“Law is a thing which is insensible, and inexorable, more beneficial and more profitious to the weak than to the strong; it admits of no mitigation nor pardon, once you have overstepped its limits.”
Book II, sec. 3
History of Rome
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Livy 70
Roman historian -59–17 BCRelated quotes
“A weak man in a corner is more dangerous than a strong man. (Inspector Miller)”
Source: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
“There is a sense in which all law is nothing more nor less than a gigantic confidence trick.”
Speech to Devon Magistrates, The Times 12 April 1972.
“The limits of trust depend much on whether you mean to do business more than once.”
Source: Vorkosigan Saga, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (2012), Chapter 20 (p. 442)
“Confusing ‘Character’ with ‘Temperament’”
Clearing the Ground (1986)
Context: Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify. Some people have easy temperaments and weak characters; others have difficult temperaments and strong characters.
We are all prone to confuse the two in assessing people we associate with. Those with easy temperaments and weak characters are more likable than admirable; those with difficult temperaments and strong characters are more admirable than likable. Of course, the optimum for a person is to possess both an easy temperament and a strong character, but this is a rare combination, and few of us are that lucky. The people who get things done tend to be prickly, and the people we enjoy being with tend to be accepting, and there seems to be no way to get around this. Obviously, there are many combinations of character and temperament, in varying degrees, so that this is only a rough generalization — but I think it is one worth remembering when we make personal judgments.
If This Is a Man (1947)
Source: If This Is a Man / The Truce
