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.
Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).
It has been complained, with some justice, that I dump my note-books on the public.
If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.
Hillary [Clinton] must be brought to justice — arrested, tried, and executed for murder.
“Instead, we had to build a new nation founded on justice, transparency, inclusion, and hope.”
We must set the precedent for justice and accountability before fascists do.