--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In their way the brigands, dressed in…" description: "\"“In their way the brigands, dressed in torn peasant costume with Bourbon rosettes, or in more gorgeous apparel, were avengers and champions of the peop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/eric-hobsbawm-20660_liberty-and-justice_in-their-way-the-brigands-dressed-in-tor_2070082.jpg" --- # In their way the brigands, dressed in torn peasant costume… ![“In their way the brigands, dressed in torn peasant costume with Bourbon rosettes, or in more gorgeous apparel, were avengers and champions of the people. If their way was a blind alley, let us not deny them the longing for liberty and justice which moved them.” quote by Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/eric-hobsbawm-20660_liberty-and-justice_in-their-way-the-brigands-dressed-in-tor_2070082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/eric-hobsbawm-20660_liberty-and-justice_in-their-way-the-brigands-dressed-in-tor_2070082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/eric-hobsbawm-20660_liberty-and-justice_in-their-way-the-brigands-dressed-in-tor_2070082.jpg) > ““In their way the brigands, dressed in torn peasant costume with Bourbon rosettes, or in more gorgeous apparel, were avengers and champions of the people. If their way was a blind alley, let us not deny them the longing for liberty and justice which moved them.”” [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may turn to outlaw groups when legal avenues fail, seeing them as defenders of liberty and justice. **In simple terms:** Outlaws can be seen as freedom fighters when institutions fail. Key Takeaway Recognize root causes of rebellion. Themes politics justice rebellion social movements Mood defiant hopeful Type historical political When to use this quote - rural unrest - political oppression - colonial resistance Key Concepts class struggle legitimacy popular sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - What grievances drive people to become outlaws? - Can violent resistance ever be justified? A Different Perspective Not all brigands act altruistically; motives may be self‑interest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Liberty and justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-and-justice/) ## Related quotes > [“If their way was a blind alley, let us not deny them the longing for liberty and justice which moved them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/if-their-way-was-a-blind-alley-let-us-not-deny-them-the-longing-for/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [“The Brigands charged in with their weapons drawn. "Who are you?" Young Bertie asked. "We're the bad guys!" their leader announced. "What are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mantchev/the-brigands-charged-in-with-their-weapons-drawn-who-are-you-young/) [Lisa Mantchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mantchev/) > [“Brigands masquerading as statesmen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-patrick/brigands-masquerading-as-statesmen/) [Renee Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-patrick/) > [Brigands will demand your money or your life, but a woman will demand both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-will-demand-your-money-or-your-life-but-a-woman-will-demand/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/for-long-periods-the-high-seem-to-be-securely-in-power-but-sooner-or/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It's not enough to celebrate the ideals that we're built on, liberty and justice and equality for all. 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I'm not sure how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink/the-last-time-i-checked-the-only-difference-between-my-gay-friends/) [Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [“The ethic of autonomy is based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences. People should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-ethic-of-autonomy-is-based-on-the-idea-that-people-are-first-and/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“The Pledge of Allegiance says 'liberty and justice for all'. Which part of 'all' don't you understand?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-schroeder/the-pledge-of-allegiance-says-liberty-and-justice-for-all-which-part/) Pat Schroeder ## More by Eric Hobsbawm > [All professionals, whether physicists, economists or musicians, live by and for peer judgment, even when they are being paid by people who cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/all-professionals-whether-physicists-economists-or-musicians-live-by/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Many years later, another Marxian rephrased this as the choice between socialism and barbarity. Which of these will prevail is a question which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/many-years-later-another-marxian-rephrased-this-as-the-choice-between/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [N. S. Khrushchev established his supremacy in the U.S.S.R. after post-Stalinist alarums and excursions (1958-64). This admirable rough diamond, a believer in reform and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/n-s-khrushchev-established-his-supremacy-in-the-u-s-s-r-after-post/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [The only certain thing about the future is that it will surprise even those who have seen furthest into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/the-only-certain-thing-about-the-future-is-that-it-will-surprise-even/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Nations without a past are contradictions in terms. What makes a nation is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/nations-without-a-past-are-contradictions-in-terms-what-makes-a/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [As the global expansion of Indian and Chinese restaurants suggests, xenophobia is directed against foreign people, not foreign cultural imports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/as-the-global-expansion-of-indian-and-chinese-restaurants-suggests/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [The imagined community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/the-imagined-community-of-millions-seems-more-real-as-a-team-of/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [ He\[Napoleon\] had destroyed only one thing: the Jacobin Revolution, the dream of equality, liberty and fraternity, and of the people rising in its majesty… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/he-napoleon-had-destroyed-only-one-thing-the-jacobin-revolution-the/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [It is one of the ironies of this strange century that the most lasting results of the October revolution, whose object was the global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/it-is-one-of-the-ironies-of-this-strange-century-that-the-most/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [There is not much that even the most socially responsible scientists can do as individuals, or even as a group, about the social consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/there-is-not-much-that-even-the-most-socially-responsible-scientists/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Human beings are not efficiently designed for a capitalist system of production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/human-beings-are-not-efficiently-designed-for-a-capitalist-system-of/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Xenophobia looks like becoming the mass ideology of the 20th-century fin-de-siecle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/xenophobia-looks-like-becoming-the-mass-ideology-of-the-20th-century/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [“For, whatever was the case in de Tocqueville's day, not the passion for egalitarianism but an individualist, that is anti-authoritarian, antinomian though curiously legalistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/for-whatever-was-the-case-in-de-tocqueville-s-day-not-the-passion-for/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Telephone and telegraph were better means of communication than the holy man's telepathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/telephone-and-telegraph-were-better-means-of-communication-than-the/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [No serious historian of nations and nationalism can be a committed political nationalist... Nationalism requires too much belief in what is patently not so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/no-serious-historian-of-nations-and-nationalism-can-be-a-committed/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) [Explore all 29 Eric Hobsbawm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) ## More Liberty and justice quotes > [“The Pledge of Allegiance says 'liberty and justice for all'. Which part of 'all' don't you understand?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-schroeder/the-pledge-of-allegiance-says-liberty-and-justice-for-all-which-part/) Pat Schroeder > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“The ethic of autonomy is based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences. People should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-ethic-of-autonomy-is-based-on-the-idea-that-people-are-first-and/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The last time I checked, the only difference between my gay friends and I is who we choose to love. I'm not sure how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink/the-last-time-i-checked-the-only-difference-between-my-gay-friends/) [Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink/) > [“Notwithstanding the fact that infidels in all ages have battled for the rights of man, and have at all times been the fearless advocates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/notwithstanding-the-fact-that-infidels-in-all-ages-have-battled-for/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [I have been in dialogue with my family about what can actually be done. We've come up with this philosophy that in a truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-have-been-in-dialogue-with-my-family-about-what-can-actually-be/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [It's not enough to celebrate the ideals that we're built on, liberty and justice and equality for all. Those just can't be words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-not-enough-to-celebrate-the-ideals-that-we-re-built-on-liberty/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/for-long-periods-the-high-seem-to-be-securely-in-power-but-sooner-or/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill it teaches the whole people by example. Crime is contagious. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/our-government-is-the-potent-the-omnipresent-teacher-for-good-or-for/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [“Still, as a straight person, you might say, "This just isn't my fight." No, it isn't. 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But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/in-any-society-order-is-the-first-need-of-all-liberty-and-justice-may/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) [Browse all 81 Liberty and justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-and-justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In their way the brigands, dressed in torn peasant costume with Bourbon rosettes, or in more gorgeous apparel, were avengers and champions of the people. 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