--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a very great mistake to imagine…" description: "\"It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of loyalty is the authority and interest of one individual man, however dignified by the applause..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/samuel-adams-3491_action_it-is-a-very-great-mistake-to-imagine-th_1795900.jpg" --- # It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of… ![“It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of loyalty is the authority and interest of one individual man, however dignified by the applause or enriched by the success of popular actions.” quote by Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/samuel-adams-3491_action_it-is-a-very-great-mistake-to-imagine-th_1795900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/samuel-adams-3491_action_it-is-a-very-great-mistake-to-imagine-th_1795900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/samuel-adams-3491_action_it-is-a-very-great-mistake-to-imagine-th_1795900.jpg) > “It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of loyalty is the authority and interest of one individual man, however dignified by the applause or enriched by the success of popular actions.” [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loyalty should be to principles, not a single leader, regardless of their fame or success. **In simple terms:** Loyalty belongs to ideas, not one person. Key Takeaway Prioritize values over personalities. Themes loyalty principles politics Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - voting - activism - community organizing Key Concepts civic responsibility authority critique ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - What principles guide your allegiance? - How can we hold leaders accountable? A Different Perspective Blind loyalty can ignore harmful authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Applause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/applause/) [Applause Enriched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/applause-enriched-1988132/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Dignified Applause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignified-applause-1988133/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Great mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-mistakes/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-that/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Loyalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty/) [Loyalty Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty-authority-1988131/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Object Loyalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/object-loyalty-1988130/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Voting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [There is a glory in a great mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/there-is-a-glory-in-a-great-mistake/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [The only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-things-one-never-regrets-are-one-s-mistakes/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Republicans who criticize the use of two languages, I think, make a great mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/republicans-who-criticize-the-use-of-two-languages-i-think-make-a/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [No man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/no-man-ever-progressed-to-greatness-and-goodness-but-through-great/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [If we had had more time for discussion we should probably have made a great many more mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/if-we-had-had-more-time-for-discussion-we-should-probably-have-made-a/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Humility is a quality for which I have only a limited admiration. 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That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/nil-desperandum-never-despair-that-is-a-motto-for-you-and-me-all-are/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-is-not-unfrequent-to-hear-men-declaim-loudly-upon-liberty-who-if/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-we-suffer-tamely-a-lawless-attack-upon-our-liberty-we-encourage-it/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I thank God that I have lived to see my country independent and free. 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