--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the daily; it is the small; it is…" description: "\"It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to protect…If we are able to keep our democracy, ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg" --- # It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative… ![“It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to protect…If we are able to keep our democracy, there must be once commandment: THOU SHALT NOT RATION JUSTICE.” quote by Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg) > “It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to protect…If we are able to keep our democracy, there must be once commandment: THOU SHALT NOT RATION JUSTICE.” [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## 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 small, everyday harms accumulate, threatening democracy unless justice is upheld. **In simple terms:** Small harms add up, threatening democracy. Key Takeaway Guard justice against incremental harm. Themes justice democracy rights morality Mood serious concerned Type ethical legal When to use this quote - legal decisions - policy making - community advocacy - human rights work Key Concepts cumulative harm ethical vigilance Questions to Reflect On - How do everyday actions affect systemic justice? - What safeguards prevent moral erosion? A Different Perspective It assumes all societies can enforce a single moral command. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandments/) [Cumulative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cumulative/) [Daily Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-small-2107301/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Commandment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-commandment-2008387/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Injuries Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injuries-little-2107302/) [Injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injury/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Little people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-people/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-protect-583625/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Ration Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ration-justice-2008388/) [Rations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rations/) ## Related quotes > [If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/if-we-are-to-keep-democracy-there-must-be-a-commandment-thou-shalt/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: thou shalt not ration justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-are-to-keep-our-democracy-there-must-be-one-commandment-thou/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Make daily small deposits... Our lives are defined by small acts of greatness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-gutzler/make-daily-small-deposits-our-lives-are-defined-by-small-acts-of/) [Steve Gutzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-gutzler/) > [Thou shalt not ration justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thou-shalt-not-ration-justice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people will do anything to protect their heart even if it means that they have to break your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/some-people-will-do-anything-to-protect-their-heart-even-if-it-means/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Collect good people, truly good people... And protect and love, them the best you can...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/collect-good-people-truly-good-people-and-protect-and-love-them-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [People protect what they love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/people-protect-what-they-love/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [“We all need people to protect us sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ember-casey/we-all-need-people-to-protect-us-sometimes/) [Ember Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ember-casey/) > [There can be no lasting prosperity for our people, if we do not protect our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-sunak/there-can-be-no-lasting-prosperity-for-our-people-if-we-do-not/) [Rishi Sunak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-sunak/) > [“The law is put together by a group of people to protect and applied equally to everyone regardless their political, religious or wealth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beta-metani-marashi-2/the-law-is-put-together-by-a-group-of-people-to-protect-and-applied/) [Beta" Metani' Marashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beta-metani-marashi-2/) > ['Answer The Call' - we're trying to support the real heroes of our world, the people who protect us and afford us freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-reigns/answer-the-call-we-re-trying-to-support-the-real-heroes-of-our-world/) [Roman Reigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-reigns/) > [“If the law doesn't protect the people, the people protect themselves by breaking the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/if-the-law-doesn-t-protect-the-people-the-people-protect-themselves/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“If you’re a boss, understand these two patterns and allow people to protect their peak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/if-you-re-a-boss-understand-these-two-patterns-and-allow-people-to/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [I am strong because I have people to protect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naruto-uzumaki/i-am-strong-because-i-have-people-to-protect/) [Naruto Uzumaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naruto-uzumaki/) > [Our people are ebbing away like a rapidly receding tide that will never return. The white man's God cannot love our people, or He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/our-people-are-ebbing-away-like-a-rapidly-receding-tide-that-will/) [Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/) ## More by Learned Hand > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > ['I beseech ye . . . , think that ye may be mistaken.' I should like to have that written over the portals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i-should-like-to-have-that/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [If the prosecution of crime is to be conducted with so little regard for that protection which centuries of English law have given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/if-the-prosecution-of-crime-is-to-be-conducted-with-so-little-regard/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." I should like to have that written over the portals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-in-the-bowels-of-christ-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [What seems fair enough against a squalid huckster of bad liquor may take on a different face, if used by government determined to suppress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/what-seems-fair-enough-against-a-squalid-huckster-of-bad-liquor-may/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned ... .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-spirit-of-liberty-is-the-spirit-of-him-who-near-two-thousand/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I had rather take my chance that some traitors will escape detection than spread abroad a spirit of general suspicion and distrust, which accepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-had-rather-take-my-chance-that-some-traitors-will-escape-detection/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The successful competitor, having been urged to compete, must not be turned upon when he wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-successful-competitor-having-been-urged-to-compete-must-not-be/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Words are not pebbles in alien juxtaposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/words-are-not-pebbles-in-alien-juxtaposition/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It is often hard to secure unanimity about the borders of legislative power, but that is much easier than to decide how far a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-often-hard-to-secure-unanimity-about-the-borders-of-legislative/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Each one of us must in the end choose for himself how far he would like to leave our collective fate to the wayward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/each-one-of-us-must-in-the-end-choose-for-himself-how-far-he-would/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. While it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-lies-in-the-hearts-of-men-and-women-when-it-dies-there-no/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [A self-made man may prefer a self-made name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/a-self-made-man-may-prefer-a-self-made-name/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture; but modern history is not a very satisfactory side-arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/no-doubt-one-may-quote-history-to-support-any-cause-as-the-devil/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Explore all 101 Learned Hand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to protect…If we are able to keep our democracy, there must be once commandment: THOU SHALT NOT RATION JUSTICE.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Learned Hand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-the-cumulative-injuries-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-the-cumulative-injuries-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/710/learned-hand-5343_able_it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-th_1000322.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to…” — Learned Hand", "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": "Learned Hand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the daily; it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-the-cumulative-injuries-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-the-daily-it-is-the-small-it-is-the-cumulative-injuries-of/#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 } } ] } ```