Law is an ass

Origin of: Law is an ass

Law is an ass

Some sources attribute this to Charles Dickens when it was said by Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist (1838), “If the law supposes that … the law is a ass, a idiot.” Despite Dickens’ quaint grammar in not using ‘an’, the expression actually dates from 1654 in a play by George Chapman called Revenge For Honour, “The law is such an ass.”