Concerning JusticeEmery, Lucilius A. (Lucilius Alonzo)
Philosophy
Concerning Justice
Emery, Lucilius A. (Lucilius Alonzo)
Courts -- United States; Justice; Justice, Administration of
If one is balked or hindered in the gratification of any of these
desires, there is excited in him a feeling of resentment against the
cause, even if it be only some force of nature. There is a note of
anger in the cries of a child over interference with his play, the
deprivation of any toy or other thing he may have or desire. That the
wind or the rain was the cause does not sooth him. In the mature man
also, anger adds some force to the kick he gives even inanimate
objects unexpectedly impeding him. Who of us has ever fallen over a
chair in the dark without mentally, at least, consigning it to
perdition? The old law of Deodand was an expression of this feeling of
resentment against inanimate objects even. By that law, according to
Blackstone, whatever chattel was the immediate cause of the death of
a reasonable creature was forfeited to the crown, as when a cart ran
over a man. By the laws of Draco whatever caused a man's death by
falling upon him was to be destroyed or cast out of the community.
Thus a statue having fallen upon a man, it was thrown into the sea.
The Mosaic law savagely declared: "If an ox gore a man that he die,
the ox shall be stoned and his flesh shall not be eaten."
Is not this instinctive feeling of resentment at interference with
one's person, liberty, or property, the rudiment of a later developed
idea, or sentiment, of rights possessed? Resentment is felt only when
one is deprived of something he feels he is entitled to. Granting that
nature has not endowed man with rights, it has imbued him with a
belief that he has rights, and also with a disposition to defend them.
Man is also born into a material world of natural forces, and hence to
gratify his desire to live and serve his own welfare and that of his
offspring, he must adapt himself to his environment, fit himself to
withstand heat and cold, provide himself with food and shelter. He not
only desires to, but he must, exercise his powers of mind and body and
hence should be free to exercise them to that extent at least. Nature
does not feed, clothe and shelter man. It only provides the raw
material which man must himself find, take, and convert by his labor,
manual and intellectual, into food, clothing, shelter, and whatever
else he desires.
But man is also born into association with other men, into some sort
of social organization, and well for him that he is. It is not
society, however ill organized, that has caused, or today causes,
poverty. That is the primitive condition of the human race. It is only
through some social organization ensuring to man freedom for his labor
and security for his savings that he can escape poverty. If each
individual by his own unaided efforts had to find the raw material,
mold it to serve his needs and desires, and also defend it from
attacks by others, his life would be one of dire poverty, scarcely
above that of the higher animals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account