WIST Quotations

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 3, ch. 3 (3.3) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:26:41 +0000

For it is clear that in a monarchy, where the person who executes the laws holds himself above them, less virtue is required than in a popular government, where the person who executes the laws is aware that he himself is subject to them and that he will feel their weight.

[Car il est clair que, dans une monarchie, où celui qui fait exécuter les loix se juge au-dessus des loix, on a besoin de moins de vertu que dans un gouvernement populaire, où celui qui fait exécuter les loix, sent qu’il y est soumis lui-même, & qu’il en portera le poids.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 3, ch. 3 (3.3) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

For it is clear that in a monarchy, where he who commands the execution of the laws generally thinks himself above them, there is less need of virtue than in a popular government, where the person entrusted with the execution of the laws is sensible of his being subject to their direction.
[tr. Nugent (1750)]

For it is clear that less virtue is needed in a monarchy, where the one who sees to the execution of the laws judges himself above the laws, than in a popular government, where the one who sees the execution of the laws feels that he is subject to them himself and that he will bear their weight.
[tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:50:33 +0000

We must keep ever in mind that a republic such as ours can exist only by virtue of the orderly liberty which comes through the equal domination of the law over all men alike, and through its administration in such resolute and fearless fashion as shall teach all that no man is above it and no man below it.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse
(Source)

Sidney, Algernon -- Discourses Concerning Government, ch. 3, § 15 (1689)

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 23:24:25 +0000

For this reason, the law is established which no passion can disturb. It is void of desire and fear, lust and anger. It is mens sine affectu, written reason, retaining some measure of the divine perfection. It does not enjoin that which pleases a weak, frail man; but, without any regard to persons, commands that which is good, and punishes evil in all, whether rich or poor, high or low. It is deaf, inexorable, inflexible.

Algernon Sidney (1623–1683) English politician, republican political theorist [also Sydney]
Discourses Concerning Government, ch. 3, § 15 (1689)
(Source)

The Latin means "mind without emotion."

John Adams was a huge fan of Sidney (whose republican / anti-monarchical writings against King Charles II, leading to his execution, had significant impact on many of the Founders). Adams incorporated the above speech into the closing arguments of his legal defense of the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trials (1770-12-04). Because of that use, Adams is often cited for the above quote, though he clearly attributed it to Sidney.

To the above, Adams added this, the last line of his closing:

On the one hand it is inexorable to the cries and lamentations of the prisoners; on the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-01-08), “State of the Union,” Joint Session of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 17:09:59 +0000

All members of the public should have equal access to facilities open to the public. All members of the public should be equally eligible for Federal benefits that are financed by the public. All members of the public should have an equal chance to vote for public officials and to send their children to good public schools and to contribute their talents to the public good.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)
Speech (1964-01-08), “State of the Union,” Joint Session of Congress, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Bryan, William Jennings -- Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 17:49:11 +0000

And who can suffer injury by just taxation, impartial laws and the application of the Jeffersonian doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges to none? Only those whose accumulations are stained with dishonesty and whose immoral methods have given them a distorted view of business, society and government. Accumulating by conscious frauds more money than they can use upon themselves, wisely distribute or safely leave to their children, these denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw a light upon their crimes.

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American lawyer, statesman, politician, orator
Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 25 (1.25) / sec. 89 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]

Dave — Thu, 19 May 2022 17:12:21 +0000

We should take care also that the punishment shall not be out of proportion to the offence, and that some shall not be chastised for the same fault for which others are not even called to account.

[Cavendum est etiam, ne maior poena quam culpa sit, et ne isdem de causis alii plectantur, alii ne appellentur quidem.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 25 (1.25) / sec. 89 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Diligent care should be taken, in the next place, that the penalty be proportioned to the nature of the crime; and that some do not pass without ever being questioned, while others are punished for the same misdemeanours.
[tr. Cockman (1699)]

Great care too must be taken, that the punishment be not greater than the offence; and that some should not be punished for the same offences, for which others are not called to account.
[tr. McCartney (1798)]

We ought, likewise, to take care that the punishment be proportioned to the offence, and that some be not punished for doing things for which others are not so much as called to account.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]

Care also must be taken lest the punishment be greater than the fault, and lest for the same cause some be made penally responsible, and others not even called to account.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]

Again, we should never impose a penalty disproportioned to the offence or for the same crime punish one and let another go unchallenged.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]

We must take care that the punishment is not in excess of the crime, and that it is not inflicted on some only while others equally guilty are not even brought to trial.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

One should also be careful that the punishment does not surpass the crime and that some people receive beatings while others do not even receive a reprimand.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]

Polk, James K. -- Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:51:28 +0000

By the theory of our Government majorities rule, but this right is not an arbitrary or unlimited one. It is a right to be exercised in subordination to the Constitution and in conformity to it. One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights. Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression.

James K. Polk (1795–1849) American lawyer, politician, US President (1845–1849)
Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)
(Source)

Garfield, James A. -- Speech, House of Representatives (4 Apr 1871)

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 14:43:15 +0000

I can hardly believe that any person can be found who will not admit that every one of these provisions is just. They are all asserted, in some form or other, in our Declaration or organic law. But the Constitution limits only the action of Congress, and is not a limitation on the States. This amendment supplies that defect, and allows Congress to correct the unjust legislation of the States, so far that the law which operates upon one man shall operate equally upon all. Whatever law punishes a white man for a crime shall punish the black man precisely in the same way and to the same degree. Whatever law protects the white man shall afford equal protection to the black man. Whatever means of redress is afforded to one shall be afforded to all. Whatever law allows the white man to testify in court shall allow the man of color to do the same. These are great advantages over their present codes.

James A. Garfield (1831–1881) US President (1881), lawyer, lay preacher, educator
Speech, House of Representatives (4 Apr 1871)
(Source)

On the proposed 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which forbade to each state the ability to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Jay, John -- Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 US 1 (1794) [unanimous opinion]

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 23:15:03 +0000

Justice is indiscriminately due to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank.

John Jay (1745–1829) American statesman, diplomat, abolitionist, politician, Chief Justice (1789–1795)
Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 US 1 (1794) [unanimous opinion]
(Source)

Harlan, John Marshall -- Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537, 559 (1896) [dissent]

Dave — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 17:01:41 +0000

But in view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.

John Marshall Harlan (1833–1911) American lawyer, politician, Supreme Court Justice (1877–1911)
Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537, 559 (1896) [dissent]
(Source)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter (1776-03-31) to John Adams

Dave — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 20:39:31 +0000

That your Sex are Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute, but such of you as wish to be happy willingly give up the harsh title of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend. Why then, not put it out of the power of the vicious and the Lawless to use us with cruelty and indignity with impunity. Men of Sense in all Ages abhor those customs which treat us only as the vassals of your Sex. Regard us then as Beings placed by providence under your protection and in immitation of the Supreem Being make use of that power only for our happiness.

Abigail Adams (1744–1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-03-31) to John Adams
(Source)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter (1776-03-31) to John Adams

Dave — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:08:09 +0000

I long to hear that you have declared an independancy — and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams (1744–1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-03-31) to John Adams
(Source)

She continues here.

John Adams' response to her was more than a bit flippant, though he elsewhere had more serious thoughts about the role of women in civil authority.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1915-10-12), “Americanism,” Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:37:49 +0000

All of us, no matter from what land our parents came, no matter in what way we may severally worship our Creator, must stand shoulder to shoulder in a united America for the elimination of race and religious prejudice. We must stand for a reign of equal justice to both big and small.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1915-10-12), “Americanism,” Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall, New York City
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:59:39 +0000

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Black, Hugo -- Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 241 (1940) [majority opinion]

Dave — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:05:04 +0000

Under our constitutional system, courts stand against any winds that blow as havens of refuge for those who might otherwise suffer because they are helpless, weak, outnumbered, or because they are nonconforming victims of prejudice and public excitement. Due process of law, preserved for all by our Constitution, commands that no such practice as that disclosed by this record shall send any accused to his death. No higher duty, no more solemn responsibility, rests upon this Court than that of translating into living law and maintaining this constitutional shield deliberately planned and inscribed for the benefit of every human being subject to our Constitution — of whatever race, creed or persuasion.

Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 241 (1940) [majority opinion]
(Source)

Overturning a state murder conviction obtained through a coerced confession.

Bok, Derek -- Report to Harvard Board of Overseers (21 Apr 1983)

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:23:14 +0000

There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot.

Derek Bok (b. 1930) American lawyer, educator
Report to Harvard Board of Overseers (21 Apr 1983)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Letter (1940-01-09) to William Allan Neilson

Dave — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:41:07 +0000

We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Letter (1940-01-09) to William Allan Neilson
(Source)

Neilson was the co-chair of the Sponsor Committee, Fourth Annual Conference of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign-Born. It was read to the conference on 1940-03-01, and entered into the Congressional Record (along with other letters received) on 1940-03-11.

Just over two years later, 1942-02-19, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the evacuation of all persons (which largely meant Japanese-Americans) deemed a national security threat from the West Coast to internment centers further inland. The EO was in effect until rescinded by Roosevelt in 1944-12 after the Supreme Court ruling in Ex parte Endo.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1819-04-04) to Isaac H. Tiffany

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Liberty then I would say that, in the whole plenitude of it’s extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will: but rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’; because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1819-04-04) to Isaac H. Tiffany
(Source)