--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rebellion against a king may be pardoned…" description: "\"Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg" --- # Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly… ![“Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.” quote by Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg) > “Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.” [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. Rebelling against a republic's laws is deemed treasonous, warranting the ultimate penalty, unlike rebellion against a monarch. **In simple terms:** Rebel against republic laws = death. Key Takeaway Respect civic laws. Themes law republic rebellion Mood serious thoughtful Type historical political When to use this quote - protests - whistleblowing - political activism Key Concepts political theory civil disobedience Questions to Reflect On - When is civil disobedience justified? - How do you balance dissent and duty? A Different Perspective Legal consequences differ across societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rebel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebel/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“In monarchy the crime of treason may admit of being pardoned or lightly punished, but the man who dares rebel against the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/in-monarchy-the-crime-of-treason-may-admit-of-being-pardoned-or/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Fear is the underminer of all determinations; and necessity, the victorious rebel of all laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/fear-is-the-underminer-of-all-determinations-and-necessity-the/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-share-in-the-sovereignty-of-the-state-which-is-exercised-by-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Every citizen of the republic ought to consider himself an unofficial policeman, and keep unsalaried watch and ward over the laws and their execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/every-citizen-of-the-republic-ought-to-consider-himself-an-unofficial/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Rebels are the people who refuse the seen for the unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-douglas-sedgwick/rebels-are-the-people-who-refuse-the-seen-for-the-unseen/) Anne Douglas Sedgwick > [I was a rebel, the worst kid you could ask for. I did the opposite of everything my parents asked me to do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fala-chen/i-was-a-rebel-the-worst-kid-you-could-ask-for-i-did-the-opposite-of/) [Fala Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fala-chen/) > [Analysis of rebellion leads at least to the suspicion that, contrary to the postulates of contemporary thought, a human nature does exist, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/analysis-of-rebellion-leads-at-least-to-the-suspicion-that-contrary/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Ultimately the body will rebel. Even if it can be temporarily pacified with the help of drugs, cigarettes or medicine, it usually has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/ultimately-the-body-will-rebel-even-if-it-can-be-temporarily-pacified/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Man does not create gods, in spite of appearances. The times, the age, impose them on him. Man can serve his age or rebel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/man-does-not-create-gods-in-spite-of-appearances-the-times-the-age-2/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [Real rebels are rarely anything but second rate outside their rebellion; the drain of time and temper is ruinous to any other accomplishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gould-cozzens/real-rebels-are-rarely-anything-but-second-rate-outside-their/) [James Gould Cozzens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gould-cozzens/) > [“Rebels usually have something to complain about, and if they don't they make it up. All too often the really disadvantaged are in no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-collier/rebels-usually-have-something-to-complain-about-and-if-they-don-t/) [Paul Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-collier/) > [The people of Indonesia have to learn, realize, that fighting for a better country is great and inspiring. Like those men, women, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-people-of-indonesia-have-to-learn-realize-that-fighting-for-a/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Heaven's brightest and best-loved angel, who was cast out for inspiring a rebellion against God. Having lost Heaven, Lucifer and his rebel angels vowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/heaven-s-brightest-and-best-loved-angel-who-was-cast-out-for/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [I felt no need for rebellion. I was a real loner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wahl/i-felt-no-need-for-rebellion-i-was-a-real-loner/) [Ken Wahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wahl/) > [Opposing what's wrong is a halfway measure at best. A rebel must also have a vision for something better, a strategy for moving toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/opposing-what-s-wrong-is-a-halfway-measure-at-best-a-rebel-must-also/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) ## More by Samuel Adams > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/our-contest-is-not-only-whether-we-ourselves-shall-be-free-but/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/in-the-midst-of-these-pleasing-ideas-we-should-be-unfaithful-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It behooves every American to encourage home manufactures, that our oppressors may feel through their pockets the effects of their blind folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-behooves-every-american-to-encourage-home-manufactures-that-our/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [All might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/all-might-be-free-if-they-valued-freedom-and-defended-it-as-they/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; second, to liberty; third, to property; together with the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/among-the-natural-rights-of-the-colonists-are-these-first-a-right-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Nil desperandum, -- Never Despair. 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. She may long enjoy her independence and freedom if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/i-thank-god-that-i-have-lived-to-see-my-country-independent-and-free/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If our Trade be taxed, why not our Lands, or Produce in short, everything we possess? They tax us without having legal representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-our-trade-be-taxed-why-not-our-lands-or-produce-in-short/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [One battle would do more towards a Declaration of Independence than a long chain of conclusive arguments in a provincial convention or the Continental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/one-battle-would-do-more-towards-a-declaration-of-independence-than-a/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) [Explore all 129 Samuel Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## More Dare quotes > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I should not dare to call my soul my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-should-not-dare-to-call-my-soul-my-own/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Nobody calls me a racist when I do redneck jokes. Jeff Foxworthy can do as many 'You might be a redneck jokes' as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/nobody-calls-me-a-racist-when-i-do-redneck-jokes-jeff-foxworthy-can/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [Dare to dream! Never underestimate the Power of Our Dream!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-dream-never-underestimate-the-power-of-our-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why stop now? Seduce me, Brian.I dare you." "I've always found it hard to turn aside a dare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/why-stop-now-seduce-me-brian-i-dare-you-i-ve-always-found-it-hard-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [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/) > [I tend to get reactions just by being on screen, because I guess I'm physically queer-coded or something. Especially with 'Star Wars;' I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-tend-to-get-reactions-just-by-being-on-screen-because-i-guess-i-m/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [Who would dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/who-would-dare-assign-to-art-the-sterile-function-of-imitating-nature/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. 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The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [I drink, I huff, I strut, look big and stare; And all this I can do, because I dare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-villiers/i-drink-i-huff-i-strut-look-big-and-stare-and-all-this-i-can-do/) [Theresa Villiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-villiers/) Browse all 2,415 Dare quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned-or-lightly-punished-but-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dare" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned-or-lightly-punished-but-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/samuel-adams-3491_dare_rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned_2291515.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the…” — Samuel Adams", "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": "Samuel Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Rebellion against a king may be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned-or-lightly-punished-but-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/rebellion-against-a-king-may-be-pardoned-or-lightly-punished-but-the/#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 } } ] } ```