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.
Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them.
It’s all a question of power and rarely a question of justice.
There is no truth without the form of truth, namely justice.
All impartial men who are moved by justice and not by racialism want India to be ruled by Indians.
Justice is the motive of heartless people, who protect their gold with the sword.
A climate justice approach is the single-best hope the world has.
Recompense hatred with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.