Literary notes about Equitable (AI summary)
In literature, “equitable” is often invoked to signal a fairness that transcends mere numerical equality by considering context and circumstance. Writers use it to describe balanced distribution—whether dividing wealth or apportioning penalties [1, 2, 3]—and to characterize legal or administrative processes that strive for justice despite inherent imperfections [4, 5, 6]. The term also enriches moral and philosophical discourse by suggesting that right judgment and virtuous conduct inherently demand a balanced, thoughtful approach [7, 8, 9]. Overall, its deployment underscores a commitment to fairness that is as much about measured judgment as it is about equal sharing [10, 11, 12].
- We must also tax our ingenuity to find ways for the equitable division of the wealth and the just use of power.
— from By the Christmas Fire by Samuel McChord Crothers - For the central principle, the more equitable distribution of wealth, no discussion is necessary.
— from Applied Eugenics by Roswell H. (Roswell Hill) Johnson - It seems impossible to imagine a more equitable method of raising a tax.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - The people are not merely to have good laws, well administered; but they must have an equitable mode of making those laws.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - This would neither be equitable as it respected New York nor safe as it respected the other States.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison - Men feel that rules, even if irrational, are universal; men feel that law is equal, even when it is not equitable.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - S. Δίκαιος , αία, αιον, used of things, just equitable, fair, Mat. 20.4.
— from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield - By this spirit of devotion no less than by his equitable and politic administration, he gained, in a good measure, the affections of his subjects.
— from The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part A.From the Britons of Early Times to King John by David Hume - Some ill-conditioned growling fellow may say to me, 'What's the use of these legal and equitable abuses?
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - On what principle, then, can we determine the “fair” or “equitable” price of services?
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick - Several forces, however, worked against this equitable distribution.
— from Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 by Morris J. MacGregor
