15 Sermon Illustrations on Justice

A rich man made his will, leaving all he had to a company of his fellow-citizens to dispose of, but reserving to his right heir "such a portion as pleaseth them." The heir having sued the company for his share of the property, the judge inquired, whether they wished to carry out the will of the testator, and, if so, what provision they proposed making for the heir. "He shall have a tenth part," said they; "and we will retain for ourselves the other nine." "Take, then," said the judge, "the tenth part to yourselves, and leave the rest to the heir; for, by the will, he is to have what part pleaseth you."

That which the air is in the elementary world, the same in the celestial, the soul in the intelligible justice is in the civil. It is the air which all afflicted desire to breathe; the sun which dispelth all clouds; the soul which giveth life to all things. The unhappiness is, it is more found on the paper of writers than in the manners of their living. To be just is to be all that which an honest man may be: since justice is to give every one what appertaineth to him.

— N. Caussin

A striking instance of the stern and impartial administration of justice is afforded in the history of one of the Kings of Acalluacan, a province of the Mexican empire. There was a law which forbade, on pain of death, the speaking of indecent words in the royal palace. One of the sons of this king, for whom he had felt a more particular attachment than for any of the rest, on account of his disposition and his virtues, violated this law. The king was informed of it; and, understanding that the word had been spoken by the prince in the presence of his tutors, he sent to examine them. They, being afraid of experiencing some punishment if they concealed the truth, confessed it openly, but, at the same time, endeavored to exculpate the prince by saying that he did not know the person to whom he spoke, nor that the language was improper. Notwithstanding all this, he ordered the young prince to be arrested immediately; and the very same day pronounced sentence of death upon him. The whole court were astonished at the rigor of the king, and interfered with their prayers and tears in behalf of the prince; but no remonstrances could move the inflexible mind of the king. "My son," said he, "has violated the law. If I pardon him, it will be said the laws are not binding on every one. I will let my subjects know that no one will be pardoned a transgression, as I do not even pardon the son whom I dearly love." The punishment was accordingly executed. The king shut himself up for forty days in a hall, without letting himself be seen by any one. He vented his grief in secret; and, to conceal from his sight every thing that might recall his sorrow, he caused the door of his son's apartment to be closed up by a wall. He showed his subjects, that although he was incapable of repressing the feelings of a father, and scaling up the fountains of his grief, yet he would never permit them to overcome his zeal for the laws, and the most rigid impartiality in their execution.

— Dr. J. Todd

JUSTICE, Opiatons of Carneades, whom Cicero so much dreaded, maintained that there was no such thing as justice; and he supported his theory by such sophisms as these: That the condition of men is such, that, if they had a mind to be just, they must act imprudently; and, if they have a mind to act prudently, they must be unjust; and that it follows there can be no such thing as justice, because a virtue inseparable from a folly cannot be just. Lactantius is correct, when he affirms that the heathens could not answer this sophism, and that Cicero dared not undertake it. The error was this, — the restricting the value of justice to temporal things; for to those who disbelieve a future state, or even have doubts about it, "honesty is not always the best policy;" and it is reserved for Christians, who take into their consideration the whole existence of man, to argue clearly and consequentially on the sterling value of justice. It is well known that Hume himself was never so much puzzled as when peremptorily asked by a lady of Bath to declare upon his honor, as a gentleman, whether he would choose his own confidential domestics from such as held his own principles, or from those who conscientiously believed the eternal truths of Revelation. He frankly decided in favor of the latter.

It happened on a time, as Trajan was hastening to battle at the head of his legions, that a poor widow flung herself in his path, and cried aloud for justice, and the emperor staid to listen to her; and she demanded vengeance for the innocent blood of her son, killed by the son of the emperor. Trajan promised to do her justice when he returned from his expedition. "But, sire," answered the widow, "should you be killed in battle, who then will do me justice?" — "My successor," replied Trajan. And she said, "What will it signify to you, great emperor, that any other than yourself should do me justice? Is it not better that you should do this good action yourself, than leave another to do it?" And Trajan alighted; and, having examined into the affair, he gave up his own son to her in place of him she had lost, and bestowed on her, likewise, a rich dowry. Now it came to pass, that, as Gregory was one day meditating in his daily walk, this action of the Emperor Trajan came into his mind, and he wept bitterly to think that a man so just should be condemned as a heathen to eternal punishment; and, entering into a church, he prayed most fervently that the soul of the good emperor might be released from torment. And a voice said to him, "I have granted thy prayer, and I have spared the soul of Trajan for thy sake; but, because thou hast supplicated for one whom the justice of God had already condemned, thou shalt choose one of two things, — either thou shalt endure for two days the fires of purgatory, or thou shalt be sick and infirm for the remainder of thy life." Gregory chose the latter; which sufficiently accounts for the grievous pains and infirmities to which this great man was subjected even to the day of his death. Legenda Aurea.

Two neighboring farmers had a dispute respecting the right to a certain meadow, and they could not compromise the matter. An action at law was accordingly brought to determine it. On the day appointed for the trial, one of the farmers, having dressed himself in his Sunday clothes, called upon his opponent to accompany him to the Judge. Finding his neighbor at work on his ground, he said to him, "Is it possible you can have forgotten that our cause is to be decided to-day?" "No," said the other, "I have not forgotten it; but I cannot well spare time to go. I knew you would be there, and I am sure you are an honest man, and will say nothing but the truth. You will state the case fairly, and justice will be done." And so it proved; for the farmer who went to the Judge, stated his neighbor's claims so clearly, that the cause was decided against himself; and he returned to inform his opponent that he had gained the property.

It is related of Philip, King of the Macedonians, that while one was pleading before him, he dropped asleep, and, waking on a sudden, passed sentence against the righteous cause: upon this the injured person cried out, "I appeal." The king, with indignation, asked, "To whom?" He replied, "From yourself sleeping to yourself waking;" and had the judgment reversed that was against him.

One of the favorites of King Henry V, when Prince of Wales, having been indicted for some misdemeanor, was condemned, notwithstanding all the interest he could make in his favor; and the Prince was so incensed at the issue of the trial that he struck the judge on the bench. This magistrate, whose name was Sir William Gascoign, acted with a spirit becoming his character. He instantly ordered the Prince to be committed to prison; and young Henry, sensible by this time of the insult he had offered to the laws of his country, suffered himself to be quietly conducted to jail by the officers of justice. The king, Henry IV, who was an excellent judge of mankind, was no sooner informed of this transaction, than he cried out in a transport of joy, "Happy is the king who has a magistrate possessed of courage to execute the laws; and still more happy in having a son who will submit to such chastisement." # 240. JUSTIFICATION