Quotes about punishment
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“If you ask me if I'm okay again, I'm going to smack myself in the face just to punish you.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Midnight Alley

“God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.”

Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible

Source: The Poisonwood Bible

Life, God

“Will you punish me forever?”

Libba Bray book The Sweet Far Thing

Source: The Sweet Far Thing

“She gave her a reason to write her own words, to see that words had also brought her to life.
"Don't punish yourself," she heard her say again, but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Life, Pain, Happiness

“It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.”

Emily Brontë book Wuthering Heights

Source: Wuthering Heights

God, People, Forgiveness, Learning

“I don’t know why we insist on pain when pain is so often easy to eliminate. It’s funny the ways we try to punish ourselves when we feel we’ve committed some crime.”

Deb Caletti (1963) American writer

Source: Stay

Pain, Way, Feeling

“Remorse is a terrible thing to bear, Pam, one of the worst of all punishments in this life. To wish undone something you have done, to wish you could look back on kindness to someone you love, instead of on unkindness - that is a very terrible thing.”

Enid Blyton (1897–1968) author

Source: House at the Corner

Love, Life

“Parents who discipline their child by discussing the consequences of their actions produce children who have better moral development, compared to children whose parents use authoritarian methods and punishment.”

Simon Baron-Cohen (1958) psychologist and author

Source: Zero Degrees of Empathy: A New Theory of Human Cruelty

Children, Parent

“Now that I think about it, you’d have to be a glutton for punishment to keep coming near me given my acerbic personality where you’re concerned. (Tory)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Acheron

Thinking, Personality

“If the rest of them can survive only by destroying us, then why should we wish them to survive?… Nothing can make it moral to destroy the best. One can't be punished for being good. One can't be penalized for ability.”

Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged

Source: Atlas Shrugged

“If God has nothing better to do than punish schoolgirls for a bit of tomfoolery, then I've no use for God.”

Libba Bray book The Sweet Far Thing

Source: The Sweet Far Thing

God

“There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences.”

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer

"The Christian Religion" The North American Review, August 1881 http://books.google.com/books?id=OPmfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22There+are+in+nature+neither+rewards+nor+punishments+there+are+consequences%22&pg=PA14#v=onepage http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=nora&cc=nora&view=image&seq=121&idno=nora0133-2 Variants: We must remember that in nature there are neither rewards nor punishments there are consequences. The life and death of Christ do not constitute an atonement. They are worth the example, the moral force, the heroism of benevolence, and in so far as the life of Christ produces emulation in the direction of goodness, it has been of value to mankind. As published in Some Reasons Why (1895) http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/some_reasons_why.html In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences. Letters and Essays, 3rd Series. Some Reasons Why, viii. Source: The Christian Religion An Enquiry Context: There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences. The life of Christ is worth its example, its moral force, its heroism of benevolence.

Nature

“Man has free choice, or otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church

“Isn't a kid alive who doesn't dream about rewarding her folks, or punishing them.”

Chuck Palahniuk Snuff

Source: Snuff

Dreams

“I hear much of people's calling out to punish the guilty, but very few are concerned to clear the innocent.”

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) English trader, writer and journalist

People

“Could you please stop with the beating? (Kat)
He’s being punished. Hello? This is Tartarus, remember the purpose of this part of the Underworld? We’re not really warm and fluffy over here. (Hades)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

Parting

“My feelings for you are not conditional. I don't judge you. I don't lose patience with you. I don't punish you. I just love you. That's all. Pure and simple.”

Alyson Nöel book Dark Flame

Source: Dark Flame

Love, Feeling, Patience

“Too often we forget that discipline really means to teach, not to punish. A disciple is a student, not a recipient of behavioural consequences.”

Daniel J. Siegel (1957) American psychiatrist

Source: The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive

Forgetting

“Amnesty, n. The state’s magnaminity to those offenders whom it would be too expensive to punish.”

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

“Some things come with their own punishments.”

Arundhati Roy book The God of Small Things

Source: The God of Small Things

“God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation.”

John Calvin (1509–1564) French Protestant reformer

God, Justice, Parting

“An unbelieved truth can hurt a man much more than a lie. It takes great courage to back truth unacceptable to our times. There's a punishment for it, and it's usually crucifixion.”

John Steinbeck book East of Eden

Source: East of Eden

Truth, Lie, Courage, Time

“there is no glory in punishing”

Michel Foucault book Discipline and Punish

Source: Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

“Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces.”

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Theologician from Wales

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 9.
Source: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

Affliction

“All those who try to unveil the mysteries always have tragic lives. At the end they are always punished.”

Anaïs Nin book Under a Glass Bell

"The Mohican"
Under a Glass Bell (1944)

“No one was perfect. But we all did the best we could. I guessed you had to forgive when you could, move on when you couldn't, and love your family and friends for who they were instead of punishing them for who they weren't.”

Sarah Mlynowski (1977) Novelist

Source: Ten Things We Did

Love, Family, Forgiveness, Perfection

“When hope is gone, time is punishment.”

Mitch Albom (1958) American author

Source: The Time Keeper

Hope, Time

“When you love someone, it doesn't really matter if they love you back or not. Having love in your heart for someone is its own reward. or punishment, depending on the circumstances.”

Lisa Unger book Beautiful Lies

Source: Beautiful Lies

Love, Heart, Dependency

“When we cling to pain, we end up punishing ourselves.”

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

Pain

“We're not punished for our sins, lad. We're punished by them.”

Jennifer Donnelly book The Tea Rose

Source: The Tea Rose

“Eating crappy food isn't a reward -- it's a punishment.”

Drew Carey (1958) American actor, comedian, game show host, libertarian and photographer

Food

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

People, Fear, Hope

“I'm not through with you yet. Are you prepared to accept your punishment?"
I nodded reluctantly. I wasn't sure what a vampire's punishment might be. But I was ready to find out.
"I sentence you to a thousand kisses," he said.
"Can I begin now?”

Ellen Schreiber (1967) American writer

Source: Royal Blood

Kiss

“And now, farewell to kindness, humanity and gratitude… I have substituted myself for Providence in rewarding the good; may the God of vengeance now yield me His place to punish the wicked.”

Alexandre Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 30 http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo/Chapter_30 Source: The Count of Monte Cristo (1845–1846)

God, Gratitude

“When an evil masochist dies, does he go to hell, or would heaven be a better punishment?”

Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author

Hell, Evil

“Why do you do these things to yourself? Not just what you did to the window, but the way you talked to Clary. What are you punishing yourself for? You can't help how you feel.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Source: City of Glass

Way, Feeling, Help

“I want you to understand me.

This isn’t vengeance.

This is punishment.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Breaks

Understanding

“Wrong doing must be punished. If not, it will proliferate until anarchy wears the robes of tolerance and understanding.”

Terry Goodkind Blood of the Fold

Source: Blood of the Fold

Understanding

“It’s not bad people I fear so much as good people. When a person is sure that he is good, he is nearly hopeless; he gets cruel- he believes in punishment.”

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

People, Fear, Personality

“You have punished me long enough, you have punished yourself long enough. Return to me. I beg.”

Melissa de la Cruz Blue Bloods

Source: Blue Bloods

“… You can only subject people to anguish who have a conscience. You can only punish people who have hopes to frustrate or attachments to sever; who worry what you think of them. You can really only punish people who are already a little bit good.”

Lionel Shriver book We Need to Talk About Kevin

Source: We Need to Talk About Kevin

People, Hope, Thinking

“Yes, I'm too mad to punish you right now. We'll talk about it when we get home. Go brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on dry clothes, and get the guns. We're going to Wal-Mart.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: On the Edge

Home, Madness, Clothes

“Happiness is not a reward - it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - it is a result.”

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer

Happiness, Suffering

“I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 132
Variant transcription from "Death of a Genius" in Life Magazine: "I cannot accept any concept of God based on the fear of life or the fear of death, or blind faith. I cannot prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him I would be a liar."
Context: About God, I cannot accept any concept based on the authority of the Church. As long as I can remember, I have resented mass indoctrination. I do not believe in the fear of life, in the fear of death, in blind faith. I cannot prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him, I would be a liar. I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws.

God, Law, Thinking, Universe

“Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later. That was his greatest curse and his eternal punishment.”

Gena Showalter (1975) American writer

Source: The Darkest Night

Death, Night

“What were good and evil, really, but stupid categories? Stupid categories
that restricted people and punished or rewarded them based on how they responded to their own natures, natures they really didn't have any way to control.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Source: Succubus Blues

People, Stupidity, Way, Nature

“One of the principal functions of a friend is to suffer (in a milder and symbolic form) the punishments that we should like, but are unable, to inflict upon our enemies.”

Aldous Huxley book Brave New World

Source: Brave New World

Suffering

“What do they do to students at the University who eavesdrop?” Bast asked curiously.
“I haven’t the slightest idea. I was never caught. I think making you sit and listen to the rest of my story should be punishment enough.”

Patrick Rothfuss book The Name of the Wind

Source: The Name of the Wind

Idea, Thinking, Universe

“A hard life is not a punishment, but rather an opportunity.”

Brian L. Weiss

Source: Messages from the Masters : Tapping into the Power of Love

Life

“It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. Each one of us carries a gallows inside us.”

Paulo Coelho book The Devil and Miss Prym

Source: The Devil and Miss Prym

Fear, Law

“No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes. On the contrary, whatever the punishment, once a specific crime has appeared for the first time, its reappearance is more likely than its initial emergence could ever have been.”

Hannah Arendt book Eichmann in Jerusalem

Epilogue.
Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963)

Appearance, Time

“Time punishes us by taking everything, but it also saves us — by taking everything.”

Sarah Manguso (1974) writer, poet

Source: Ongoingness: The End of a Diary

Time

“Retribution is tricky…. The insult isn't usually worth the risk of punishment. And eventually one learns that karma has a surprising way of taking care of these situations. All you have to do is sit back and watch.”

Candace Bushnell book One Fifth Avenue

Source: One Fifth Avenue

Way, Learning

“The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Source: The Quintessence of Ibsenism

“I just don't see the point in beating myself up. I think it's more productive to concentrate on being a better person right now than punishing myself for who I was in the past.”

Megan McCafferty (1973) American novelist

Source: Second Helpings

Thinking, Past, Personality

“Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment.”

Rick Riordan (1964) American writer

People

“Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent.”

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) American poet

“But secondly you say 'society must exact vengeance, and society must punish'. Wrong on both counts. Vengeance comes from the individual and punishment from God.”

Victor Hugo book The Last Day of a Condemned Man

Source: The Last Day of a Condemned Man

God

“But there are people who'll try to hurt you through the good they see in you--knowing that it's the good, needing it and punishing you for it. Don't let it break you when you discover that.”

Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged

Source: Atlas Shrugged

People, Hurt

“When a man takes up arms, he does so for many reasons. Sometimes to punish, sometimes to intimidate or frighten. But when a woman picks up a weapon, she means to kill.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Clean Sweep

“And why not?” “You know why! This is a bad idea.” “Perhaps I like a challenge.” “Perhaps you’re a glutton for punishment!” “Perhaps I am in love.”

Karen Chance American writer

Source: Fury's Kiss

Love, Idea

“In this age, lies were the universal lubricant of the culture. A love of Truth and commitment to it were seldom rewarded and were often punished.”

Dean Koontz book Breathless

Source: Breathless

Love, Truth, Age, Universe

“No one so dislikes being punished unjustly as the person who might have been punished justly on scores of previous occasions, if he had only been found out.”

P.G. Wodehouse (1881–1975) English author

Source: Tales of St. Austin's

Personality

“Which is worse, Hell or nothing? Only if we're caught and punished can we be saved.”

Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club

Source: Fight Club

Hell

“The idea of a good society is something you do not need a religion and eternal punishment to buttress; you need a religion if you are terrified of death.”

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer

Death, Religion, Idea

“I do what I do without hope of reward or fear of punishment. I do not require Heaven or Hell to bribe or scare me into acting decently.”

Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow

Source: The Sparrow

Fear, Hope, Hell

“You know you're in trouble when your own imagination starts punishing you.”

Eoin Colfer (1965) Irish author of children's books

Imagination

“The god’s expression was calm and content, as if he’d just come home from a lovely evening strolling through the Fields of Punishment, enjoying the screams of the damned.”

Rick Riordan book The Blood of Olympus

Source: The Blood of Olympus

Love, God, Home

“I have to come to realize that God does not want to punish us, but rather, to fulfill our lives. God created us, loves us and wants to help us to realize our potential so that we can be useful to others.”

Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon

Source: Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence

Love, God, Help

“How is Ty? There is nothing wrong with Ty, but he is different, and the Clave hates all that is different. They will try to punish him, for being who he is. They would punish a star for burning.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

Source: Bitter of Tongue

Hate, Star

“Don't punish yourselves for people's ignorant reactions to what we all are. Don't let ignorance win. Let love.”

Nancy Garden book Annie on My Mind

Source: Annie on My Mind

Love, People

“Him and God are supposed to be at war with each other. But if God hates sin and Satan punishes the sinners, aren’t they working the same side of the street? Aren’t the judge and the executioner on the same team?”

Joe Hill (1879–1915) Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World

Source: Horns

God, Hate, War

“You wanted to look at life for yourself — but you were not allowed; you were punished for your wish. You were ground in the very mill of the conventional!”

Henry James book The Portrait of a Lady

Source: The Portrait of a Lady (1881), Ch. LIV.

Life

“She felt worthless and hollow. There was no hope of fixing this.
And when hope is gone, time is punishment.”

Mitch Albom (1958) American author

Source: The Time Keeper

Hope, Time

“It takes great courage to back truth unacceptable to our times. There's a punishment for it and it's usually crucifixion.”

John Steinbeck book East of Eden

Source: East of Eden

Truth, Courage, Time, Courageous

“It made me realize how I needed to stop punishing her for something she couldn't help […] because sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them.”

Suzanne Collins book Catching Fire

Source: Catching Fire

People, Help

“… when a wife wouldn't testify, little punishment was meted out. Alex came to understand that only those who pressed charges ever became truly free, because the life they were leading was a prison, even if most of them wouldn't admit it.”

Nicholas Sparks book Safe Haven

Source: Safe Haven

Life, Understanding

“Nothing optional -- from homosexuality to adultery -- is ever made punishable unless those who do the prohibiting (and exact the fierce punishment) have a repressed desire to participate.”

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist

Source: god is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

“I agree to the conditions, Angel; because you know best what my punishment ought to be; only - only - don't make it more than I can bear!”

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) English novelist and poet

Source: Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Angels

“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Fate

“The world will always punish the few people with special talents the rest of us don’t recognize as real.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Haunted

Source: Haunted (2005)

People, World

“Evil never goes unpunished, Monsieur. But the punishment is sometimes secret.”

Agatha Christie book Peril at End House

Source: Peril at End House

Secret, Evil

“Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!” Tantalus smiled at us like we were all naughty children. “Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s’mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!”

Rick Riordan book The Sea of Monsters

Source: The Sea of Monsters

Children, Smile

“In books, the truth makes everything good and fine. The good prevail. The wicked are punished. There is happiness. But it's not like that really, is it?"
"No," I say. "I suppose it only makes everything known.”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Happiness, Truth, Books

“Perhaps this is just punishment for those who have been heartless, to understand only when nothing can be undone.”

Khaled Hosseini book A Thousand Splendid Suns

Source: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Understanding

“Stupidity isn't punishable by death. If it was, there would be a hell of a population drop.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book The Laughing Corpse

Source: The Laughing Corpse

Death, Stupidity, Hell

“A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

Letter (6 December 1924); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961 (1981) edited by Carlos Baker

Books

“Darab Khan who had been sent with a strong force to punish the Rajputs of Khandela and to demolish the great temple of the place, attacked the place on the 8th March/5th Safar, and slew the three hundred and odd men who made a bold defence, not one of them escaping alive. [16 October 1678] The temples of Khandela and Sanula and all other temples in the neighbourhood were demolished…'On Sunday, the 25th May/24th Rabi. S., Khan Jahan Bahadur came from Jodhpur, after demolishing the temples and bringing with himself some cart-loads of idols, and had audience of the Emperor, who highly praised him and ordered that the idols, which were mostly jewelled, gold en, silver y, bronze, copper or stone, should be cast in the yard (jilaukhanah) of the Court and under the steps of the Jam'a mosque, to be trodden on. They remained so for some time and at last their very names were lost' [25 May 1679]…Ruhullah Khan and Ekkataz Khan went to demolish the great temple in front of the Rana's palace, which was one of the rarest buildings of the age and the chief cause of the destruction of life and property of the despised worshippers Twenty machator Rajputs who were sitting in the temple vowed to give up their lives; first one of them came out to fight, killed some and was then himself slain, then came out another and so on, until every one of the twenty perished, after killing a large number of the imperialists including the trusted slave, Ikhlas. The temple was found empty. The hewers broke the images…..”

Aurangzeb (1618–1707) Sixth Mughal Emperor

Maasir-i-alamgiri, translated into English by Sir Jadu-Nath Sarkar, Calcutta, 1947, pp. 107-120, also quoted in part in Shourie, Arun (2014). Eminent historians: Their technology, their line, their fraud. Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India : HarperCollins Publishers. Different translation: “Darab Khan was sent with a strong force to punish the Rajputs of Khandela and demolish the great temple of that place.” (M.A. 171.) “He attacked the place on 8th March 1679, and pulled down the temples of Khandela and Sanula and all other temples in the neighbourhood.”(M.A. 173.) Sarkar, Jadunath (1972). History of Aurangzib: Volume III. App. V.
Quotes from late medieval histories, 1670s

Life, Men, Age, Strong

“The Governing Senate... has deemed it necessary to make known… that the landlords' serfs and peasants... owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters, according to the laws that have been enacted from time immemorial by the autocratic forefathers of Her Imperial Majesty and which have not been repealed, and which provide that all persons who dare to incite serfs and peasants to disobey their landlords shall be arrested and taken to the nearest government office, there to be punished forthwith as disturbers of the public tranquillity, according to the laws and without leniency. And should it so happen that even after the publication of the present decree of Her Imperial Majesty any serfs and peasants should cease to give the proper obedience to their landlords... and should make bold to submit unlawful petitions complaining of their landlords, and especially to petition Her Imperial Majesty personally, then both those who make the complaints and those who write up the petitions shall be punished by the knout and forthwith deported to Nerchinsk to penal servitude for life and shall be counted as part of the quota of recruits which their landlords must furnish to the army. And in order that people everywhere may know of the present decree, it shall be read in all the churches on Sundays and holy days for one month after it is received and therafter once every year during the great church festivals, lest anyone pretend ignorance.”

Catherine the Great (1729–1796) Empress of Russia

Decree on Serfs (1767) as quoted in A Source Book for Russian History Vol. 2 (1972) by George Vernadsky

Life, People, Law, Time

“The Hindus and idol-worshippers had agreed to pay the money for toleration (zar-i zimmiya) and had consented to the poll-tax (jizya) in return for which they and their families enjoyed security. These people now erected new idol-temples in the city and the environs in opposition to the Law of the Prophet which declares that such temples are not to be tolerated. Under divine guidance I destroyed these edifices and I killed those leaders of infidelity who seduced others into error, and the lower orders I subjected to stripes and chastisement, until this abuse was entirely abolished. The following is an instance:- In the village of Maluh there is a tank which they call kund (tank). Here they had built idol-temples and on certain days the Hindus were accustomed to proceed thither on horseback, and wearing arms. Their women and children also went out in palankins and carts. There they assembled in thousands and performed idol-worship' When intelligence of this came to my ears my religious feelings prompted me at once to put a stop to this scandal and offence to the religion of Islam. On the day of the assembly I went there in person and I ordered that the leaders of these people and the promoters of this abomination should be put to death. I forbade the infliction of any severe punishments on Hindus in general, but I destroyed their idol-temples, and instead thereof raised mosques. I founded two flourishing towns (kasba), one called Tughlikpur, the other Salarpur. Where infidels and idolaters worshipped idols, Musulmans now, by God's mercy, perform their devotions to the true God. Praises of God and the summons to prayer are now heard there, and that place which was formerly the home of infidels has become the habitation of the faithful, who there repeat their creed and offer up their praises to God…..'Information was brought to me that some Hindus had erected a new idol temple in the village of Salihpur, and were performing worship to their idols. I sent some persons there to destroy the idol temple, and put a stop to their pernicious incitements to error.”

Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309–1388) Tughluq sultan

Delhi and Environs , Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. Elliot and Dowson. Vol. III, p. 380-81
Quotes from the Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi

Death, Women, Money, God

“For long ages, too, no notice whatever was taken of the criminal’s “sin”; he was regarded as harmful, not guilty, and looked upon as a piece of destiny; and the criminal on his side took his punishment as a piece of destiny which had overtaken him, and bore it with the same fatalism … In general we may say that punishment tames the man, but does not make him “better.””

Georg Brandes (1842–1927) Danish literature critic and scholar

Source: An Essay on Aristocratic Radicalism (1889), pp. 38-39

Age

“The 'establishment of religion' clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect 'a wall of separation between Church and State.”

Hugo Black (1886–1971) U.S. Supreme Court justice

Writing for the court, Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947).

Religion, Law, Support, Personality

“Corporate bodies are more corrupt and profligate than individuals, because they have more power to do mischief, and are less amenable to disgrace or punishment. They feel neither shame, remorse, gratitude, nor goodwill.”

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer

"On Corporate Bodies" Table Talk: Essays On Men And Manners http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/TableHazIV.htm (1821-1822)

Feeling, Gratitude

“I don't want to die. I'm not going to kid you. I'll kid you not. I deserve certainly the most extreme punishment society has…I think society deserves to be protected from me and others like me.”

Ted Bundy (1946–1989) American serial killer

1989 interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LYL1PTrtXo with James Dobson

Thinking

“But, yesterday, the same man-made forms of law, declared it a crime punishable with $1,000 fine and six months' imprisonment, for you, or me, or any of us, to give a cup of cold water, a crust of bread, or a night's shelter to a panting fugitive as he was tracking his way to Canada. And every man or woman in whose veins coursed a drop of human sympathy violated that wicked law, reckless of consequences, and was justified in so doing.”

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) American women's rights activist

An Account of the Proceedings on the Trial of Susan B. Anthony on the Charge of Illegal Voting] (1874)
Trial on the charge of illegal voting (1874)

Law, Way, Water, Night

“Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: A woman was punished because she had kept a cat tied until it died, and (as a punishment of this offence) she was thrown into Hell. She had not provided it with food or drink, and had not freed her so that she could eat the insects of the earth.”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 026, Number 5570
Sunni Hadith

Peace, Food, Cats, Hell

“The punishment of those who have loved women too much is to love them forever.”

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist and essayist

Love, Women

“To oppose the torrent of scholastic religion by such feeble maxims as these, that it is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be, that the whole is greater than a part, that two and three make five; is pretending to stop the ocean with a bullrush. Will you set up profane reason against sacred mystery? No punishment is great enough for your impiety. And the same fires, which were kindled for heretics, will serve also for the destruction of philosophers.”

David Hume The Natural History of Religion

Part XI - With regard to reason or absurdity
The Natural History of Religion (1757)

Religion, Parting

“Everyone knows that the State claims and exercises the monopoly of crime… It forbids private murder, but itself organizes murder on a colossal scale. It punishes private theft, but itself lays unscrupulous hands on anything it wants, weather the property of citizen or of alien. There is, for example, no human right, natural or Constitutional, that we have not seen nullified by the United States Government. Of all the crimes that are committed for gain or revenge, there is not one that we have not seen it commit—murder, mayhem, arson, robbery, fraud, criminal collusion and connivance.”

Albert Jay Nock (1870–1945) American journalist

Source: On Doing the Right Thing and Other Essays (1928), p. 143

Exercises, Fraud, Revenge, Nature

“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

1770s, Boston Massacre trial (1770)
Context: It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished.
But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, "whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection," and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.

World

Quotes about punishment page 3

Quotes about punishment
page 3