On the record
No one could justify, or excuse, his wrong act, by saying that a power, or authority, to do it had been delegated to him, by any other men, however numerous.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “No one could justify, or excuse, his wrong act, by saying that a power, or authority, to do it had been delegated to…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner argues that individuals cannot excuse wrongful actions by claiming they were following orders from others.
Share
More from Lysander Spooner
They are every day committing errors, which would be crimes, but for their ignorance of the law.
When two men meet one upon the highway, or in the wilderness, have they a right to dispose of his life, liberty, or property at their pleasure, simply because they are the more numerous party?
And yet these reasons, which are really no reasons at all, are the only ones, so far as I know, that have ever been offered for this absurd and brutal doctrine.
Why should they not have such an administration of justice as they desire, and can understand?