He who the sword of heaven will bear
Should be as holy as severe;
Pattern in himself read more

He who the sword of heaven will bear
Should be as holy as severe;
Pattern in himself to know,
Grace to stand, and virtue go;
More nor less to others paying
Than by self-offenses weighing.
Shame to him whose cruel striking
Kills for faults of his own liking.

A justice with grave justices shall sit;
He praise their wisdom, they admire his wit.

A justice with grave justices shall sit;
He praise their wisdom, they admire his wit.

So wise, so grave, of so perplex'd a tongue,
And loud withal, that would not wag, not scarce
read more

So wise, so grave, of so perplex'd a tongue,
And loud withal, that would not wag, not scarce
Lie still without a fee.

To offend and judge are distinct offices,
And of opposed natures.

To offend and judge are distinct offices,
And of opposed natures.

If you judge, investigate; if you reign, command.
[Lat., Si judicas, cognosce; si regnas, jube.]

If you judge, investigate; if you reign, command.
[Lat., Si judicas, cognosce; si regnas, jube.]

The judge's duty is to inquire about the time, as well as the
facts.
[Lat., Judicis officium est read more

The judge's duty is to inquire about the time, as well as the
facts.
[Lat., Judicis officium est ut res ita tempora rerum
Quaerere.]

The acme of judicial distinction means the ability to look a
lawyer straight in the eyes for two hours read more

The acme of judicial distinction means the ability to look a
lawyer straight in the eyes for two hours and not to hear a
damned word he says.

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and
Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of read more

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and
Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.

My suit has nothing to do with the assault, or battery, or
poisoning, but is about three goats, which, read more

My suit has nothing to do with the assault, or battery, or
poisoning, but is about three goats, which, I complain, have been
stolen by my neighbor. This the judge desires to have proved to
him; but you, with swelling words and extravagant gestures,
dilate on the Battle of Cannae, the Mithridatic war, and the
perjuries of the insensate Carthaginians, the Syllae, the Marii,
and the Mucii. It is time, Postumus, to say something about my
three goats.