Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

Another quote →

Notes from Wikiquote

Cf. Russell (1928), Sceptical Essays, «It is obvious that "obscenity" is not a term capable of exact legal definition; in the practice of the Courts, it means "anything that shocks the magistrate".»

More quotes by Bertrand Russell

All Bertrand Russell quotes →

Attribution

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