What goes around, comes around - or stops. (MR)
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William's class understood that justice was like coal or potatoes. You ordered it when you needed it. (TT)
The Nac Mac Feegle would fight and steal, certainly, but who wanted to fight the weak and steal from the poor? (WFM)
‘… the law cannot operate retrospectively. If it did none of us would be safe.’ (Sn)
‘… there has to be some justice in the world, you see, not necessarily law justice but justice justice, and that’s why I’m going to kill you.’ (Sn)
Younger assassins, who are usually very poor, have very clear ideas about the morality of wealth until they become older assassins, who are usually very rich, when they begin to take the view that injustice has its good points. (P)
The gods are great believers in justice, at least as far as it extends to humans, and have been known to dispense it so enthusiastically that people miles away are turned into a cruet. (P)
Only crimes could take place in darkness. Punishment had to be done in the light. That was the job of a good
watchman, Carrot always said. To light a candle in the dark. (FC) She gave a depreciating little chuckle. And if Nanny Ogg had been listening, she would have resolved as follows: that no maddened cackle from Black Aliss of infamous memory, no evil little giggle from some crazed vampyre whose morals were worse than his spelling, no side-splitting guffaw from the most inventive torturer, was quite so unnerving as a happy little chuckle from a Granny Weatherwax about to do what’s best. (Ma)
'Fortune favours the brave, sir,’ said Carrot cheerfully.
‘Good. Good. Pleased to hear it, captain. What is her position vis à vis heavily armed, well prepared and excessively manned armies?’ ‘Oh, no-one’s ever heard of Fortune favouring them, sir.' (J) 'A wise ruler thinks twice before directing violence against someone because he does not approve of what they say.’
Once again, Vimes did not comment. He himself directed violence daily and with a certain amount of enthusiasm against people because he didn’t approve of them saying things like ‘Give me all your money’or ‘What are you going to do about it, copper?’ But perhaps rulers had to think differently. (Th) 'And is he a fair and just ruler?’
Carding thought about it. The Patrician’s spy network was said to be superb. ‘I would say,’ he said carefully, ‘that he is unfair and unjust, but scrupulously even-handed. He is unfair and unjust to everyone, without fear or favour’. (S) What goes around, comes around. If not examined too closely, it passes for justice. (LH)
'Bein' human means judgin’all the time,’ said the voice behind him. ‘This and that, good and bad, making choices every day… that’s human.’
‘And are you sure you make the right decisions?’ ‘No. But I do the best I can.’ ‘And hope for mercy, eh?’ A bony finger prodded him in the back. ‘Mercy’s a fine thing, but judgin’ comes first. Otherwise you don’t know what you’re bein’merciful about.' (CJ) ... the Hogfather is a winter myth figure who, on Hogswatchnight, gallops from house to house on a crude sledge drawn by four tusked wild boars to deliver presents of sausages, black puddings, pork scratchings, and ham to all children who have been good. He says ‘Ho ho ho’ a lot. Children who have been bad get a bag full of bloody bones (it’s these little details which tell you it’s a tale for the little folk). There’s a song about him. It begins: You'd Better Watch Out ... (SM)
Sometimes it’s better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. (MA)
In this he was echoing the Patrician’s view of crime and punishment. If there was crime, there should be punishment.
If the specific criminal should be involved in the punishment process then this was a happy accident, but if not then any criminal would do, and since everyone was undoubtedly guilty of something, the net result was that, in general terms, justice was done. (MA) 'The good are innocent and create justice. The bad are guilty, which is why they invent mercy.' (WA)
The Patrician didn’t believe in unnecessary cruelty.*
*While being bang alongside the idea of necessary cruelty, of course. (GG) THERE’S NO JUSTICE. THERE’S JUST ME. (M)
You could say it was unfair, and that was true, but the universe didn’t care because it didn’t know what ‘fair’ meant. (W)
Mr. Tulip raised a trembling hand. ‘Is this the bit where my whole life passes in front of my eyes?’ he said.
NO, THAT WAS THE BIT JUST NOW. ‘Which bit?’ THE BIT, said Death, BETWEEN YOU BEING BORN AND YOU DYING. NO, THIS ... MR. TULIP, THIS IS YOUR WHOLE LIFE AS IT PASSED BEFORE OTHER PEOPLE’S EYES ... (TT) 'When seven men go out to fight an army100,000 times bigger there’s only one way it can end,’ said Twoflower.
‘Right. I’m glad you see sense.’ ‘They’ll win,’ said Twoflower. ‘They’ve got to. Otherwise the world’s just not working properly.' (IT) HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
‘Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little -’ YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. ‘So we can believe the big ones?’ YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING. ‘They’re not the same at all!’ YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET - Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME…SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED. ‘Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point -’ MY POINT EXACTLY (H) |
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The world has lost Sir Terry, and it's so much the poorer for that. Vale Sir Terry. Categories
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