--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would uphold the law if for no other…" description: "\"I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.\" — Thomas More" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg" --- # I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to… ![“I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.” quote by Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg) > “I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.” [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law serves primarily to protect individuals, including oneself, highlighting self‑interest as a motive for legal obedience. **In simple terms:** Law protects self and others. Key Takeaway Respect laws for personal safety. Themes law self‑interest protection Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - daily life - business transactions - community governance Key Concepts social contract ethical obedience personal security Questions to Reflect On - Why obey laws you disagree with? - When is civil disobedience justified? A Different Perspective Legal systems can be unjust despite self‑protection aims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-reason-327979/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Protect Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect-myself/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-protect-3157595/) [Uphold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uphold/) [Uphold Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uphold-law-381010/) ## Related quotes > [We need a president who is willing to uphold the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-need-a-president-who-is-willing-to-uphold-the-law/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [God allows us to feel pain for a reason: to protect us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/god-allows-us-to-feel-pain-for-a-reason-to-protect-us/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [The most important function of the university in an age of reason is to protect reason from itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-most-important-function-of-the-university-in-an-age-of-reason-is/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [“But there is one more reason to protect other species. 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I ask him. 'Not for your benefit, but for theirs. They meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/why-do-you-suppose-they-made-you-king-in-the-first-place-i-ask-him/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [“This lively health, when entirely free from all mixture of pain, of itself gives an inward pleasure, independent of all external objects of delight;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/this-lively-health-when-entirely-free-from-all-mixture-of-pain-of/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [Nobody sees a flower really,it is so small. We haven't time,and to see takes time- like to have a friend takes time. 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Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Laws undertake to punish only overt acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laws-undertake-to-punish-only-overt-acts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 16,973 Law quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas More" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-reason-but-to-protect-myself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Law" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-reason-but-to-protect-myself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c1/thomas-more-3382_law_i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-r_339395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.” — Thomas More", "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": "Thomas More", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would uphold the law if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-reason-but-to-protect-myself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-reason-but-to-protect-myself/#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 } } ] } ```