The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Category Law

Featured Quote in Law

I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments.
Abraham Lincoln First Inaugural Address · 1861

Subcategories

Justice (5) Rights (5) Criminal law (2) Constitutional law (2) Civil law (1) Courts (1) International law (0) Legal theory (2)

Law Quotes

“I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments.”

Abraham Lincoln · First Inaugural Address, 1861 · Primary source

“Where there’s no law, there’s no bread.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.”

John F. Kennedy · Civil Rights Address, 1963 · Primary source

“I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken; and to the extent of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States.”

Abraham Lincoln · First Inaugural Address, 1861 · Primary source

“And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”

Abraham Lincoln · Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 · Primary source

“And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”

Abraham Lincoln · Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 · Primary source

“The questioners had that beautiful detachment and devotion to stern justice of men dealing in death without being in any danger of it.”

Ernest Hemingway · A Farewell to Arms, 1929 · Primary source

“If the law is too mild, private vengeance comes in.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Compensation, 1841 · Primary source

“The end does not justify the means. No one’s rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others.”

Ayn Rand · The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z, 1986 · Primary source

“Commit a crime, and the earth is made of glass.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Compensation, 1841 · Primary source

“Only law firm out there’s called Smith and Wesson.”

Ian Fleming · Diamonds Are Forever, 1956 · Primary source

“He who does not punish evil commands it to be done.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

John F. Kennedy · Civil Rights Address, 1963 · Primary source

“Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.”

John F. Kennedy · Ich bin ein Berliner speech, 1963 · Primary source

“Pardoning the bad, is injuring the good.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“The jury system has come to stand for all we mean by English justice, because so long as a case has to be scrutinised by twelve honest men, defendant and plaintiff alike have a safeguard from arbitrary perversion of the law.”

Winston Churchill · A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, 1956-1958 · Primary source

“A good lawyer, a bad neighbor.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“A man is worthy of praise or blame solely on account of those actions which lie within his power to do or not to do.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson · Declaration of Independence, 1776 · Primary source

“Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense. An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.

Ayn Rand · The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z, 1986 · Primary source

“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in.”

John F. Kennedy · Ich bin ein Berliner speech, 1963 · Primary source

“As long as I have any choice, I will only stay in a country where political liberty, tolerance, and equality of all citizens before the law prevail.”

Albert Einstein · Ideas and Opinions , 1954 · Primary source

“It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right.”

Henry David Thoreau · Resistance to Civil Government, 1849 · Primary source

“We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.”

John F. Kennedy · Civil Rights Address, 1963 · Primary source

“The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776.”

Abraham Lincoln · First Inaugural Address, 1861 · Primary source

“Trying to minimize taxes too much is one of the great standard causes of really dumb mistakes.”

Charlie Munger · Poor Charlie’s Almanack, 2005 · Primary source

“Don’t misinform your doctor nor your lawyer.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.”

Henry David Thoreau · Resistance to Civil Government, 1849 · Primary source

“Without justice courage is weak.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy.”

Abraham Lincoln · First Inaugural Address, 1861 · Primary source

“The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”

John F. Kennedy · Inaugural Address of President John F. Kennedy, 1961 · Primary source

Explore the category

Law

8 subcategories · 9 authors · 11 works · 64 themes · 126 tags
Authors
Benjamin Franklin American statesmanWinston Churchill British prime ministerRalph Waldo Emerson American essayist and philosopher
Works
Poor Richard’s Almanack Benjamin Franklin · 1732-1758A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway · 1929A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Winston Churchill · 1956-1958
Themes
Permanence of political unionLimits of unilateral secessionLegal order supports material security
Tags
JusticeSecessionRule of lawCivil rights
✓Copied