Justice & Law Quote by John Jewel

Certainty is the point, and certainty is the weapon. John Jewel, a leading Elizabethan churchman, isn’t merely praising divine law; he’s staking a political claim with theological ink. By insisting the law of God "came from heaven indeed" and was "wrote... with his finger", Jewel is doing two things at once: grounding authority in an origin no earthly institution can revise, and sidelining rival sources of legitimacy - especially Rome, tradition, and the messy, negotiable business of human law.

The phrasing is strategic in its concreteness. God has a hand. A finger. Writing. It’s a deliberate push against the idea that doctrine is a slow, communal accretion. If God authored it directly, debate starts to look like disobedience. That’s the subtext: continuity and control. "Fountain of all wisdom" turns obedience into rationality; to dissent isn’t just sinful, it’s foolish. Jewel’s "therefore" is the rhetorical hinge that makes eternity feel like common sense: if it’s divine, it must be permanent.

Context sharpens the intent. Mid-16th-century England was still metabolizing the Reformation, toggling between Catholic and Protestant settlements under different monarchs. Jewel became famous for defending the Church of England’s legitimacy, arguing it was returning to true, ancient Christianity. This line works as a stabilizer in an age of institutional whiplash: regimes change, parliaments legislate, but God’s law is framed as a fixed spine running through the chaos. It’s reassurance for believers, and a warning to opponents: you can contest the crown, but you can’t outvote heaven.