--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor…" description: "\"Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.\" — Charles Sumner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/434/charles-sumner-19710_constitution_nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-con_10428.png" --- # Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can… ![“Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.” quote by Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/434/charles-sumner-19710_constitution_nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-con_10428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/434/charles-sumner-19710_constitution_nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-con_10428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/434/charles-sumner-19710_constitution_nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-con_10428.png) > “Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.” [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth endures beyond any human-made authority or legal framework; it is the ultimate, unchangeable reality. **In simple terms:** Truth outlasts laws and institutions. Key Takeaway Truth is immutable. Themes philosophy politics law epistemology ethics Mood reflective serious inspirational Type maxim philosophical statement When to use this quote - court rulings - legislative debates - political speeches - social movements Key Concepts authority finality human constructs Practical Applications - legal analysis - political commentary Questions to Reflect On - What limits do human institutions have over truth? - How does this view affect our trust in law? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Final](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-final-365355/) [Final Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/final-truth-365356/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-constitution-365357/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Final](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-final-365354/) ## Related quotes > [If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harri-holkeri/if-you-come-to-a-negotiation-table-saying-you-have-the-final-truth/) [Harri Holkeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harri-holkeri/) > [The failure of the system to deal quickly was attributable to Nixon's lying, stonewalling and refusal to come clean. So it took 26 months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/the-failure-of-the-system-to-deal-quickly-was-attributable-to-nixon-s/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [We are a constitutional democracy. We must deal with things properly within the framework of the law and then the constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-zuma/we-are-a-constitutional-democracy-we-must-deal-with-things-properly/) [Jacob Zuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-zuma/) > [There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in physics, until the last man has had his experience and said his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-final-truth-in-ethics-any-more-than-in-physics-until/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/how-you-do-life-is-your-real-and-final-truth-not-what-ideas-you/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [This is the world of One Taste, with no inside and no outside, no subject and no object, no in here versus out there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/this-is-the-world-of-one-taste-with-no-inside-and-no-outside-no/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology-every-new-observer-brings/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [There is neither creation nor destruction, neither destiny nor free will, neither path nor achievement. This is the final truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-neither-creation-nor-destruction-neither-destiny-nor-free/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [But there is a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/but-there-is-a-higher-law-than-the-constitution-which-regulates-our/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [It is the right of our people to organize to oppose any law and any part of the Constitution with which they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/it-is-the-right-of-our-people-to-organize-to-oppose-any-law-and-any/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [The constitution regulates our stewardship; the constitution devotes the domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare, and to liberty. But there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-constitution-regulates-our-stewardship-the-constitution-devotes/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [An Affront to the Rule of Law and to the Constitution Itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/an-affront-to-the-rule-of-law-and-to-the-constitution-itself/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [Free discussion is the only necessary Constitution - the only necessary Law of the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carlile/free-discussion-is-the-only-necessary-constitution-the-only-necessary/) [Richard Carlile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carlile/) > [Societies cannot move forward without law, and our constitution is the cornerstone of the law and our National Assembly is its umbrella and fortress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa/societies-cannot-move-forward-without-law-and-our-constitution-is-the/) [Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa/) > [If we do our job right, the Supreme Court won't be made up of men and women who are on the side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/if-we-do-our-job-right-the-supreme-court-won-t-be-made-up-of-men-and/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) ## More by Charles Sumner > [No true and permanent fame can be founded, except in labors which promote the happiness of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/no-true-and-permanent-fame-can-be-founded-except-in-labors-which/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The highest greatness, surviving time and stone, is that which proceeds from the soul of man. Monarchs and cabinets, generals and admirals, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-highest-greatness-surviving-time-and-stone-is-that-which-proceeds/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [Give me the centralism of liberty; give me the imperialism of equal rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/give-me-the-centralism-of-liberty-give-me-the-imperialism-of-equal/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [Whatever may be the temporary applause of men, or the expressions of public opinion, it may be asserted without fear of contradiction, that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/whatever-may-be-the-temporary-applause-of-men-or-the-expressions-of/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [Without knowledge there can be no sure progress. Vice and barbarism are the inseparable companions of ignorance. Nor is it too much to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/without-knowledge-there-can-be-no-sure-progress-vice-and-barbarism/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [By the Law of Slavery, man, created in the image of God, is divested of the human character, and declared to be a mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/by-the-law-of-slavery-man-created-in-the-image-of-god-is-divested-of/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [Without security, civilization is cramped and dwarfed. Without security, there can be no freedom. Nor shall I say too much, when I declare that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/without-security-civilization-is-cramped-and-dwarfed-without-security/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [From the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/from-the-beginning-of-our-history-the-country-has-been-afflicted-with/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [I have never known a man who was sensual in his youth, who was high-minded when old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/i-have-never-known-a-man-who-was-sensual-in-his-youth-who-was-high/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The true greatness of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-true-greatness-of-nations-is-in-those-qualities-which-constitute/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The slave power dares anything, and it can be conquered only by the united masses of the people. From Congress to the people, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-slave-power-dares-anything-and-it-can-be-conquered-only-by-the/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The thought of going abroad makes my heart leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-thought-of-going-abroad-makes-my-heart-leap/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The age of Chivalry is gone. An age of Humanity has come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-age-of-chivalry-is-gone-an-age-of-humanity-has-come/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The press, watchful with more than the hundred eyes of Argus, strong with more than the hundred arms of Briareus, not only guards all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-press-watchful-with-more-than-the-hundred-eyes-of-argus-strong/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [The age of chivalry has gone; the age of humanity has come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-age-of-chivalry-has-gone-the-age-of-humanity-has-come/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) [Explore all 32 Charles Sumner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. 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