Arthur Miller: Stolen Million or Given Word
on Saturday, October 27, 2018Arthur Miller Money Quote saying we too easily allow our word to be given away but we furiously protect meaningless cash and risk all to recover stolen funds. Arthur Miller said:
“You can quicker get back a million dollars that was stolen than a word that you gave away” — Arthur Miller
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In this quote, Arthur Miller seems to be conveying that one’s words and actions can have permanent impacts that cannot be taken back or undone once released, for better or worse. Some key points:
- Miller notes it would be much easier and quicker to recover a large sum of money (“a million dollars”) if it was stolen from you, compared to retrieving something else you freely offered (“a word that you gave away”).
- He implies that uttering or publishing certain statements, opinions, information, etc. allows those ideas to spread and be interpreted in ways that cannot be fully controlled or reversed like retrieving stolen property.
- Once expressed, words have the potential to influence others and take on a life of their own separate from the speaker’s original intent, for good or ill.
Overall, the quote captures Miller’s perspective that verbal expressions and communications tend to be far harder to withdraw or erase from public consciousness than tangible property, since ideas spread and are interpreted subjectively once released from the originator’s control. For Miller, words warrant careful consideration due to their permanence compared to most material possessions.