'If the law supposes that,' said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, 'the law is a ass - a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience - by experience.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Laws can be foolish if they ignore human reality; experience should correct rigid rules.
- In plain terms
- The law is silly if it doesn't make sense.
- What can you take from it?
- Rules need flexibility to match real life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is a law too rigid?
- How should experience shape rules?
Another view
Laws sometimes need strictness to function, even if they seem harsh.
More from Charles Dickens
Dignity, and even holiness too, sometimes, are more questions of coat and waistcoat than some people imagine.
Permalink to quote #31 Gold conjures up a mist about a man, more destructive of all his old senses and lulling to his feelings than the fumes of charcoal.
Permalink to quote #33 'It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper,' said Mr. Bumble. 'So cry away.'
Permalink to quote #30
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