“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust.”
英语
“正义是社会制度的首要德性，正如真理是思想体系的首要德性。一个理论，无论多么精致和简洁，如果不真实，就必须被拒绝或修正；同样，法律和制度，无论多么高效和井然有序，如果不正义，就必须被改革或废除。”
“No one deserves his greater natural capacity nor merits a more favorable starting place in society. But it does not follow that one should eliminate these distinctions. Instead, the basic structure can be arranged so that these contingencies work for the good of the least fortunate.”
英语
“没有人配得上他更优越的天赋能力，也没有人有资格享有社会中更有利的起点。但这并不意味着应当消除这些差异。相反，基本结构可以被安排为使这些偶然因素有利于最不幸者。”
“The veil of ignorance ensures that no one is advantaged or disadvantaged in the choice of principles by the outcome of natural chance or the contingency of social circumstances. Since all are similarly situated and no one is able to design principles to favor his particular condition, the principles of justice are the result of a fair agreement.”
英语
“无知之幕确保没有人在原则的选择中因自然机遇的结果或社会境遇的偶然性而处于有利或不利地位。由于所有人处境相似，没有人能设计出偏袒自身特定处境的原则，正义原则就是公平协议的结果。”
“Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others.”
英语
“每个人都拥有一种建基于正义之上的不可侵犯性，即使是整个社会的福利也不能凌驾其上。因此，正义否认一些人失去自由可以因他人分享更大利益而变得正当。”
“Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both reasonably expected to be to everyone's advantage, and attached to positions and offices open to all.”
英语
“社会和经济不平等应被如此安排，以使它们既可以合理地预期对每个人都有利，又与向所有人开放的职位和职务联系在一起。”
“A just society is a society that if you knew everything about it, you'd be willing to enter it in a random place.”
英语
“一个正义的社会是这样的社会：如果你了解关于它的一切，你会愿意在一个随机的位置进入它。”
这是对罗尔斯《正义论》中"无知之幕"概念的通俗意译，并非直接引文。
“In a well-ordered society, citizens know and accept the same principles of justice, and the basic social institutions satisfy and are known to satisfy these principles.”
英语
“在一个秩序良好的社会中，公民知道并接受相同的正义原则，而基本社会制度满足且被公认满足这些原则。”
“The most reasonable political conception of justice for a democratic regime will be, broadly speaking, liberal. This means that it protects the familiar basic rights and assigns them a special priority.”
英语
“对于一个民主政体而言，最合理的政治正义观念将大致而言是自由主义的。这意味着它保护人所熟知的基本权利，并赋予它们特殊的优先性。”