Every Law in England

Recently some people seem to advocate abrogating laws in order to achieve ends that they believe worth the price. This brings me to mind of an exchange in Robert Bolt's play "A Man for All Seasons", in which Thomas More talks with his ambitious underling, William Roper:

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: "I'd cut down every law in England to do that."

More: "Oh, and when the last law was down, and the devil turned on you, where would you hide, Roper, all the laws 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 -- do you really think that you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?

"Yes, I'd give the devil the benefit of the law, for my own safety's sake."

-Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons


See also the 1966 movie version.

The whole exchange, comparing man's law with God's law, also seems to be relevant to recent politics.

More is definitely the hero in Bolt's play, but was not entirely a good guy in real-world history. For more about More, try, for example, God's Bestseller : William Tyndale, Thomas More, and the writing of the English Bible--a story of martyrdom and betrayal by Brian Moynahan.

page by Geoffrey A. Landis, 2005.