Deceptions
When we look at our contemporary culture of general knowledge, the late 20th and early 21st century yuppie mentality bore some of the most outrageous falsehoods one might possibly imagine, so much wrong realities, genuinely considered as authentic and intelligent, even considered chick to whisper around as small talk..regardless of its totally wrong substance…. Some of the most famous misconceptions are as follows; (irrespective of the controversy regarding the personalities involved).
A / Let them eat cake ! (Marie Antoinette)
This phrase is often brought up to exemplify how far removed from the masses leaders can be. The popular story claims that Queen Mary Antoinette said this when she heard her people were starving due to the lack of bread. However, Marie Antoinette never utter this phrase. The author of this phrase was actually the wife of Louis the 14th and not Louis the 16th who happened to bear the name of Marie too, She was referring to a famous French Law forcing bakeries and confectioneries to sell their cakes cheaper once their bread was sold out…. But this phrase was twisted and turned and made the “mob” believe a claim that probably accelerated the French revolution. Even today when we ask any educated person of our time, they will relate this phrase without hesitation, wrongly to Marie Antoinette.
B/ God Helps those who help themselves (Bible)
This phrase is often mentioned as a passage from the Bible, however nowhere in any translation of the book does the quote appear. It is also attributed to Ben Franklin, however…. which is also wrong, the most likely candidate was a British man called Algeron Sydney in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government. Although he never actually uses these exact words, the idea conveyed is that divinity cannot replace human actions. What is really interesting about this phrase is that the Bible repeatedly goes against this quote, saying that salvation lies only in God, who will save the helpless.
C/ The end justify the means (Machiavelli)
This quote from Machiavelli is actually completely opposed to the actual phrase used in the original text of the Prince. In his original essays Machiavelli says: “”Si guarda al fine” – “One must consider the end result,” which is the equivalent of him saying: “the ends don’t always justify the means.” A single phrase changes the whole meaning of the text instead of arguing that politicians must be ruthless as long as they meet a greater goal, Machiavelli e tries to say that we must always consider if things are worth the sacrifices and hardships we must endure.
This is an extremely interesting example or misinterpretation. Based on this miss-quote as well as rumors and misinterpretation of his works Machiavelli has come to embody the very concept of evil tyrant, while the man was most likely a political visionary and a promoter of enlightened ideas such as representative rule.
D/ Religion is the opiate of the Masses ( Marx)
This is another example of a famous political thinker whose words were misinterpreted by following generations. Not only does Marx never say directly that religion is the opiate of the masses; his words might have had a completely different meaning at the time they were said. The original quote from Marx’s critique of Hegel’s work is as follows: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
The phrase is a bit ambiguous, but it should be pretty obvious that Marx doesn’t see opium as a mind clouding substance as we think of it today. Considering that at the time this was written opiates were legal and widely available, it becomes obvious that Marx meant something different with this passage. Some interpretations of the passage, based on the fact that Opium was considered a useful medicine in some parts of Europe, even suggest that Marx meant that religion is a positive thing which can help humans elevate themselves above their current position.
E/ Israel must be wiped off the Map (Iran Pres. Ahmadinejad)
Best explained by Jonathan Steel “Iran's president was badly misquoted when he allegedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" has caused a welcome little storm. The phrase has been seized on by western and Israeli hawks to re-double suspicions of the Iranian government's intentions, so it is important to get the truth of what he really said.
The actual translation is "the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time"
Emphasis is on the “regime”, just as the Soviet Regime vanished, and the Apartheid Regime vanished .. without anyone exterminating the citizens of Russia and South Africa…. The same fate is being wished and striven for, for the Israeli regime.
A / Let them eat cake ! (Marie Antoinette)
This phrase is often brought up to exemplify how far removed from the masses leaders can be. The popular story claims that Queen Mary Antoinette said this when she heard her people were starving due to the lack of bread. However, Marie Antoinette never utter this phrase. The author of this phrase was actually the wife of Louis the 14th and not Louis the 16th who happened to bear the name of Marie too, She was referring to a famous French Law forcing bakeries and confectioneries to sell their cakes cheaper once their bread was sold out…. But this phrase was twisted and turned and made the “mob” believe a claim that probably accelerated the French revolution. Even today when we ask any educated person of our time, they will relate this phrase without hesitation, wrongly to Marie Antoinette.
B/ God Helps those who help themselves (Bible)
This phrase is often mentioned as a passage from the Bible, however nowhere in any translation of the book does the quote appear. It is also attributed to Ben Franklin, however…. which is also wrong, the most likely candidate was a British man called Algeron Sydney in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government. Although he never actually uses these exact words, the idea conveyed is that divinity cannot replace human actions. What is really interesting about this phrase is that the Bible repeatedly goes against this quote, saying that salvation lies only in God, who will save the helpless.
C/ The end justify the means (Machiavelli)
This quote from Machiavelli is actually completely opposed to the actual phrase used in the original text of the Prince. In his original essays Machiavelli says: “”Si guarda al fine” – “One must consider the end result,” which is the equivalent of him saying: “the ends don’t always justify the means.” A single phrase changes the whole meaning of the text instead of arguing that politicians must be ruthless as long as they meet a greater goal, Machiavelli e tries to say that we must always consider if things are worth the sacrifices and hardships we must endure.
This is an extremely interesting example or misinterpretation. Based on this miss-quote as well as rumors and misinterpretation of his works Machiavelli has come to embody the very concept of evil tyrant, while the man was most likely a political visionary and a promoter of enlightened ideas such as representative rule.
D/ Religion is the opiate of the Masses ( Marx)
This is another example of a famous political thinker whose words were misinterpreted by following generations. Not only does Marx never say directly that religion is the opiate of the masses; his words might have had a completely different meaning at the time they were said. The original quote from Marx’s critique of Hegel’s work is as follows: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
The phrase is a bit ambiguous, but it should be pretty obvious that Marx doesn’t see opium as a mind clouding substance as we think of it today. Considering that at the time this was written opiates were legal and widely available, it becomes obvious that Marx meant something different with this passage. Some interpretations of the passage, based on the fact that Opium was considered a useful medicine in some parts of Europe, even suggest that Marx meant that religion is a positive thing which can help humans elevate themselves above their current position.
E/ Israel must be wiped off the Map (Iran Pres. Ahmadinejad)
Best explained by Jonathan Steel “Iran's president was badly misquoted when he allegedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" has caused a welcome little storm. The phrase has been seized on by western and Israeli hawks to re-double suspicions of the Iranian government's intentions, so it is important to get the truth of what he really said.
The actual translation is "the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time"
Emphasis is on the “regime”, just as the Soviet Regime vanished, and the Apartheid Regime vanished .. without anyone exterminating the citizens of Russia and South Africa…. The same fate is being wished and striven for, for the Israeli regime.
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