Quotes About Justice

The only government that I recognize,—and it matters not how few are at the head of it, or how small its army,—is that power that establishes justice in the land, never that which establishes injustice. What shall we think of a government to which all the truly brave and just men in the land are enemies, standing between it and those whom it oppresses? A government that pretends to be Christian and crucifies a million Christs every day!

Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.

The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free.

This people must cease to hold slaves, and to make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people.

Penso che dovremmo essere uomini prima di essere sudditi. Non è da augurarsi che l'uomo coltivi il rispetto per le leggi ma piuttosto che rispetti ciò che è giusto.

si elle (la loi) est d'une telle nature qu'elle fasse de vous l'agent de l'injustice vis-à-vis d'autrui alors je déclare qu'il faut enfreindre la loi

La seule obligation que j'aie le droit d'adopter, c'est d'agir à tout moment selon ce qui me paraît juste.

la raison pratique pour laquelle, une fois le pouvoir échu aux mains du peuple, une majorité reçoit la permission de régner, et continue de la détenir pour une longue période, ce n'est pas parce qu'elle court plus de risques d'avoir raison, ni parce que cela semble plus juste à la majorité, mais parce qu'elle est physiquement la plus forte.

The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free. They are the lovers of law and order who observe the law when the government breaks it.

Sotto un governo che imprigiona ingiustamente non importa chi, il vero posto dove può vivere un uomo giusto è la prigione.

dopotutto non erano tanto nobili, ma trattavano il ladro nella stessa maniera in cui il ladro li trattava.

Perhaps this was the first instance of that quiet way of speaking for a place not yet occupied, or at least not improved as much as it may be, which their descendants have practised, and are still practising so extensively. Not Any seems to have been the sole proprietor of all America before the Yankees [...] At any rate, I know that if you hold a thing unjustly, there will surely be the devil to pay at last.

If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself.

But a government in which the majority rule in all cases can not be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.

Même lorsque vous votez pour la justice, vous ne faites rien pour elle. Vous ne faites qu'exprimer faiblement aux hommes votre désir de la voir l'emporter. Le sage ne doit pas laisser la justice à la merci du hasard ni souhaiter qu'elle l'emporte grâce au pouvoir de la la majorité. P.13

Même lorsque vous votez pour la justice, vous ne faites rien pour elle. Vous ne faites qu'exprimer faiblement aux hommes votre désir de la voir l'emporter. Le sage ne doit pas laisser la justice à la merci du hasard ni souhaiter qu'elle l'emporte grâce au pouvoir de la majorité. P.13

So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice.

La meta de un buen gobierno es darle más valor a la vida; la de un mal gobierno, restarle valor.

Não é desejável cultivar o respeito às leis no mesmo nível do respeito aos direitos. (...) A lei nunca fez os homens sequer um pouco mais justos; e o respeito reverente pela lei tem levado até mesmo os bem-intencionados a agir quotidianamente como mensageiros da injustiça.

It is the greatest of all advantages to enjoy no advantage at all.

Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality--that it never secures any moral right, but considers merely what is expedient?

Un uomo saggio non lascia il giusto alla mercé del caso né desidera che esso si affermi attraverso il potere della maggioranza.

Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?

If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood.