--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If absolute sovereignty be not necessary…" description: "\"If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a family?\" — Mary Astell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png" --- # If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how… ![“If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a family?” quote by Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png) > “If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a family?” [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If a state can function without absolute sovereignty, why must families require it? **In simple terms:** Questions the need for strict family hierarchy. Key Takeaway Reevaluate authority structures at home. Themes authority family politics Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - family meetings - parenting workshops - legal reform Key Concepts social theory feminism political philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What alternative models of family governance exist? - How does power affect family dynamics? A Different Perspective Families may need some hierarchy for stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Sovereignty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sovereignty/) ## Related quotes > [Sovereignty is as necessary as ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-marois/sovereignty-is-as-necessary-as-ever/) [Pauline Marois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-marois/) > [Friendship that possesses the whole soul, and there rules and sways with an absolute sovereignty, can admit of no rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/friendship-that-possesses-the-whole-soul-and-there-rules-and-sways/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [No particular man is necessary to the state. We may depend on it that, if we provide the country with popular institutions, those institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/no-particular-man-is-necessary-to-the-state-we-may-depend-on-it-that/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loraine-boettner/although-the-sovereignty-of-god-is-universal-and-absolute-it-is-not/) [Loraine Boettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loraine-boettner/) > [Deir Yassin massacre was not only necessary, but without it the state of Israel could not have emerged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/deir-yassin-massacre-was-not-only-necessary-but-without-it-the-state/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Jordan recognizes that east Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state and Jordan rejects foreign sovereignty -- Israeli sovereignty -- over the holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/jordan-recognizes-that-east-jerusalem-is-the-capital-of-the/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [As the highest ranking American official in the United Nations organization, I came to understand thoroughly that the national constitutional processes of the member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-thornburgh/as-the-highest-ranking-american-official-in-the-united-nations/) [Dick Thornburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-thornburgh/) > [Can the state, which represents the whole of society and has the duty of protecting society, fulfill that duty by lowering itself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/can-the-state-which-represents-the-whole-of-society-and-has-the-duty/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The idea of dual sovereignty rests on the premise that the power of the states to prosecute crimes existed before the creation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-rangappa/the-idea-of-dual-sovereignty-rests-on-the-premise-that-the-power-of/) [Asha Rangappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-rangappa/) > [Money power cannot be separated from democratic power without miscarriage and ensuing frustration - political and economic. Democracy implies the sovereignty of man; and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-c-riegel/money-power-cannot-be-separated-from-democratic-power-without/) [E.C. Riegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-c-riegel/) > [As far as the sovereignty of Bosnia-Hercegovina is concerned we agreed to have limited sovereignty for a limited time and that is clear from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alija-izetbegovic/as-far-as-the-sovereignty-of-bosnia-hercegovina-is-concerned-we/) [Alija Izetbegovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alija-izetbegovic/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [When Estonia reestablished its sovereignty after a half century of successive thuggish, totalitarian, foreign occupations by the Soviets, the Nazis, and then again the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toomas-hendrik-ilves/when-estonia-reestablished-its-sovereignty-after-a-half-century-of/) [Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toomas-hendrik-ilves/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More by Mary Astell > [He who will be just, must be forc'd to acknowledge, that neither Sex are always in the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/he-who-will-be-just-must-be-forc-d-to-acknowledge-that-neither-sex/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [A husband is indeed thought by both sexes so very valuable, that scarce a man who can keep himself clean and make a bow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/a-husband-is-indeed-thought-by-both-sexes-so-very-valuable-that/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [“Strip him of equipage and fortune, and such things as only dazzle our eyes and imaginations, but don't in any measure affect our reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/strip-him-of-equipage-and-fortune-and-such-things-as-only-dazzle-our/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [How can a Man respect his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/how-can-a-man-respect-his-wife-when-he-has-a-contemptible-opinion-of/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [To all the rest of his Absurdities, (for vice is always unreasonable,) he adds one more, who expects that Vertue from another which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/to-all-the-rest-of-his-absurdities-for-vice-is-always-unreasonable-he/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [Your glass will not do you half so much service as a serious reflection on your own minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/your-glass-will-not-do-you-half-so-much-service-as-a-serious/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [none can be Tyrants but Cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/none-can-be-tyrants-but-cowards/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [Every one knows, that the mind will not be kept from contemplating what it loves in the midst of crowds and business. Hence come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/every-one-knows-that-the-mind-will-not-be-kept-from-contemplating/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [friendship is a virtue which comprehends all the rest; none being fit for this, who is not adorned with every other virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/friendship-is-a-virtue-which-comprehends-all-the-rest-none-being-fit/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [We ought as much as we can to endeavour the Perfecting of our Beings, and that we be as happy as possibly we may.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/we-ought-as-much-as-we-can-to-endeavour-the-perfecting-of-our-beings/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [We must Think what we Say, and Mean what we Profess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/we-must-think-what-we-say-and-mean-what-we-profess/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [How can you be content to be in the world like tulips in a garden, to make a fine show, and be good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/how-can-you-be-content-to-be-in-the-world-like-tulips-in-a-garden-to/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [Women are not so well united as to form an Insurrection. They are for the most part wise enough to love their Chains, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/women-are-not-so-well-united-as-to-form-an-insurrection-they-are-for/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [That which has not a real excellency and value in it self, entertains no longer than the giddy Humour which recommended it to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/that-which-has-not-a-real-excellency-and-value-in-it-self-entertains/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [We may not commit a lesser Sin under pretence to avoid a greater, but we may, nay we ought to endure the greatest Pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/we-may-not-commit-a-lesser-sin-under-pretence-to-avoid-a-greater-but/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) [Explore all 54 Mary Astell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/) [Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/) > [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a family?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Astell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary-in-a-state-how-comes-it-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolutes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary-in-a-state-how-comes-it-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mary-astell-12630_absolutes_if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary_933973.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a family?” — Mary Astell", "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": "Mary Astell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If absolute sovereignty be not necessary...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary-in-a-state-how-comes-it-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/if-absolute-sovereignty-be-not-necessary-in-a-state-how-comes-it-to/#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 } } ] } ```