"Now being in such grace and favor by reason I learned him some points of geometry and understanding of the art of mathematics with other things, I pleased him so that what I said he would not contrary"
About this Quote
Power here isn’t seized with a sword; it’s smuggled in through a lesson. Will Adams, an English pilot shipwrecked into Tokugawa Japan, describes a moment of improbable leverage: he wins “grace and favor” by teaching geometry and mathematics. The line is clunky, almost breathless, but that’s part of its honesty. Adams isn’t polishing an aphorism; he’s recording a survival tactic that happened to align with a nation’s strategic curiosity.
The intent is plain: to explain how a foreigner, with no army and no lineage, became useful enough to be heard. The subtext is sharper. “By reason I learned him” frames knowledge as currency and as a quiet form of dominance. Adams positions himself as both servant and indispensable specialist, transforming technical instruction into political access. Geometry here isn’t abstract beauty; it’s navigation, fortification, gunnery, shipbuilding - the toolkit of statecraft. Teaching it means you’re no longer merely a guest or captive. You’re a resource.
His closing clause - “what I said he would not contrary” - reveals the real prize: not just protection, but influence. It’s also a careful boast, the kind that signals status while pretending to be reportage. In the early 1600s, Japan was consolidating under Ieyasu, weighing foreign trade and Christian influence against internal control. Adams’ mathematics becomes a passport into that decision-making world. The line captures an early modern truth: expertise travels farther than identity, but it travels best when it flatters power.
The intent is plain: to explain how a foreigner, with no army and no lineage, became useful enough to be heard. The subtext is sharper. “By reason I learned him” frames knowledge as currency and as a quiet form of dominance. Adams positions himself as both servant and indispensable specialist, transforming technical instruction into political access. Geometry here isn’t abstract beauty; it’s navigation, fortification, gunnery, shipbuilding - the toolkit of statecraft. Teaching it means you’re no longer merely a guest or captive. You’re a resource.
His closing clause - “what I said he would not contrary” - reveals the real prize: not just protection, but influence. It’s also a careful boast, the kind that signals status while pretending to be reportage. In the early 1600s, Japan was consolidating under Ieyasu, weighing foreign trade and Christian influence against internal control. Adams’ mathematics becomes a passport into that decision-making world. The line captures an early modern truth: expertise travels farther than identity, but it travels best when it flatters power.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teaching |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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