“Laws, as we read in ancient sages,
Have been like cobwebs in all ages:
Cobwebs for little flies are spread,
And laws for little folks are made;
But if an insect of renown,
Hornet or beetle, wasp or drone,
Be caught in quest of sport or plunder,
The flimsy fetter flies in sunder.”

— James Beattie

The Wolf and Shepherds (1776).

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James Beattie 18

Scottish poet, moralist and philosopher 1735–1803

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