Skip to content

This statute is indeed as obscure a one as any in the statute-book : it is difficult to ascertain its true meaning. Therefore I do not chuse to give any direct opinion about its extent; unless it should become absolutely necessary for me to do so.

— William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield

Another quote →

More quotes by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield

An estimated value is a precarious measure of justice, compared with the specific thing.

Fisher v. Prince (1762)

A man wants no protection when his conduct is strictly right.

Bird v. Gunston (1785)

No degree of antiquity can give sanction to a usage bad in itself.

The air of England has long been too pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it.

God forbid that the defendant should not be allowed the benefit of every advantage he is entitled to by law.

All William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.