--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For we both alike know that into the…" description: "\"For we both alike know that into the discussion of human affairs the question of justice enters only where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/thucydides-2578_affair_for-we-both-alike-know-that-into-the-dis_462218.png" --- # For we both alike know that into the discussion of human… ![“For we both alike know that into the discussion of human affairs the question of justice enters only where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must.” quote by Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/thucydides-2578_affair_for-we-both-alike-know-that-into-the-dis_462218.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/thucydides-2578_affair_for-we-both-alike-know-that-into-the-dis_462218.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/thucydides-2578_affair_for-we-both-alike-know-that-into-the-dis_462218.png) > “For we both alike know that into the discussion of human affairs the question of justice enters only where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must.” [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice appears only when necessity is balanced; the powerful take what they can, the weak give what they must. **In simple terms:** Justice depends on power balance, not fairness. Key Takeaway Recognize power dynamics in justice. Themes politics justice power ethics Mood critical serious Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - legal reform - conflict mediation - policy analysis - social activism Key Concepts political theory history philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure fair justice? - What mechanisms limit powerful exploitation? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt justice; equality is hard to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-powerful-4012533/) [Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grants/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Enters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-enters-4012534/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Necessity Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity-equal-1136199/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Question Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-justice-1755904/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [It is in this mutual dependence of the functions and the aid which they reciprocally lend one another that are founded the laws which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-cuvier/it-is-in-this-mutual-dependence-of-the-functions-and-the-aid-which/) [Georges Cuvier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-cuvier/) > [Though, in debating with regard to theories, it be lawful to say whether this or that is consistent with the Divine attributes, yet, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehemiah-adams/though-in-debating-with-regard-to-theories-it-be-lawful-to-say/) [Nehemiah Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nehemiah-adams/) > [In the USA, where so many people compete for one and the same thing, where job opportunities, residential facilities, and food resources have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ndabaningi-sithole/in-the-usa-where-so-many-people-compete-for-one-and-the-same-thing/) [Ndabaningi Sithole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ndabaningi-sithole/) > [I grant you that the artist does not see Nature as she appears to the vulgar, because his emotion reveals to him the hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/i-grant-you-that-the-artist-does-not-see-nature-as-she-appears-to-the/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [I didn't marry a Beatle, I married a broke student who played the guitar and ponced all my grant money off me for fags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-lennon/i-didn-t-marry-a-beatle-i-married-a-broke-student-who-played-the/) [Cynthia Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-lennon/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. 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