The two parts that emphasize the common romantic theme that the individual has greater value than society or government in this excerpt of Henry David Thoreau's essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" are the following:
1- "Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator?"
2- " I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward."
In the first part, Thoreau questions whether citizens, that is, individuals, must submit passively to the idea that whatever the government decides is necessarily correct or morally acceptable. Next, the writer takes a step further and asks: "Why has every man a conscience, then?". In other words, why do we have a brain if we are not allowed to use it?
In the second part, Thoreau states that it is more important to be individuals, sticking to our own beliefs and values, than being "subjects", that is, being under the authority of a government or a ruler. The writer emphasizes the idea that people should never stop to be themselves due to "allegiance" to the government or to what society, or the "majority", decides is right.
