Such progress we have made! In the Middle Ages, they would have burned me as a witch, but now they are content to burn my book.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Freud contrasts the harsher physical punishment of the past with the modern intellectual criticism he faces, highlighting a shift in tolerance.
- In plain terms
- I would have been killed in the past, but now people just attack my work.
- What can you take from it?
- Modern criticism replaces physical persecution as a form of punishment.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is being ignored worse than being attacked?
- How has societal tolerance changed over time?
Another view
This comparison overlooks that non-physical persecution can still be harmful.
More from Sigmund Freud
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