---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who is not just is severe, he who is…"
description: "\"He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.\" — Voltaire"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png"
---

#  He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.

![“He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png)

> “He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.”

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

## About This Quote

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

Justice and wisdom are distinct; lacking justice leads to harshness, lacking wisdom leads to sorrow.

**In simple terms:** Justice and wisdom are different; each missing causes pain.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate both justice and wisdom.

Themes

justice wisdom ethics emotions

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- governance
- personal decisions
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

philosophy morality human nature

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance fairness and insight?
- What decisions require both justice and wisdom?

A Different Perspective

Focusing on one without the other can cause imbalance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/)

## Related quotes

> [Be you wise and never sad, You will get your lovely lad. Never serious be, nor true, And your wish will come to you--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/be-you-wise-and-never-sad-you-will-get-your-lovely-lad-never-serious/)

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/)

[Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/)

> [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [Few people are aware of the severe human rights violations committed daily by family court judges across the country. These courts are siding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/few-people-are-aware-of-the-severe-human-rights-violations-committed/)

[Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/)

> [Let your desire for truth transcend all minor considerations. Ignorance is invariably confident. The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/)

[Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/)

> [May is the most severe stage of Senioritis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-is-the-most-severe-stage-of-senioritis/)

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

> [Punishment by definition isn't going to help. So what you need to do is to help people to change and recover is to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-szalavitz/punishment-by-definition-isn-t-going-to-help-so-what-you-need-to-do/)

[Maia Szalavitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-szalavitz/)

> [I know just how isolating it can feel to experience severe anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-sugg/i-know-just-how-isolating-it-can-feel-to-experience-severe-anxiety/)

[Zoe Sugg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-sugg/)

> [Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don't want people to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/mild-autism-can-give-you-a-genius-like-einstein-if-you-have-severe/)

[Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/)

> [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/)

Jim Wright

> [Admitting weakness seems to be such a severe psychic threat for Bush that when he makes a mistake it's safer just to reinforce it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/admitting-weakness-seems-to-be-such-a-severe-psychic-threat-for-bush/)

[Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/)

> [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [The weird thing about metal fans is we're all so maladjusted in a lot of ways. We're individualistic and opinionated and severe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/the-weird-thing-about-metal-fans-is-we-re-all-so-maladjusted-in-a-lot/)

[Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/)

> [A SWAT team surrounded my house and came in every door. But it happened because on the day that we split up, Madonna developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-penn/a-swat-team-surrounded-my-house-and-came-in-every-door-but-it/)

[Sean Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-penn/)

## More by Voltaire

> [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

[Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

## More Sad quotes

> [What if I tell you I'm falling again? what if I tell you I'm willing to stand there till you notice me again? what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-falling-again-what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-willing/)

[Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/)

> [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/)

[Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/)

> [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/)

[Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/)

> [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“The past is only making you to spill tears, tears of joy or tears pain. But anyway they are making you sad, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a/the-past-is-only-making-you-to-spill-tears-tears-of-joy-or-tears-pain/)

T.A

> [When You Lose Someone You Love, You Never Get Over It. You Just Get Used To It.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/when-you-lose-someone-you-love-you-never-get-over-it-you-just-get/)

[Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/)

> [From time to time I look at the picture when I am very sad. I just want to remember my past and that scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/from-time-to-time-i-look-at-the-picture-when-i-am-very-sad-i-just/)

[Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/)

> [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/)

[Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/)

> [I get lots of requests from people to write sad songs, and I'm like, 'No, that's rubbish patter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-capaldi/i-get-lots-of-requests-from-people-to-write-sad-songs-and-i-m-like-no/)

[Lewis Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-capaldi/)

> [The worst feeling is not being lonely, sometimes it is being forgotten by someone you cant forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-feeling-is-not-being-lonely-sometimes-it-is-being-forgotten/)

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

> [“Every morning I sit at the kitchen table over a tall glass of water swallowing pills. (So my hands won’t shake.) (So my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanann-verlee/every-morning-i-sit-at-the-kitchen-table-over-a-tall-glass-of-water/)

Jeanann Verlee

> [“It suddenly seemed to Laurel that all the absences in her own life, every loss and sadness, every nightmare in the dark, every unexplained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-suddenly-seemed-to-laurel-that-all-the-absences-in-her-own-life/)

[Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/)

> [“What a burden it must be to know all the terrible things you've done and support it with arms unfit to carry it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/what-a-burden-it-must-be-to-know-all-the-terrible-things-you-ve-done/)

[K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/)

> [I have the saddest pregnancy cravings. It's just a sad, formal shrimp meal that I didn't even really enjoy that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-povitsky/i-have-the-saddest-pregnancy-cravings-it-s-just-a-sad-formal-shrimp/)

[Esther Povitsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-povitsky/)

[Browse all 4,454 Sad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Voltaire"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-not-wise-is-sad/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Sad"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-not-wise-is-sad/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/voltaire-173_sad_he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-n_694704.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.” — Voltaire",
                "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": "Voltaire",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "He who is not just is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-not-wise-is-sad/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-who-is-not-just-is-severe-he-who-is-not-wise-is-sad/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
