Famously Said Random quote

Quotes about justice

171 quotes from 112 people

Most readBy personPage 7 of 12

The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.
Harper Lee1926–2016To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), Pt. 2, Ch. 23 (Atticus Finch)
- Race
In history and in life one sometimes seems to glimpse a ferocious law which states: “to he that has, will be given; from he that has not, will be taken away.”
Primo Levi1919–1987If This Is a Man (1947)
- History
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
Abraham Lincoln1809–1865The Emancipation Proclamation (1863)In context
- God
- Slavery
In a free society the state does not administer the affairs of men. It administers justice among men who conduct their own affairs.
Walter Lippmann1889–1974The Good Society (1937), Ch. XII: “The Political Principles of Liberalism”, §6, p. 267
- Freedom
- Government
Who ordained that a few should have the land of Britain as a perquisite, who made 10,000 people owners of the soil and the rest of us trespassers in the land of our birth?
David Lloyd George1863–1945Speech in Newcastle (9 October 1909), quoted in The Times (11 October 1909), p. 6
- Politics
Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807–1882Retribution, from Friedrich von Logau, Sinngedichte, III, 2, 24
- God
One oppression does not justify another.
Audre Lorde1934–1992Sexism: An American Disease in Blackface, p. 63
Justice is the end of Government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.
James Madison1751–1836Federalist No. 51 (6 February 1788)In context
- Government
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.
James Madison1751–1836Federalist No. 10 (November 22, 1787)In context
It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part.
James Madison1751–1836Federalist No. 51 (February 6, 1788)In context
- Government
It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.
Maimonides1138–1204Sefer Hamitzvot [Book of the Commandments], commentary on Negative Commandment 290, as translated by Charles B. Chavel (1967)
In addition to the teaching of truths the Law aims at the removal of injustice from mankind.
Maimonides1138–1204Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.32
- Laws
Time is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. You don’t need anything else.
Malcolm X1925–1965Malcolm X Speaks (1965)
- Time
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.
Malcolm X1925–1965Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 111
- Freedom
I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I am for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
Malcolm X1925–1965The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), p. 400
- Truth & Lies