“ They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. ”
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899). copy citation
| Author | Joseph Conrad |
|---|---|
| Source | Heart of Darkness |
| Topic | strength weakness power force |
| Date | 1899 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/219/219-h/219-h.htm |
Context
“«Mind,» he began again, lifting one arm from the elbow, the palm of the hand outwards, so that, with his legs folded before him, he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower—«Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this. What saves us is efficiency—the devotion to efficiency. But these chaps were not much account, really. They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.”
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Meaning and analysis
