---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule…"
description: "\"Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.\" — Oliver Goldsmith"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png"
---

#  Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.

![“Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.” quote by Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png)

> “Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.”

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The legal system favors the wealthy, while the poor are oppressed by it.

**In simple terms:** Law benefits the rich, harms the poor.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for equitable justice.

Themes

justice inequality power law society

Mood

critical reflective

Type

political social commentary

When to use this quote

- policy reform
- legal aid
- community organizing
- voting
- education

Key Concepts

class struggle legal bias social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How can ordinary citizens influence legal fairness?
- What mechanisms protect the vulnerable?

A Different Perspective

Reforms may be slow and face entrenched interests.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poor And Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-and-rich/) [Poor rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-rich/) [Rich men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-men/)

## Related quotes

> [“law grinds the poor, rich men rule the law”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/law-grinds-the-poor-rich-men-rule-the-law/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/laws-grind-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-the-law/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [“Populace above, populace below! What are "poor" and "rich"...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/populace-above-populace-below-what-are-poor-and-rich/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Poverty was a relationship, I thought, involving poor and rich people alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/poverty-was-a-relationship-i-thought-involving-poor-and-rich-people/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“One can slide between poor and rich, the difference as slight as between paper and parchment, one voice and a choir, arms hanging by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannine-atkins/one-can-slide-between-poor-and-rich-the-difference-as-slight-as/)

Jeannine Atkins

> [“Well, what was it to be a thief? He met the question at last, face to face, wiping the clammy drops of sweat from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/well-what-was-it-to-be-a-thief-he-met-the-question-at-last-face-to/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [“I've been rich and I've been poor, and rich is better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-rich-and-i-ve-been-poor-and-rich-is-better/)

[Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/)

> [These poor rich men, we anglers pity them perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/these-poor-rich-men-we-anglers-pity-them-perfectly/)

[Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/)

> [In London I have been by turns poor and rich, hopeful and despondent, successful and down and out, utterly miserable and ecstatically, dizzily happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-lawrence/in-london-i-have-been-by-turns-poor-and-rich-hopeful-and-despondent/)

[Gertrude Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-lawrence/)

> [I wandered away on a glorious botanical and geological excursion, which has lasted nearly fifty years and is not yet completed, always happy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-wandered-away-on-a-glorious-botanical-and-geological-excursion/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [“This is the Number. It is in the things we do, the people we meet, the ID cards that we carry. It's part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/this-is-the-number-it-is-in-the-things-we-do-the-people-we-meet-the/)

[Yudhanjaya Wijeratne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/)

> [I had a very down-to-earth product, my wrap dress, which was really a uniform. It was just a simple little cotton-jersey dress that everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/i-had-a-very-down-to-earth-product-my-wrap-dress-which-was-really-a/)

[Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/)

> [“The country therefore was not “born free” but born slave and free, servant and master, tenant and landlord, poor and rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-country-therefore-was-not-born-free-but-born-slave-and-free/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persue all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-urban-ii/i-or-rather-the-lord-beseech-you-as-christ-s-heralds-to-publish-this/)

[Pope Urban II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-urban-ii/)

> [The liberal feminist movement never imagined that women would take seriously the encouragement to become our own heroes and claim life for ourselves, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-bruce/the-liberal-feminist-movement-never-imagined-that-women-would-take/)

[Tammy Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-bruce/)

## More by Oliver Goldsmith

> [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [How happy he who crowns in shades like these, A youth of labour with an age of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/how-happy-he-who-crowns-in-shades-like-these-a-youth-of-labour-with/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [One man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and the other with a wooden ladle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/one-man-is-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-and-the-other-with-a/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/he-cast-off-his-friends-as-a-huntsman-his-pack-for-he-knew-when-he/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Even children follow'd with endearing wile, And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/even-children-follow-d-with-endearing-wile-and-pluck-d-his-gown-to/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [The premises being thus settled, I proceed to observe that the concatenation of self-existence, proceeding in a reciprocal duplicate ratio, naturally produces a problematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-premises-being-thus-settled-i-proceed-to-observe-that-the/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, and fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/truth-from-his-lips-prevailed-with-double-sway-and-fools-who-came-to/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Every acknowledgment of gratitude is a circumstance of humiliation; and some are found to submit to frequent mortifications of this kind, proclaiming what obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/every-acknowledgment-of-gratitude-is-a-circumstance-of-humiliation/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [ \[T\]here are depths of thousands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. The only tidings we have from those unfathomable regions are by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/t-here-are-depths-of-thousands-of-miles-which-are-hidden-from-our/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/like-the-bee-we-should-make-our-industry-our-amusement/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Age, that lessens the enjoyment of life, increases our desire of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/age-that-lessens-the-enjoyment-of-life-increases-our-desire-of-living/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Thus let me hold thee to my heart, And every care resign: And we shall never, never part, My life-my all that's mine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/thus-let-me-hold-thee-to-my-heart-and-every-care-resign-and-we-shall/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [Here lies David Garrick, describe me who can, An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/here-lies-david-garrick-describe-me-who-can-an-abridgment-of-all-that/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

[Explore all 375 Oliver Goldsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

## More Law quotes

> [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/)

[Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/)

> [The law is like apparel, which alters with the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dodderidge/the-law-is-like-apparel-which-alters-with-the-time/)

John Dodderidge

> [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/)

[Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/)

> [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/)

[Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/)

> [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/)

[Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/)

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Laws undertake to punish only overt acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laws-undertake-to-punish-only-overt-acts/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Browse all 16,973 Law quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Oliver Goldsmith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-the-law/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Law"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-the-law/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/oliver-goldsmith-772_law_law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-th_2374577.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.” — Oliver Goldsmith",
                "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": "Oliver Goldsmith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Law grinds the poor, and rich...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-the-law/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/law-grinds-the-poor-and-rich-men-rule-the-law/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
