Quotes about authority

"No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority."

Addison, Joseph on authority   

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"To say that authority, whether secular or religious, supplies no ground for morality is not to deny the obvious fact that it supplies a sanction."

Ayer, Sir Alfred Jules on authority   

"Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the boot-maker."

Bakunin, Mikhail on authority   

"Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge, fitter to bruise than to polish."

Bradstreet, Anne on authority   

"Anyone who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his understanding, but rather his memory."

Da Vinci, Leonardo on authority
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"Authority is never without hate."

Euripides on authority   

"Authority is not a quality one person has, in the sense that he has property or physical qualities. Authority refers to an interpersonal relation in which one person looks upon another as somebody superior to him."

Fromm, Erich on authority   

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."

Gaulle, Charles De on authority
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"I grew up to always respect authority and respect those in charge."

Hill, Grant on authority   

"Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself."

Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich on authority   

"Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt."

Lindner, Robert on authority   

"Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history mankind has been bullied by scum. Those who lord it over their fellows and toss commands in every direction and would boss the grass in the meadow about which way to bend in the wind are the most depraved kind of prostitutes. They will submit to any indignity, perform any vile act, do anything to achieve power. The worst off-sloughings of the planet are the ingredients of sovereignty. Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy the whores are us."

O'Rourke, P. J. on authority   

"No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority."

Reichenbach, Hans on authority   

"To be free in an age like ours, one must be in a position of authority. That in itself would be enough to make me ambitious."

Renan, Ernest on authority   

"However sugarcoated and ambiguous, every form of authoritarianism must start with a belief in some group's greater right to power, whether that right is justified by sex, race, class, religion or all four. However far it may expand, the progression inevitably rests on unequal power and airtight roles within the family."

Steinem, Gloria on authority   

"Under our form of government, the source of authority is supposed to be “We the people.” Not the slaves of a King. Our elected leaders are supposed to be public servants and not private masters. "

Dye, James on authority   

"It is not enough to give orders they must be obeyed."

Bonaparte, Napoleon on authority   

"I can wield authority, but it’s the worst currency in the world."

Plant, Robert on authority