Some false representations contravene the law; some do not. The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business, and, besides, could not be done. The line between honesty and dishonesty is a narrow, shifting one and usually lets those get by that are the most subtle and already have more than they can use.
Interpretation
The law selectively addresses dishonesty, allowing subtle transgressions to persist while focusing on more significant issues.
This quote by Clarence Darrow highlights the complex nature of honesty and dishonesty within the legal framework. It suggests that while some dishonest acts are punishable by law, many are overlooked due to the nuances of business practices and the inherent challenges in regulating all forms of dishonesty. Darrow points out that the distinction between what is considered honest or dishonest is often fluid, allowing those skilled in manipulation to navigate around legal repercussions, emphasizing the limitations of the law in addressing moral transgressions.
In practice
During a seminar on ethics in business, to illustrate the complexities of legal honesty.
With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men that ever existed. They have done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men, than any other association of men.
Do I need to argue to Your Honor that cruelty only breeds cruelty? That hatred only causes hatred; that if there is any way to soften this human heart which is hard enough at its best, if there is any way to kill evil and hatred and all that goes with it, it is not through evil and hatred and cruelty; it is through charity, and love, and understanding?
Chase after the truth like all hell.
No other offense has ever been visited with such severe penalties as seeking to help the oppressed.
Liberty is the most jealous and exacting mistress that can beguile the brain and soul of man. She will have nothing from him who will not give her all. She knows that his pretended love serves but to betray. But when once the fierce heat of her quenchless, lustrous eyes have burned into the victim's heart, he will know no other smile but hers.
The trouble with law is lawyers.
Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff.
When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.
There are many, many nouns for the act of looking - a glance, a glimpse, a peep - but there's no noun for the act of listening. In general, we don't think primarily about sound. So I have a different perspective on the world; I can construct soundscapes that have an effect on people, but they don't know why. It's a sort of subterfuge.
Full fathom five thy father lies;_x000D_ Of his bones are coral made;_x000D_ Those are pearls that were his eyes;_x000D_ Nothing of him that doth fade,_x000D_ But doth suffer a sea-change_x000D_ Into something rich and strange._x000D_ Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:_x000D_ Ding-dong._x000D_ Hark! now I hear them — Ding-dong, bell.
Rest enough for the individual man, too much and too soon, and we call it death. But for man, no rest and no ending. He must go on, conquest beyond conquest. First this little planet and all its winds and ways, and then all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him, and, at last, out across immensities to the stars. And when he has conquered all the deep space, and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning.
Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.
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