--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...wherever there is society, there is…" description: "\"“...wherever there is society, there is authority and the temptation to disobedience because our individual wills refuse to submit...”\" — John Geddes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/john-geddes-1052_authority_wherever-there-is-society-there-is-autho_2378220.jpg" --- # ...wherever there is society, there is authority and the… ![“...wherever there is society, there is authority and the temptation to disobedience because our individual wills refuse to submit...” quote by John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/john-geddes-1052_authority_wherever-there-is-society-there-is-autho_2378220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/john-geddes-1052_authority_wherever-there-is-society-there-is-autho_2378220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/john-geddes-1052_authority_wherever-there-is-society-there-is-autho_2378220.jpg) > ““...wherever there is society, there is authority and the temptation to disobedience because our individual wills refuse to submit...”” [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society creates authority, prompting individuals to resist when personal will opposes. **In simple terms:** Authority arises with society, sparking disobedience. Key Takeaway Balance authority with personal autonomy. Themes society authority rebellion Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - civil discourse - policy debate Key Concepts political theory individualism social contract Questions to Reflect On - When is disobedience justified? - How to channel personal will constructively? A Different Perspective Authority can be necessary for order; rebellion may be destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Defiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defiance/) [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Disobedience Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience-individual-5881343/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Society Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-authority-401099/) [Temptation Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temptation-disobedience-5881344/) [Willfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willfulness/) [Wills Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wills-refuse-5881345/) ## Related quotes > [In any given society the authority of man over man runs in inverse proportion to the intellectual development of that society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/in-any-given-society-the-authority-of-man-over-man-runs-in-inverse/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The discipline in your life should be one determined by your own desires and your own needs, not put upon you by society or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-discipline-in-your-life-should-be-one-determined-by-your-own/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [In our society, authority derives from justice, and in our society, learning to live with authority should derive from and aid learning to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kohlberg/in-our-society-authority-derives-from-justice-and-in-our-society/) [Lawrence Kohlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kohlberg/) > [“...you have a terrible beauty that scares me - a fierce defiance that won't be subdued - not that i want to tame you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-have-a-terrible-beauty-that-scares-me-a-fierce-defiance-that-won/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [No amount of human willfulness can overcome God's determined love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/no-amount-of-human-willfulness-can-overcome-god-s-determined-love/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [I think I've inherited a kind ofwillfulness, a kind of quiet willfulness that I'll just hang in there with something until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-goldwyn/i-think-i-ve-inherited-a-kind-ofwillfulness-a-kind-of-quiet/) [Tony Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-goldwyn/) > [“William talks about there being two kinds of will. Will A and Will B, I call it. Will A is what we all learn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/william-talks-about-there-being-two-kinds-of-will-will-a-and-will-b-i/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [“Man does not ask for nightmares, he does not ask to be bad. He does not will his own willfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/man-does-not-ask-for-nightmares-he-does-not-ask-to-be-bad-he-does-not/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [I've inherited a kind of... willfulness, a kind of quiet willfulness that I'll just hang in there with something until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-goldwyn/i-ve-inherited-a-kind-of-willfulness-a-kind-of-quiet-willfulness-that/) [Tony Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-goldwyn/) > [If you want to nourish a bird, you should let it live any way it chooses. 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Mastery must yield to mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-may/willfulness-must-give-way-to-willingness-and-surrender-mastery-must/) [Gerald May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-may/) > [Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-things-a-person-can-do/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Just as soon as children develop awareness, it is essential to demonstrate to them by word and deed that they must submit,” advised Swiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anneli-rufus/just-as-soon-as-children-develop-awareness-it-is-essential-to/) [Anneli Rufus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anneli-rufus/) > [“Willfulness, such as yours, is exactly what a girl needs to raise herself up to do something useful with her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-marie-buchanan/willfulness-such-as-yours-is-exactly-what-a-girl-needs-to-raise/) [Cathy Marie Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-marie-buchanan/) ## More by John Geddes > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...careful the morning lest it wake from slumber the city half-encumbered by the morning mist ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/careful-the-morning-lest-it-wake-from-slumber-the-city-half/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...I've decided ... love is an eternity of slow motion replays ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-decided-love-is-an-eternity-of-slow-motion-replays/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“... my early writing was a silent fury - at what or whom, I had no idea - but I shut it in until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/my-early-writing-was-a-silent-fury-at-what-or-whom-i-had-no-idea-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...little children adore me - I'm a Troll Tamer and they know it!...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/little-children-adore-me-i-m-a-troll-tamer-and-they-know-it/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...all this time I've been worshiping you - when other men wanted to kiss you, I've been offering the praise of my lips...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/all-this-time-i-ve-been-worshiping-you-when-other-men-wanted-to-kiss/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...you are not what you seem - you're a Sylph - you leave and the air retains your image - you haunt me...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-are-not-what-you-seem-you-re-a-sylph-you-leave-and-the-air/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...God daubs stars into galaxies with fiery paint - the same lacquer he uses upon your lips...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/god-daubs-stars-into-galaxies-with-fiery-paint-the-same-lacquer-he/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...language always occurs in a context - you can speak Elizabethan words, but to speak the language you have to put on the mindset...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/language-always-occurs-in-a-context-you-can-speak-elizabethan-words/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...the feelings that pass between us are deeper than fleshly touches...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-feelings-that-pass-between-us-are-deeper-than-fleshly-touches/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...open the access to your heart and write down what your voice is whispering...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/open-the-access-to-your-heart-and-write-down-what-your-voice-is/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [...true love is an irrevocable act - you can only give your heart away once - after that, you give as much as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/true-love-is-an-irrevocable-act-you-can-only-give-your-heart-away/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...the strands that connect us are frail, so don't hang great weights on slender wires...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-strands-that-connect-us-are-frail-so-don-t-hang-great-weights-on/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [...not even the wind can bring a tear to my eye the way you do...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/not-even-the-wind-can-bring-a-tear-to-my-eye-the-way-you-do/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) [Explore all 301 John Geddes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) ## 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. 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