WIST Quotations

Hitchens, Christopher -- Essay (2004-02), “I Fought the Law,” Vanity Fair

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:33:56 +0000

The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law.

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) English intellectual, polemicist, socio-political critic
Essay (2004-02), “I Fought the Law,” Vanity Fair
(Source)

Collected as "I Fought the Law in Bloomburg's New York," Love, Poverty, and War (2004).

Shakespeare, William -- Merchant of Venice, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 77ff (3.2.77-79) (1597)

Dave — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:14:51 +0000

BASSANIO: In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Merchant of Venice, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 77ff (3.2.77-79) (1597)
(Source)

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1713-07-04), The Guardian, No. 99

Dave — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:33:00 +0000

When a nation once loses its regard to justice; when they do not look up it as something venerable, holy and inviolable; when any of them dare presume to lessen, affront or terrify those who have the distribution of it in their hands; when a judge is capable of being influenced by any thing that is foreign to its own merits, we may venture to pronounce that such a nation is hastening to its ruin.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1713-07-04), The Guardian, No. 99
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Pro Caecina [For Aulus Caecina], ch. 26 / sec. 73 (c. 69 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2013)]

Dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:16:23 +0000

What is the law? A thing that ought neither to be swayed by favor, nor be shattered by force, nor be corrupted by power.

[Quod enim est ius civile? Quod neque inflecti gratia neque perfringi potentia neque adulterari pecunia debeat.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Pro Caecina [For Aulus Caecina], ch. 26 / sec. 73 (c. 69 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2013)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

For, indeed, what is the civil law? A thing which can neither be bent by influence, nor broken down by power, nor adulterated by corruption.
[tr. Yonge (1856)]

How may we describe it? The law is that which influence cannot bend, nor power break, nor wealth corrupt.
[tr. Grose Hodge (Loeb) (1927)]

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 19, ch. 14 (1748) [tr. Nugent (1750)]

Dave — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:22:32 +0000

We have said that the laws were the particular and precise institutions of a legislator, and manners and customs the institutions of a nation in general. Hence it follows that when these manners and customs are to be changed, it ought not to be done by laws; this would have too much the air of tyranny: it would be better to change them by introducing other manners and other customs.

[Nous avons dit que les loix étoient des institutions particulieres & précises du législateur, & les mœurs & les manieres des institutions de la nation en général. De-là il suit que, lorsque l’on veut changer les mœurs & les manieres, il ne faut pas les changer par les loix ; cela paroîtroit trop tyrannique: il vaut mieux les changer par d’autres mœurs & d’autres manieres.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 19, ch. 14 (1748) [tr. Nugent (1750)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

We have said that the laws were the particular and precise institutions of the legislator and the mores and manners, the instructions of the nation in general. From this it follows that when one wants to change the mores and manners, one must not change them by the law, as this would appear to be too tyrannical; it would be better to change them by other mores and other manners.
[tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

We have said that laws were particular and precise institutions of the legislator, and the morals and the manners institutions of the nation as a whole. Whence it follows that when you want to change morals and manners, you should not do it by laws, which would appear too tyrannical; it is better to change them with other morals and manners.
[tr. Stewart (2018)]

Montesquieu -- Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 14 “Tiberius” (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Lowenthal (1965)]

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 22:41:23 +0000

No tyranny is more cruel than the one practiced in the shadow of the laws and under color of justice — when, so to speak, one proceeds to drown the unfortunate on the very plank by which they had saved themselves.

[Il n’y a point de plus cruelle tyrannie que celle que l’on exerce à l’ombre des lois et avec les couleurs de la justice, lorsqu’on va, pour ainsi dire, noyer des malheureux sur la planche même sur laquelle ils s’étaient sauvés.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 14 “Tiberius” (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Lowenthal (1965)]
(Source)

Often mis-cited to his Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois] (1748).

(Source (French)). Other translations:

No tyranny can have a severer effect that that which is exercised under the appearance of laws, and with the plausible colours of justice, when the executors of cruel power would, if we may use the expression, drown the unhappy wretches on the very plank that before saved them admidst the troubled waves.
[tr. B--- (1734)]

There is no tyranny more cruel than that which is perpetrated under the color of the laws and in the name of justice -- when, so to speak, one is drawn down and drowned by means of the very plank which should have borne him up and saved his life.
[tr. Baker (1882)]

There is no tyranny more cruel than that which is exercised within the shade of the law and with the colours of justice.
[E.g.]

There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.
[E.g.]

There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.
[E.g.]

Montesquieu -- Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 8 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Lowenthal (1965)]

Dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 03:44:37 +0000

In a word, a free government — that is, a government constantly subject to agitation — cannot last if it is not capable of being corrected by its own laws.

[En un mot, un gouvernement libre, c’est-à-dire toujours agité, ne saurait se maintenir s’il n’est, par ses propres lois, capable de correction.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 8 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Lowenthal (1965)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

In a word, a free government, that is to say, one for ever in motion, cannot support itself, unless its own laws are capable of correcting the disorders of it.
[tr. B--- (1734)]

In a word, a free government -- that is to say, one which is constantly agitated -- can never maintain itself if it is not, by its own laws, capable of correction.
[tr. Baker (1882)]

Hewart, Gordon -- Rex v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy, [1924] 1 KB 256, [1923] EWHC KB 1, [1924] KB 256 (1923-11-09) [unanimous decision]

Dave — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 23:08:57 +0000

Nothing is to be done which creates even a suspicion that there has been an improper interference with the course of justice.

Hewart, Gordon -- Rex v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy, [1924] 1 KB 256, [1923] EWHC KB 1, [1924] KB 256 (1923-11-09) [unanimous decision]

Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 19:39:11 +0000

It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.

Gordon Hewart (1870-1943) British politician and jurist; Lord Chief Justice of England (1922-1940)
Rex v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy, [1924] 1 KB 256, [1923] EWHC KB 1, [1924] KB 256 (1923-11-09) [unanimous decision]
(Source)

Often shortened to "Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done."

Overturning on appeal the dangerous driving conviction of McCarthy, on discovery that the clerk to the judges of the case was also employed by the law firm seeking civil damages against McCarthy, and was with the judges during their deliberation. While the High Court did not believe there had been any actual impropriety, the ruling established the principle that even the appearance of bias was enough to overturn a court decision.

For more on this case, see:

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Precedent,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 20:26:42 +0000

PRECEDENT, n. In Law, a previous decision, rule or practice which, in the absence of a definite statute, has whatever force and authority a Judge may choose to give it, thereby greatly simplifying his task of doing as he pleases. As there are precedents for everything, he has only to ignore those that make against his interest and accentuate those in the line of his desire.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Precedent,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)

Originally published in the "Cynic's Word Book" column in the New York American (1906-04-06), and the "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1906-04-11).

Sidney, Algernon -- Discourses Concerning Government, ch. 3, § 15 (1689)

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 23:24:25 +0000

For this reason, the law is established which no passion can disturb. It is void of desire and fear, lust and anger. It is mens sine affectu, written reason, retaining some measure of the divine perfection. It does not enjoin that which pleases a weak, frail man; but, without any regard to persons, commands that which is good, and punishes evil in all, whether rich or poor, high or low. It is deaf, inexorable, inflexible.

Algernon Sidney (1623-1683) English politician, republican political theorist [also Sydney]
Discourses Concerning Government, ch. 3, § 15 (1689)
(Source)

The Latin means "mind without emotion."

John Adams was a huge fan of Sidney (whose republican / anti-monarchical writings against King Charles II, leading to his execution, had significant impact on many of the Founders). Adams incorporated the above speech into the closing arguments of his legal defense of the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trials (1770-12-04). Because of that use, Adams is often cited for the above quote, though he clearly attributed it to Sidney.

To the above, Adams added this, the last line of his closing:

On the one hand it is inexorable to the cries and lamentations of the prisoners; on the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace.

Goethe, Johann von -- Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Rönnfeldt (1900)]

Dave — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:45:57 +0000

Justice insists on obligation, law on decorum. Justice is critical and discriminating; law is supervisory and commanding. Justice refers to the individual, law to the community.

[Das Recht dringt auf Schuldigkeit, die Polizei aufs Geziemende. Das Recht ist abwägend und entscheidend, die Polizei überschauend und gebietend. Das Recht bezieht sich auf den Einzelnen, die Polizei auf die Gesamtheit.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Rönnfeldt (1900)]
(Source)

From Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years (1829).

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

Justice insists on obligation, law on decorum. Justice weighs and decides, law superintends and orders. Justice refers to the individual, law to society.
[tr. Saunders (1893), "Life and Character," sec. 1, # 50]

Law deals with guilt, the police with what is fitting. Law considers and decides, the police surveys and commands. Law is concerned with the individual, the police with the community.
[tr. Stopp (1995), #544]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1737 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 16:55:23 +0000

Don’t misinform your Doctor nor your Lawyer.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1737 ed.)
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Justice,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:12:16 +0000

JUSTICE, n. A commodity which in a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes, and personal service.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Justice,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1886-01-09).

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1715-12-26), The Freeholder, No. 2

Dave — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:05:29 +0000

I have lived in one Reign, when the Prince, instead of invigorating the Laws of our Country, or giving them their proper Course, assumed a Power of dispensing with them: And in another, when the Sovereign was flattered by a Set of Men into a Persuasion, that the Regal Authority was unlimited and uncircumscribed. In either of these Cases, good Laws are at best but a dead Letter; and by shewing the People how happy they ought to be, only serve to aggravate the Sense of their Oppressions.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1715-12-26), The Freeholder, No. 2
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- A Little Book in C Major, ch. 4, § 7 (1916)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:00:31 +0000

A fine is a bribe paid by a rich man to escape the lawful penalty of his crime. In China such bribes are paid to the judge personally. In America they are paid to him as agent for the public. But it makes no difference to the men who pay them, nor to the men who can’t pay them.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 4, § 7 (1916)
(Source)

Variants:

FINE. A bribe paid by a rich man to escape the lawful penalty of his crime. In China such bribes are paid to the judge personally; in America they are paid to him as agent for the public. But it makes no difference to the men who pay them -- nor to the men who can't pay them.
[A Book of Burlesques, "The Jazz Webster" (1924)]

Fine -- A bribe paid by a rich man to escape the lawful penalty of his crime. In China such bribes are paid to the judge personally; in America they are paid to him as agent for the public. But it makes no difference to the men who pay them -- nor to the men who can’t pay them.
[Chrestomathy, ch. 30 "Sententiae" (1949)]

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 18:25:39 +0000

For the moral point of this matter is never reached by calling what happened by the name of “genocide” or by counting the many millions of victims: the extermination of whole peoples had happened before in antiquity, as well as in modern colonization. It is reached only when we realize that this happened within the frame of a legal order and that the cornerstone of this “new law” consisted of the command “Thou shalt kill,” not thy enemy but innocent people who were not even potentially dangerous, and not for any reason of necessity but, on the contrary, even against all military and other utilitarian considerations.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine
(Source)

Collected in Responsibility and Judgment, Part 1 "Responsibility" (2003).

Benedict, Ruth -- Patterns of Culture, ch. 8 “The Individual and Culture” (1934)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:50:58 +0000

Society is only incidentally and in certain cases regulative, and law is no equivalent to the social order. […] Even in our civilization the law is never more than a crude implement of society, and one it is often enough necessary to check in its arrogant career. It is never to be read off as if it were the equivalent of the social order.

Ruth Benedict (1887-1947) American anthropologist
Patterns of Culture, ch. 8 “The Individual and Culture” (1934)
(Source)

White, Ken -- “Fault Lines” blog, Mimeslaw.com (8 Jun 2016)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 22:28:13 +0000

Despite what Hollywood would lead you to believe, we criminal defense attorneys do not advocate lenient sentences for all wrongdoers as a matter of policy. […] Our role is to stand beside our clients, no matter who they are or what they did, and be their advocates, the one person required to plead their case and argue their interests. This is the closest our society comes to grace or humility. It’s grace because we give this support to defendants whether they deserve it by any objective measure, and it’s humility because we know the system is so capable of grave error in accusing and punishing.

Ken White (b. c. 1969) American constitutional and criminal attorney, prosecutor, blogger
“Fault Lines” blog, Mimeslaw.com (8 Jun 2016)
(Source)

Bastiat, Frederic -- Economic Sophisms [Sophismes Économiques], 2nd Series, ch. 1 “Physiology of Plunder [Physiologie de la Spoliation]” (1848) [tr. Goddard (1964)]

Dave — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 02:05:46 +0000

When plunder has become a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.

[Lorsque la Spoliation est devenue le moyen d’existence d’une agglomération d’hommes unis entre eux par le lien social, ils se font bientôt une loi qui la sanctionne, une morale qui la glorifie.]

Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) French philosopher, economist, politician
Economic Sophisms [Sophismes Économiques], 2nd Series, ch. 1 “Physiology of Plunder [Physiologie de la Spoliation]” (1848) [tr. Goddard (1964)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

When Spoliation has once become the recognised means of existence of a body of men united and held together by social ties, they soon proceed to frame a law which sanctions it, and to adopt a system of morals which sanctifies it.
[tr. Stirling (1873)]

When Plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.
[tr. Goddard (variant/paraphrase)]

~Other -- Magna Carta, Clause 39 (1215)

Dave — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:11:51 +0000

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, no will we send against him except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Magna Carta, Clause 39 (1215)

La Follette, Suzanne -- Concerning Women (1926)

Dave — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 22:36:27 +0000

Nothing could be more grotesquely unjust than a code of morals, reinforced by laws, which relieves men from responsibility for irregular sexual acts, and for the same acts drives women to abortion, infanticide, prostitution, and self-destruction.

Suzanne La Follette (1893-1983) American journalist, author, feminist
Concerning Women (1926)
(Source)

Lee, Harper -- To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 20 (1960)

Dave — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 18:54:40 +0000

But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal — there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be in the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.

Harper Lee (1926-2016) American writer [Nellie Harper Lee]
To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 20 (1960)

Adams, John -- Speech (1770-12-04), “Argument in Defence of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials”

Dave — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 05:16:38 +0000

The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuations of the passions, or flights of enthusiasm, will preserve a steady undeviating course; it will not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations, and wanton tempers of men. […] On the one hand it is inexorable to the cries and lamentations of the prisoners; on the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Speech (1770-12-04), “Argument in Defence of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials”
(Source)

At the ellipses, Adams included Algernon Sidney's comments on the steady, dispassionate strength of the law.

Justinian I -- Code of Justinian (533)

Dave — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 13:27:23 +0000

The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give everyone his due.

Justinian I (c. 482-565) Byzantine emperor [Justinian the Great]
Code of Justinian (533)

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Discourses on Livy, Book 1, Introduction (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Dave — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:01:57 +0000

Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Discourses on Livy, Book 1, Introduction (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Alt. trans.: "It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope." [Discourse upon the First Ten Books of Livy, Book 1, ch. 3 (1513-18) [tr. Gilbert]]

Thoreau, Henry David -- Essay (1849-05), “Resistance to Civil Government [On the Duty of Civil Disobedience],” Æsthetic Papers, No. 1, Article 10

Dave — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:14:18 +0000

Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
Essay (1849-05), “Resistance to Civil Government [On the Duty of Civil Disobedience],” Æsthetic Papers, No. 1, Article 10
(Source)

Based on an 1848 lecture at the Concord Lyceum.

Adams, John -- Essay (1775-03-06), “Novanglus,” No. 7, Boston Gazette

Dave — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:44:54 +0000

They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Essay (1775-03-06), “Novanglus,” No. 7, Boston Gazette
(Source)

This series of essays was written by Adams under the pseudonym of "Novanglus" (Latin for "New England") responding to essays from his past friend Daniel Leonard as "Massachusettensis" on colonial leadership and what the proper relationship was between the American colonies and Britain.

Adams credited the concept of the line above to Aristotle, Livy, and specifically to James Harrington (1611-77), who (also crediting Aristotle and Livy) wrote in The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656) of "government [...] is the empire of laws and not of men," "a commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men," and "a commonwealth is a government of laws and not of men."

Adams later used the term ("government of laws and not of men") in the Massachusetts Constitution, Bill of Rights, Article 30 (1780), enforcing a separation of powers between the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:26:38 +0000

You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you’re going to have to stand up for stuff you don’t believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don’t, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person’s obscenity is another person’s art. Because if you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

Hobbes, Thomas -- Leviathan, Part 4, ch. 46 (1651)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

What man […] believes the law can hurt him; that is, words and paper, without hands and swords of men?

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) English philosopher
Leviathan, Part 4, ch. 46 (1651)
(Source)

Countering the argument in Aristotle's Politics, which asserts that laws should govern, not men.

Often attributed to John Harrington, who quoted Hobbes in his The Commonwealth of Oceana, Part 1 (1656).

Bolt, Robert -- A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

ROPER: So, now you’d give the Devil the benefit of law!

MORE: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

ROPER: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!

MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast — Man’s laws, not God’s — and if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it — d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.

Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)
(Source)

Bolt's 1966 film adaptation uses the same language, with slightly variant punctuation. As well, the film ends the scene here, where the play continues with further dialog. (Source (Video); dialog verified.)