Philosophy

"The just man justices"

Some lines from Hopkins, quoted before:

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves--goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.
Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;

I quote just this much because the whole poem is so rich one might miss this bit, and the paradox in it is a very important ethical thesis. One generally thinks that justice is a virtue of self-abnegation, of pulling back or holding back or sacrificing to make room for others. To my knowledge, no one except Hopkins has said that -- at least for some people -- the most extreme expression of the self IS justice. That's worth a moment of pause.