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Obey   /oʊbˈeɪ/   Listen
Obey

verb
(past & past part. obeyed; pres. part. obeying)
1.
Be obedient to.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Obey" Quotes from Famous Books



... did not hurl Phil away. Instead, he stopped hesitatingly, evidently not certain whether he should plunge on after his enemy or obey the command of his ...
— The Circus Boys In Dixie Land • Edgar B. P. Darlington

... to-day, O master, O master; None shall jump cleaner, none shall go faster, Call till you kill me, for I'll obey, It's my day ...
— Right Royal • John Masefield

... hear you cry so," I said, "and I can see now why it is. But cheer up, Ruth. I will not speak of this any more. I will never ask you to obey your father's will. You shall not have the pain of linking your life to mine. I love you too well for that. God bless you, Ruth. I will try and find out what will make you happy, and then you shall see how I love you; for I will do ...
— Roger Trewinion • Joseph Hocking

... convent where she is cloistered all are dressed alike, all obey the rule of the same bell, all joy is gone. The half-sister has broken her tambourines and taken away her vineyards, and gives out that her ...
— Frederic Mistral - Poet and Leader in Provence • Charles Alfred Downer

... are communicated to me in a proper manner, I shall take care to obey them, if they are just and proper; but I will not be spoken to in that ...
— The Red Acorn • John McElroy

... them in the hands of strangers; for they would prefer being taxed every year one-half of what they were worth, rather than be in the hands of the English." (Froissard, i. c. 214, Johnes's Trans.) When compelled to yield, it was with the words: "We will honor and obey the English, but our hearts shall never change." Edward the Third had solemnly confirmed their privileges ...
— History of the Rise of the Huguenots - Volume 2 • Henry Baird

... ambassadors: to tell hum that they surrendered themselves and all their possessions to the protection and disposal of the Roman people: and that they had neither combined with the rest of the Belgae, nor entered into any confederacy against the Roman people: and were prepared to give hostages, to obey his commands, to receive him into their towns, and to aid him with corn and other things; that all the rest of the Belgae were in arms; and that the Germans, who dwell on this side the Rhine, had joined themselves to them; and ...
— "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries • Caius Julius Caesar

... Yes, I would be taken; But, as a Roman ought,—dead, my Ventidius: For I'll convey my soul from Caesar's reach, And lay down life myself. 'Tis time the world Should have a lord, and know whom to obey. We two have kept its homage in suspense, And bent the globe, on whose each side we trod, Till it was dented inwards. Let him walk Alone upon't: I'm weary of my part. My torch is out; and the world stands before me, Like a black desert at the approach of night: I'll lay ...
— All for Love • John Dryden

... her old uncle, who daily lifts his hands to heaven to implore the blessing of God upon her and all who are dear to her. And also, my dear Cesar, recollect I am a poor priest who dwells, by the grace of God, like the larks in the meadow, in quiet places, trying to obey the commandment of our divine Saviour, and who consequently needs but little money. Therefore, do not have the least scruple in the trying circumstances in which you find yourself; and think of me as one who loves ...
— Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau • Honore de Balzac

... strings, when we ought to take a harp fully chorded, and with glad fingers sweep all the strings. Instead of being grateful for here and there a blessing we happen to think of, we ought to rehearse all our blessings, and obey the injunction of my text to sing unto Him with an instrument of ten strings." "Have you ever thanked God for delightsome food?" he asks; and for sight for "the eye, the window of our immortal nature, the gate through which all colours march, the picture ...
— T. De Witt Talmage - As I Knew Him • T. De Witt Talmage

... choice but to obey, but her anxiety regarding Columbine did not diminish. The girl was so listless, so unlike herself, so miserable. It was many days before she summoned the energy to dress, and even then she displayed an almost painful reluctance to go downstairs. ...
— The Tidal Wave and Other Stories • Ethel May Dell

... to obey the orders of the Duke," said Monte-Leone, "late as the hour and bad as the weather are. But, Signor, the Duke treats me like those curious monsters, who travel by night to avoid the anxious eyes of the public, and to enhance the profits received ...
— The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 2, January, 1851 • Various

... a moment, then retreated—but only to obey, as we understood at once by the creaking of the dry hinges, which ...
— Wilfrid Cumbermede • George MacDonald

... a curious psychological fact that when a robust authoritative-looking man gives an order with the air of one used to commanding, ninety-nine per cent of the people to whom he gives his orders will hasten to obey without pausing to question his authority. The chauffeur threw in his clutch and the car glided away, while Bob McGraw, glancing back, saw T. Morgan Carey and a uniformed, watchman dashing down ...
— The Long Chance • Peter B. Kyne

... you outwardly; that you should be grateful, dutiful, merciful, pure in heart and life, meek, loving, useful, and pious. Does He ask more than what is reasonable? Can you do less than to love Him for the rich endowments he has bestowed upon you, less than to obey his commands, imitate his character, seek instruction from his Son, and be kind and ...
— Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women • George Sumner Weaver

... forsake me. During the intervals when my lips were removed from the vent, I had kept the water from running by pressing the end of my fore-finger into the hole, and using it as a stopper. Something whispered me that it would be well not to waste the precious fluid, and I resolved to obey the suggestion. When I had finished drinking, I used my finger as before; but after a little, I grew tired of making a vent-peg of my finger, and looked about for something else. I groped all over the bottom timbers, ...
— The Boy Tar • Mayne Reid

... as speaking, I understand him to mean, as above, that it was Adam who spoke by the Holy Spirit in the place of God, whom he represented in his relation as father. The expression of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is intended to set forth the high authority of parents; when children dutifully hear and obey these, they hear and obey God. And I believe Adam knew by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that Abel had been slain by his brother; for his words intimate the commission of murder at a time when Cain still dissembled as ...
— Commentary on Genesis, Vol. II - Luther on Sin and the Flood • Martin Luther

... debated, the Syracusans were held to be in fault. They, however, refused to stand to the award of their allies, following their own conceit, and making it their pride to listen to no one, and not to have any commanders but those who would fear and obey the people. ...
— Plutarch's Lives • A.H. Clough

... Germans—like all other educated nations—believe that their ruler is meant by God to rule them. And they also believe that Catholicism is the true religion. Very well, then. When a ruler is Catholic they obey him implicitly, because they know that he will be kept straight in all matters of right and wrong by the Pope, who is the Representative of God. In non-vital matters they will obey him because he is their ruler, and therefore they are bound ...
— Dawn of All • Robert Hugh Benson

... all, the Troll was found, sprawling on the floor; for, as the hall was only fifteen feet high, the poor fellow couldn't get up. On a sign of his young master, he crawled humbly to him, happy and proud to obey. It was Force itself, in ...
— Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 - An Illustrated Magazine • Various

... out of the question; I must obey my orders. I regret you should have this pain; but if you do not cease to interfere, ...
— Under Two Flags • Ouida [Louise de la Ramee]

... papers and the grant I have had from his Majesty's Government will, I feel sure, be sufficient to protect my schooner and crew from any action in the way of pressing from one of his Majesty's ships. You will have the goodness to obey the signal, and wait and see ...
— The Ocean Cat's Paw - The Story of a Strange Cruise • George Manville Fenn

... things to a distinct issue which is his best characteristic, declares boldly that "reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them." The passions or desires are tendencies of a definite character which exist in man from the first; the awaking intelligence cannot add to their number, or essentially change their nature. It can only take account ...
— The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, September 1879 • Various

... more sank into his seat, and a silence so deep prevailed while the young man prepared to obey his simple mandate, that the leaves, which fluttered in the draught of the light morning air, were distinctly heard ...
— The Last of the Mohicans • James Fenimore Cooper

... and social life and his general destiny could be seized upon and controlled by man. But—he must have knowledge. Said the Ancient Civilization—and it says it still through a multitude of vigorous voices and harsh repressive acts: "Let man learn his duty and obey." Says the New Civilization, with ever-increasing confidence: "Let man know, and ...
— The Pivot of Civilization • Margaret Sanger

... white in the blood of the Lamb; thou art poor, yet shalt thou be made rich through Him who, when on earth, was poor indeed. Jesus, forgive me! I murmured that I still was obliged to linger. Oh! make me the honored instrument of good to this child, and when thou callest me hence, how gladly will I obey the summons. ...
— Aunt Phillis's Cabin - Or, Southern Life As It Is • Mary H. Eastman

... of sunny lands, For there full often tyrants sway Who climb to power with blood-stain'd hands, While crouching, trembling slaves obey; Give me the land unconquer'd still, Though often tried in days of yore, Where freedom reigns from plain to hill— Then here's ...
— The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volumes I-VI. - The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century • Various

... round the weedy flower garden of Mount Music, one sunny August afternoon, four years after Larry's coming of age; "You may be sure that I pointed out to Barty that he and Larry were playing the deuce with you over the sale, but what could I do? After all, Barty had to obey the orders he got from ...
— Mount Music • E. Oe. Somerville and Martin Ross

... receives a command," cried Ben-Ahmed in rising wrath, "it is his duty to obey in ...
— The Middy and the Moors - An Algerine Story • R.M. Ballantyne

... nothing to say to that, but stood there stroking his chin. The bailiff agrees with me, and says, "My dear woman, pay no attention to the pastor. It's in the wedding-service, to be sure, that you must honor and obey your husband, but it's in your lease, which is more recent than the service, that you shall keep up your farm and meet your rent—a thing you can never do unless you haul your husband about by the hair every day and beat ...
— Comedies • Ludvig Holberg

... less than that of the Daimyo of Izumo himself. It was indeed large enough to render him a person with whom the shogunate would have deemed it wise policy to remain upon good terms. An ancestor of the present Guji even defied the great Taiko Hideyoshi, refusing to obey his command to furnish troops with the haughty answer that he would receive no order from a man of common birth. [22] This defiance cost the family the loss of a large part of its estates by confiscation, but the real power of the Kokuzo remained unchanged ...
— Glimpses of an Unfamiliar Japan - First Series • Lafcadio Hearn

... "If the King of Prussia calls his soldiers, they will all come and follow their chieftain joyfully, though they are marching to certain death. I have already given you my personal opinion; it now rests with me to obey you, as a soldier, as a subject. This I will do joyfully, ...
— Frederick The Great and His Family • L. Muhlbach

... situation in the pithy remark, "We started in to hunt cayotes, but we've got a grizzly bear on our hands, and we don't know what to do with him." The Executive Committee were not themselves masters of the situation. Behind them, subject to them and ready to obey their commands on ordinary occasions, were the 5,000 members of the Committee who carried arms, and felt themselves superior to even the Executive Committee, if occasion should happen to test the matter. Of their number nearly one-third were of foreign nationality, ...
— The Vigilance Committee of '56 • James O'Meara

... the Favour you intended me this day: I am a Gentleman, and allow you to be the same, and I hope can forgive Injuries; fond Nature prompted, I obey'd, Oh, propitious Minute! and to show that I am in Charity, I am now drinking your Health, and a Bon Repo to poor Joseph and Anthony. I am gone a few Days for the Air, but design speedily to embark; and this Night I am going upon a Mansion ...
— The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard • Daniel Defoe

... should be forgotten and the holy oil alone remembered! Yet Louis probably used that mediaeval notion as a shield against his brother's dictation. The tough Bonaparte nature brooked not the idea of mere lieutenancy. He declined to obey orders from the brother whom he secretly detested. He flatly refused to be transferred from the Hague to Madrid, or to put in force the burdensome decrees ...
— The Life of Napoleon I (Volumes, 1 and 2) • John Holland Rose

... unwarranted. But they were part of his problem, and he studied them. He was a soldier, but not an aristocrat wrapped up in immutable prejudices, and he learned to know these men, and they came to love, obey, and follow him with an intelligent devotion far better than anything born of mere discipline. Before the year was out, he wrote to Lund Washington praising the New England troops in the highest terms, and at the close of the ...
— George Washington, Vol. II • Henry Cabot Lodge

... speak their language, read and write as they do, they will be able to cheat you and trample upon your rights. Be diligent, therefore, in your studies, and let nothing hinder you from them. Do not quarrel with each other. Aid one another in your useful employ; obey your teachers, and walk in the ...
— History, Manners, and Customs of the North American Indians • George Mogridge

... weather sails gallantly along. But unpopularity soon follows him. For men expect their leaders to be better and wiser than themselves: to be their guides in danger, their saviours in extremity; they do not really desire them to obey all the ignorant impulses of the popular mind; and if they fail them in a crisis they are disappointed. Then, as Socrates says, the cry of ingratitude is heard, which is most unreasonable; for the people, who have been taught no better, have done what might be expected ...
— Gorgias • Plato

... treaty that closed the French war, British subjects, but they were ashamed or afraid to admit it, and still deceived the Indians. They told Pontiac that much as it would please them to fight with him against the English, they must obey the commands of their father, the King of France, who had bidden them to remain at peace until his coming. They added that he, with a great army, was already on the St. Lawrence and would soon arrive to ...
— Four American Indians - King Philip, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Osceola • Edson L. Whitney

... arts; to bid contention cease, Chain up stern wars, and give the nations peace; O'er subject lands extend thy gentle sway, And teach with iron rod the haughty to obey.' ...
— The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 - With Translations and Index for the Series • Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

... speaker. He is very animated. I have often heard him deliver that what is, at every turn, in the way of us working-men, is, that too many places have been made, in the course of time, to provide for people that never ought to have been provided for; and that we have to obey forms and to pay fees to support those places when we shouldn't ought. 'True,' (delivers William Butcher), 'all the public has to do this, but it falls heaviest on the working-man, because he has least to spare; and likewise because impediments shouldn't be put in his way, when he wants redress ...
— Reprinted Pieces • Charles Dickens

... me," he said; "I will come again this day week, and then you shall see your child, and your father, and this young lady, and everybody. But, mind, if you don't obey me you will never see anything. You will have one glance of your little boy, and then be blind forever, or perhaps—yes, ...
— A Son of Hagar - A Romance of Our Time • Sir Hall Caine

... old. The old in turn cling stubbornly to tradition and to the example of their own predecessors. Thus tradition and custom become intertwined and are a strong coercion which directs the society upon fixed lines, and strangles liberty. Children see their parents always yield to the same custom and obey the same persons. They see that the elders are allowed to do all the talking, and that if an outsider enters, he is saluted by those who are at home according to rank and in fixed order. All this becomes rule for children, ...
— Folkways - A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals • William Graham Sumner

... circumstances, when she gets an order she must obey it cheerfully and readily, not in a slow, sullen manner. Scouts ...
— How Girls Can Help Their Country • Juliette Low

... it misbehaves it gets a whipping. But when it comes to human beings: in man you have a creature still more open to persuasion through appeals to reason; [9] only make it plain to him "it is his interest to obey." Or if they happen to be slaves, [10] the more ignoble training of wild animals tamed to the lure will serve to teach obedience. Only gratify their bellies in the matter of appetite, and you will succeed in winning much ...
— The Economist • Xenophon

... perhaps, be asked to pay his own fine—in spite of the fact that he can well afford to do so. The article says, if I remember aright, that the decision will cause general surprise and some indignation. That any modern Government making a very rich capitalist obey the law will cause general surprise, may be true. Whether it will cause general indignation rather depends on whether our social intercourse is entirely confined to Park Lane, or any such pigsties built of gold. ...
— Utopia of Usurers and other Essays • G. K. Chesterton

... question had no idea of the situation in America. They kept exclusively to themselves in the Deutscher Verein, and scarcely ever saw a real, true-bred American. To begin with, it is difficult to see why the Germans in the West should obey the alleged order from me if the Germans in the East did not do so. But the important thing is that Wilson had firmly made up his mind, in case Mr. Hughes was elected, to appoint him Secretary of State ...
— My Three Years in America • Johann Heinrich Andreas Hermann Albrecht Graf von Bernstorff

... a hundred paces through an echoing tunnel into a city of shacks and ruined houses that swarmed with armed men, and it was evident that we were not the only ones who had ignored the rule about numbers. Anazeh explained in an aside to me that only those would obey that rule who did not ...
— Jimgrim and Allah's Peace • Talbot Mundy

... arose, rather slowly, for it was a mere prompting of curiosity, and walking towards him, called out in a tone of some authority, 'John, come here!' Now I can say, without boasting, that my domestic government is thorough, and my children will promptly obey my commands in every thing, from the taking of a dose of quinine to the springing out of bed at daylight of a frosty morning. My surprise, therefore, was great to observe that the lad only answered my order, twice repeated, by the same melancholy ...
— Forest & Frontiers • G. A. Henty

... up to attention with alacrity.) (Connie, who has witnessed, rings for Servant.) I bought that state organization, and paid for it. You are one of the chattels that came along with the machine. You were made senator to obey my orders. Understand? Do ...
— Theft - A Play In Four Acts • Jack London

... and every time that another boat approached us, a circumstance that was of frequent occurrence, he stretched himself as far as possible over the side with half a dozen tracts in his hand, and made signs to the people to approach and take them. If people did not obey his summons, we rowed up to them, and the missionary gratified them with his tracts in dozens, and went his way rejoicing, in anticipation of the good which he did not doubt ...
— A Woman's Journey Round the World • Ida Pfeiffer

... Gloucester, he remarked, that Leolf, a notorious robber, whom he had sentenced to banishment, had yet the boldness to enter the hall where he himself dined, and to sit at table with his attendants. Enraged at this insolence, he ordered him to leave the room; but on his refusing to obey, the king, whose temper, naturally choleric, was inflamed by this additional insult, leaped on him himself, and seized him by the hair: but the ruffian, pushed to extremity, drew his dagger, and gave Edmund a wound, of which he immediately ...
— The History of England, Volume I • David Hume

... infant we the man may trace; And from the rude ungainly sires may know Each striking trait the polished sons shall show. Dependent on what moods assume the reign, Science shall smile, or spread her stores in vain: As coward fears, or generous passions sway, Shall freedom reign, or heartless slaves obey. "Not unto chance must aught of power be given,— A country's genius is the gift of Heaven. What warms the poet's lays with generous fire, To which no toil can reach, no art aspire? Who taught the sage, with deepest ...
— My Schools and Schoolmasters - or The Story of my Education. • Hugh Miller

... fiercely, our boys are in the van; How I do wish the blows they struck were for dear Ireland! But duty calls, they must obey, and fight against the Boer, And many a cheerful Irish lad will ...
— Poets and Dreamers - Studies and translations from the Irish • Lady Augusta Gregory and Others

... but could not move. His lungs labored as though they would burst. His legs refused to obey his will. He felt as if he were in the clutches ...
— Army Boys on the Firing Line - or, Holding Back the German Drive • Homer Randall

... strongly their mutual guilt? This letter she sealed with no less than five wafers. When Mr. Littleton came from church she privately gave it to him, desiring it might be directed as usual, and put into the post. Mr. Littleton was at that time too well apprised of this black transaction to obey her commands. He opened the letter, took a copy of it. Upon further recollection, carried the original to the father, who bid him open and read it. He did so. What do you think, gentlemen, was all the poor old man said upon this discovery? He only again dropped these words, "Poor love-sick ...
— Trial of Mary Blandy • William Roughead

... by thee. And if thou performest that sacrifice and obtainest its fruit we all shall regard ourselves as crowned with success. I am always engaged in seeking good. Perform thou then the sacrifice thou desirest. Employ me also in some office for that purpose, for I should obey all thy commands. Yudhisthira replied—O Krishna, my resolve is already crowned with fruit, and success also is surely mine, when thou, O Harishikesa, hast arrived here ...
— The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Part 2 • Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

... who had received this order looked at each other in silence, and did not obey. It was repeated by the captain, who considered that he had hit upon a masterpiece of diplomacy. The officers expostulated; the officer commanding the party of marines turned away in disgust; but in vain: the brutal order was reiterated with threats. The whole party of marines now murmured, ...
— The King's Own • Captain Frederick Marryat

... home, when it occurred to him that perhaps he might find a decoy available. He knew there were several species of antelopes, with whom curiosity was stronger than fear. He had often lured the springbok within reach. Why would not these obey the same impulse? ...
— Popular Adventure Tales • Mayne Reid

... mind—that the world was not all Jews. For while the people who lived inside the gates had been chosen and consecrated to the service of the God of Israel, who had brought them out of Egyptian bondage and made them slaves to Himself, outside the gates were people who were not expected to obey the law of Moses; so that while he might not touch the fire—nor even the candlesticks which had held fire—from Friday evening to Saturday night, the Fire-woman could poke and poke at the logs to her ...
— Dreamers of the Ghetto • I. Zangwill

... interference. I have always refused except where it seemed to be my imperative duty to act in such a manner under the Constitution and laws of the United States. I have repeatedly and earnestly entreated the people of the South to live together in peace and obey the laws; and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see reconciliation and tranquillity everywhere prevail, and thereby remove all necessity for the presence of troops among them. I regret, however, to say that this state of things ...
— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant • James D. Richardson

... not how to gain time, and was losing all hope in face of the countess's persistence, was almost frightened out of her wits; she entered into medical details, and finally said that some violent exercise must be taken to induce labour. The countess, still unconvinced, refused to obey this order; but the count, the dowager, and all the family entreated her so earnestly ...
— CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE - THE COUNTESS DE SAINT-GERAN—1639 • ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE

... highly unbecoming that my Assistant should take it upon herself to lecture her superior after that fashion; and I promptly informed her (my blood being pretty hot by this time) that I would thank her to obey orders and give advice when it was asked for. Much abashed at this unexpected blast of spunk, cousin Ellen asked my pardon. When I delivered the sheep into the hands of the Chief Washer, old gentleman gazed ...
— When Life Was Young - At the Old Farm in Maine • C. A. Stephens

... the colour of Wenamon's debens, suddenly broke into a religious frenzy, and so continued all that day, and far into the night, calling incessantly upon those around him to go and fetch the envoy of Amon-Ra and the sacred image. Prince Zakar-Baal had considered it prudent to obey this apparently divine command, and had sent the harbour-master to prevent Wenamon's departure. Finding, however, that the Egyptian was determined to board the ship, the official sent a messenger to the prince, who replied with an order ...
— The Treasury of Ancient Egypt - Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology • Arthur E. P. B. Weigall

... seeming to share everything with the men and bear the blunt as well as the smooth, and the losses as well as the profits, now said, "Come, my brave men, turn to and cook yourselves something to eat, for you have earned it well;" an order which we soon set about to obey. A quantity of rum had been sent up for us, so we were able to sit down tired as we were and enjoy ourselves as if nothing extraordinary had occurred that day. We then sent out a picket and prepared to take our rest for the night, the French not seeming inclined to sally up any more ...
— The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence - A Hero of the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns • William Lawrence

... strongest possible guarantees against future wars; it must be done in obedience to that golden rule which insists upon doing to others what we would that others should do unto us; it must be done if we would obey the moral law that teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves; in fine, it must be done to purify, strengthen, and perpetuate a Government in which are now fondly centered the best ...
— History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States • Wiliam H. Barnes

... "is a soldier and must obey orders like a soldier." He set down his glass of Marsala and strolled across the room. "I had not observed," he went on, "that you have here a photograph of the Sposalizio of the Brera. What a picture! E stupendo!" and ...
— Crucial Instances • Edith Wharton

... thrill of something like comfort as she noticed how in the course of the day Anderson unconsciously slipped back into the old Canadian position; sitting with Philip, amusing him and "chaffing" him; inducing him to obey his doctor; cheering his mother, and in general producing in Martindale itself the same impression of masculine help and support which he had produced on Elizabeth, five months before, in a ...
— Lady Merton, Colonist • Mrs. Humphry Ward

... all parties concerned immediately submitted. Thus bees, when their prince appears, compose their quarrels and unite in one swarm. So much did justice and good government prevail in that state, that I am surprised at those who say the Lacedaemonians knew indeed how to obey, but not how to govern: and on this occasion quote the saying of king Theopompus, who, when one told him that Sparta was preserved by the good administration of its kings, replied, "Nay, rather by the obedience of their subjects." ...
— Ideal Commonwealths • Various

... mother, you are to stay, because I insist, because I want you. And you must pledge your word to obey me, now ...
— The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume VIII. • Guy de Maupassant

... right. Trix only waited to see how bad things really were, or rather her mother did. She 's as cool, hard, and worldly minded an old soul as I ever saw, and Trix is bound to obey. She gets round it very neatly in her note, 'I won't be a burden,' 'will sacrifice her hopes,' 'and always remain my warm friend,' but the truth is, Tom Shaw rich was worth making much of, but Tom Shaw poor is in the way, and may go to the devil ...
— An Old-fashioned Girl • Louisa May Alcott

... under which they alone had sworn allegiance to him. Louvain, Antwerp, Brussels, and Herzogenbusch solemnly protested against the decrees, and transmitted their protests in distinct memorials to the regent. The latter, always hesitating and wavering, too timid to obey the king, and far more afraid to disobey him, again summoned her council, again listened to the arguments for and against the question, and at last again gave her assent to the opinion which of all others was the most perilous for her to adopt. A new reference to the king in Spain was ...
— The Works of Frederich Schiller in English • Frederich Schiller

... vivid description of her life on the stage and off it in the society of a drug-taking husband; but from that point on it seemed to me to fail. In real life all might have happened just as it is set down, but real life is sloppily constructed. A novel must obey more rigid rules. Miss KELSTON writes extremely well, if a trifle too gloomily for my personal taste, but she cannot afford to ignore the laws of construction and hurl her big situation at the reader with an abrupt "Take it ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, February 16, 1916 • Various

... she obey and yield her soft arms to his caresses and hide her face because of their round, ...
— Beltane The Smith • Jeffery Farnol

... and coquettish little mouth were not idle in these days. She knew how to have every pupil at her feet and ready to obey her slightest wish. She wielded her power to its fullest extent as the summer drew near, and day after day saw a slow torture for Margaret. Some days the menacing air of insurrection fairly bristled in the ...
— A Voice in the Wilderness • Grace Livingston Hill

... expressed in this; and thus your will still was that I should translate it (the Decameron) when I had the leisure to do so. Seeing this and desiring, throughout my life, to do, if I can, even more than is possible to obey you, I began some time afterwards to translate one of the said stories, then two, then three, and finally to the number of ten or twelve, the best that I could choose, which I afterwards showed as much to people of the Tuscan nation as to people ...
— The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. I. (of V.) • Margaret, Queen Of Navarre

... obey the order he had received from the commander-in-chief, proceeded to rejoin his regiment. Caldelas, at the same period, promoted to the rank of commandant, was summoned away from Del Valle; and the garrison of the ...
— The Tiger Hunter • Mayne Reid

... to performance of the responsibilities of the senior official under this section. (2) Enforcement of subpoenas.—Any subpoena issued under paragraph (1)(C) shall, in the case of contumacy or refusal to obey, be enforceable by order of any appropriate United States district court. (3) Effect of oaths.—Any oath, affirmation, or affidavit administered or taken under paragraph (1)(D) by or before an employee of the Privacy Office designated ...
— Homeland Security Act of 2002 - Updated Through October 14, 2008 • Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives

... and power, are not dependent on man for protection; hence, those that have been reared as pets from the time they were calves, and have never learned to dread and obey the orders of a driver, are peculiarly apt to revert to wildness if they once are allowed to wander and escape to the woods. I believe this tendency, together with the cost of maintenance and the comparative uselessness of the beasts, are among the chief causes why Africans never ...
— Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development • Francis Galton

... good story is founded on the adventures of land-buyers in their endeavours to evade the spirit and obey the letter of land regulations. In 1891 a rhymester wrote in doggerel somewhat as follows of the experiences of a selector who "took up" ...
— The Long White Cloud • William Pember Reeves

... will in its relation to knowledge and feeling reveals that the training and development of the will depend upon exercise and upon instruction. There are two ways of exercising will power. First, by requiring it to obey authority promptly and to control the body and the mind at the direction of another. The discipline of a school may exert a strong influence upon pupils in teaching them concentration and will power under the direction ...
— The Elements of General Method - Based on the Principles of Herbart • Charles A. McMurry

... you and your wives and your children and make slaves of them, and sell and dispose of them as their Highnesses may command; and we shall take away your goods, and do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to receive their lord; and we protest that the deaths and losses that shall accrue from this are ...
— A History of American Christianity • Leonard Woolsey Bacon

... was no explanation. The telegram was simple but urgent. My mother, my sister, Nicholas, illness, death, disaster of some sort, filled my mind as I huddled on my clothes and made hurried preparations to obey the summons. Of course no inquiries could be made. The telegram was peremptory. I crushed a few things into a portmanteau, and, obtaining permission, left the ...
— In the Track of the Troops • R.M. Ballantyne

... will come back after dinner. Meet me down by the summer-house." There was something masterful in his tone, and for a moment she felt inclined to obey; then her sense of injury came to her aid, and she shook ...
— People of Position • Stanley Portal Hyatt

... quickly I shall turn out things. My preparations for Paris, the pamphlet, and even two sketches for subjects will be ready and on their way next month. Where I cannot agree with you I shall win you over to me; that I promise, so that we may always go hand in hand and never separate. I will obey you, but give me my poor wife; arrange it so that she may come cheerfully, with some confidence, soon and quickly. Alas! this, in the language of our dear nineteenth century, means, Send her as much money as you can possibly get. Yes, such is my nature; I can beg, I could steal, to cheer ...
— Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, Volume 1 • Francis Hueffer (translator)

... because passion sometimes conquers her?—You should endeavour to strengthen the connexion between theory and practice, if it be not sufficiently strong already; but you can gain nothing by destroying theory.—Happiness is your aim; but your unpractised or unsteady hand does not obey your will: you do not at the first trial hit the mark precisely.—Would you, because you are ...
— Tales And Novels, Vol. 8 • Maria Edgeworth

... farewell to them for me. We've been signaled by a Japanese warship," he continued, "and asked to stop and wait for a Japanese boat. I haven't the slightest idea what the fellows want, but we must obey orders; the matter will no doubt be settled in a few minutes as soon as the ...
— Banzai! • Ferdinand Heinrich Grautoff

... it should obey instantly, and remain patiently upon the ground until permitted to rise from this uneasy posture. In reality the elephant does not actually kneel upon its fore knees, but only upon those of the hinder ...
— Wild Beasts and their Ways • Sir Samuel W. Baker

... Archie, "I am to stay here, am I? That's what I was ordered to do, but I don't know whether I'll obey or not. It is evident Frank left me here to keep me out of harm's way. Perhaps he thinks that because I have never smelt powder, I am a coward; but I'll show ...
— Frank on the Lower Mississippi • Harry Castlemon

... yielded, for a few moments, to human weakness. When, therefore, he had silenced his heart and calmed the agitation of his nerves, turning towards his lackey, a silent servant, always listening, in order to obey ...
— The Man in the Iron Mask • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

... this way, but that, once having fully accomplished the drawing something rightly, you will thenceforward feel and aim at a higher perfection than you could otherwise have conceived, and the brush will obey you, and bring out quickly and clearly the loveliest results, with a submissiveness which it would have wholly refused if you had not put it to severest work. Nothing is more strange in art than the way that chance and materials seem to favour you, when once you have thoroughly conquered ...
— The Crown of Wild Olive • John Ruskin

... we maintain our right to the disputed post, it becomes us not, at this crisis, to altercate on the localities of the battle. Place us, oh Spartans! wherever seems best to you. No matter what our station; we will uphold our honour and your cause. Command, then—we obey." ...
— Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... awful trouble. You who love me must know it. I cannot explain, I can only make one prayer. Destroy what you have, to-day, instantly, without question or hesitation. The consent of any one else has nothing to do with it. You must obey. I am lost if you refuse. Do then what I ask, ...
— The Leavenworth Case • Anna Katharine Green

... short, flight is the last resource we have left us to avoid all this; and if your love, dear Elise, is as strong as ... (Seeing HARPAGON) Yes, a daughter is bound to obey her father. She has no right to inquire what a husband offered to her is like, and when the most important question, "without dowry," presents itself, she should accept anybody that is ...
— The Miser (L'Avare) • Moliere

... ironical smile, looked toward the squadron, which approached to obey De Warenne, and haughtily answered, "Though it be dishonor to march with me out of Scotland, the proudest of you all will deem it an honor to be allowed to return with me hither. I have an eye on those who stand with cap in hand to rebellion. And for ...
— The Scottish Chiefs • Miss Jane Porter

... her institutions honestly and faithfully administered. To overthrow the trained bands that are opposed to us whose salaried officers are ever on the watch, and whose misguided followers are ever ready to obey their smallest commands, every Whig must not only know his duty, but must firmly resolve, whatever of time and labor it may cost, boldly and faithfully to do it. Our intention is to organize the whole State, so that every Whig can be brought to the polls ...
— The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Complete - Constitutional Edition • Abraham Lincoln

... obey'd, and straight, Op'ning her fertile womb, teem'd at a birth Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms, Limb'd and full grown. Out of the ground up rose As from his lair, the wild beast, where he wons In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den; Among the trees they ...
— The Coming of Evolution - The Story of a Great Revolution in Science • John W. (John Wesley) Judd

... Adair and old Michael Terry had devoted themselves to her, and as the months went by she grew, if not happy, at least resigned. To the natives, who had never before had a white woman living among them, she was as a being from another world, and they were her veriest slaves, happy to obey her slightest wish. At first she had counted the days as they passed; then, as the sense of her utter loneliness in the world beyond would come to her, the thought of Adair and his unswerving care for and devotion to her would fill her heart with quiet thankfulness. ...
— Rodman The Boatsteerer And Other Stories - 1898 • Louis Becke

... talk in the breath of the woods, They talk in the shaken pine, And fill the reach of the old sea-shore With melody divine. And the poet who overhears Some random word they say Is the fated man of men, Whom the ages must obey." ...
— Nature Mysticism • J. Edward Mercer

... the Gods," says Epictetus, "you must know that this is the chief thing, to have right opinions about them, to think that they exist, and that they administer the All well and justly; and you must fix yourself in this principle (duty), to obey them, and to yield to them in everything which happens, and voluntarily to follow it as being accomplished by the ...
— The Pleasures of Life • Sir John Lubbock

... express herself. Her ambassador in Milan publicly declared in August that the papacy had been sold by simony and a thousand deceptions, and that the signory of Venice was convinced that France and Spain would refuse to obey the Pope when they learned ...
— Lucretia Borgia - According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day • Ferdinand Gregorovius

... of "divide and govern." Its policy was to hold the balance among officials, civil and ecclesiastical, and inhabitants, white and colored. It knew how strongly individualistic the Spaniard was and realized the full force of the adage, "I obey, but I do not fulfill!" Legislatures and other agencies of government directly representative of the people did not exist in Spanish or Portuguese America. The Spanish cabildo, or town council, however, afforded an opportunity for the ...
— The Hispanic Nations of the New World - Volume 50 in The Chronicles Of America Series • William R. Shepherd

... him o'er and o'er, and bade Baba retire, which he obey'd in style, As if well used to the retreating trade; And taking hints in good part all the while, He whisper'd Juan not to be afraid, And looking on him with a sort of smile, Took leave, with such a face of satisfaction As good men wear who have ...
— Don Juan • Lord Byron

... condition in America and Liberia, and what friend of the race or of humanity can desire to retain them among us? The voice of nature and of experience proclaims, that America is our home and Africa is theirs; and let us, in a spirit of true kindness and sympathy for them, obey the mandate. ...
— The Continental Monthly , Vol. 2 No. 5, November 1862 - Devoted to Literature and National Policy • Various

... excell the Wealth of this World and the Lusts of the Flesh. But, knowing also the mutability of earthly things, I do hereby command and enjoin that, if at any time He or his Descendants be in stress and tribulation of poverty, the Head of our Family of Trenoweth shall strictly and faithfully obey these my Latest Directions. He shall take ship and go unto Bombay in India, to the house of Elihu Sanderson, Esquire, or his Heirs, and there, presenting in person this my last Will and Testament, together with the Holy Bible now lying in the third drawer of my Writing ...
— Dead Man's Rock • Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

... of the flower seemed to bring new strength to Annie, and she rose up, saying, as she bent to kiss the blossom on her breast: "Dear flower, help and guide me now, and I will listen to your voice, and cheerfully obey my ...
— Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) - Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales • Various

... incapable of comprehending what she said. In a strong provincial accent he repeated, "Plait-il?" and stood aghast till she had explained herself three times; then suddenly exclaiming, "Ah! c'est ca;"—he collected his tools precipitately, and followed to obey her orders. The door of the room was at last forced half open, for a press that had been overturned prevented its opening entirely. The horrible smells that issued did not overcome Madame de Fleury's humanity: she squeezed her ...
— Murad the Unlucky and Other Tales • Maria Edgeworth

... against what is in the man himself and what he feels to be his, and no one can fight against himself except from a more interior self and from freedom in it, it follows that the internal man fights against the external and does so from freedom, and compels the external to obey. This, then, is compelling oneself, and, clearly, it is not contrary to liberty and rationality, but ...
— Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence • Emanuel Swedenborg

... private misunderstanding with Mr. Baines some months previous, and that the order to wear his pistol was given before he had time to put on his clothes. There had, however, been a distinct refusal to obey the orders of the officer in charge of the party, and those orders were neither vexatious or unreasonable, as they were simply in enforcement of well-established regulations. I therefore cautioned Mr. Flood that unless his future conduct was more satisfactory than it had hitherto ...
— Journals of Australian Explorations • A C and F T Gregory

... Flora, during his absence, to inquire for a female servant, to accompany them to Canada, and take care of the baby during the voyage. Flora was very reluctant to obey this command, though she knew that it was entirely on her account that the request was made. Her health was still very bad, and her kind husband was anxious to spare her any additional fatigue and ...
— Flora Lyndsay - or, Passages in an Eventful Life • Susan Moodie

... and tearing her robe asunder, point to the breast with which she suckled you, though your father fall down on the threshold before you, pass over your father's body ... You say that Scripture orders you to obey parents, but he who loves them more ...
— The Necessity of Atheism • Dr. D.M. Brooks

... Kendric. "And they couldn't obey you this time anyhow. Hurry; we'll all stifle if we don't get out of this foul air. Rios, give me some matches; ...
— Daughter of the Sun - A Tale of Adventure • Jackson Gregory

... thousand men, he can make use of it in no other way than by maintaining a hundred or a thousand men. He is at all times, therefore, surrounded with a multitude of retainers and dependants, who, having no equivalent to give in return for their maintenance, but being fed entirely by his bounty, must obey him, for the same reason that soldiers must obey the prince who pays them. Before the extension of commerce and manufactures in Europe, the hospitality of the rich and the great, from the sovereign down to the smallest baron, exceeded every thing which, in the present times, ...
— An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations • Adam Smith

... old fellow," he replied, taking the young body-guard between his knees. "War isn't going to catch us napping. We'll know at what minute to point our guns at the enemy. We shall know and we shall obey our orders. And you'll know, and you must obey your orders, comrade. You must stay in your turret chamber, like the brave boy of old. You mustn't follow me past that point. If you do, G. W.,"—Colonel Austin had never threatened the boy before,—"unless you promise ...
— A Little Dusky Hero • Harriet T. Comstock

... to others the honors of the enterprise." The king's troops were well received wherever they showed themselves; the towns opened their gates to them. "It needs," said a contemporary, "mighty strong citadels to make the towns of France obey their governors when they see the latter disobedient to the king's. will." Several great lords held themselves carefully aloof; others determined to attempt an arrangement between the king and his mother; it was known what influence ...
— A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times - Volume V. of VI. • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

... the revolving train drew up beside the path. At the same moment Winterbourne perceived that his friend Mrs. Walker—the lady whose house he had lately left—was seated in the vehicle and was beckoning to him. Leaving Miss Miller's side, he hastened to obey her summons. Mrs. Walker was flushed; she wore an excited air. "It is really too dreadful," she said. "That girl must not do this sort of thing. She must not walk here with you two men. ...
— Daisy Miller • Henry James

... his staff by a large body of Tartar cavalry. The General and his followers, at once galloping to the right and left, disclosed the Armstrong guns, which had just before been ordered to move their position. They were, however, under the command of Lieutenant Rochfort, who, as he was about to obey the order, saw the threatening movement of the enemy. He therefore held his ground, and when the General and his staff rode aside, he was ready for action. At first the range was incorrect. With perfect coolness he altered the elevation, ...
— Our Soldiers - Gallant Deeds of the British Army during Victoria's Reign • W.H.G. Kingston

... were was a boy training pigeons, and the numerous crates or frames on the surrounding house-tops showed this to be a favourite amusement. The young gentleman in question certainly made his flock obey him in a wonderful manner, his chief object being to take prisoner a pigeon from his neighbour's flock. He directed their gyrations by loud shrill cries, and, as there were numbers of other members of "Young Benares" employed ...
— A Journey to Katmandu • Laurence Oliphant

... they completed the work of destruction. For this service—the only instance of alacrity that he displayed in the campaign—Dunbar must not be forgiven. It is not perfectly clear that Braddock intelligently ever gave the orders; but in any case they were not fit for a British officer to give or to obey. Dunbar's duty was to have maintained here his position, or at the least not to have contemplated falling back beyond Will's Creek. That he had not horses to remove his stores was, however, ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, v. 13 • Various

... disposal, selected a physician of distinction from among the attendants about his court, and ordered him to repair to Persia. The physician was extremely reluctant to go. He had a wife and family, from whom he was very unwilling to be separated; but the orders were imperative, and he must obey. He set out on the journey, therefore, but he secretly resolved to devise some mode of revenging himself on the king for ...
— Darius the Great - Makers of History • Jacob Abbott

... knowledge of Lord Burnham, its proprietor, who had for many years been on intimate terms of friendship with the Royal Family—that the new King had undergone sedulous training and been educated to rule by learning to obey. "The country will discover in him what those admitted to his confidence have always realized—admirable traits of kindliness and strength; wise common sense, practical judgment of affairs; shrewd insight into character; ...
— The Life of King Edward VII - with a sketch of the career of King George V • J. Castell Hopkins

... a acquievistis imperio, pessimo laqueo vos in duistis—If you have acquiesced in authority, you have wrapped yourselves in a very evil snare. As touching any ordinance of the church we say with Whittaker, Obediendum ecclesioe est sed jubents ac docenti recta—We are to obey the church but commanding and teaching right things. Surely, if we have not proved the controverted ceremonies to be such things as are not right to be done we shall straight obey all the ceremonial laws made thereanent, and as ...
— The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) • George Gillespie

... are seeking your own will, my daughter. You are seeking some good other than the law you are bound to obey. But how will you find good? It is not a thing of choice: it is a river that flows from the foot of the Invisible Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. I say again, man cannot choose his duties. You may choose to forsake your duties, and choose not to have ...
— George Eliot; A Critical Study of Her Life, Writings & Philosophy • George Willis Cooke

... cannot tell you who these are, but they seem to be persons of good quality, especially he who went to help the lady dismount. The rest obey him in all things." ...
— The Junior Classics, V4 • Willam Patten (Editor)

... could speak to you, would tell you she deserved to have the title; and it would hurt us both very much if you refused to give it. Indeed, my daughter, I cannot ask her to come to us unless you will promise to do so, and to love and obey, her just as ...
— Elsie's Girlhood • Martha Finley

... and her tone conveyed the most positive refusal to obey this behest. She sprang to her feet, and with flashing eyes, she cried: "We are not Greeks, neither she nor I, and I can tell you once for all that she is not my kind and welcome visitor, nor my friend any more! We have nothing, nothing ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers

... scruple. Maria Louisa lived within her income, or if she desired any indulgence beyond it, which was rarely the case, she asked it as a favour of Napoleon. Josephine, accustomed to political intrigue, loved to manage, to influence, and to guide her husband; Maria Louisa desired only to please and to obey him. Both were excellent women, of great sweetness of temper, and fondly attached to Napoleon. In the difference between these distinguished persons, we can easily discriminate the leading features of the Parisian, and of the simple German beauty; ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Supplementary Number, Issue 263, 1827 • Various

... even if the crew obeys a wrong order, than it would be if every order should be debated by the crew. You can't hold town-meetings when you are afloat. Harry, I think, understands pretty well how to sail the boat. Will you agree to obey ...
— Harper's Young People, June 8, 1880 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various

... courtiers and flatterers. And now she is old and ailing; and Mazarin being gone, the young King will submit to no minister who claims to be anything better than a clerk or a secretary. Colbert he must tolerate—for Colbert means prosperity—but Colbert will have to obey. My friend, the Duchesse de Longueville, who is now living in strict retirement, writes me the most exquisite letters; and from her I hear all that happens in that country which I sometimes fancy is more my own than the duller climate where my lot is now cast. ...
— London Pride - Or When the World Was Younger • M. E. Braddon



Words linked to "Obey" :   adjust, obedience, abide by, adapt, obeisance, comply, conform, disobey, obedient, mind, listen, take orders, follow, heed



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