“Words must be taken according to the matter whereof they are uttered.”

— Richard Hooker

Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie (1597), Book IV.11.7, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Words must be taken according to the matter whereof they are uttered." by Richard Hooker?

Richard Hooker6

English bishop and Anglican Divine 1554–1600

Related quotes

“When you can have anything you want by uttering a few words, the goal matters not, only the journey to it.”

Christopher Paolini book Eldest

Rhunon
Source: Eldest (2005)

“These laws must be construed according to the intention of them: and the circumstances of things at the time of enacting them ought to be taken into consideration.”

John Eardley Wilmot (1709–1792) English judge

Rex v. Inhabitants of Burton-Bradstock (1765), Burrow (Settlement Cases), 536.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

"Proclamation 3560 — Thanksgiving Day, 1963" (5 November 1963) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9511 <br class="br">1963 <br class="br">Context: Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers — for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.<br>Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings — let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals — and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.

“Must is not a word to be used to princes! Little man, little man, if your late father were here he would never dare utter such a word.”

Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603) Queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until 1603

To Robert Cecil when he said, in her final illness (March 1603), that she must go to bed.

“How furious she must be, now that she's been taken at her word.”

Margaret Atwood book The Handmaid's Tale

Source: The Handmaid's Tale

“Offended people still may experience miracles, words of utterance, strong preaching, and healing in their lives. But these are gifts of the Spirit, not fruits. We will be judged according to fruit, not gifting. A gift is given. Fruit is cultivated.”

John Bevere (1959) American author

Source: The Bait Of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense

“We must acknowledge that the utter poverty of hundreds of millions of people is not a matter for compassion only, but a threat in the long term to the growth and vigor of the global economic system.”

Al Gore (1948) 45th Vice President of the United States

Quotes, Our Larger Tasks (2002)
Context: We must acknowledge that the utter poverty of hundreds of millions of people is not a matter for compassion only, but a threat in the long term to the growth and vigor of the global economic system. We must see it as a part of our charge to help create economic opportunity so that the gap between the richest and poorest does not grow ever wider.