The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If "Thou shall not covet," and "Thou shall not steal," are not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.
To livePlain folks call "Theft."
No Indian prince has to his palaceMore followers than a thief to the gallows.
Kill a man's family, and he may brook it,But keep your hands out of his breeches' pocket.
When the ideal of Society is material gain or possession, as it is largely today, the object of its special condemnation is the thief – not the rich thief, for he is already in possession and therefore respectable, but the poor thief.
The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property.
Thieves respect property; they merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.
There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast.
Diogenes ... saw the officials of a temple leading away someone who had stolen a bowl belonging to the treasurers, and said, "The great thieves are leading away the little thief."
All stealing is comparative. If you come to absolutes, pray who does not steal?
All over Tibet I had seen men who had been deprived of an arm or a leg for theft (...) Penal amputations were done without antiseptics or sterile dressings.
If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.
The Friar preached against stealing, and had a goose in his sleeve.
Opulence is always the result of theft, if not committed by the actual possessor, then by his predecessor.
If something is stolen from you, don't go to the police. They're not interested. Don't go to a psychologist either, because he's interested in only one thing: that it was really you who did the stealing.
I have a steed, to leave behindBy my high heart and strong right hand.
Should the unemployed ... do in a small way, what the rich do daily with impunity on a grand scale, should he, in fact, steal, in order to live - the bourgeoisie will heap burning coals of "moral indignation" upon his head, and, with austere visage, hand him over relentlessly in charge of the State, that in its prisons he may be fleeced the more effectively, i.e., cheaper.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Let there be the curse of Allah upon the thief who steals an egg and his hand is cut off, and steals a rope and his hand is cut off.
The stinking puddle from which usury, thievery and robbery arises is our lords and princes. They make all creatures their property—the fish in the water, the birds in the air, the plant in the earth must all be theirs. Then they proclaim God's commandments among the poor and say, "You shall not steal."
The male thief, and the female thief, you shall mark, cut, or cut-off their hands/means as a recompense for what they earned, and to serve as a deterrent from God. God is Noble, Wise. Whoever repents after his wrongdoing and makes amends, then God will relent on him. Truly, God is Forgiving, Merciful.
What has to be explained is not the fact that the man who is hungry steals or the fact that the man who is exploited strikes, but why the majority of those who are hungry don’t steal and why the majority of those who are exploited don’t strike.
When as the sheriff of Nottingham That strong and sturdy thief.
Theft is only punished because it violates the right of property; but this right is itself nothing in origin but theft.
Thou hast stolen both mine office and my name;The one ne'er got me credit, the other mickle blame.
A cutpurse of the empire and the rule,And put it in his pocket!
A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true one to another!
Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourselfAre much condemn'd to have an itching palm.
The robb'd that smiles steals something from the thief:He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.
He that is robb'd, not wanting what is stol'n,Let him not know't, and he's not robb'd at all.
In limited professions there's boundless theft.
The sun's a thief, and with his great attractionHave uncheck'd theft.
A thief is a lion, but after he has been caught, he will be a slave.
Suppose to-day Negroes do steal; who was it that for centuries made stealing a virtue by stealing their labor?
Who steals a bugle-horn, a ring, a steed, Who robs us of our fame, our best possession.
To keep my hands from picking and stealing.
'Tis bad enough in man or womanWho steals a common from the goose.
In vain we call old notions fudge And stealing will continue stealing.
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Well, well, be it so, thou strongest thief of all,For thou hast stolen my will, and made it thine.