Forgiveness, that noblest of all
Forgiveness, that noblest of all self-denial, is a virtue which he alone who can practise in himself can willingly believe in another.
We who live in prison, and in whose
We who live in prison, and in whose lives there is no event but sorrow, have to measure time by throbs of pain, and the record of bitter moments.
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.
No crime has been without a precedent.
No crime has been without a precedent.
I never told a victim story about my
I never told a victim story about my imprisonment. Instead, I told a transformation story - about how prison changed my outlook, about how I saw that communication, truth, and trust are at the heart of power.
He had drawn many a thousand of these
He had drawn many a thousand of these rations in prisons and camps, and though he'd never had an opportunity to weight them on scales, and although, being a man of timid nature, he knew no way of standing up for his rights, he, like every other prisoner, had discovered long ago that honest weight was never to be found in the bread-cutting. There was short weight in every ration. The only point was how short. So every day you took a look to soothe your soul - today, maybe, they haven't snitched any.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
Whatever you think of de Sade, he was a
Whatever you think of de Sade, he was a complex figure and we should not look for easy answers with him. He was, strangely perhaps, against the death penalty, and he was never put in prison for murders or anything like that.
A just chastisement may benefit a man,
A just chastisement may benefit a man, though it seldom does; but an unjust one changes all his blood to gall.
A man will be imprisoned in a room with
A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards, as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.
The number of laws is constantly growing
The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is called crime is very often not a crime at all, for it contains no element of violence or harm.
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence.
The only real prison is fear, and the
The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.
Wherever any one is against his will,
Wherever any one is against his will, that is to him a prison.
Definition, rationality, and structure
Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank out other ways of seeing.
While crime is punished it yet
While crime is punished it yet increases.
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch;
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch; honest counsels gain vigor by delay.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
Well does Heaven have care that no man
Well does Heaven have care that no man secures happiness by crime.
Self is the only prison that can bind
Self is the only prison that can bind the soul.
The power of punishment is to silence,
The power of punishment is to silence, not to confute.
One of the many lessons that one learns
One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.
I have never been contained except I
I have never been contained except I made the prison.
