--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before God and high heaven, is there a…" description: "\"Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?\" — Howard Zinn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg" --- # Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man… ![“Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg) > “Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All humans are subject to the same universal law; no one is exempt from moral standards. **In simple terms:** Everyone follows the same law. Key Takeaway Uphold universal fairness. Themes justice equality morality Mood critical inspirational Type philosophical political When to use this quote - courtrooms - policy making - education - activism Key Concepts human rights legal theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure equal application of law? - What role does bias play? A Different Perspective Legal systems sometimes apply laws unequally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Heaven and God are not high above us, far away; they are deep within us. Heaven is not a distant country where there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/heaven-and-god-are-not-high-above-us-far-away-they-are-deep-within-us/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [As high as Heaven, as deep as Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beaumont/as-high-as-heaven-as-deep-as-hell/) [Francis Beaumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beaumont/) > [I think God was high when he created you because theres no one else who comes so close to perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan/i-think-god-was-high-when-he-created-you-because-theres-no-one-else/) [Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan/) > [Order is heaven's first law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/order-is-heaven-s-first-law/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Order is heaven's first law. Order is earth's first law, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/order-is-heaven-s-first-law-order-is-earth-s-first-law-too/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Order is Heaven's first law; and this confess, Some are and must be greater than the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/order-is-heaven-s-first-law-and-this-confess-some-are-and-must-be/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“Grant Gilmore: “In Heaven there will be no law, and the lion will lie down with the lamb….In Hell there will be nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/grant-gilmore-in-heaven-there-will-be-no-law-and-the-lion-will-lie/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Order is Heaven's first law; and this confessed, some are, and must be, greater than the rest, more rich, more wise; but who infers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/order-is-heaven-s-first-law-and-this-confessed-some-are-and-must-be/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Earth and high heaven are fixed of old and founded strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/earth-and-high-heaven-are-fixed-of-old-and-founded-strong/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [You have been tried by twelve good men and true, not of your peers but as high above you as heaven is of hell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bean/you-have-been-tried-by-twelve-good-men-and-true-not-of-your-peers-but/) [Roy Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bean/) > [Man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority, like an angry ape, play such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make the angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/man-proud-man-dressed-in-a-little-brief-authority-like-an-angry-ape/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore of nicely-caluculated less or more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/give-all-thou-canst-high-heaven-rejects-the-lore-of-nicely/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heaven my fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/earth-sounds-my-wisdom-and-high-heaven-my-fame/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. Did you ever stop to think of that? Yes, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/there-is-only-one-way-under-high-heaven-to-get-anybody-to-do-anything/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“I love him, his shoulders, his angular, stooping figure – and at the same time I see behind him woods and stars, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-love-him-his-shoulders-his-angular-stooping-figure-and-at-the-same/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More Heaven quotes > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [By the time you have no difficulties in your life, you have achieved Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brown/by-the-time-you-have-no-difficulties-in-your-life-you-have-achieved/) [Charles Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brown/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/god-is-the-highest-good-of-the-reasonable-creature-and-the-enjoyment/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) [Browse all 9,540 Heaven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-law-for-one-man-which-is-not-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heaven" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-law-for-one-man-which-is-not-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/howard-zinn-576_heaven_before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-la_1576690.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Before God and high heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?” — Howard Zinn", "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": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Before God and high heaven, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-law-for-one-man-which-is-not-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/before-god-and-high-heaven-is-there-a-law-for-one-man-which-is-not-a/#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 } } ] } ```