“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.”

The Wolf and Shepherds (1776).

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James Beattie18

Scottish poet, moralist and philosopher 1735–1803

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