Authority Quote by Samuel Johnson
“I do not wonder that, where the monastick life is permitted, every order finds votaries, and every monastery inhabitants. Men will submit to any rule, by which they may be exempted from the tyranny of caprice and of chance. They are glad to supply by external authority their own want of constancy and resolution, and court the government of others, when long experience has convinced them of their own inability to govern themselves.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Idler, 1750
People seek external rules to avoid personal uncertainty; they prefer authority over self‑governance.
In simple terms: People like rules to avoid chaos.
Key Takeaway
Question reliance on authority.
Themes
authority
human nature
self‑governance
certainty
monastic life
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
social
When to use this quote
- workplace policies
- educational curricula
- religious communities
- personal decision‑making
Key Concepts
psychology
social control
institutional dependence
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you trust your own judgment?
- When is external authority beneficial?
A Different Perspective
External rules can suppress individual responsibility.
![“The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the formulas of nations at war, where any heinousness is justified on the grounds that the enemy is either an inferior [part of the] species or…” quote by Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/895/kate-millett-7301_accompany_the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imp_8896.jpg)