--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The highest law gives a thing to him who…" description: "\"The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg" --- # The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it. ![“The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg) > “The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those who can wield the law effectively should be granted its use, implying that power belongs to the capable. **In simple terms:** Power belongs to those who can use it wisely. Key Takeaway Seek competence before authority. Themes law power competence ethics Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - leadership roles - legal reform - community decision making Key Concepts political philosophy authority responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Who is truly competent to wield power? - How can society ensure responsible use? A Different Perspective Authority without competence can be abusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives/) [Gives Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives-thing-5946028/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Highest Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest-law-524327/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Gives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-gives-1705501/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“…tradition gives the one thing many shapes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/tradition-gives-the-one-thing-many-shapes/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-will-of-god-to-which-the-law-gives-expression-is-that-men-should/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have absolute faith that anything can come to one who trusts to the unlimited help of the Universal Intelligence that is within, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/i-have-absolute-faith-that-anything-can-come-to-one-who-trusts-to-the/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [The House, being strong, should be generous ... but the constituents have a right to more than generosity… The law gives me my seat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/the-house-being-strong-should-be-generous-but-the-constituents-have-a/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [Most attorneys practice law because it gives them a grand and glorious feeling. You give them a grand - and they feel glorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/most-attorneys-practice-law-because-it-gives-them-a-grand-and/) [Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/) > [Like other high subjects, the Law gives no ground to common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/like-other-high-subjects-the-law-gives-no-ground-to-common-sense/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/justice-that-love-gives-is-a-surrender-justice-that-law-gives-is-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The safety of the people shall be the highest law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-safety-of-the-people-shall-be-the-highest-law/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“The welfare of the people is the highest law”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cicero/the-welfare-of-the-people-is-the-highest-law/) [Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cicero/) > [Do not talk to me of goodness, of abstract justice, of nature law. Necessity is the highest law, public welfare is the highest justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/do-not-talk-to-me-of-goodness-of-abstract-justice-of-nature-law/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Charged with faithfully executing the laws, the president is, in effect, the nation's highest law enforcement officer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/charged-with-faithfully-executing-the-laws-the-president-is-in-effect/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [Comprehensibility is the highest law of all. Unity must be there. There must be means of ensuring it. All the things familiar to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/comprehensibility-is-the-highest-law-of-all-unity-must-be-there-there/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [A regime which puts in a bunker the highest law in the land does not have the moral authority to say that nobody is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/a-regime-which-puts-in-a-bunker-the-highest-law-in-the-land-does-not/) [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/) > [Whether arrived at through reason or revelation, natural law is the highest law known to man. It is anchored in the very existential nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/whether-arrived-at-through-reason-or-revelation-natural-law-is-the/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“The people have realized that Martial Law is not law. A regime not established by law is devoid of the attribute to dispense law.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/the-people-have-realized-that-martial-law-is-not-law-a-regime-not/) [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Gives quotes > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [Baseball gives a growing boy self poise and self reliance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-spalding/baseball-gives-a-growing-boy-self-poise-and-self-reliance/) [Al Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-spalding/) > [When I get home, I'm not the boss like I am at work - I slip into a more feminine role. I take everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/when-i-get-home-i-m-not-the-boss-like-i-am-at-work-i-slip-into-a-more/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [I like L.A. because of the light. The light makes me feel so good. It's really beautiful. And there's something about L.A. being so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/i-like-l-a-because-of-the-light-the-light-makes-me-feel-so-good-it-s/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [That's what film can do in a way that TV and other long-form storytelling can't. It gives you this very immersive moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-chandor/that-s-what-film-can-do-in-a-way-that-tv-and-other-long-form/) [J. C. Chandor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-chandor/) > [Through the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/through-the-music-i-hope-to-give-it-an-arc-that-gives-it-a-greater/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [When you wake up and learn to love yourself and want to take care of yourself, things are harder because people don't like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/when-you-wake-up-and-learn-to-love-yourself-and-want-to-take-care-of/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [Nobody gives another penny for the selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-the-veil/nobody-gives-another-penny-for-the-selfish/) [Pierce The Veil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-the-veil/) > [A women can only take so much until she finally gives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-women-can-only-take-so-much-until-she-finally-gives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-strong-sense-of-identity-gives-man-an-idea-he-can-do-no-wrong-too/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Obama can't change his cool disposition, though it would be nice if he lost the vaguely grudging air he gives off that problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/obama-can-t-change-his-cool-disposition-though-it-would-be-nice-if-he/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/concentration-of-wealth-yields-concentration-of-political-power-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Life gives so much , we are the one don't receive it ,,,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norden/life-gives-so-much-we-are-the-one-don-t-receive-it/) [Norden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norden/) [Browse all 986 Gives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who-can-use-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who-can-use-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/henry-david-thoreau-20_gives_the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who_2420073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The highest law gives a thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who-can-use-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-highest-law-gives-a-thing-to-him-who-can-use-it/#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 } } ] } ```