Justice is indispensably and universally necessary, and what is necessary must always be limited, uniform, and distinct
Interpretation
Justice is essential for society and must be applied consistently and clearly.
This quote emphasizes that justice is a fundamental requirement for any society, suggesting that its principles should not only be universally applicable but also uniform in their implementation. Johnson argues that true justice cannot be arbitrary; it must be distinct and clearly defined in its limits to ensure fairness and equality among individuals.
In practice
This quote could be used in a courtroom to emphasize the importance of fair legal practices.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy.
There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.
Every harlot was a virgin once.
Wanderers eastward, wanderers west, Know you why you cannot rest? 'Tis that every mother's son Travails with a skeleton. Lie down in the bed of dust; Bear the fruit that bear you must; Bring the eternal seed to light, And morn is all the same as night.
All sins are attempts to fill voids.
There are accents in the eye which are not on the tongue, and more tales come from pale lips than can enter an ear. It is both the grandeur and the pain of the remoter moods that they avoid the pathway of sound.
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