Wisdom Quotes

"To understand why a man commits a crime is the first step toward preventing future crimes."

"The legislator must consider not what people ought to be, but what they actually are."

"Habit and tradition, though venerable, are poor guides for the legislator seeking truth and justice."

"The common man, though humble in station, possesses within him the capacity for reason and virtue."

"Laws written in haste and amended in anger are rarely just or effective."

"A judge who does not understand the nature of human weakness is unfit to judge mankind."

"The legislator who ignores the consequences of his laws is a carpenter building in the dark."

"Those who design punishments must first understand the psychology of those they are punishing."

"Laws that cannot be understood by the people are laws that cannot be obeyed by the people."

"The legislator who creates harsher penalties without reducing the causes of crime is a man chasing shadows."

"Enlightenment in law comes not from severity, but from clarity, certainty, and proportionality."

"The principle which approves or disapproves of every action is the principle of utility."

"Hunger is a taskmaster of unremitting severity."

"To understand the roots of happiness, one must understand suffering."

"The natural man is a slave to passion."

"The foundations of morality are laid in utility."

"Virtue is not an end but a means to an end."

"The measure of all policy is its utility to human happiness."

"The only way to judge a law is by its consequences."

"Wisdom lies in knowing what cannot be known."

"The foundation of all virtue is knowledge of what truly conduces to happiness."

"The difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones."

"The best time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."

"Most of the problems of civilization and of individuals are due to the poor quality of our thinking about them."

"The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."

"One must contemplate the variety of human motivation and the heterogeneity of human nature."

"The influence of quantity on quality is frequently underestimated in economic analysis."

"In the realm of human affairs, unintended consequences are often more important than intended ones."

"Knowledge of the particular circumstances of time and place can never be wholly communicated"

"Those who believe they can design a better society usually end up designing tyranny"