Question:medium

'What are States without justice, but robber bands enlarged?' asked:

Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • St. Aquinas
  • St. Augustine
  • St. Joseph
  • St. Patrick
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

This is another quote to source question from political and legal theory, and the fastest way to answer it is to recall which classical text uses the striking "robber bands" image to argue that justice is what legitimises a state.

  1. St. Aquinas: his natural law writing in the "Summa Theologica" focuses on defining law as an ordinance of reason for the common good, a different style of argument from this quote.
  2. St. Augustine: in "City of God", Augustine asks exactly this question to argue that a state without justice is no different from a large gang of robbers, using the anecdote of a captured pirate who tells Alexander the Great that they both do the same thing, just at different scales. This is the direct source of the quoted line.
  3. St. Joseph: not connected to any recognised work of political or legal philosophy.
  4. St. Patrick: remembered as a missionary, not as a source of jurisprudential writing.

Let's summarize:

  • The line comes from Augustine's "City of God", Book IV.
  • Augustine uses it to argue that justice, not mere power, is what makes a kingdom legitimate rather than organised robbery.

The quote is asked by St. Augustine.

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