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Quotes about justice

171 quotes from 112 people

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Civilisation can never sustain itself upon cannibalism of any form. For that by which alone man is true can only be nourished by love and justice.
Rabindranath Tagore1861–1941Sādhanā: The Realisation of Life (1916)
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison… the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor.
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862Civil Disobedience (1849)
- Government
Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice.
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862Civil Disobedience (1849)In context
- Laws
Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862Civil Disobedience (1849)In context
- Laws
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862Civil Disobedience (1849)In context
- Government
I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.
Desmond Tutu1931–2021Today, NBC TV (9 January 1985)
- Freedom
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
Desmond Tutu1931–2021As quoted in Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes (1984) by Robert McAfee Brown, p. 19
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
United States CongressThe Bill of Rights (Proposed 1789, ratified 1791), Amendment IVIn context
- Liberty
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
United States CongressThe Bill of Rights (Proposed 1789, ratified 1791), Amendment VIn context
- Liberty
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
United States CongressThe Bill of Rights (Proposed 1789, ratified 1791), Amendment VIIIIn context
I am the law, and I am the judge! I am the oppressed, and there is the oppressor!
Jules Verne1828–1905Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), Part Two, Chapter XXIIn context
- Power
Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.
Voltaire1694–1778“Civil and Ecclesiastical Laws”, Dictionnaire philosophique (1785-1789)
Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.
George Washington1732–1799George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
- War & Peace
Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together.
Daniel Webster1782–1852On Mr. Justice Story (September 12, 1845); reported in Edward Everett, ed., The Works of Daniel Webster (1851), page 300
Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love and justice.
Simone Weil1909–1943The Iliad or The Poem of Force (1940-1941), p. 192
- Love
- Power