“A law is simply a reflection of the momentary perception of self-interest by a majority of a legislative body.”

— James Bovard

From Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (St. Martin's Press, 1994) http://www.jimbovard.com/Epigrams%20page%20Lost%20Rights.htm

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James Bovard40

American journalist 1956

George Alec Effinger (1947–2002) Novelist, short story writer

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 11 (p. 174).

“Congress is, after all, not a body of laymen unfamiliar with the commonplaces of our law. This legislation was the formulation of the two Judiciary Committees, all of whom are lawyers, and the Congress is predominately a lawyers' body.”

Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) American judge

Callanan v. United States, 364 U.S. 587, 594 (1961).
Judicial opinions

“The Courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise will instead of judgement; the consequences would be the substitution of their pleasure for that of the legislative body.”

Alexander Hamilton Federalist Papers

No. 78
The Federalist Papers (1787–1788)

“Beauty is momentary in the mind —
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.”

Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) American poet

Peter Quince at the Clavier (1915)
Context: Beauty is momentary in the mind —
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
The cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.

“Every positive law, or every law simply and strictly so called, is set, directly or circuitously, by a sovereign person or body, to a member or members of the independent political society wherein that person or body is supreme.”

John Austin (legal philosopher) (1790–1859) legal philosopher

Source: The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832), p. 136-137

“The surgeons' market is imaginary, since there is nothing wrong with women's faces or bodies that social change won't cure; so the surgeons depend for their income on warping female self-perception and multiplying female self-hatred.”

Naomi Wolf book The Beauty Myth

Source: The Beauty Myth

“Our legislation in this area needed to be updated, and especially in light of France’s request for armed assistance after the attacks in Paris. We realized that our existing legislation was not flexible enough. We live in a fast changing world, and our laws on overseas military support must reflect new realities.”

Timo Soini (1962) Finnish politician

Timo Soini, Finland’s foreign minister, on Finland responding to other nations that are in need of support, such as battling ISIS, quoted on Defense News, "Finnish Legislation Seeks Direct Military Support for Partners" http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/02/18/finnish-legislation-seeks-direct-military-support-partners/80563622/, February 18, 2016

“Now I know what loneliness is, I think. Momentary loneliness, anyway. It comes from a vague core of the self - - like a disease of the blood, dispersed throughout the body so that one cannot locate the matrix, the spot of contagion.”

Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer

Source: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

“The fear you feel is a direct reflection of the perception you have of yourself.”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 140

“Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.”

John Rawls book A Theory of Justice

Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter V, Section 43, p. 284

“A law is simply a reflection of the momentary perception of self-interest by a majority of a legislative body.”

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James Bovard40

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