d diligence of those men who wrote them. Afterwards he will
proceed to describe what the law is, so that it shall appear to
consist of meanings, not of words; and that the judge may appear to be
obedient to the law, who follows its meaning and not its strict words.
After that he will urge how scandalous it is that he should have the
same punishment inflicted on him who has violated the law out of some
mere wickedness and audacity, as on the man who, on account of some
honourable or unavoidable reason, has departed not from the spirit of
the law, but from its letter. And by these and similar arguments
he will endeavour to prove that the excuse is admissible, and is
admissible in this law, and that the excuse which he himself is
alleging ought to be admitted.

And, as we said that this would be exceedingly useful to the man who
was relying on the letter of the law, to detract in some degree from
that equity which appeared to be on the side of the adversary; so also
it will be of the greatest advantage to the man who is speaking in
opposition to the letter of the law, to convert something of the exact
letter of the law to his own side of the argument, or else to show
that something has been expressed ambiguously. And afterwards, to
take that portion of the doubtful expression which may serve his own
purpose, and defend it; or else to introduce some definition of
a word, and to bring over the meaning of that word which seems
unfavourable to him to the advantage of his own cause, or else, from
what is set down in the law to introduce something which is not set
down by means of ratiocination, which we will speak of presently. But
in whatever matter, however little probable it may be, he defends
himself by an appeal to the exact letter of the law, even when his
case is full of equity, he will unavoidably gain a great advantage,
because if he can withdraw from the cause of the opposite party that
point on which it principally relies, he will mitigate and take off
the effect of all its violence and energy. But all the rest of the
common topics taken from the divisions of assumptive argument will
suit each side of the question. It will also be suitable for him whose
argument takes its stand on the letter of the law, to urge that laws
ought to be looked at, not with reference to the advantage of that man
who has violated them, but according to their own intrinsic value, and
that nothing ought to be considered more precious than th