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In all tyrannical governments the supreme magistracy, or the right both of making and of enforcing the laws, is vested in one and the same man, or one and the same body of men; and wherever these two powers are united together, there can be no public liberty.

— William Blackstone

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More quotes by William Blackstone

It is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765)

Time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765)

That the king can do no wrong, is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution.

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765)

Nothing therefore is to be more avoided, in a free constitution, than uniting the provinces of a judge and a minister of state.

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765)

What they do, no authority upon earth can undo.

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765)

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