People must not be wiser than the experience of mankind. - Charles Bowen, Baron Bowen

Like my brothers who sit with me, I am extremely reluctant to decide anything except what is necessary for the special case, because I believe by long experience that judgments come with far more weight and gravity when they come upon points which the Judges are bound to decide, and I believe that obiter dicta, like the proverbial chickens of destiny, come home to roost sooner or later in a very uncomfortable way to the Judges who have uttered them, and are a great source of embarrassment in future cases. Therefore I abstain from putting a construction on more than it is necessary to do for this particular case.

Courts do not exist for the sake of discipline, but for the sake of deciding matters in controversy.

We must take the thing in the grip of our hands.