Samuel Johnson

To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.

Man is not weak; knowledge is more than equivalent to force.

His scorn of the great is repeated too often to be real; no man thinks much of that which he despises.

Marriage is the best state for man in general, and every man is a worst man in proportion to the level he is unfit for marriage.

The luster of diamonds is invigorated by the interposition of darker bodies; the lights of a picture are created by the shades; the highest pleasure which nature has indulged to sensitive perception is that of rest after fatigue.

The traveler that resolutely follows a rough and winding path will sooner reach the end of his journey than he that is always changing his direction, and wastes the hour of daylight in looking for smoother ground and shorter passages.

The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.

Men are not governed by justice, but by law or persuasion. When they refuse to be governed by law or persuasion, they have to be governed by force or fraud, or both.

If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.

It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.

Are you threatening me? If you so much as touch me I’ll have you arrested!

To live outside the law, you must be honest.

In law, nothing is certain but the expense.

My focus now is to be the best justice I can be.

You get a lawyer whether you’re in a military tribunal or whether you’re in a federal court, number one. The attorney general decided that the court with the biggest – with the greatest venue, with the best jurisdiction was the New York court. That was the right decision to make.

Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences, for there is no worse torture than that of laws.

An incompetent attorney can delay a trial for months or years. A competent attorney can delay one even longer.

A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.

Justice? – You get justice in the next world. In this one you have the law.

When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.

It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for law, so much as a respect for right.