--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is an injustice or a barbarity…" description: "\"“If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste to perpetrate it.”\" — Grant Allen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg" --- # If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might… ![“If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste to perpetrate it.” quote by Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg) > ““If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste to perpetrate it.”” [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that legal systems can quickly enforce unjust actions when they are possible, highlighting the danger of blind adherence to law over morality. **In simple terms:** Laws may quickly enforce injustice if allowed. Key Takeaway Question laws critically, not just follow them. Themes justice law morality power ethics Mood cautious critical reflective Type advice philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - court decisions - policy making - civil protest - government enforcement Key Concepts legalism authority human rights Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure laws protect rights? - When should we resist unjust laws? A Different Perspective Laws are not inherently just; they can be misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barbarity Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarity-possible-1067401/) [Injustice Barbarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-barbarity-1067402/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-england-392638/) [Possible Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-sure-1067404/) [Sure Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure-law-1067403/) ## Related quotes > [“My job is to make sure the law works for you as well as against you, and to make you a human being in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/my-job-is-to-make-sure-the-law-works-for-you-as-well-as-against-you/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The love of independence is a sentiment that surely none would wish to see erased from the breast of man, though the parish law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-love-of-independence-is-a-sentiment-that-surely-none-would-wish/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [The Bible has always been regarded as part of the Common Law of England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-bible-has-always-been-regarded-as-part-of-the-common-law-of/) [William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/) > [The law of England is a law of liberty .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-law-1st-earl-of-ellenborough/the-law-of-england-is-a-law-of-liberty/) [Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-law-1st-earl-of-ellenborough/) > [The law of England is much more severe upon offences against property than against the person, as becomes a people whose ruling passion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/the-law-of-england-is-much-more-severe-upon-offences-against-property/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [The truth is, one can work for another ten years and be playing parts, pushing yourself as hard as you can, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-law/the-truth-is-one-can-work-for-another-ten-years-and-be-playing-parts/) [Jude Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-law/) > [The Common Law of England has been laboriously built about a mythical figure-the figure of 'The Reasonable Man'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/the-common-law-of-england-has-been-laboriously-built-about-a-mythical/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [“Normandy became an appendix to England, the nobler dominion, and received a greater conformity of their laws to the English, that they gave to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/normandy-became-an-appendix-to-england-the-nobler-dominion-and/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Judged by the law of England, I know this crime entails upon me the penalty of death; but the history of Ireland explains that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-francis-meagher/judged-by-the-law-of-england-i-know-this-crime-entails-upon-me-the/) [Thomas Francis Meagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-francis-meagher/) > [“More Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? Roper I’d cut down every law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bolt/more-yes-what-would-you-do-cut-a-great-road-through-the-law-to-get/) [Robert Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bolt/) > [Christianity is part of the Common Law of England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hale/christianity-is-part-of-the-common-law-of-england/) [Matthew Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hale/) > [No one familiar with the common law of England can read the Constitution of the United States without observing the great desire of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-freeman-miller/no-one-familiar-with-the-common-law-of-england-can-read-the/) [Samuel Freeman Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-freeman-miller/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“WILLIAM ROPER: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law! THOMAS MORE: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bolt/william-roper-so-now-you-d-give-the-devil-benefit-of-law-thomas-more/) [Robert Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bolt/) ## More by Grant Allen > [“if people begin by thinking rationally, the danger is that they may end by acting rationally also.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-people-begin-by-thinking-rationally-the-danger-is-that-they-may/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“It is almost impossible to get a novel printed in an English journal unless it is warranted to contain nothing at all to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/it-is-almost-impossible-to-get-a-novel-printed-in-an-english-journal/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [What we each fall in love with individually is, I believe, our moral, mental, and physical complement. Not our like, not our counterpart; quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/what-we-each-fall-in-love-with-individually-is-i-believe-our-moral/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“Professional considerations made the Dean refrain from endorsing this open expression of murderous sentiment in its fullest form; a clergyman ought always to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/professional-considerations-made-the-dean-refrain-from-endorsing-this/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [What a misfortune it is that we should thus be compelled to let our boys schooling interfere with their education!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/what-a-misfortune-it-is-that-we-should-thus-be-compelled-to-let-our/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“Philip owned a looking-glass, and was therefore accustomed to a very high standard of manly beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/philip-owned-a-looking-glass-and-was-therefore-accustomed-to-a-very/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“Now, nothing annoys an angry savage or an uneducated person so much as the perfect coolness of a civilized and cultivated man when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/now-nothing-annoys-an-angry-savage-or-an-uneducated-person-so-much-as/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“In fact, in this modern England of ours, this fatherland of snobdom, one passes one's life in a see-saw of doubt, between the Scylla…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/in-fact-in-this-modern-england-of-ours-this-fatherland-of-snobdom-one/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“I beg your pardon," Philip interposed stiffly, now put upon his mettle. "We have no taboos at all in England. ... England, you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/i-beg-your-pardon-philip-interposed-stiffly-now-put-upon-his-mettle/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“They were savages, yet they were ghosts. The two most terrible and dreaded foes of civilised experience seemed combined at once in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/they-were-savages-yet-they-were-ghosts-the-two-most-terrible-and/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) > [“A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could excuse the man who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessarily-severe-form-of-punishment/) [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) [Explore all 12 Grant Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) ## More Justice quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [“Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/why-do-so-many-people-do-nothing-i-think-it-s-because-most-of-us-look/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) [Joseph Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-anderson/) > [Time often serves to justify a deed which seems at first unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-p-ryan/time-often-serves-to-justify-a-deed-which-seems-at-first-unjustifiable/) [Donald P. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-p-ryan/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Browse all 13,527 Justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste to perpetrate it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grant Allen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity-possible-i-might-have-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Justice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity-possible-i-might-have-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/grant-allen-37074_justice_if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity_882631.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is an injustice or a barbarity possible, I might have been sure the law of England would make haste…” — Grant Allen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Grant Allen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If there is an injustice or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity-possible-i-might-have-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/if-there-is-an-injustice-or-a-barbarity-possible-i-might-have-been/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```