never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.
—By Winston Churchill
Conviction mean i think-A strong belief
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1Is it perhaps the "to" that confuses you? It's related to "give in": you can "give in to something" (as in "accept or stop resisting against something"). So the statement is something like — and I'm going to use parentheses to now to group words together — "never give in, except when giving in to ((convictions of honour) & (good sense))"– Filip MilovanovićCommented Jun 28, 2023 at 21:05
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@FilipMilovanović meaning of give in to?– SamCommented Jun 29, 2023 at 1:50
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@Sam to indicates what makes you give in, for example this: "The government cannot be seen as giving in to terrorists' demands."– JavaLatteCommented Jun 29, 2023 at 7:48
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@JavaLatte can you (please) paraphrase the sentence by Winston Churchill.– SamCommented Jun 29, 2023 at 8:25
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Give in only in circumstances where failing to give in would compromise your personal integrity or go against common sense.– JavaLatteCommented Jun 29, 2023 at 8:43
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1 Answer
More often than not, to 'give in' to something has a negative connotation - for example, to surrender in battle, to buckle under pressure etc. But, actually, it is pretty much exchangeable with words like 'yield', and can be used positively.
Churchill's speech is talking about remaining steadfast - never 'giving in' to negative forces. However, he adds an exception that one can 'give in' or 'yield' to positive forces - namely honour and good sense. In other words, if honourable thoughts or good sense make you change your mind or actions, that is a good and noble force to 'give in' to.
answered Jul 2, 2023 at 15:30
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@ Sam I believe means "convictions characterized by honor and good sense," but it could be interpreted either way.– phoogCommented Jul 2, 2023 at 19:28
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@sam Have you looked at 'conviction' in the dictionary? It means a deeply-held belief or value. I didn't think that was the part of the sentence you were asking about. Commented Jul 2, 2023 at 20:04
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@Sam Well, convictions, beliefs and feelings could be viewed as either negative or positive. One could "give in to fear and doubt", so equally one could 'give in' to positive feelings, too. It's a slightly unusual use of the expression but that's what makes it powerful. Commented Jul 3, 2023 at 7:24