--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The accidental prescriptions of…" description: "\"The accidental prescriptions of authority, when time has procured them veneration, are often confounded with the laws of nature, and those rules are su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/samuel-johnson-50_authority_the-accidental-prescriptions-of-authorit_2986027.png" --- # The accidental prescriptions of authority, when time has… ![“The accidental prescriptions of authority, when time has procured them veneration, are often confounded with the laws of nature, and those rules are supposed coeval with reason, of which the first rise cannot be discovered.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/samuel-johnson-50_authority_the-accidental-prescriptions-of-authorit_2986027.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/samuel-johnson-50_authority_the-accidental-prescriptions-of-authorit_2986027.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/samuel-johnson-50_authority_the-accidental-prescriptions-of-authorit_2986027.png) > “The accidental prescriptions of authority, when time has procured them veneration, are often confounded with the laws of nature, and those rules are supposed coeval with reason, of which the first rise cannot be discovered.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Johnson critiques how authority, once revered, is mistakenly treated as natural law, though it may not align with reason. **In simple terms:** Authority is often confused with natural truth. Key Takeaway Question the basis of authority. Themes authority reason law philosophy history Mood skeptical analytical inquisitive Type philosophical critical academic When to use this quote - academic debate - public policy formation - education curricula Key Concepts critical thinking social structures epistemology political theory Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports current authorities? - How can we differentiate tradition from reason? A Different Perspective Authority can be justified by tradition rather than evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Coeval Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coeval-reason-4669047/) [Confounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confounded/) [Confounded Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confounded-laws-4669045/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-nature/) [Laws of nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Veneration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veneration/) [Veneration Confounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veneration-confounded-4669046/) ## Related quotes > [It seems to be remarkable that death increases our veneration for the good, and extenuates our hatred for the bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-seems-to-be-remarkable-that-death-increases-our-veneration-for-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man tells his opinion so freely as when he imagines it received with implicit veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-tells-his-opinion-so-freely-as-when-he-imagines-it-received/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I'm like anyone; I make a lot of my assumptions about actors I don't know from what I read about them. 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(To Julia Margaret Cameron)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-can-t-be-anonymous-by-reason-of-your-confounded-photographs-to/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [There are a few dogmas and double standards and really regrettable exports from philosophy that have confounded the thinking of scientists on the subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-are-a-few-dogmas-and-double-standards-and-really-regrettable/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“I look at you, and I think about you, and ... I don't know. No one has ever confounded me the way you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/i-look-at-you-and-i-think-about-you-and-i-don-t-know-no-one-has-ever/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [I am at peace with God; how then can I be confounded?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rumbold/i-am-at-peace-with-god-how-then-can-i-be-confounded/) [Richard Rumbold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rumbold/) > [“It's possible that Knight believed he was one of the few sane people left. He was confounded by the idea that passing the prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/it-s-possible-that-knight-believed-he-was-one-of-the-few-sane-people/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. 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But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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