I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
Interpretation
No one can be an impartial judge in a case concerning their own interests.
This quote emphasizes the principle of impartiality in judgment, highlighting that individuals, and by extension groups, cannot remain unbiased if they have a vested interest in the outcome. Madison warns against the dangers of conflict of interest, suggesting that it compromises both judgment and integrity, which is crucial in a fair legal system.
In practice
A lawyer might use this quote when discussing the importance of unbiased legal practices.
I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency alone we can be kept from falling back.
I believe that he who has less in life should have more in law.
I am much happier fighting for justice than I ever was fighting for money.
We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load.
You ask whether a woman should be paid the same wages as man when she does the same work? To this, there can be but one answer. If she does the same quantity and quality of work under the same conditions as a man, simple justice requires that she should be paid the same. wages. To deny her this is to deny her justice.
If you look at any other group of people suffering injustice, women are always in the worst situation within that group.
The best antidote for crime is justice. The irony we often fail to appreciate is that the more justice people enjoy, the fewer crimes they commit. Crime is the natural offspring of an unjust society.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.