The Principles of Success in Literature (1865)
Context: A man must be himself convinced if he is to convince others. The prophet must be his own disciple, or he will make none. Enthusiasm is contagious: belief creates belief. There is no influence issuing from unbelief or from languid acquiescence. This is peculiarly noticeable in Art, because Art depends on sympathy for its influence, and unless the artist has felt the emotions he depicts we remain unmoved: in proportion to the depth of his feeling is our sympathetic response; in proportion to the shallowness or falsehood of his presentation is our coldness or indifference.
“Positiveness is a good quality for preachers and orators, because he that would obtrude his thoughts and reasons upon a multitude, will convince others the more, as he appears convinced himself.”
Thoughts on Various Subjects from Miscellanies (1711-1726)
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Jonathan Swift 141
Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, and poet 1667–1745Related quotes
“Thoughts convince thinkers; for this reason, thoughts convince seldom.”
Denken überzeugt Denkende; darum überzeugt Denken selten.
Nur Lebendiges schwimmt gegen den Strom, Aphorismen. 1985.
“Let him who would move and convince others, be first moved and convinced himself.”
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 477.
“The Big Front Yard” (pp. 142-143); originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, October 1958
Short Fiction, Skirmish (1977)
Source: Problems and theories of philosophy, 1949, p. 166–167, as cited in Łukasiewicz, 2016.
UTI interview (2004)
Context: I think that most people, when faced with overwhelming facts, will come around. (I know I certainly have.) But it is definitely difficult to overcome people’s entrenched beliefs, so I feel that if I only convince people that the other side is a reasonable position to take, even if they themselves don’t take it, then I’ve been a success.
It is sort of a quixotic task in that sense, but it’s also useful to me by helping clarify my ideas.
When you say something particularly controversial on the Web, you’ll get all sorts of people coming at you with arguments. Considering those arguments and seeing if they’re right or, if they’re wrong, why they’re wrong, has been very valuable in clarifying my beliefs (and similarly, I hope my challenges have helped other people clarify their beliefs).