Authority

• “By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion.”

• “Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case, "authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse."”

• “I feel boundless anger against parental authority, which crushed me under the high-sounding name of parental love, and against state and social authority, which abused me in the name of universal love.”

• “Obviously, absolute Authority in the strong sense of the word is never realised in fact. Only God is held to possess it.”

• “And though authority be a stubborn bear, yet he is oft led by the nose with gold.”

• “It seemed even the smallest exercise of arbitrary authority could go to one’s head like wine. I told myself to remember this when I was older.”

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.