Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the

Hear the piercing words of Honoré de Balzac, master of observing the hidden gears of society: “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.” These words, spun with the sharpness of irony and sorrow, strip away the veil of justice and reveal the unequal hand of power. They remind us that though the law claims to bind all men equally, in practice it often snares the weak while the powerful slip through untouched, their strength tearing the web as if it were nothing.

The meaning of this saying lies in the nature of the spider web itself. To the small and powerless, it is a deadly trap, silken yet unbreakable. But to the great and mighty, it is fragile, no barrier at all. So too with the law: petty thieves, common workers, and humble citizens feel its weight in full, while those with wealth, connections, or influence find ways to escape. Balzac, who chronicled the corruption of nineteenth-century France, saw clearly how the legal system bent itself to the service of privilege, punishing the small but trembling before the great.

History abounds with examples of this truth. Consider the fate of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, inspired by the injustices of the same era. Valjean was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, caught fast like a little fly in the web of the law. Yet the wealthy industrialists and corrupt politicians of the time, who exploited workers and stole fortunes, slipped through untouched, shielded by power. Though a tale of fiction, it mirrors countless real lives where the law was merciless to the poor but deferential to the mighty.

Even in more modern times, we see the same web. In the great financial crisis of 2008, millions of ordinary people lost homes, jobs, and savings—little flies caught in the strands of contracts and debts. Yet the big flies, the bankers and executives whose reckless dealings brought ruin to nations, escaped prison, shielded by influence and settlements. The spider web of law caught the powerless debtor but let the powerful magnate break through. In this, Balzac’s words echo across centuries, as true in the present as in his own day.

Yet let us not despair, for these words also carry a challenge. If the web is weak against the mighty, then it must be rewoven, strengthened with strands of fairness and courage. The task of every generation is to demand that the law bind the strong as firmly as it binds the weak, that justice be not a mask for power but a shield for all. The ancients knew this: in the Laws of Plato, it is said that where law rules over rulers, there is hope for justice, but where rulers stand above law, there is only tyranny.

The lesson for us is clear: do not be deceived by the claim that laws alone create justice. Justice lives only when laws are enforced without fear or favor. It is our duty as citizens to hold the powerful accountable, to speak when the great would break through the web, and to demand reforms that strengthen the strands of fairness. Without vigilance, the web becomes not a protector but a snare, binding the weak while leaving the powerful free to prey.

Therefore, take action in your own life and community. Support leaders who fight corruption and close the loopholes through which the big flies escape. Stand with the vulnerable who are unjustly ensnared by harsh penalties for small crimes. Remember always that the measure of a society’s justice is not how it treats the mighty, but how it treats the least of its people.

So let Balzac’s words resound in your heart: “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.” Do not accept this as the unchangeable order of the world, but as a warning. For if men have woven laws into webs of injustice, men can also weave them anew into nets of true justice. And when that day comes, both great and small will be held by the same strands, and the name of law will once again be worthy of reverence.