“Justice is the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due.”
Justinian (Institutes)
JusticeRoman Law
Legal Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · LEGAL
Legal Quotes
Read the best legal quotes on law, justice, judges and lawyers from Cicero, Aristotle, Blackstone-era maxims, Shakespeare, Gandhi, Ambedkar, the Thirukkural and more.
“The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to harm no one, and to give to each his own.”
Ulpian
Roman LawEthics
“Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.”
Latin Legal Maxim
JusticeCourage
“Ignorance of the law excuses no one.”
Latin Legal Maxim
Legal MaximsResponsibility
“No one should be a judge in his own cause.”
Latin Legal Maxim
FairnessJudges
“Hear the other side.”
Latin Legal Maxim (Audi alteram partem)
FairnessShort Quotes
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Legal Maxim
JusticeCourts
“Hard cases make bad law.”
Legal Maxim
JudgesWisdom
“The law is reason, free from passion.”
Aristotle
ReasonPhilosophy
“The people must fight for the law as for their city wall.”
Heraclitus
Rule Of LawCitizenship
“Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off.”
Plato
Rule Of LawWarning
“Law is the king of all.”
Pindar
Rule Of LawShort Quotes
“Nor did I deem your ordinance of so much force that you, a mortal, could override the unwritten and unfailing statutes of heaven.”
Sophocles
ConscienceHigher Law
“True law is right reason in agreement with nature.”
Cicero
Natural LawReason
“What the law does not forbid, a sense of shame forbids.”
Seneca
EthicsConscience
“The judge is condemned when the guilty is acquitted.”
Publilius Syrus
JudgesJustice
“An unjust law is no law at all.”
Saint Augustine
JusticeConscience
“The king must not be under man but under God and under the law, because law makes the king.”
Henry de Bracton
Rule Of LawPower
“It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law.”
Thomas Hobbes
AuthorityPhilosophy
“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.”
Montesquieu
TyrannyInjustice
“The certainty of a small punishment will make a stronger impression than the fear of one more severe.”
Cesare Beccaria
PunishmentReform
“It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.”
Voltaire
InnocenceJustice
“We must not make a scarecrow of the law, setting it up to fear the birds of prey, and let it keep one shape, till custom make it their perch and not their terror.”
William Shakespeare
EnforcementLiterature
“The law hath not been dead, though it hath slept.”
William Shakespeare
EnforcementJustice
“Through tattered clothes small vices do appear; robes and furred gowns hide all.”
William Shakespeare
InequalityJustice
Related Topics
About Legal Quotes
Laws shape almost every part of our lives, from the rights we enjoy to the way disputes are settled. For thousands of years, philosophers, judges, lawyers and poets have debated what makes a law just, why people should obey it and when conscience should come first. Their words still guide courts, classrooms and citizens today.
This collection brings together 200 of the best legal quotes, from ancient Roman legal maxims and Greek philosophers to Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Mahatma Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar and the Thirukkural. Some are wise, some are witty about lawyers, and all of them make you think about justice. These quotes are for inspiration only and are not legal advice. For related reading, explore our [Government Quotes](/topics/government-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Legal quotes.
What is a famous legal quote?
"Let justice be done, though the heavens fall" is one of the best-known legal maxims. Another favourite is "Justice delayed is justice denied."
What did Aristotle say about law?
Aristotle described law as "reason, free from passion," meaning it should be applied calmly and fairly, without personal feelings.
What is "Hear the other side"?
It's the Latin legal principle "Audi alteram partem." It means no one should be judged without being given a fair chance to explain their side.
What did Gandhi say about law and conscience?
Gandhi said there is "a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience," which "supersedes all other courts."
What are some funny quotes about lawyers?
Benjamin Franklin said, "A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats." Ambrose Bierce described litigation as a machine you enter "as a pig" and leave "as a sausage."
What are good short legal quotes?
Try "Hear the other side," "Law is the king of all," "An unjust law is no law at all," or "Hard cases make bad law."