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The Law is what it is—a majestic edifice, sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests on another.
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“The Law is what it is—a majestic edifice, sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests on another.”

John Galsworthy

Source
Justice
Date
1910
Local voice
Fictional character · Mr. Justice Floyd
Meaning

Meaning of “The Law is what it is—a majestic edifice,…”

The Judge invokes law as an interdependent institutional structure while refusing mercy to Falder, making the line part of the play’s examination of legal rigidity.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Justice, represented by Project Gutenberg #2911. Mr. Justice Floyd speaks during Falder’s sentencing. The line belongs to a dramatic judge inside Galsworthy’s social critique and should not be detached as the author’s unqualified endorsement of the sentence.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

Justice. The Judge says this while sentencing Falder; dramatic context matters because the play critically examines the legal and prison system.

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CommunityResponsibilityThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionEthicsJusticePower
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“For action is indeed the sole medium of expression for ethics.”

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Meaning & context

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Source details

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Meaning & context

Justice in the city is connected with people fulfilling appropriate responsibilities rather than constantly interfering in roles that are not theirs.

Source details

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Meaning & context

The social metaphor makes justice structurally essential: Smith argues that a community may survive limited generosity but not continual mutual injury.

Source details

The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Part II, Section II, Chapter III; the sentence contrasts justice as society’s foundation with beneficence as its ornament.

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“The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”

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Meaning & context

Bentham shifts the basis for moral consideration of animals away from intelligence or speech and toward the capacity to experience suffering.

Source details

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Chapter XVII, section 1 footnote, reviewed against the represented Liberty Fund text. Bentham's 'Can they suffer?' question appears in his argument that sentience, not species membership or speech, is morally relevant to cruelty; it remains historical utilitarian philosophy rather than current legal doctrine.

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All those governments which have a common good in view are rightly established and strictly just.
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“All those governments which have a common good in view are rightly established and strictly just.”

Aristotle · Politics: A Treatise on Government · 4th century BCE
Meaning & context

Political rule is judged by whether it aims at a shared good rather than merely advancing the private advantage of those holding power.

Source details

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Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.
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“Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.”

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Meaning & context

Paine distinguishes voluntary social cooperation from coercive government, treating political authority as a tool justified by necessity rather than an intrinsic good.

Source details

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