---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where there is energy to command well…"
description: "\"“Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails.”\" — Charlotte Brontë"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg"
---

#  Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience…

![“Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails.” quote by Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg)

> ““Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails.””

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When a leader commands well, obedience follows naturally

**In simple terms:** Effective leadership yields loyal compliance

Key Takeaway

Cultivate clear, inspiring authority

Themes

leadership authority obedience

Mood

instructive reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- management training
- team building
- organizational culture
- military command

Key Concepts

Charismatic leadership ethical power

Questions to Reflect On

- What makes a command worthy of obedience?
- How can leaders ensure ethical compliance?

A Different Perspective

Obedience can become blind if not balanced with critical thinking

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [Command Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command-obedience-4836643/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Energy Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy-command-4900318/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [Obedience Fails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience-fails-4900317/)

## Related quotes

> [“It was my time to assume ascendency. My powers were in-play and in force. I told him to forbear question or remark; I desired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-was-my-time-to-assume-ascendency-my-powers-were-in-play-and-in/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“the darkest desire of humankind—to hold absolute power, to control, to command obedience, to eliminate all voices of disagreement and dissent—had found its full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-darkest-desire-of-humankind-to-hold-absolute-power-to-control-to/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [“no State can command obedience if it does not deserve respect;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-state-can-command-obedience-if-it-does-not-deserve-respect/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [This command seems to me to be strictly a missionary injunction; so that, apart altogether from choice and other lower reasons, my going forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gilmour/this-command-seems-to-me-to-be-strictly-a-missionary-injunction-so/)

[James Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gilmour/)

> [He who cannot obey cannot command.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/he-who-cannot-obey-cannot-command/)

[Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/)

> [The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 ... obeyed by faith ... obedience is the pathway to holiness ... no one will become holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/the-heroes-of-faith-in-hebrews-11-obeyed-by-faith-obedience-is-the/)

[Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/)

> [O my God, since thou art with me, and i must now, in obedience to thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-lawrence/o-my-god-since-thou-art-with-me-and-i-must-now-in-obedience-to-thy/)

[Brother Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-lawrence/)

> [A man who wills commands something within himself that renders obedience, or that he believes renders obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/a-man-who-wills-commands-something-within-himself-that-renders/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [In the weakness of one kind of authority, and in the fluctuation of all, the officers of an army will remain for some time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-the-weakness-of-one-kind-of-authority-and-in-the-fluctuation-of/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [It is much safer to be subject than it is to command. Many live in obedience more from necessity than from love. Such become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/it-is-much-safer-to-be-subject-than-it-is-to-command-many-live-in/)

[Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/)

> [If you have nothing of the spirit of prayer, nothing of the love of the brotherhood, nothing of mortifying the spirit of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardiner-spring/if-you-have-nothing-of-the-spirit-of-prayer-nothing-of-the-love-of/)

[Gardiner Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardiner-spring/)

> [It feels good when it helps to get a good seat for a football game. But it never helped me make a good film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/it-feels-good-when-it-helps-to-get-a-good-seat-for-a-football-game/)

[Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/)

> [The case is this: God offers you one of the greatest mercies on this side of heaven and commands you to accept it. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/the-case-is-this-god-offers-you-one-of-the-greatest-mercies-on-this/)

[John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/)

> [Our Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his departure, commissioned his apostles to Go, and teach all nations; or, as another evangelist expresses it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/our-lord-jesus-christ-a-little-before-his-departure-commissioned-his/)

[William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/)

> [Love naturally reverses the idea of obedience, and causes the struggle between any two who truly love each other to be, not who shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-power-cobbe/love-naturally-reverses-the-idea-of-obedience-and-causes-the-struggle/)

[Frances Power Cobbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-power-cobbe/)

## More by Charlotte Brontë

> [When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-we-are-struck-at-without-a-reason-we-should-strike-back-again/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence; but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though He often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/a-deal-of-people-miss-are-for-trusting-all-to-providence-but-i-say/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“This night is not calm; the equinox still struggles in its storms. The wild rains of the day are abated; the great single cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/this-night-is-not-calm-the-equinox-still-struggles-in-its-storms-the/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“How dare I, Mrs Reed? How dare I? Because it is the truth. You think I have no feelings, and that I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/how-dare-i-mrs-reed-how-dare-i-because-it-is-the-truth-you-think-i/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Poverty, for me, is synonymous with degradation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/poverty-for-me-is-synonymous-with-degradation/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [When his first-born was put into his arms, he could see that the boy had inherited his own eyes, as they once were -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-his-first-born-was-put-into-his-arms-he-could-see-that-the-boy/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Talented people almost always know full well the excellence that is in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/talented-people-almost-always-know-full-well-the-excellence-that-is/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Not one spark of spirit, not one symptom of resistance, would they have shown till the hand of the Corsican bandit had grasped that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/not-one-spark-of-spirit-not-one-symptom-of-resistance-would-they-have/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-can-excuse-anything-except-meanness-but-meanness-kills-love/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-think-you-will-learn-to-be-natural-with-me-as-i-find-it-impossible/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“You are no ruin sir--no lighting-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-no-ruin-sir-no-lighting-struck-tree-you-are-green-and/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

[Explore all 1,082 Charlotte Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

## More Command quotes

> [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/)

[Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/)

> [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/)

[Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/)

> [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/)

[G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/)

> [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [Why has no religion this command before all others: Thou shalt work?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berthold-auerbach/why-has-no-religion-this-command-before-all-others-thou-shalt-work/)

[Berthold Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berthold-auerbach/)

> [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [When you're in command, command.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/when-you-re-in-command-command/)

[Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/)

> [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/)

[Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/)

> [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/)

[Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/)

> [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/)

[William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/)

> [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/)

[Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/)

> [You've got Washington picking winners and losers. And so, all of a sudden, decisions are being made on what helps politicians, not what helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/you-ve-got-washington-picking-winners-and-losers-and-so-all-of-a/)

[Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/)

> [While it is becoming increasingly obvious that the fundamental architecture of a system has a profound Influence on the quality of its human factors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-m-branscomb/while-it-is-becoming-increasingly-obvious-that-the-fundamental/)

[Lewis M. Branscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-m-branscomb/)

[Browse all 1,694 Command quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charlotte Brontë"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-enough-obedience-never-fails/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Command"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-enough-obedience-never-fails/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/charlotte-bronte-144_command_where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-en_3022602.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Where there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails.” — Charlotte Brontë",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charlotte Brontë",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Where there is energy to command...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-enough-obedience-never-fails/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/where-there-is-energy-to-command-well-enough-obedience-never-fails/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
