Laws were made for rogues.
Meaning: Honest people need no laws; restrictions exist only because dishonest people require external constraints.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in Italian
- Italian: Le leggi sono fatte pei tristi (literally: Laws were made for rogues)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The empty leech sucks sore. — A desperate, unfulfilled person causes more harm than one already satisfied.
- Liars have short wings. — Deceit collapses quickly because falsehoods cannot sustain flight or escape scrutiny long…
- Too much liberty spoils all. — Unlimited freedom without restraint breeds chaos; boundaries enable flourishing.
- While there's life there's hope. — Despair closes doors only death truly opens; circumstances remain changeable while breath…
- Every light has its shadow. — Visibility and prominence inevitably create darkness elsewhere; success or advantage alwa…
- Little bodies have large souls. — Children possess emotional depth and moral capacity that rivals or exceeds that of adults…
From our compliments & insults
- Courir sur le haricot — To get badly on someone's nerves.
- Tienes menos luces que un barco pirata — You're really not the brightest.
- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo — You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.