It's the understanding that he can make things happen in the world; he can defend himself against his father's punishment through the use of words.

这是一种理解，他可以让事情发生在世界上；他可以用语言来为自己辩护，使自己免受父亲的惩罚。

youdao

He used the old trick of attacking in order to defend himself.

他采用了以攻为守的老招数。

《牛津词典》

In the electronic world, all of us are on our own, and each of us has to defend ourselves.

在电子世界中，我们所有的人都要靠我们自己，而且我们每个人都必须保护我们自己。

youdao

They volunteered to join Tennessean Andrew Jackson to defend the city of New Orleans,Louisiana, against the British army in the War of Eighteen Twelve.

VOA: special.2009.08.23

So, the authority of the canon that he invokes to defend himself in fact suggests perhaps that he has some doubts? Yes.

因此，那些他用来维护他自己的大炮的权威,表明了他实际上是有怀疑的。

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选

It's the understanding that he can make things happen in the world; he can defend himself against his father's punishment through the use of words.

自己的价值;,凭借唇齿,他可以与父亲周旋。

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选

I'm in awe of how many of you signed up to defend our country in a time of war, serving heroically through deployment after deployment.

WHITEHOUSE: Improving Educational Opportunities for Service Members, Veterans and Their Families | The White House

Two weeks ago, members of this division appeared in front of Congress to defend their handling of a failed diabetes drug developed by Bristol and Merck.

FORBES: Magazine Article

They include drivers making more than one change of direction in trying to defend a position or the deliberate crowding of a car.

BBC: F1 drivers face tougher penalties