Sir John Mortimer, barrister and freedom-fighter, died on 16th January 2009, aged 85
As usual, reading The Economist's obituary is a literal enjoyment, which is so unique that I can't think of an adjective that quite resembles one with which I could have come up for any food I tasted. Every week I read a life of brilliance, humbleness, controversy, you name only a few.
Every true-born Englishman knows that the law is an ass. Rules are better honoured in the breach than the observance. Judges are best represented in a chorus line at the D'Oyly Carte. The English constitution is a vague formulation in someone's head, and that foundation of English liberties, Magna Carta, is best known for banning eel-traps in the Thames. The firm clip of the law is for the other fellow. Behind the furled umbrellas and decorum, Englishmen are anarchists. Or, as John Mortimer liked to think of them, votaries of 'my darling' Prince Kropotkin.
How nicely a paragraph could be phrased and how much excitment such a paragraph could be read with!
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