AN EARLY EGYPTIAN REPRESENTATION OF JUSTICE
“The Judgment of the Dead” as illustrated by innumerable paintings on the walls of Egyptian temples and tombs.
Moreover the religious element worked to the same end. Wickedness was held to be an injury to the deity, whose anger would be visited upon the entire land—a conception that lasted far into the Middle Ages, and according to which the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah was held to be typical of the effect of the curse of God. Already in primitive times religion led to a strange idea of justice—secret societies consecrated by the deity took upon themselves the function of enforcing right, instituting reigns of terror in their districts, maintaining order in society, and claiming authorisation from the god with whose spirit they were permeated. Later, influenced by all these causes, the social aggregate took over the control of justice. It was already considered to be the upholder of right, the servant of the deity, the maintainer of public peace, the dispenser of atoning sacrifices, etc.; and so the various elements conceived of as justice, which had previously been distributed among the single families, tribes, associations, and societies, were combined, and placed under state control.
AN EARLY CONCEPTION OF THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE: THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON
Reproduced from the picture by the French artist, Nicolas Poussin, who flourished in the first half of the seventeenth century.
LARGER IMAGE
THE MODERN IDEAL OF JUSTICE
From the fresco by Gerald Moira in the New Central Criminal Court, London. Most of the figures are studies from well-known public men of recent years.