Cesare Beccaria

"No man has the right to punish another merely for being different."

"The art of legislation is to prevent vice and promote virtue."

"Happiness is the reward of virtue, not the opposite."

"To understand a man's actions, one must first understand his circumstances."

"The best laws are those that are least needed."

"Mercy is not weakness; it is the strength to forgive."

"Education is the most powerful weapon against poverty and crime."

"The foundation of justice is good faith."

"When laws are unclear, justice becomes impossible."

"Time is the greatest teacher; those who refuse to learn from it are doomed to repeat it."

"The surest path to happiness is through the alleviation of others' suffering."

"Prejudice is the enemy of truth and the friend of tyranny."

"A just society is one where the weak are protected from the strong."

"The measure of civilization is not in its monuments but in its laws."

"Man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains."

"Uniformity of punishment without regard to circumstance is itself unjust."

"The greatest obstacle to justice is the love of power."

"True liberty consists of the right to do what is necessary."

"The root of all evil is not money, but the misuse of power."

"A society built on fear will always be fragile and unjust."

"Enlightenment comes not from avoiding questions, but from asking them boldly."

"The purpose of punishment is to deter, not to destroy the spirit."

"In a just society, the innocent need never fear the law."

"The greatest freedom is the freedom from fear."

"What the law forbids, humanity should forgive."

"The art of good government is knowing when not to govern."

"To be human is to be capable of both great kindness and great cruelty."

"The laws should be a mirror of the people, not a tool of the rulers."

"Wisdom is not the accumulation of facts, but the understanding of principles."

"True strength lies not in the ability to punish, but in the wisdom to prevent wrong."