--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot drag a man's conscience before…" description: "\"You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.\" — Napoleon Bonaparte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg" --- # You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal… ![“You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.” quote by Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg) > “You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.” [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One cannot force a person's conscience or faith before a court; belief remains personal and beyond state control. **In simple terms:** Conscience and faith are private; Key Takeaway Respect personal belief, avoid coercion. Themes freedom faith law individual rights Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical political When to use this quote - courtroom - government policy - family discussions - educational settings Key Concepts human rights separation of church and state Questions to Reflect On - How do societies balance law and personal conscience? - Can faith truly be free under authority? A Different Perspective Legal systems may still influence belief indirectly through laws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answerable Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answerable-religious-1460498/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Tribunal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-tribunal-1460496/) [Drag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drag/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Man Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-conscience/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Tribunal Answerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribunal-answerable-1460497/) [Tribunals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribunals/) ## Related quotes > [A man's own conscience is his sole tribunal, and he should care no more for that phantom "opinion" than he should fear meeting a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/a-man-s-own-conscience-is-his-sole-tribunal-and-he-should-care-no/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Lead the ideas of your time and they will accompany and support you; fall behind them and they drag you along with them; oppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/lead-the-ideas-of-your-time-and-they-will-accompany-and-support-you/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The paradoxical and tragic situation of man is that his conscience is weakest when he needs it most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-paradoxical-and-tragic-situation-of-man-is-that-his-conscience-is/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [No man with a conscience can just bat out illustrations. He's got to put all his talent and feeling into them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/no-man-with-a-conscience-can-just-bat-out-illustrations-he-s-got-to/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [Every man's conscience is vile and depraved / You cannot depend on it to be your guide when it’s you who must keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/every-man-s-conscience-is-vile-and-depraved-you-cannot-depend-on-it/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Man's conscience is the oracle of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/man-s-conscience-is-the-oracle-of-god/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“I would sooner have the approval of my own conscience and know that I had done my duty than to have the praise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heber-j-grant/i-would-sooner-have-the-approval-of-my-own-conscience-and-know-that-i/) [Heber J. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heber-j-grant/) > [A man's conscience, like a warning line on the highway, tells him what he shouldn't do - but it does not keep him from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-a-clark/a-man-s-conscience-like-a-warning-line-on-the-highway-tells-him-what/) [Frank A. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-a-clark/) > [Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resigns his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/must-the-citizen-ever-for-a-moment-or-in-the-least-degree-resigns-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/must-the-citizen-ever-for-a-moment-or-in-the-least-degree-resign-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Conscience is the most sacred of all property; other property depending in part on positive law, the exercise of that being a natural and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/conscience-is-the-most-sacred-of-all-property-other-property/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Scout," said Atticus, "When summer comes you'll you'll have to keep your head about far worse things…it's not fair for you and Jem, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you-ll-you-ll-have-to-keep-your/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Yet still there whispers the small voice within, Heard through Gain's silence, and o'er Glory's din; Whatever creed be taught or land be trod,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/yet-still-there-whispers-the-small-voice-within-heard-through-gain-s/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing; and as the judgment, so also the conscience, may be erroneous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/a-man-s-conscience-and-his-judgment-is-the-same-thing-and-as-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [There is no dharma greater than a word uttered by a man of conscience; there is no karma greater than a man listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiruman-archunan/there-is-no-dharma-greater-than-a-word-uttered-by-a-man-of-conscience/) [Thiruman Archunan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiruman-archunan/) ## More by Napoleon Bonaparte > [He is almost a statesman. He lies well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-is-almost-a-statesman-he-lies-well/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Men grow old quickly on the battlefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-grow-old-quickly-on-the-battlefield/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/when-a-government-is-dependent-upon-bankers-for-money-they-and-not/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [All becomes easy when we follow the current of opinion; it is the ruler of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/all-becomes-easy-when-we-follow-the-current-of-opinion-it-is-the/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-bullet-that-will-kill-me-is-not-yet-cast/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [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/) > [A great reputation is a great noise, the more there is of it, and the further does it swell. Land, monuments, Nations, all fall,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/a-great-reputation-is-a-great-noise-the-more-there-is-of-it-and-the/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Character is victory organized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/character-is-victory-organized/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/republican-despotism-is-more-fertile-in-acts-of-tyranny-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [My decision to destroy the authority of the blacks in Saint Domingue (Haiti) is not so much based on considerations of commerce and money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/my-decision-to-destroy-the-authority-of-the-blacks-in-saint-domingue/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The army is the true nobility of our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-army-is-the-true-nobility-of-our-country/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [There is only one favorable moment in war; talent consists in knowing how to seize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/there-is-only-one-favorable-moment-in-war-talent-consists-in-knowing/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [A great reserve and severity of manners are necessary for the command of those who are older than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/a-great-reserve-and-severity-of-manners-are-necessary-for-the-command/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) [Explore all 914 Napoleon Bonaparte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [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/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Napoleon Bonaparte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-before-any-tribunal-and-no-one-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-before-any-tribunal-and-no-one-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/napoleon-bonaparte-206_conscience_you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-befor_2544041.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions…” — Napoleon Bonaparte", "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": "Napoleon Bonaparte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You cannot drag a man's conscience...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-before-any-tribunal-and-no-one-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/you-cannot-drag-a-man-s-conscience-before-any-tribunal-and-no-one-is/#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 } } ] } ```