A brass megaphone sends out radiating golden light above red cloth against deep crimson.

Original artwork, not a still

Rudyard Kipling

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Language is compared with a substance capable of changing how people feel and act. Calling it the strongest such influence gives ordinary speech a startling force. The comparison asks the reader to notice effects that can be easy to overlook precisely because words are so familiar and widely used.

Context reviewed

Share this quote