To say that subjects in general are not proper judges (of the law) when their governors oppress them and play the tyrant, and when they defend their rights ...is as great a treason as ever a man uttered.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that subjects cannot justly judge the law when oppressed by tyrannical governors, equating such judgment to treason.
Jonathan Mayhew's quote reflects the idea that when authority figures, like governors, act oppressively, the subjects they govern are not in a position to impartially judge the laws that bind them. In effect, it highlights a moral and philosophical dilemma regarding justice, authority, and the condition under which laws are applied, asserting that it is treasonous to expect rational judgment from those who are being wronged.
In practice
In a speech about civil rights, one might invoke this quote to highlight the injustice faced by oppressed groups.
Not to discontinue our allegiance, in this case, would be to join with the sovereign in promoting the slavery and misery of that society, the welfare of which, we ourselves, as well as our sovereign, are indispensably obliged to secure and promote, as far as in us lies.
My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.
We think that the world is limited and explained by its past. We tend to think that what happened in the past determines what is going to happen next, and we do not see that it is exactly the other way around! What is always the source of the world is the present; the past doesn't explain a thing. The past trails behind the present like the wake of a ship and eventually disappears.
All living souls welcome whatsoever they are ready to cope with; all else they ignore, or pronounce to be monstrous and wrong, or deny to be possible.
There's a belonging problem in Hollywood. Who dictates who belongs? The very body who dictates that looks all one way.
The majority have no other reason for their opinions than that they are the fashion.
If you take 10,000 chimpanzees and cram them together into Wembley Stadium or the Houses of Parliament, you will get chaos. But if you take 10,000 people who have never met before, they can co-operate and create amazing things.
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