we-know-is-closely-related-to-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One, a mass movement from within, which, as you know, is constantly being put down brutally but which, again, regroups and moves forward as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-a-mass-movement-from-within-which-as-you-know-is-constantly-being/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One has to confront history honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-has-to-confront-history-honestly/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [We wasted a lot of creative energy in that immediate post colonial era, when there was a struggle between, you know, the Cold War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/we-wasted-a-lot-of-creative-energy-in-that-immediate-post-colonial/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-have-a-kind-of-magnetic-attraction-to-situations-of-violence/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The Egba kingdom was one of the very last to be ceded to the British protectorate. It remained almost an independent entity within what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-egba-kingdom-was-one-of-the-very-last-to-be-ceded-to-the-british/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I was born into a Christian household, in a parsonage in fact, so I grew up in sort of a missionary atmosphere but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-was-born-into-a-christian-household-in-a-parsonage-in-fact-so-i/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-problem-with-literature-with-writing-is-that-it-works-sometimes/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) [Explore all 225 Wole Soyinka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## More Antagonism quotes > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) C. D. Innes > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [No two leaves were alike, and yet there is no antagonism between them or between the branches on which they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-two-leaves-were-alike-and-yet-there-is-no-antagonism-between-them/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The love of power and the love of liberty are in eternal antagonism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-love-of-power-and-the-love-of-liberty-are-in-eternal-antagonism/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/history-shows-in-my-opinion-that-no-nation-can-survive-the-tension/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [A program of "disarmament," while imperialist antagonisms survive, is the most pernicious of fictions. Even if it were realized by way of general agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/a-program-of-disarmament-while-imperialist-antagonisms-survive-is-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Hey." She said, looking up from an open book propped up on one knee. 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