“But now it seems clearly to be agreed, that, by the common law and the statute of Edward III, words spoken amount only to a high misdemeanor, and no treason. For they may be spoken in heat, without any intention …. If the words be set down in writing, it argues more deliberate intention; and it has been held that writing is an overt act of treason; for scribere est agere. But even in this case the bare words are not the treason, but the deliberate act of writing them.” 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 80 (1769).
scribere est agere
scribere est agere (skrI-b[schwa]-ree est aj-[schwa]-ree). [Latin] Hist. To write is to act.
