John Locke, Essay on the Human Understanding, III. 10.
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We should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves.
— John Locke on Words
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves." in the context of "John Locke, Essay on the Human Understanding, III. 10." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Words" (Quotes, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 902-07.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About John Locke
John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. He developed an alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature and asserted a government could be good only if it received the consent of the governed and protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and estate. If such a consent was not achieved, Locke argued in favour of a right of rebellion, which he referred to as an "appeal to heaven".
About John Locke
John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. He developed an alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature and asserted a government could be good only if it received the consent of the governed and protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and estate. If such a consent was not achieved, Locke argued in favour of a right of rebellion, which he referred to as an "appeal to heaven".
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