James Otis

James Otis
James Otis Jr.was a lawyer in colonial Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts provincial assembly, and an early advocate of the Patriot views against British policy that led to the American Revolution. His catchphrase "Taxation without representation is tyranny" became the basic Patriot position...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLawyer
Date of Birth5 February 1725
CityBarnstable, MA
CountryUnited States of America
hands dying slavery
I will to my dying day oppose, with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand and villainy on the other as this Writ of Assistance is.
book opportunity hands
And I take this opportunity to declare, that ...I will to my dying day oppose, with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand, and villainy on the other, as this writ of assistance is. It appears to me...the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty, and the fundamental principles of the constitution, that ever was found in an English law-book.
hands sweat divine-right
I am forced to get my living by the labour of my hand; and the sweat of my brow... for bitter bread, earned under the frowns of some who have no natural or divine right to be above me, and entirely owe their grandeur and honor to grinding the faces of the poor...
argue cause charged
I was solicited to argue this cause as Advocate-General; and, because I would not, I have been charged with desertion from my office.
If we are not represented, we are slaves.
care clear soon truth
It is a clear truth that those who every day barter away other men's liberty will soon care little for their own.
guarded house prince whilst
A man's house is his castle; and whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his castle.
books concerning general honors justice office peace search suspected warrants
Your Honors will find in the old books concerning the office of a justice of the peace precedents of general warrants to search suspected houses.
assist command enter third
In the third place, a person with this writ, in the daytime, may enter all houses, shops, etc., at will, and command all to assist him.
days mechanic served
I only served with them 64 days as a mechanic in Italy,
void constitution natural
An act against the Constitution is void; an act against natural equity is void.
thinking names soul
But I think I can sincerely declare that I cheerfully submit myself to every odious name for conscience' sake; and from my soul I despise all those whose guilt, malice, or folly has made them my foes.
parliament congress cases
Parliaments are in all cases to declare what is good for the whole; but it is not the declaration of parliament that makes it so.
home men house
A man's house is his castle.