
“The test of the moral quality of a civilization is its treatment of the weak and powerless.”
United States ex rel. Caminito v. Murphy, 222 F.2d 698, 706 (1955).
Diary (30 October 1892)
Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1922 - 1926)
“The test of the moral quality of a civilization is its treatment of the weak and powerless.”
United States ex rel. Caminito v. Murphy, 222 F.2d 698, 706 (1955).
Speech https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1910/jul/20/class-iii#column_1354 in the House of Commons (20 July 1910)
Early career years (1898–1929)
Context: The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country. A calm and dispassionate recognition of the rights of the accused against the State, and even of convicted criminals against the State, a constant heart-searching by all charged with the duty of punishment, a desire and eagerness to rehabilitate in the world of industry all those who have paid their dues in the hard coinage of punishment, tireless efforts towards the discovery of curative and regenerating processes, and an unfaltering faith that there is a treasure, if you can only find it, in the heart of every man—these are the symbols which in the treatment of crime and criminals mark and measure the stored-up strength of a nation, and are the sign and proof of the living virtue in it.
“The test of a civilization is in the way that it cares for its helpless members”
“A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.”
1770, p. 182
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II
Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 13, “Violence and the Closing of the Muslim Mind” (p. 191)