No man can be subject to any laws, excepting those which have received the assent of himself or his representatives and which are promulgated beforehand and applied legally.
Marquis De LafayetteRead
I shall ask for the abolition for the punishment of death until I have the infallibility of human judgment demonstrated to me.
Interpretation
The quote expresses skepticism about the reliability of human judgment in matters of life and death.
Marquis De Lafayette emphasizes the importance of proven and infallible judgment before supporting the death penalty. His statement reflects a philosophical stance that questions the morality and validity of capital punishment, highlighting the need for certainty in human judgment before accepting such a severe consequence.
In practice
During a debate on criminal justice reform, one might use this quote to argue against the death penalty.
No man can be subject to any laws, excepting those which have received the assent of himself or his representatives and which are promulgated beforehand and applied legally.
May the States be so bound to each other as forever to defy European politics. Upon that union, their consequence, their happiness, will depend. This is the first wish of a heart more truly American than words can express.
Insurrection is the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties.
True republicanism is the sovereignty of the people. There are natural and imprescriptible rights which an entire nation has no right to violate.
The affairs of America I shall ever look upon as my first business whilst I am in Europe. Any confidence from the king and ministers, any popularity I may have among my own countrymen, any means in my power, shall be, to the best of my skill, and till the end of my life, exerted in behalf of an interest I have so much at heart.
The exercise of natural rights has no limits but such as will ensure their enjoyment to other members of society.
Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.
Good moral character is not something that we can achieve on our own. We need a culture that supports the conditions under which self-love and friendship flourish.
Examine our every action through the lens of how we would feel if it were to become front page news.
I was a little drunk. Not drunk in any positive sense but just enough to be careless.
Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.
Patriotic feelings will surely swell, prompting proud proclamations of the wisdom, foresight, and sense of justice shared by the Framers and reflected in a written document now yellowed with age . . . [F]or many Americans the bicentennial celebration will be little more than a blind pilgrimage to the shrine of the original document now stored in a vault in the National Archives. [Progressive]
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.