--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you demand my authorities for this and…" description: "\"If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must reply that only those who have never hunted up the authorities as I have believe that there is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png" --- # If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must… ![“If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must reply that only those who have never hunted up the authorities as I have believe that there is any authority who is not contradicted flatly by some other authority.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png) > “If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must reply that only those who have never hunted up the authorities as I have believe that there is any authority who is not contradicted flatly by some other authority.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authority is always contested; no single authority is absolute because each is contradicted by another. **In simple terms:** All authority is challenged by other authority. Key Takeaway Question and test authority. Themes authority philosophy skepticism power truth Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical dialogue When to use this quote - debates - academic research - policy analysis Key Concepts relativism critical thinking political theory Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to accept authority? - How do we navigate conflicting authorities? A Different Perspective Authority can be useful despite contradictions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authorities Reply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorities-reply-5272113/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Contradicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-contradicted-5272110/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-authority-231686/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Demand Authorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand-authorities-5272112/) [Flatly Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatly-authority-5272111/) [Hunted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunted/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) ## Related quotes > [Do not believe what you have heard Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations Do not believe in anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-believe-what-you-have-heard-do-not-believe-in-tradition/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [If I believe authority is raised by God - I understand I don't understand all things. And what those purposes are. He's a sovereign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/if-i-believe-authority-is-raised-by-god-i-understand-i-don-t/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [There have, for years, been comparative studies of religious fanaticism and factors that correlate with it. By and large, it tends to decline with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-have-for-years-been-comparative-studies-of-religious-fanaticism/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“I do not believe God created an egalitarian world. I believe the authority of parent over child, husband over wife, learned over simple, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-do-not-believe-god-created-an-egalitarian-world-i-believe-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I'm not scared of the Maos and the Stalins and the Hitlers. I'm scared of the thousands of millions of people that hallucinate them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larken-rose/i-m-not-scared-of-the-maos-and-the-stalins-and-the-hitlers-i-m-scared/) [Larken Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larken-rose/) > [“A government must rule by the Grace of God or by the will of the people, it must believe in authority or in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/a-government-must-rule-by-the-grace-of-god-or-by-the-will-of-the/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [In my opinion, it helps enormously to know why something is true, rather than being told it is true, for why should you believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/in-my-opinion-it-helps-enormously-to-know-why-something-is-true/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [In searching for the self, one cannot simultaneously be the hunter and the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/in-searching-for-the-self-one-cannot-simultaneously-be-the-hunter-and/) [Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/) > [It is much easier to be the hunter than the hunted. When you are the one not expected to do anything, you play better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-payton/it-is-much-easier-to-be-the-hunter-than-the-hunted-when-you-are-the/) [Gary Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-payton/) > [Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-unique-by-virtue-of-their-large/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Home? I have no home. Hunted, despised, living like an animal. The jungle is my home. But I will show the world that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-wood/home-i-have-no-home-hunted-despised-living-like-an-animal-the-jungle/) [Ed Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-wood/) > [Perseus wore a magic cap that the monsters he hunted down might not see him. We draw the magic cap down over eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/perseus-wore-a-magic-cap-that-the-monsters-he-hunted-down-might-not/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Viewed from a holistic ecological perspective, some meat - such as conscientiously hunted animals - involves less suffering and environmental damage than arable agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/viewed-from-a-holistic-ecological-perspective-some-meat-such-as/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [“Last night, the Hunter was hunted. Do you remember how hard I made you cum?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-james/last-night-the-hunter-was-hunted-do-you-remember-how-hard-i-made-you/) [Ella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-james/) > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“I'm of the age and immaturity level that I cannot give you my respect solely because you are older or ranked higher on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/i-m-of-the-age-and-immaturity-level-that-i-cannot-give-you-my-respect/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [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/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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Hamas has a vision and a program, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/the-victory-of-hamas-is-not-only-based-on-the-corruption-of-the/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) [Browse all 4,003 Authority quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must reply that only those who have never hunted up the authorities as I have believe that there is any authority who is not contradicted flatly by some other authority.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-and-that-i-must-reply-that-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authority" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-and-that-i-must-reply-that-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/george-bernard-shaw-68_authority_if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-an_3083962.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you demand my authorities for this and that, I must reply that only those who have never hunted up the…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you demand my authorities for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-and-that-i-must-reply-that-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-demand-my-authorities-for-this-and-that-i-must-reply-that-only/#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 } } ] } ```