On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
They know not by what law they judge, nor under what authority they act, nor by what tenure they hold.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “They know not by what law they judge, nor under what authority they act, nor by what tenure they hold.”
Editor's note · Context
Criticizing the new judicial system in revolutionary France, Burke highlights the profound uncertainty and lack of legitimate authority under which judges served.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
They look upon the legal hereditary succession of their crown as among their rights, not as among their wrongs,--as a benefit, not as a grievance,--as a security for their liberty, not as a badge of servitude.
Jan 1, 1790
If kings who did not owe their crown to the choice of their people had no title to make laws, what will become of the statute De tallagio non concedendo? of the Petition of Right? of the act of Habeas Corpus?
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The ceremony of cashiering kings, of which these gentlemen talk so much at their ease, can rarely, if ever, be performed without force.
Jan 1, 1790
As he is not to obey us, but we are to obey the law in him, our Constitution has made no sort of provision towards rendering him, as a servant, in any degree responsible.
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