Musings About Law

Blessed  is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in  the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is  in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He  is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its  season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.  The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the  congregation of the righteous; Psalm 1:1-6

Let  every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no  authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by  God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has  appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a  terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one  who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his  approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be  afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant  of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but  also for the sake of conscience. Romans 13:1-5 

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, Titus 3:1 

Blessed  is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in  the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; Psalm 1:1 

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 1 Corinthians 10:23 

What people say about the Law 

“For  there is but one essential justice which cements society, and one law  which establishes this justice. This law is right reason, which is the  true rule of all commandments and prohibitions. Whoever neglects this  law, whether written or unwritten, is necessarily unjust and wicked.”
 ― Marcus Tullius Cicero, On the laws

“In times of war, the law falls silent.
 ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
 ― Voltaire

“It isn't against the Law to be an idiot.”
 ― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“I have gained this by philosophy … I do without being ordered what some are constrained to do by their fear of the law.”
 ― Aristotle

“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”
 ― Robert A. Heinlein

“There's  no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the  power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough  criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime  that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
 ― Ayn Rand

“It  may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him  from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”
 ― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Justice? -- You get justice in the next world. In this one you have the law.”
 ― William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own

“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.”
 ― Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome

“Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.”
 ― Honoré de Balzac

“When mores are sufficient, laws are unnecessary; when mores are insufficient, laws are unenforceable.”
 ― Émile Durkheim

“As one judge said to another judge: be just. And if you can’t be just, be arbitrary”
 ― William S. Burroughs

In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
 But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
 Obscures the show of evil.”
 ― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

“When the law doesn't work...work the law.”
 ― Paul Levine, Solomon vs. Lord

“The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.”
 ― Aristotle

“Being  democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into  right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also have a  deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law.”
 ― Margaret Thatcher

Law cannot reach where enforcement will not follow. —Popular aphorism.”
 ― Jack Vance

“We are bound by the law, so that we may be free.”
 ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

“If you want good laws, burn those you have and make new ones.”
 ― Voltaire

“The  study of law can be disappointing at times, a matter of applying narrow  rules and arcane procedure to an uncooperative reality; a sort of  glorified accounting that serves to regulate the affairs of those who  have power--and that all too often seeks to explain, to those who do  not, the ultimate wisdom and justness of their condition.
 

But that's not all the law is. The law is  also memory; the law also records a long-running conversation, a nation  arguing with its conscience.”
 ― Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

“The  guillotine is the ultimate expression of Law, and its name is  vengeance; it is not neutral, nor does it allow us to remain neutral.”
 ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“If  laws were real they wouldn’t need to be enforced, because if they were  real they couldn’t be broken. Try breaking the law of gravity. Now  that’s a law. Laws made by man are rules reflecting the current status  of his moral codes. As he alters and whittles away his morality, casting  bits and pieces aside, his codes

change to reflect it.”
 ― Boyd Rice, NO

“Every  lawyer shall tell his or her client that becoming involved with the  legal system is like three years of experimental chemotherapy, one  hundred percent guaranteed not to work.”
 ― Lawrence Joseph, Lawyerland: An Unguarded, Street-Level Look At Law & Lawyers Today