Authority quotes
479 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
"If you find from your own experience that something is a fact and it contradicts what some authority has written down, then you must abandon the authority and base your reasoning on your own findings."
"What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make room for interventions on the part of those represented."
"There is no power or authority without responsibility, and he who accepts the one cannot escape or evade the other."
"The sovereign power of all civil authority is founded in the consent of the people."
"I had the greatest respect for the authorities of my day--until I studied things for myself, and came to my own conclusions."
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside authority — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people."
"I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity."
"Freedom is not possible without authority - otherwise it would turn into chaos and authority is not possible without freedom - otherwise it would turn into tyranny."
"You can't stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it."
"Authority, without any condition and reservation, belongs to the nation."
"Modern intelligence won't accept anything on authority. But it will accept anything without authority."
"Defiance, not obedience, is the American's answer to overbearing authority."
"When you make your peace with authority, you become authority."
"How long would authority ... exist, if not for the willingness of the mass to become soldiers, policemen, jailers, and hangmen."
"Authority cannot be bought or sold, given or taken away."
"With deregulation, one sector of the economy after another is "liberated" to capital's unmonitored authority. The very notion that there is a public interest is contested."
"All authority is quite degrading. It degrades those who exercise it, and it degrades those over whom it is exercised."
"No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority."
"Authority is quite degrading."
"You become mature when you become the authority of your own life."
"It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families."
"Even while lying, you'll be believed if you speak with authority."
"The ultimate court of appeal is observation and experiment... not authority."
"There is no authority who decides what is a good idea."
"I talk with the authority of failure - Ernest with the authority of success. We could never sit across the same table again."
