Child, [death] is with us always, ” said Cadfael, patient beside him. “Last summer ninety-five men died here in the town, none of whom had done murder. For choosing the wrong side, they died. It falls upon blameless women in war, even in peace at the hands of evil men. It falls upon children who never did harm to any, upon old men, who in their lives have done good to many, and yet are brutally and senselessly slain. Never let it shake your faith that there is a balance hereafter. What you see is only a broken piece from a perfect whole.” “Such justice as we see is also but a broken shred. But it is our duty to preserve what we may, and fit together such fragments as we find, and take the rest on trust. Ellis Peters
About This Quote

We all want to believe that there is justice in the world. However, this quote is pretty bad on the subject of justice. Justice is not something we can see, it's something we can only take on faith. We must believe that there is some kind of balance that keeps bad people from getting away with their crimes, even if they are eventually found out. This belief allows us to function as moral beings and allows us to be more forgiving of others.

Source: St. Peters Fair

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More Quotes By Ellis Peters
  1. Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies all problems.
  2. Bitter though it may be to many, Cadfael concluded, there is no substitute for truth, in this or any case.
  3. The trouble with me, he thought unhappily, is that I have been about the world long enough to know that God's plans for us, however infallibly good, may not take the form we expect and demand.
  4. God, nevertheless, required a little help from men, and what he mostly got was hindrance.
  5. Once, I remember, Father Abbot said that our purpose is justice, and with God lies the privilege of mercy. But even God, when he intends mercy, needs tools to his hand.
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