There ambush here relentless ruffians lay, And here the fell attorney prowls for prey.

As to precedents, to be sure they will increase in course of time; but the more precedents there are, the less occasion is there for law; that is to say, the less occasion is there for investigating principles.

It is one of the maxims of the civil law, that definitions are hazardous.

He who would govern his actions by the laws of virtue must regulate his thoughts by those of reason.

All violation of established practice implies in its own nature a rejection of the common opinion, a defiance of common censure, and an appeal from general laws to private judgment: he, therefore, who differs form others without apparent advantage, ought not to be angry if his arrogance is punished with ridicule; if those whose example he superciliously overlooks, point him out to derision, and hoot him back again into the common road.