James Otis - Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty, is the freedom o

Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty, is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle; and while he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his castle. This writ of assistance, if it should be declared legal, would totally annihilate this privilege.

- James Otis

source: Argument against the writs of assistance, Boston, Mass., Feb. 1761. Burton Stevenson, Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims and Familiar Phrases (1948), traces the proverb "A man's house is his castle" back to 1567 and notes legal usages of it by Sir Edward Coke in the seventeenth century. See Coke 1; Coke 8; William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 2

topic: Men, Law, House, Assistance, Guarded, Writs Of Assistance