justice--prophetes.ai

▪ I. justice, n.
    (ˈdʒʌstɪs)
    Forms: 2–4 iustise, (3 -ize), 3–6 -is, -ys, (4 iostyse), 3–7 iustice, 4–6 -yce, 5 -yse, (6 -es), 7– justice.
    [a. OF. justise, -ice (jostise) uprightness, equity, vindication of right, administration of law, jurisdiction, court of justice, infliction of punishment, gallows, judge, etc. (= Pr., Sp. justicia, Pg. justi{cced}a, It. giustizia), ad. L. jūstitia righteousness, uprightness, equity, f. jūstus just. Sense 4 was the first to be adopted from Norman Fr.]
    I. The quality of being just.
    1. The quality of being (morally) just or righteous; the principle of just dealing; the exhibition of this quality or principle in action; just conduct; integrity, rectitude. (One of the four cardinal virtues.)
    commutative, distributive justice: see these words.

c 1340 Cursor M. 8748 (Fairf.) Alle loued salamon for his Iustise. 1387 T. Usk Test. Love iii. i. (Skeat) l. 73 Vertues of soule.. whiche been Prudence, Justice, Temperaunce, and Strength. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. vii, Ther was he sworne vnto his lordes & the comyns for to be a true kyng, to stand with true Iustyce fro thensforth the dayes of his lyf. 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. i, The auncient Ciuilians do saye iustice is a wille perpetuall and constaunt, whiche gyueth to euery man his right. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 265 A certaine person..said that in iustice they should burne these priests. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. i. 116 If you haue any Iustice, any Pitty. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 280 Forc'd into virtue thus by Self-defence, Ev'n kings learn'd justice and benevolence. 1769 Junius Lett. v. 27 In justice to our friends. 1848 W. J. O'N. Daunt Recoll. O'Connell I. i. 10 The most important ingredient in ‘justice to Ireland’ is the restoration of the Irish Parliament. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 212 It would be found that the path of justice was the path of wisdom.

† 2. Theol. Observance of the divine law; righteousness; the state of being righteous or ‘just before God’. Obs.

1534 More Treat. Passion Wks. 1281/1 By the fall of Adam, the whole kynde of man..lost original iustice. 1563 J. Man Musculus Commonpl. 117 b, Regenerate into new men, so that suppressyng the raygne of synne, we may serve justice. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 187 Christ hauing fulfilled it [the law] for vs, is made our iustice, sanctification, &c. 1622 H. Sydenham Serm. Sol. Occ. (1637) 70 Whence I gather..that that justice which is conferred on them consists rather in the participation of Christs merits..than in any perfection of vertues or qualities infused.

3. Conformity (of an action or thing) to moral right, or to reason, truth, or fact; rightfulness; fairness; correctness; propriety; = justness 2, 3.

1588 Shakes. Tit. A. i. i. 2 Defend the iustice of my Cause with Armes. 1591 ― Two Gent. iv. iii. 29 Thinke..on the iustice of my flying hence, To keepe me from a most vnholy match. 1608 ― Per. iv. iii. 9 A Princes To equall any single Crowne a'th'earth, Ith iustice of compare. 1746 Morell Judas Maccabeus, ‘Sound an alarm’, Justice with courage is a thousand men. a 1769 R. Riccaltoun Notes Galatians 148 With great justice does he bear the title of truth. 1885 Law Times LXXIX. 130/1 Every lawyer..will appreciate the justice of these observations.

† b. Just claim, right (to something). Obs.

1621 Fletcher Isl. Princess ii. viii, What justice have you now vnto this lady?

    II. Judicial administration of law or equity.
    4. Exercise of authority or power in maintenance of right; vindication of right by assignment of reward or punishment; requital of desert.
    poetical justice: the ideal justice in distribution of rewards and punishments supposed to befit a poem or other work of imagination.

1137–54 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Þa the suikes under gæton ð[at] he [Stephen] milde man was..& na iustise ne dide. Ibid. an. 1140 He dide god iustise and makede pais. a 1300 Cursor M. 150 Sal be sythen tald..o salomon þe wis How craftilik he did iustis. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xix. (1885) 156 We shul nowe mowe enjoye oure owne goode, and live vndir justice. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 73 b, I am..an anoynted kyng, to whom..it apperteineth..to minister to them indifferent iustice. 1670 Clarendon Contempl. Ps. Tracts (1727) 601 Where justice is not, the fertilest land becomes barren. 1679 Dryden Troilus & Cr. Pref., We are glad when we behold his Crimes are punish'd, and that Poetical Justice is done upon him. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 93 ¶6 Addison is suspected to have denied the expediency of poetical justice because his own Cato was condemned to perish in a good cause [cf. Spect. No. 40]. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life ii. ii. (1876) 405 This rough justice of the world.

5. The administration of law, or the forms and processes attending it; judicial proceedings; † in early use, Legal proceedings of any kind (obs.).
bed of j., college of j., court of j.: see bed 7, college 1 c., court 11. High Court of Justice: see quot. 1873.

1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1310 Þe fyfþe..ys sle no man wyþ þyn honde Wyþ outyn iustyce, for felonye. c 1330 ― Chron. (1810) 315 Þo ilk men..suld..enforme ȝour kynges, Withouten mo justise or trauaile of oþer lordynges. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop v. x, My fader was no legist..ne also man of Iustyce. 1591 Lambarde Archeion (1635) 16, I gather..that the King himselfe had a High Court of Justice. 1612 Bacon Ess., Judicature (Arb.) 456 The place of Iustice is an hallowed place. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 62 Here the Vizier Bassas of the Port..do sit in iustice. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 300 The Lord Clarendon put the justice of the nation in very good hands. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. v. 48 In no Part of the World is Justice bought and sold more publickly than here. 1859 Tennyson Enid 37 Assassins, and all flyers from the hand Of Justice. 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 66 §4 The said Supreme Court shall consist of two permanent Divisions, one of which, under the name of ‘Her Majesty's High Court of Justice’, shall have and exercise original jurisdiction.

† b. The persons administering the law; a judicial assembly, court of justice. Obs. (In early quots. difficult to separate from pl. of sense 8.)

a 1300 Cursor M. 14855 If ani man war tan for oght He suld before iustijs [v.rr. iustice, iustis] be broght. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 58 Þerfor was þe dome gyuen þorgh þe Iustise, To exile þe erle Godwyn. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 3446 It es the assyse, Whils sityng es of the iustise. 1529 Rastell Pastyme, Hist. Brit. (1811) 222 There was a solempne justyce in Smythfylde where were present ye kynge of Englande [etc.]. 1654 Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 85 Touching the proceedings against the Brasilians and particularly such as were of the high justice there.

† c. Judicial authority, jurisdiction. Obs.

c 1450 Merlin 575 The xix kynges..comaunded alle hem that were vnther theire Iustice. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 205 Not onely the free Cities of the Empire have the priviledge of the Sword, or capitall Iustice granted to them.

d. In colloq. phrases, as Jedwood or Jeddart (= Jedburgh) justice, trial after execution. Similarly † Cupar justice. justices' justice, an ironical expression for the kind of justice administered by petty magistrates, esp. when marked by disproportionate severity.

1706 A. Shields Enq. Ch. Commun. Pref. 8 Guilty of Couper Justice and Jedburgh Law as the proverb is. 1802 Scott Minstr. Scot. Border Pref. (1869) 27 The memory of Dunbar's legal proceedings at Jedburgh, are preserved in the proverbial phrase, ‘Jeddart Justice’ which signifies trial after execution. 1828 ― F.M. Perth xxxii, We will have Jedwood justice—hang in haste and try at leisure. 1831 Examiner 802/2 [An example of] Justices' Justice. 1867 M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd xvi, Servants'-hall justice all the world over. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 357 The ‘justice's justice’ of the Vibiuses and Floruses.

† 6. Infliction of punishment, legal vengeance on an offender; esp. capital punishment; execution. to do justice on or upon (of), to punish, esp. by death. Obs.

[1137–54: see 4.] c 1400 Rom. Rose 7036 Blamed of any vyce, Of whiche men shulden doon Iustyce. c 1477 Caxton Jason 78 He sente to Zethephius that he sholde do iustice on his seruauntes. 1489 ― Sonnes of Aymon 584 Lete vs be drowned, hanged, or drawen, or what iustyse ye wylle. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxx. 310 Bycause of the marueylous cruell iustyece that he had done. a 1625 Fletcher Bloody Brother iii. i, Rob. Take his head Off with a Sword. Bel... 'Tis the best Of all thy damned justices. [1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxiv. 520 Justice..in the special sense of heavy and speedy vengeance on offenders..was..far more on men's lips than it had been in the elder day.]

† b. A place or instrument of execution; a gallows. Obs.

c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 30 Thar ordand thai thir lordis suld be slayne: A iustice maid, quhilk wes of mekill mayne. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop vi. xiv, As men ledde hym to the Iustyce, his moder folowed hym and wepte sore.

7. Personified, esp. in sense 4: often represented in art as a goddess holding balanced scales or a sword, sometimes also with veiled eyes, betokening impartiality. (= L. Justitia.)

1599 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 102 You are right Iustice, and you weigh this well: Therefore still beare the Ballance, and the Sword. 1629 Milton Morn. Nativity 141 Yea, Truth and Justice then Will down return to men, Orbed in a rainbow. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 683 Conducting trade At the sword's point, and dyeing the white robe Of innocent commercial justice red. 1872 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 28 He called upon justice by her other name of mercy; he claimed for all alike the equity of compassion.

    III. An administrator of justice.
    The name Justitia was applied (in the 11th cent.) in a general way to persons charged with the administration of the law, esp. to the sheriffs; it was subsequently limited to the president or one of the members of the Curia Regis, out of which the courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer were developed. These judges were specifically denominated justices itinerant, in eyre, of assize, of oyer and terminer, of jail delivery, etc.: see these words. In the Court of Exchequer (which had a peculiar history) they were termed barons.
    8. generally. A judicial officer; a judge; a magistrate.

[c 1172 Vie de St. Thom. 46 Et quant il s'en parte de la cambre de rei Justices et baruns, tel que numer ne dei, L'escrierent en haut a hu et a desrei. 1188 Glanvill vi. vii, Pone coram me vel iusticiis meis..loquelam quae est in comitatu tuo inter A. et N.]

c 1200 Vices & Virtues 105 Iusticia þat is rihtwisnesse... Hie awh wel to bene iustise inne godes temple. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 37/111 Abiatar þat þo was Iustise, luþur inovȝ. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1416 Pilatus he sende þuder hor Iustise to be þere Vorto holde hom harde inou. a 1300 Cursor M. 4617 Stiward of al mi kingrik Sal þou be made and hei iustis. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 877 Who Ioyned þe be Iostyse our iapez to blame. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3817 Alle..prayede god, þe heȝe iustys, Scholde scheld him fram ys enymys. c 1485 E. Eng. Misc. (Warton Club) 29 To ȝeyf aconthis at the laste, Befor the most feyrful Justyse. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras viii. 23 Thou, Esdras..ordaine iudges, and iustices, that they may iudge in all Syria and Phenice. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T., Acts xiii. 15 Thus were their Rulers like Church Justices.

9. spec. In Great Britain and the United States: A member of the judicature. a. A judge presiding over or belonging to one of the superior courts, spec., in England, one of the courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer; since the consolidation of the courts in 1875, a member of the Supreme Court of Judicature; formerly applied also to various officers exercising special judicial functions, as the commissioners who governed Ireland during the absence of the Lord Lieutenant or the vacancy of that office.
High Justice (in quot.² 1297) = justiciar 1. Chief Justice or Lord Chief Justice, formerly, the title of the judges presiding over each of the courts of King's Bench and of Common Pleas; both offices are now merged under the title of Lord Chief Justice of England. The judges of the Court of Appeal are called Lords Justices, and have the style of Right Honourable; a judge of the High Court of Justice is called Mr. Justice, and has the style of Honourable. In the United States Chief Justice is the designation of the presiding judge in the U.S. Supreme Court, and in the supreme court of each state. So elsewhere in places formerly or still under British influence. See also Justice-Clerk, Justice-General.

[1276 Act 4 Edw. I, Acorde est..que Iustices ailent parmi la terre, a enquere e oier et terminer les pleintes e les quereles de trespas.] 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10201 Þe bissopes..amansede vaste Alle þat suich dede dude, king & quene boþe, & hor Iustizes ek. Ibid. 10754 Sire steuene of segraue was imad þo hei iustise In sire hubertes stude de boru. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 319 Al shal be but one courte, And one baroun be iustice. a 1400 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 361 Þe wryt þat me pledeth in þe citee by-fore Justyces. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 81 That same nyght was browte in sir Roger Chamle cheffe justes of the kynges bench, sir Edwarde Montageu cheffe justys of the comyn place. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 33 The Lord chiefe Justice of England in the time of King Henry the fourth, who was so strictly bent to the observation of justice. 1681 Luttrell Brief Rel. 11 May, The lord chief justice Pemberton told him, That..there were three of them, (Mr. justice Jones, Mr. justice Raymond, and my self) of opinion that his plea should be over-ruled. a 1734 North Life Ld. Guildford (1825) I. 196 He was advanced to the post of Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Ibid. 312 This Sir William Scroggs was made Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, while his Lordship sat in the Common Pleas. 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 66 §5 The several Puisne Justices of the Courts of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas respectively. Ibid. §6 The ordinary and additional Judges of the Court of Appeal shall be styled Lord Justices of Appeal. 1883 Wharton's Law-Lex. (ed. 7) 146/1 In 1881, after the promotion of Lord Chief Justice Coleridge to the office of Lord Chief Justice of England, the office [of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas] was abolished..under s. 31 of the Jud. Act 1873, and merged in that of Lord Chief Justice of England. 1890 Gross Gild Merch. II. 16 The burgesses of Beaumaris were summoned before the Justices Itinerant.

fig. 1622 Bp. Hall Serm. v. 129 Every man makes him⁓self a Justice Itinerant, and passeth sentence of all that comes before him. 1633 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (1636) 79 Thy conscience is a Justice Itinerant with thee.

b. A justice of the peace (see next) or other inferior magistrate; esp. in pl. the Justices.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 10 Being..brought before a Justice upon suspition of his wretched living. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. iii. 49 Though wee are Iustices, and Doctors, and Church-men..wee haue some salt of our youth in vs. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. v. ii, A Kins⁓man of Iustice Silence. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones ii. vi, Much less would have satisfied a bench of justices on an order of bastardy. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 12 June, The house was visited by a constable..with a warrant from Justice Buzzard to search the box of Humphry Clinker. 1867 Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 118 §15 Where a child apparently under the age of twelve years is charged before two Justices or a Magistrate.

10. Justice of the peace († Justice of peace): an inferior magistrate appointed to preserve the peace in a county, town, or other district, and discharge other local magisterial functions. Abbreviated J.P. Hence † Justice-of-peaceship.
Justices of the peace were instituted in England in 1327, and are appointed by the sovereign's special commission, directing them, jointly and severally, to keep the peace in the area named. Their principal duties consist in committing offenders to trial before a judge and jury when satisfied that there is a primâ facie case against them, convicting and punishing summarily in minor causes, granting licenses, and acting, if County Justices, as judges at Quarter Sessions. See also quorum.

[1320 Rolls Parlt. I. 379/1 Loco Thome Yngglesthorp nuper assignati Justic. Pacis. 1363 Act 37 Edw. III, c. 12 En les commissionz des iustices de le peace.] 1439 Rolls Parlt. V. 33/1 Yat Justicez of yee Pees haue power to enquer therof. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 106 Maye they bee Iustices of peace, Iustices of Quoram, Iustices of Assises. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 64, I am Robert Shallow..a poore Esquire of this Countie, and one of the Kings Iustices of the Peace. a 1613 Overbury Characters, Meere Common Lawyer Wks. (1856) 86 The stating him in a Justice of peace-ship. 1662–3 Pepys Diary 17 Mar., Our patent to be Justices of the Peace in the City. 1752 Fielding Amelia i. ii, The clerk..doubted whether a justice of peace had any such power. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's xxxii, You will answer the purpose a great deal better..provided you are a justice of peace. 1898 J. K. Jerome Sec. Th. 266 The local J.P. of the period.

IV. Phrases and combinations.
11. Phrase. to do justice to (a person or thing): a. to render (one) what is his due, or vindicate his just claims; to treat (one) fairly by acknowledging his merits or the like; hence, To treat (a subject or thing) in a manner showing due appreciation, to deal with (it) as is right or fitting. to do oneself justice, to perform something one has to do in a manner worthy of one's abilities.

1679 Dryden Troilus & Cr. Pref., I cannot leave this subject before I do justice to that Divine Poet by giving you one of his passionate descriptions. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. ii. i. (1841) I. 171 You must do your Master justice now: for, if I mistake not, you wrong him very much by your own account. 1792 Anecd. W. Pitt III. xxxix. 44 Let me do justice to a man, whose character and conduct have been infamously traduced. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 463 James, to do him justice, would gladly have found out a third way. 1855 Prescott Philip II, ii. vii. I. 216 The abstract here given does no justice to the document. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. II. 114 To the food he did ample justice. Mod. Being nervous in the course of his speech, he did not do himself justice.

† b. To pledge in drinking. Obs.

1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 90 Cas. To the health of our Generall. Mon. I am for it Lieutenant: and Ile do you Iustice. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., I'll do you Justice Sir, I will Pledge you.

12. attrib. and Comb.: attrib., as justice-box, justice-business, justice-day, justice-hall, justice-height, justice-hill, justice-parson, justice-room; objective, etc., as justice-maker; justice-dealing, justice-like, justice-loving, justice-proof, justice-slighting adjs.; justice-broker, a magistrate who ‘sells’ justice; † justice-court, a court of justice; spec. the Court of Justiciary; justice-eyre (-air): see eyre ; justice-seat, seat of justice, judgement-seat; spec. (see quot. 1641).

1820 T. Mitchell Aristoph. I. 53 Their whole soul lodged In the *justice-box, and ne'er so pleased..As when they give some criminal a gripe.

1691 Dryden Amphitryon iv. i. 42 The Devil take all *Justice-brokers.

1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlv, Plunged in *justice-business.

1528 Sc. Acts Jas. V (1597) §7 In the justice aires, or *justice courts. 1596 Dalrymple tr Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 53 The toune of Brichine..quhair is ane..Justice court haldne. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V Wks. (1711) 86 Warden of the east marches, keeping the days of truce and justice-courts.

1616 J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. viii. 348 As if your last howl weare not *iustice day.

1835 Thirlwall Greece I. iv. 80 The *justice-dealing kings, Dorus and Xuthus.

c 1500 Adam Bel 65 She went vnto the *iustice hall.

a 1613 Overbury Characters, Elder Brother Wks. (1856) 67 His ambition flies *justice-height.

1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. i. 76 Turn'd into a *Iustice-like Seruingman.

1845 Miall in Nonconf. V. 197 Impartial and *justice-loving men.

1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 893 (Contents) These *Justice-makers..pretend to derive their factitious Justice from Pacts and Covenants.

1824 Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 48/2 The settlers take the law into their own hands, and give notice to a *justice-proof delinquent to quit the territory.

1809 Sporting Mag. XXXIII. 92 The *justice-room in the Bail of Lincoln.

1548 R. Hutten Sum of Diuinitie R viij b, We must al appeare before the *iustice seate of Christe. 1641 Termes de la Ley 193 b, Iustice seat is the highest Court that is held in a Forest, and it is alwayes held before the Lord chiefe Iustice in Eyre of the Forest. 1848 Wharton Law Lex. s.v. Forest Courts, The court of justice-seat..was a court of record; but since the Revolution in 1688, the forest laws have fallen into total disuse. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. xii. 128 The idlers..gather about the justice-seat.

▪ II. justice, v.
    (ˈdʒʌstɪs)
    Forms: 3–6 -ise(n, 4–7 -ice, 6 -yce, 7– justice.
    [a. AF. justice-r = OF. justicier, -cer, -ser (Pr. justiziar, Pg. justi{cced}ar, It. giustiziare), ad. med.L. justitiāre to exercise justice over, bring to trial, punish, refl. to submit to justice, f. L. justitia justice.]
    † 1. trans. To administer justice to; to rule, govern. Obs.

c 1320 Cast. Love 298 Wiþ oute whom he ne mai His kindom wiþ pees wysen, Ne wiþ rihte hit iustisen. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2230 Regned Rehudybras..To iustice þe folk fol wys he was. 1481 Caxton Godfrey 289 [They] made an hye noble man..named Raoul, for to be kynge, vpon them, by whom they wold be Iustised and gouerned.

† 2. To try in a court of law; to bring to trial; to punish judicially. Obs.

c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 100 Þe kyng in þe courte of þe lay þe clerkes wild justise. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. ix. (1602) 39 The names of such, as (being indited) did flie, and did refuse to be Iustised. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. xxix. ¶5 Perswading the iusticing her. 1732 Neal Hist. Purit. I. 415 The body of a subject is to be justiced secundum legem terrae, as Magna Charta..saith.

3. intr. To administer justice (as a justice of the peace); see justicing vbl. n.