Nolite te bastardes carborundorum
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This Latin phrase means do not let the bastards grind you down, a message of resistance.
- In plain terms
- Do not let others crush your spirit.
- What can you take from it?
- Hold onto dignity under oppression.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you resist when you are powerless?
- What does it mean to be grounded?
Another view
It relies on translation to be understood fully by all readers.
More from Margaret Atwood
We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. The floor was of varnished wood, with stripes and circles painted on it, for the games that were formerly played …
Permalink to quote #2 There is more than one kind of freedom... Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't u…
Permalink to quote #4 I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily, than as a flawless clown.
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Maya AngelouMaya Angelou quote #1 If they cut off both hands, I will compose music anyway holding the pen in my teeth.
Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri Shostakovich quote #4 I am not capitulating.
Eugene IonescoEugene Ionesco quote #7