Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.
Justice Quotes
By a wide margin the most quotes here are Shakespeare’s, and the two judges who follow him, Lord Mansfield and Lord Kenyon, are a sign that this page leans on the bench as much as the stage. Seneca and John Rawls fill out the top five.
Among the sourced entries, Bierce’s definition from 1911 describes justice as a commodity the State sells to citizens as a reward for their allegiance, taxes and personal service. Sartre’s Dirty Hands (1948) and Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898) are here for what they say about guilt, not courts.
Three lines carry flags: Marlowe’s “the justice of my quarrel,” Augustine on charity and withheld justice, and a Martin Luther King Jr. line about peace and justice being goals for man.
Plan harm for another and harm yourself most,
the evil we hatch always comes home to roost.
It’s easy to judge others when we are not going through the same thing.
Woe to him, * * * who has no court of appeal against the world's judgment.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
It's no good at all for a man to be just
When the unjust man gets more than what's just.
There is more owing her than is paid; and more shall be paid her than she'll demand.
Use every man after his desert, and who should
'Scape whipping!