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Every great example of punishment has in it some injustice, but the suffering individual is compensated by the public good.

Habet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum, quod contra singulos, utilitate publica rependitus.

Original text (Latin)

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Justice

More quotes by Tacitus

It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.

Great empires are not maintained by timidity.

Our magistrates discharge their duties best at the beginning; and fall off toward the end.

A woman after having parted with her virtue will hesitate at nothing.

It is human nature to hate those whom we have injured.

All Tacitus quotes →

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Tacitus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.