"The name of Sir Edward Coke, who lived from 1551 to 1634, is important in the development of English historical study, the evolution of the common law, and the parliamentary conflict with the early Stuarts. Coke used the historical methods of the time in order to magnify the claims of the common law; in order to codify our legal traditions in opposition to royal authority; and, particularly in the 1620's, in order to provide the House of Commons with material for a conflict with the crown on questions of historical interpretation. He helped to secure that the traditional system of English law should win the victory in the 17th century not only over the king but also over rival systems of law which could claim to be perhaps more efficient, perhaps even more up-to-date"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Politicians from EnglandPolitical leadersNon-fiction authors from EnglandLawyers from EnglandJudges from England
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Herbert Butterfield, The Englishman and His History (1944), pp. 47-48
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Coke
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke (1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English Judge and jurist and later a politician whose writings on the English common law were definitive legal texts for some 300 years.
41 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Edward Coke →
Related Quotes
"They (corporations) cannot commit treason, nor be outlawed nor excommunicate, for they have no souls."
"A word must become a friend or you will not understand it. Perhaps you do well to be cool and detached when you are s…"
"Fraud and deceit abound in these days more than in former times."
"Every libel, which is called famosus libellus, is made either against a private man, or against a public person. If i…"
"Law is the safest helmet."
"When poor England stood alone, and had not the access of another kingdom, and yet had more and as potent enemies as n…"
"Magna Charta is such a fellow, that he will have no sovereign."
"Six hours in sleep, in law's grave study six, Four spend in prayer, the rest on Nature fix."
"The gladsome light of jurisprudence."
"The house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defence against injury and violence as f…"