On the record
What else than ignorance of the law is it that excuses persons under the years of discretion, and men of imbecile minds?
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “What else than ignorance of the law is it that excuses persons under the years of discretion, and men of imbecile minds?”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner questions the rationale behind excusing individuals with limited understanding of the law.
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More from Lysander Spooner
They do not tell us that all liberty and order would be destroyed, that society itself would go to pieces, and man go back to barbarism, if it were not for the care, and supervision, and protection, they lavish upon us.
On the contrary, they acknowledge themselves robbers, murderers, and villains, pure and simple.
They do not attempt to deceive us, or mislead us, or reconcile us to their doings, by any such pretences, impostures, or insults as these.
For all these reasons, they are not only modest and sensible, but really frank, honest, and honorable villains, contrasted with these courts of injustice, and the lawmakers by whom these courts are established.