CROMWELL: Yet is there a man in this court, is there a man in this country, who does not know Sir Thomas More’s opinion of this title? Of course not! But how can that be? Because this silence betokened — nay, this silence was — not silence at all, but most eloquent denial!
MORE: (with some of the academic’s impatience for a shoddy line of reasoning) Not so, Mr. Secretary, the maxim is “qui tacet consentire”: The maxim of the law is: (very carefully) “Silence Gives Consent .” If therefore you wish to construe what my silence “betokened,” you must construe that I consented, not that I denied.
CROMWELL: Is that in fact what the world construes from it? Do you pretend that is what you wish the world to construe from it?
MORE: The world must construe according to its wits. This court must construe according to the law.
Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 2 (1960)
(Source)
During More's treason trial for, without giving a reason, refusing to take an oath that the King of England also held the title "Supreme Head of the Church in England."
Bolt's 1966 film adaptation uses nearly the same lines (Source (Video); dialog verified):CROMWELL: Yet is there a man in this court, is there a man in this country, who does not know Sir Thomas More's opinion of this title?
GALLERY: No!
CROMWELL: Yet how can this be? Because this silence betokened -- nay, this silence was -- not silence at all, but most eloquent denial!
MORE: Not so. Not so, Master Secretary, the maxim is "qui tacet consentire": The maxim of the law is "Silence Gives Consent." If therefore you wish to construe what my silence "betokened," you must construe that I consented, not that I denied.
CROMWELL: Is that in fact what the world construes from it? Do you pretend that is what you wish the world to construe from it?
MORE: The world must construe according to its wits. This court must construe according to the law.
Quotations about:
inference
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Most often people seek in life occasions for persisting in their opinions rather than for educating themselves.
André Gide (1869-1951) French author, Nobel laureate
“An Unprejudiced Mind,” sec. 1, Pretexts (1959) [ed. O’Brien (1964)]
(Source)
WARWICK: So bad a death argues a monstrous life.
HENRY: Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry VI, Part 2, Act 3, sc. 3, l. 30ff (3.3.30-31) (1591)
(Source)
There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally; in every interpretation we must pass between Scylla and Charybdis; and I certainly do not wish to add to the barrels of ink that have been spent in logging the route. As nearly as we can, we must put ourselves in the place of those who uttered the words, and try to divine how they would have dealt with the unforeseen situation; and, although their words are by far the most decisive evidence of what they would have done, they are by no means final.
Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist
Guiseppi v. Walling, 144 F.2d 608, 624 (2d Cir. 1944) [concurring]
(Source)
