This week, the Phrase of the Day turned to loyalty: to friends, to country, to principle, and to the people we choose to stand beside. The seven phrases below come from novelists, journalists and a statesman, and together they show that loyalty is rarely as simple as it first appears. Each is accompanied by a short reflection on its meaning.
"Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it."
Mark Twain, author and journalist
Twain draws a sharp line between the nation and those who happen to govern it. Written in 1905 in "The Czar's Soliloquy", a satirical piece aimed at autocratic rule, the phrase argues that devotion to one's country does not require unconditional obedience to its rulers. Loyalty to government, in Twain's view, must be earned, not assumed.
"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country."
E. M. Forster, novelist
Published in 1938, on the eve of the Second World War, Forster's essay "What I Believe" placed personal relationships above abstract causes. The line remains provocative because it reverses the usual order of allegiance. For Forster, loyalty to a real person was a moral commitment that no ideology or state could override.
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty."
Edward R. Murrow, broadcast journalist
Murrow spoke these words on CBS's "See It Now" in 1954, in a broadcast challenging the anti-communist campaign of Senator Joseph McCarthy. At a time when questioning authority could cost people their careers, Murrow insisted that criticism is not betrayal. The phrase has since become a cornerstone of arguments for press freedom and open debate.
"My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
Carl Schurz, US Senator
Schurz, a German-born politician who emigrated to the United States, spoke these words in the Senate in 1872, responding to a colleague who had used the slogan "my country, right or wrong". By completing the phrase, he transformed a call for blind patriotism into one of active responsibility. True loyalty, he suggested, means working to correct one's country's mistakes rather than ignoring them.
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
J. R. R. Tolkien, author
In "The Fellowship of the Ring", the dwarf Gimli speaks this line as the Fellowship prepares to set out on its dangerous quest. The phrase captures a simple but demanding idea: loyalty is tested in hardship, not comfort. Anyone can stand by others when the path is easy; faithfulness shows itself when it becomes difficult.
"All for one, one for all."
Alexandre Dumas, author
The motto of the musketeers in Dumas's 1844 novel "The Three Musketeers", the phrase has become one of the best-known expressions of solidarity in any language. It describes loyalty as a two-way bond: each member supports the group, and the group protects each member. Its enduring popularity, from sports teams to political movements, reflects its universal appeal.
"Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love's tragedies."
Oscar Wilde, author and playwright
Spoken by the cynical Lord Henry Wotton in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), the line is a typical Wildean paradox. It deliberately turns conventional morality on its head, suggesting that faithfulness brings safety but little drama. Read against the rest of this week's phrases, it serves as a reminder that loyalty has always invited debate, and even provocation.
