--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see no justice in that plan.\" \"Who…" description: "\"“I see no justice in that plan.\" \"Who said,\" lashed out Isaac Penn, \"that you, a man, can always perceive justice? Who said that justice is what you im..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/mark-helprin-1171_golden-age_i-see-no-justice-in-that-plan-who-said-l_987992.png" --- # I see no justice in that plan." "Who said," lashed out… ![“I see no justice in that plan." "Who said," lashed out Isaac Penn, "that you, a man, can always perceive justice? Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it…” quote by Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/mark-helprin-1171_golden-age_i-see-no-justice-in-that-plan-who-said-l_987992.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/mark-helprin-1171_golden-age_i-see-no-justice-in-that-plan-who-said-l_987992.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/mark-helprin-1171_golden-age_i-see-no-justice-in-that-plan-who-said-l_987992.png) > ““I see no justice in that plan." "Who said," lashed out Isaac Penn, "that you, a man, can always perceive justice? Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it can be manifest within a generation, within ten generations, within the entire span of human existence? What you are talking about is common sense, not justice. Justice is higher and not as easy to understand -- until it presents itself in unmistakable splendor. The design of which I speak is far above our understanding. But we can sometimes feel its presence. "No choreographer, no architect, engineer, or painter could plan more thoroughly and subtly. Every action and every scene has its purpose. And the less power one has, the closer he is to the great waves that sweep through all things, patiently preparing them for the approach of a future signified not by simple human equity (a child could think of that), but by luminous and surprising connections that we have not imagined, by illustrations terrifying and benevolent -- a golden age that will show not what we wish, but some bare awkward truth upon which rests everything that ever was and everything that ever will be. There is justice in the world, Peter Lake, but it cannot be had without mystery.”” [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice is portrayed as an elusive, transcendent force beyond human comprehension, revealed only through profound mystery and higher purpose. **In simple terms:** Justice is mysterious and beyond everyday understanding. Key Takeaway Seek deeper meaning beyond surface fairness. Themes philosophy justice metaphysics mystery purpose Mood reflective thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - ethical decision making - spiritual contemplation - creative planning Key Concepts Transcendence higher order inevitability Questions to Reflect On - How do we recognize justice when it is hidden? - Can we act ethically without fully grasping justice? A Different Perspective Justice may be idealized and unattainable in practical terms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Golden age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-age/) [Human existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-existence/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-imagine-2005375/) [Justice Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-justice/) [Justice Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-plan-2005376/) [Justice Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-said-746337/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Perceive Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive-justice-2005374/) ## Related quotes > [Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/who-said-that-justice-is-what-you-imagine-can-you-be-sure-that-you/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [What I perceive, is above all justice, where everyone has the same law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imran-khan/what-i-perceive-is-above-all-justice-where-everyone-has-the-same-law/) [Imran Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imran-khan/) > [“I wasn’t asking you,” Justice said. “Nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-shattuck/i-wasn-t-asking-you-justice-said-nice/) [Shari Shattuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-shattuck/) > [THERE'S NO JUSTICE, said Mort. JUST US.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-no-justice-said-mort-just-us/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If there is neither excessive wealth nor immoderate poverty in a nation, then justice may be said to prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/if-there-is-neither-excessive-wealth-nor-immoderate-poverty-in-a/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [“The judge speaks in the name of justice,' he said. 'The priest speaks in the name of pity, which is only a higher form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-judge-speaks-in-the-name-of-justice-he-said-the-priest-speaks-in/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Justice will be found, said Plato, when everyone does their own job, and minds their own business”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cohen/justice-will-be-found-said-plato-when-everyone-does-their-own-job-and/) [Martin Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cohen/) > [“Justice," she said. " I've heard that word. It's a cold world. I tried it out," she said, still speaking in that low voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/justice-she-said-i-ve-heard-that-word-it-s-a-cold-world-i-tried-it/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [“There will be justice', said Brutha. 'If there is no justice, there is nothing'. He was aware of a small voice in his head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-will-be-justice-said-brutha-if-there-is-no-justice-there-is-2/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“THERE IS NO JUSTICE" said Death "JUST ME”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-no-justice-said-death-just-me/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“That’s not very fair.” THERE’S NO JUSTICE, said Mort. JUST US.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/that-s-not-very-fair-there-s-no-justice-said-mort-just-us/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Grief is half of justice," she said, and added, a moment later, "the other half is a hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/grief-is-half-of-justice-she-said-and-added-a-moment-later-the-other/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [I was asked three times directly in the hearing before the board of the judiciary whether or not I would continue to acknowledge God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/i-was-asked-three-times-directly-in-the-hearing-before-the-board-of/) [Roy Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-moore/) > [There will be justice," said Brutha. "If there is no justice, there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-will-be-justice-said-brutha-if-there-is-no-justice-there-is/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More by Mark Helprin > [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“In living, one muddles through the years for the sake of those one or two moments which are indisputably great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/in-living-one-muddles-through-the-years-for-the-sake-of-those-one-or/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. The less time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/do-you-know-why-you-walk-slowly-when-you-re-old-no-because-with-age/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. 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They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [For what can be imagined more beautiful than the sight of a perfectly just city rejoicing in justice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/for-what-can-be-imagined-more-beautiful-than-the-sight-of-a-perfectly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“If all the months and all their days could be like June weather in New York, there would be paradise on earth. Often, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/if-all-the-months-and-all-their-days-could-be-like-june-weather-in/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/at-least-until-there-are-new-lakes-in-the-clouds-that-open-upon/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You will most appreciate 'Freddy and Fredericka' if you are familiar with the story of the Fall, the Good Hermit, 'Tom Jones,' 'Huckleberry Finn,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/you-will-most-appreciate-freddy-and-fredericka-if-you-are-familiar/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-powerlessness-innocence-and-imagination-fused-to-enable-them-to/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) [Explore all 279 Mark Helprin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More Golden age quotes > [We're in a golden age for television. TV 25 years ago was slow, plodding , boring. The production values were not great. Today it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/we-re-in-a-golden-age-for-television-tv-25-years-ago-was-slow/) [Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/) > [Life's golden age is when the kids are too old to need baby-sitters and too young to borrow the family car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-golden-age-is-when-the-kids-are-too-old-to-need-baby-sitters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I come from the golden age of hip hop when all the greats came on the scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/i-come-from-the-golden-age-of-hip-hop-when-all-the-greats-came-on-the/) [Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/) > [I have the most wonderful childhood memories of holidays in the golden age before foreign package holidays were even a glint in Michael O'Leary's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/i-have-the-most-wonderful-childhood-memories-of-holidays-in-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [I often think that those people are the happiest who know nothing at all of the world, and sitting in the little empire of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-montagu/i-often-think-that-those-people-are-the-happiest-who-know-nothing-at/) [Elizabeth Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-montagu/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You just never know when you're living in a golden age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/you-just-never-know-when-you-re-living-in-a-golden-age/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I find myself now preaching about the golden age of manned spaceflight, because something went on there, within us, that we’re missing. When we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/i-find-myself-now-preaching-about-the-golden-age-of-manned/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [The '50s was the golden age of music all over the world for some crazy, 'X-File'-like reason I can't quite understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-cooder/the-50s-was-the-golden-age-of-music-all-over-the-world-for-some-crazy/) [Ry Cooder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-cooder/) > [“Many 18th- and 19th-century artists rejected, criticized, or ignored the Industrial Revolution. Instead of uplifting man, industry seemed to demoralize and dehumanize him. Men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bryant-wilder/many-18th-and-19th-century-artists-rejected-criticized-or-ignored-the/) [Jesse Bryant Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bryant-wilder/) > [I am here to tell you, TV is not dead. Rather, it is constantly evolving as we are. My view is that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-dubuc/i-am-here-to-tell-you-tv-is-not-dead-rather-it-is-constantly-evolving/) [Nancy Dubuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-dubuc/) > [“For the Arabs, and the above all for the 1.2 million Arabs of Palestine, the partitioning of the land in which they had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-collins/for-the-arabs-and-the-above-all-for-the-1-2-million-arabs-of/) [Larry Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-collins/) > [“In the narrative of his third voyage Columbus wrote: "For I believe that the earthly Paradise lies here, which no one can enter except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/in-the-narrative-of-his-third-voyage-columbus-wrote-for-i-believe/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“One cannot, therefore, understand Arabic science without considering the extent to which Islam influenced scientific and philosophical thought. 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Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it can be manifest within a generation, within ten generations, within the entire span of human existence? What you are talking about is common sense, not justice. Justice is higher and not as easy to understand -- until it presents itself in unmistakable splendor. The design of which I speak is far above our understanding. But we can sometimes feel its presence. \"No choreographer, no architect, engineer, or painter could plan more thoroughly and subtly. Every action and every scene has its purpose. And the less power one has, the closer he is to the great waves that sweep through all things, patiently preparing them for the approach of a future signified not by simple human equity (a child could think of that), but by luminous and surprising connections that we have not imagined, by illustrations terrifying and benevolent -- a golden age that will show not what we wish, but some bare awkward truth upon which rests everything that ever was and everything that ever will be. 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