Justice Quote by Arthur Rimbaud
““Priests, professors, masters, you are wrong to turn me over to Justice. I have never belonged to this people. I have never been Christian. I am of the race that sang under torture. I do not understand your laws. I have no moral sense, I am a brute.””
About This Quote
Source Play: The Idiot, by Anton Chekhov, 1889
A speaker rejects imposed moral and legal systems, claiming alienation and a raw, instinctual identity beyond conventional ethics.
In simple terms: The speaker feels alienated from society's morals and laws.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the limits of imposed morality.
Themes
alienation
identity
law
morality
rebellion
Mood
defiant
anguished
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
provocative
When to use this quote
- prisoner
- outcast
- revolutionary
- artist
- marginalized person
Key Concepts
existentialism
social critique
cultural oppression
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to belong to a moral community?
- How can we reconcile personal identity with societal laws?
A Different Perspective
The claim of having no moral sense may be a defensive stance, not an objective truth.
![“This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day [as a Fairfax Justice of the Peace] since I have been at Home. I wish I knew where to get a good one myself; for I find cold Sheets extreamly disagreeable.” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b92/george-mason-8435_bedfellows_this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young_3953.jpg)
