The collection / 566 fragments
Explore passages mentioning justice, just. Topic suggestions use transparent word matching, not scholarly classification. Editorial meanings and lexical matches are discovery aids, not independent authentication of a quotation.
Meaning: Someone carrying valuable goods may receive little of their benefit. Look at how the rewards of an undertaking are shared with those whose effort makes it possible.
Meaning: The speaker prefers a smaller benefit personally received to a larger one given elsewhere. The contrast exposes self-interest rather than establishing a fair rule of distribution.
Meaning: The image expresses fear that legal expense may consume resources without a clear limit. Examine costs and scope, while avoiding an unfair accusation against an entire profession.
Meaning: The hen-and-cock comparison expresses a rule that silences one voice before another. Treat it as a historical hierarchy to examine, rather than a fair principle for conversation.
Meaning: The arguments of powerful people may receive acceptance because of their position. Distinguish influence from reasons that would remain persuasive without the speaker’s power.
Meaning: The person already harmed can face an additional penalty. The saying exposes unfair allocation of blame or cost rather than establishing that victims deserve punishment.
Meaning: Those who pursue a reward may be passed over while less suitable recipients obtain it. Question how benefits are assigned without accepting the proverb’s insults as an assessment of people.
Meaning: Powerful wrongdoers may have ways to silence objections. The hidden gags portray suppression of scrutiny, not a claim that every influential person is guilty.
Meaning: People with the least protection may be placed where conditions are harshest. The clothing-and-wind image questions whether burdens are being assigned to those least equipped to bear them.
Meaning: A valued reward does not always go to the recipient judged most deserving. The pig and acorn contrast invites questions about allocation while cautioning that the label worst may itself be unfair.
Meaning: Harmful conduct may eventually meet an unwelcome consequence. The evil day expresses an expectation of accountability, without proving that punishment always arrives or that people who suffer must have done wrong.
Meaning: Fear may lead others to surrender more than someone is entitled to receive. The saying exposes power gained through intimidation, rather than making the excess a fair reward.
Meaning: The speaker proposes controlling a servant’s requests by limiting satisfaction. Read the bread and cheese critically as an unequal arrangement that treats another person’s needs as something to suppress.
Meaning: Loyalty to a purpose is declared stronger than concern about whether it is right. The appeal for divine aid exposes a partisan wish, without establishing divine approval or excusing wrongful conduct.