Part 1, Chapter 7.8; Garrison Dilworth reassuring the Cornells during their flight
“

As an attorney, I assure you the law isn't a line engraved in marble, immovable and unchangeable through the centuries. Rather… the law is like a string, fixed at both ends but with a great deal of play in it — very loose, the line of the law — so you can stretch it this way or that, rearrange the arc of it so you are nearly always — short of blatant theft or cold-blooded murder — safely on the right side. That's a daunting thing to realize but true.

— Dean Koontz

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "As an attorney, I assure you the law isn't a line engraved in marble, immovable and unchangeable through the centuries. Rather… the law is like a string, fixed at both ends but with a great deal of play in it — very loose, the line of the law — so you can stretch it this way or that, rearrange the arc of it so you are nearly always — short of blatant theft or cold-blooded murder — safely on the right side. That's a daunting thing to realize but true." in the context of "Part 1, Chapter 7.8; Garrison Dilworth reassuring the Cornells during their flight" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Dean Koontz" (Quotes, Watchers (1987)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Dean Koontz

About Dean Koontz

Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945), also known under a number of pseudonyms, including Leigh Nichols, is an American writer best known as a prolific and best-selling author of suspense novels.