Law Quote by Steven Pressfield
““Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.””
About This Quote
The speaker calls for obedience to a higher law, invoking the Spartans' discipline as a metaphor for steadfast commitment.
In simple terms: Obey higher laws like the Spartans.
Key Takeaway
Embrace disciplined obedience.
Themes
discipline
law
commitment
Mood
solemn
determined
Type
historical
motivational
When to use this quote
- military service
- sports teams
- corporate culture
Key Concepts
historical metaphor
ethics
military philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- When should you question the law?
- How does discipline serve personal freedom?
A Different Perspective
Blind obedience can suppress critical thought.
![“O Stranger, send the news home to the people of Sparta that here we Are laid to rest: the commands they gave us have been obeyed. Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. [Epitaph of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae]” quote by Simonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7da/simonides-61471_300_o-stranger-send-the-news-home-to-the-peo_737958.jpg)
![“[The Spartans] ordered the maidens to exercise themselves with wrestling, running, throwing the quoit, and casting the dart, to the end that the fruit they conceived might, in strong and healthy bodies, take firmer root and find better growth, and withal that they, with this greater vigour, might…” quote by Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/914/plutarch-597_childbearing_the-spartans-ordered-the-maidens-to-exer_640648.jpg)
![“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.” quote by Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70c/edward-gibbon-710_barbarism_that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinkin_393.jpg)
![“[Islam] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left for Muslims lies in their observance of the God-made law.” quote by Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/704/abul-a-la-maududi-51903_function_islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislatio_886.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
