“If practice be the whole he is taught, practice must also be the whole he will ever know: if he be uninstructed in the elements and first principles upon which the rule of practice is founded, the least variation from established precedents will totally distract and bewilder him: ita lex scripta est is the utmost his knowledge will arrive at; he must never aspire to form, and seldom expect to comprehend, any arguments drawn a priori, from the spirit of the laws and the natural foundations of justice.” 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 32 (1765).
ita lex scripta est
ita lex scripta est (I-t[schwa] leks skrip-t[schwa] est). [Latin] So the law is written. • This expression means that the law must be obeyed despite the apparent rigor of its application. The idea is that we must be content with the law as it stands, without inquiring into its reasons. — Sometimes shortened to ita scripta est [“so it is written”].
