“- Yes, they would plunder this orphan, whom I cannot necessarily describe as being young, since he is fifty-seven years old, but it is no less an orphan... yet ..... I am, reassured knowing that justice always keeps an open eye on all guilty manoeuvers....,” plate 11 from Les Gens De Justice 1845

Honoré Daumier crafted this lithograph, “Yes, they would plunder this orphan...," to critique the French justice system. Note the orator, his hand raised in a gesture that echoes classical rhetoric, a symbol of persuasive power since antiquity. Yet, this noble posture is undermined by the judges: one absorbed in paperwork, another nodding off. This divergence is potent. Consider how the raised hand, seen in Roman sculptures of emperors, transforms here into a parody, emptied of its authority. The motif of sleep is particularly compelling, suggesting a detachment from justice, a theme explored across centuries, from medieval morality plays to modern dramas. It reminds us that symbols are never static; they evolve, adapt, and are constantly re-evaluated through the lens of collective memory. The emotional resonance lies in its exposure of hypocrisy.