"There is no presumption in this country that every person knows the law: it would be contrary to common sense and reason if it were so."

William Henry Maule Law See all quotes by William Henry Maule →

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“An enactment for the favour and liberty of the subject ought to have a liberal construction.”

“As the crow flies"—a popular and picturesque expression to denote a straight line.”

“After a hard frost a man might wake in the morning and find he was breaking a covenant.”

“Nominal damages are in effect, only a peg to hang costs on.”

“My lords, we are vertebrate animals, we are mammalia! My learned friend's manner would be intolerable in Almighty God to a black beetle.”

“You silly old fool, you don't even know the alphabet of your own silly old business.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Now, there were many reasons why the south did not appeal to the right of revolution. One reason was that there were no abuses that they had been subject to, comparable to the ones enumerated in the D…"

— Harry V. Jaffa

Philosophy1918–2015

#philosophy

"I have inherited this sense that seriousness does not necessarily go with grief, or seriousness does not necessarily go with joy, which to me is not glee, actually. Joy is this very complex, full, rig…"

— Ross Gay

Literature1974

#philosophy

"A treatise on mental dietetics would be imperfect without some special notice of that most irrational and melancholy of all human torments, hypochondriasis. Reason, morality, wit, and even religion, h…"

— Ernst

Religion1895–1998

#humor

"Certainly, the contradiction of tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied. However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideologic…"

— Pope Benedict XVI

Religion1927–2022

#philosophy