“I have disregarded the order served upon me not for want of respect for lawful authority, but in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience.”
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About this quote
Breaking one rule and despising all rules aren't the same act. Here the refusal is narrow and reluctant: it honors lawful authority in general while declining a single command that conscience can't accept, and it accepts the penalty openly instead of dodging it.
When to use it
- A soldier refuses an order he believes targets civilians and stands ready to face the court-martial.
- An accountant won't sign off on doctored numbers even after his boss makes it a direct instruction.
- A nurse quietly overrides a policy that would deny a dying patient care, then reports exactly what she did and why.