The Analects, Book I Confucius -500 When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them. From James Legge’s translation of the 論語Rongo. The real fault is not the mistake itself but refusing to correct it. The Analects, Book XV Confucius -500 What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. A negative form of the golden rule. A similar line appears in Book XII. Ignorantia juris non excusat Legal maxim 200 Ignorance of the law excuses no one. Not knowing the law does not mean there was no intent to commit a crime. Penal Code, Article 38(3) A maxim handed down from Roman law. The Penal Code of Japan takes the same view. In dubio pro reo Legal maxim 200 When in doubt, for the accused. Unless the facts of a crime are proven, the court must decide in favor of the accused. Henry VI, Part 2 William Shakespeare 1591 The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers. Spoken by Dick the Butcher, a follower of the rebel Jack Cade. Often quoted as a jab at lawyers, though the rebels want them gone because they stand in the way of disorder. Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 This above all: to thine own self be true. Polonius’s parting advice to his son Laertes. Letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy Benjamin Franklin 1789 In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Written soon after the new Constitution of the United States came into effect. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. The opening sentence. Its irony sets the tone for the whole novel. Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1838 If the law supposes that, the law is a ass—a idiot. Mr. Bumble’s reply on hearing that the law presumes a wife acts under her husband’s direction. The Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln 1863 Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. The closing words. A short definition of democracy that is still quoted today.