People have grown so accustomed to maintaining the external order of life by violence that they cannot imagine a life without violence. And meanwhile, if people are establishing a (superficially) just life by violence, then those people, the ones who are establishing such a life, must know what justice consists in, and must themselves be just. But if it is possible for some people to know what justice consists in and to themselves be just, then why cannot everyone else know this and be just also?
Force is an instrument by means of which the ignorant compel their followers to do things that are contrary to their nature; and (akin to trying to force water to flow above its level) the moment this instrument stops working, its effects also come to an end.
Persuasion, on the other hand, is like a channel made in a river, which is done only so that the river can flow by itself without our attention and effort. There are only two means of directing human actions. The first is to force a human being to act contrary to his inclinations and judgements, and the second is to master his inclinations, to persuade him by reasoning. The former is used by the ignorant, and its consequences are disappointing; the latter is confirmed by experience and is always crowned with success. When a child is screaming for his toy to be given to him, he wants to obtain it by force. When parents beat their children, they are using force to make their children behave. When a drunk husband beats his wife, he does it in view of correcting her by force. When a criminal is punished, it is done to improve the world by force. When a person sues another, he does it to obtain justice through force. When a priest speaks about the horrors of the torments of hell, he does it with the aim of directing his listeners towards heaven by force. When one nation wages war with another, its aim consists in gaining a desirable state of affairs by force. And the surprising thing about all this is that until now ignorance has been leading and continues to lead humankind by the same path of violence, which always has and always will result in disappointment.
— Combe
The right of the strong is not a right but a simple fact, which can be right only when it is not met with protest or resistance. It is like the cold, darkness and heavy loads, which must be endured until one finds warmth, light and levers. All of human industry is liberation from the power of brute nature; the progress of justice, on the other hand, is nothing but a series of limitations imposed on the tyranny of the strong. Just as medicine consists in the victory over disease, so does the good consist in the victory over the blind brutality and unrestrained desires of the human-animal. Thus, I see one and the same law throughout: an ever increasing liberation of the individual and a continuous ascent of the people towards the good, justice and wisdom.
— Amiel
Without God one can coerce but not convince; one can become a tyrant but not a teacher.
— Giuseppe Mazzini
The violence that results in a semblance of justice only moves people further away from the possibility of leading a just life without violence.
Human beings are rational beings who are therefore capable of leading lives guided by reason, and must inevitably replace violence with free consent. Every act of violence they commit delays this.
