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.
There never was such a thing as Justice in the English laws but any amount of injustice to be had.
Wealth I desire to have; but wrongfully to get it,
I do not wish. Justice, even if slow, is sure.
Let’s speak of justice as present in the world, as independent and self-perpetuating.
Hrant Dink has sacrificed his life and become a target for the sake of justice, truth and tolerance.
We are in a planetary emergency (…) It is our duty to demand justice for the future generations.”