Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC, formerly /ˈkuːk/; 1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English barrister, judge and, later, opposition politician, who is considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle-class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the Bar on 20 April 1578. As a barrister he took part in several notable cases, including Slade's Case,...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth1 February 1552
The gladsome light of jurisprudence.
We have a maxim in the House of Commons, and written on the walls of our houses, that old ways are the safest and surest ways.
How long soever it hath continued, if it be against reason, it is of no force in law.
It is not easy to make a simile go on all-fours.
Don't quote the distinction, for the honour of my lord Coke.
We have a saying in the House of Commons; that old ways are the safest and surest ways.
Law is the safest helmet.
Common law is common right.
Every libel, which is called famosus libellus, is made either against a private man, or against a public person. If it be against a private man, it deserves a severe punishment.
It is a fiction, a shade, a nonentity, but a reality for legal purposes. A corporation aggregate is only in abstracto—it is invisible, immortal, and rests only in intendment and consideration of the law.
There is no jewel in the world comparable to learning; no learning so excellent as knowledge of laws.
Force ought to follow justice and not to precede.
A witch is a person who hath conference with the Devil to consult with him or to do some act.
Where there are many counsellors there is safety.