Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a lesser superior was petty treason. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor.
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Famous quotes containing the word treason:
“O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody treason flourished over us.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“All men should have a drop of treason in their veins, if nations are not to go soft like so many sleepy pears.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“The treason pleases, but the traitors are odious.”
—Spanish proverb, pt. 1, bk. 4, ch. 7, quoted in Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605, trans by P. Motteux)