--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To embarrass justice by multiplicity of…" description: "\"To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, seem to be the opposite rocks on which all civil institutions ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg" --- # To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard… ![“To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, seem to be the opposite rocks on which all civil institutions have been wrecked, and between which legislative wisdom has never yet found an open passage.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg) > “To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, seem to be the opposite rocks on which all civil institutions have been wrecked, and between which legislative wisdom has never yet found an open passage.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Too many laws or too much trust in judges can undermine justice and destabilize institutions. **In simple terms:** Excessive laws or blind trust in judges harm justice. Key Takeaway Balance lawmaking with judicial accountability. Themes justice law government institution wisdom Mood concerned analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - legislative drafting - court reform - policy analysis - public administration Key Concepts legal theory checks and balances institutional stability Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure laws are clear yet flexible? - What safeguards protect against judicial overreach? A Different Perspective Overreliance on judges can still lead to bias despite fewer laws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) [Multiplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiplicity/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [To use two languages familiarly and without contaminating one by the other, is very difficult; and to use more than two is hardly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-use-two-languages-familiarly-and-without-contaminating-one-by-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/happiness-consists-in-the-multiplicity-of-agreeable-consciousness/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/sir-if-you-wish-to-have-a-just-notion-of-the-magnitude-of-this-city/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [We are not really separate beings of light. That's a dream we are having, the dream of multiplicity. Meditation takes us beyond the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-are-not-really-separate-beings-of-light-that-s-a-dream-we-are/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One might get the impression that I recommend a new methodology which replaces induction by counterinduction and uses a multiplicity of theories, metaphysical views,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/one-might-get-the-impression-that-i-recommend-a-new-methodology-which/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [No matter what, I'm never going to get an anthology from an actual publisher, though I could always score another music anthology. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meltzer/no-matter-what-i-m-never-going-to-get-an-anthology-from-an-actual/) [Richard Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meltzer/) > [I used to refer to my photos as free radicals - and maybe that has to do with this idea of navigating history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/i-used-to-refer-to-my-photos-as-free-radicals-and-maybe-that-has-to/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-facticity-the-repetition-and/) [Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-e-krauss/) > [“Those of us who work in the field of trauma and abuse, whether psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, doctors, counselors, or psychotherapists, have been provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/those-of-us-who-work-in-the-field-of-trauma-and-abuse-whether/) [Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/) > [I've had some really big hits with 'Groundhog Day' and 'Michael,' 'Multiplicity,' 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andie-macdowell/i-ve-had-some-really-big-hits-with-groundhog-day-and-michael/) [Andie MacDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andie-macdowell/) > [It is not merely the multiplicity of tints, the gladness of tone, or the balminess of the air which delight in the spring; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/it-is-not-merely-the-multiplicity-of-tints-the-gladness-of-tone-or/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [So long as we stand "under the Law", we cannot perceive this hidden unity of all the commandments. It is part of legalism that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-brunner/so-long-as-we-stand-under-the-law-we-cannot-perceive-this-hidden/) [Emil Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-brunner/) > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Let us ask... how things work at the level of on-going subjugation, at the level of those continuous and uninterrupted processes which subject our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/let-us-ask-how-things-work-at-the-level-of-on-going-subjugation-at/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Confidence quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Get to know yourself well enough to not only expect, but also control, your response to the unexpected challenges in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/get-to-know-yourself-well-enough-to-not-only-expect-but-also-control/) Senoraroy > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/) [Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I was very confident on the stage, and I stood out in a red gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-johnson/i-was-very-confident-on-the-stage-and-i-stood-out-in-a-red-gown/) [Nicole Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-johnson/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Browse all 11,290 Confidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, seem to be the opposite rocks on which all civil institutions have been wrecked, and between which legislative wisdom has never yet found an open passage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of-laws-or-to-hazard-it-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confidence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of-laws-or-to-hazard-it-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/samuel-johnson-50_confidence_to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of_1745781.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To embarrass justice by multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, seem to be the…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To embarrass justice by multiplicity of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of-laws-or-to-hazard-it-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-embarrass-justice-by-multiplicity-of-laws-or-to-hazard-it-by/#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 } } ] } ```