On the record
To be sure, no law can set itself up against the cause and reason of all law; but such a case very rarely happens, and this most certainly is not such a case.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “To be sure, no law can set itself up against the cause and reason of all law; but such a case very rarely happens, and…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that while laws are important, there are exceptional cases where they may not apply.
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Jan 1, 1790
Do they mean to attaint and disable backwards all the kings that have reigned before the Revolution, and consequently to stain the throne of England with the blot of a continual usurpation?
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Those who are servants in name, as well as in effect, do not like to be told of their situation, their duty, and their obligations.
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Governments must be abused and deranged indeed, before it can be thought of; and the prospect of the future must be as bad as the experience of the past.
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By adhering in this manner and on those principles to our forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of antiquarians, but by the spirit of philosophic analogy.
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