A Common Law must always have equitable maxims
Guiding lights, to illuminate our path towards clear, honest, loving and productive thought
I never warmed to equity in law school.
In large part because you entered the course with those who had gone before warning of its complexity and confusing methods. I must confess, I recall little more than the utility of the word ‘unconscionable’ - equity’s ‘reasonable’.
Irrespective of such a rocky start, I think there is something brilliantly artistic and clever in setting out a series of guiding maxims which illuminate paths towards justice which, without them, would leave the law at absurd ends. There is beauty and utility in guiding lights compared to crisscrossing ink blotted maps.
In the spirit of guiding lights, set out below are, what will no doubt be a revised list of maxims which I would like all my writings, no doubt at times uncomfortably, to abide by.
Truth is to be earnestly pursued above all things
We live in a world of ideology, self-censorship, timidity, and ever more corrosive - apathy. Upon embarking on a case, we must labour violently and unrelentingly to fend off ideological capture, self-censorious thoughts, timidity, and any unwillingness to discuss something of relevance and intergenerational importance on the basis “its all too fraught with danger and difficulty”.
Humility
True humility is a powerfully quiet human virtue to witness. It is as enabling as courage. It asks questions when there is doubt; Is slow to consider any matter known or understood; It leaves room for love to pervade discussion and is slow to simmer with frustration and anger.
While certainly not the writers natural predisposition, it is my hope that humility pervades the spaces between and within the text.
The highest quality raw material is to be used
Research and investigation is the process of acquiring the raw material to be synthesised into a piece of writing. Save for inspired words, us lay people are only as good as the thoughts of our forebears and our prodigious peers.
Clarity and Simplicity
I’ve always been partial to an obnoxiously long sentence; you may have already noticed. And while I don’t intend to declare a maxim of short sentences, it is necessary to strive for clarity and simplicity. Sometimes this includes short sentences.
It is also necessary to note that simplicity does not mean simple ideas and sentences. It is stated to fend off fancy, confusing and wordy sentences that achieve little else then show my inadequacies and partiality to unnecessarily florally language.
“our”, “we”, “us” rather than “me” and “I”
While I (the irony) write and publish thoughts, ideas, musings and arguments, ultimately the point is for us all to grow in understanding, belief, conviction and humility together. I want my writing to reflect this relationship of both author and reader walking side by side.
Each article should be left to rest before consumption
Like any nicely cooked steak, it should always be afforded some time to rest once it has come off the heat. So to an article for you the reader.
Now while you may not be able to keep the writer accountable, he undertakes to leave each article a day after finalisation to sit, rest, and be reread one final time.
I suspect I will return to this and revise it over time as my collection of articles grows, but it’s a start.
Let us walk together in light.