The Greater Trumps: (17) Justice

Justice is a female of stern and unseeing aspect, conventionally portrayed as blind, with the scales in one hand and a sword in the other. This representation has its roots in the Qabbala, and even earlier: it was in the past quite conventional to portray Justice as female and Mercy as male. Only in this present age have these roles been more frequently reversed, to the discomfiture and bane of society.

But why is it that we think of Justice as blind? Some representations have her as fully sighted, the better to assess the findings of the scales and to deliver the judgement of the sword. The idea of 'blind Justice' is a Greek idea - that Justice should be the equal right of all who were qualified to receive it, without fear or favour. This is the seed of an idea - that it is honourable to be perfectly just.

Other cultures were not so idealistic - the Egyptian image of the jackal-headed god Anubis, peering with shrewd and exacting eyes at the scales of justice, comes to mind. Anubis, of course, did not wield a sword; rather, he would have pounced upon the guilty heart and thrown it into the darkness to be devoured. But Anubis was not Justice; rather, he was the Guardian of the Dead, holding a watching brief over the souls undergoing the process of judgement. More a bailiff, perhaps.

The image of Justice, therefore signifies Honour and Rectitude - the righting of the scales for everyone, regardless of place or position.

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I have always thought of Justice as a feminine aspect. My mother could descend upon me and pronounce sentence with exquisite exactness for all my youthful failings. It was my father who was merciful. I will always remember the day my A-level results came out. Mother's response: "Whaaaaat??? That's not very good!" Father's response: "You passed everything? Let's buy a CD player."

And so, to Kipling, and his peculiarly British awareness of God's justice:

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!

It's a sobering thought to realise that in the long term, Justice prevails by balance, by the natural internal adjustment of societal forces. When Justice can no longer prevail, society fails. Sometimes, individuals must take upon themselves the terrible burden of being Justice to the world around them. It is one of the most painful and exacting of burdens.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is...

So said Hopkins, and his Jesuitical eye certainly saw the truth of it.