pledge of god behaviour. His duties, to King, lord, and neighbour, should be settled once and for all; and, if he failed in them, he should be turned out of his home and left to starve. It was a drastic scheme; but a conqueror holding a conquered country by the force of the sword cannot afford to be squeamish." - Meaning and context.">
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Chapter III, Feudalism And Land Law, p. 27
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Every man, noble and simple alike, should hold his land as a pledge of god behaviour. His duties, to King, lord, and neighbour, should be settled once and for all; and, if he failed in them, he should be turned out of his home and left to starve. It was a drastic scheme; but a conqueror holding a conquered country by the force of the sword cannot afford to be squeamish.

— Edward Jenks

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Every man, noble and simple alike, should hold his land as a pledge of god behaviour. His duties, to King, lord, and neighbour, should be settled once and for all; and, if he failed in them, he should be turned out of his home and left to starve. It was a drastic scheme; but a conqueror holding a conquered country by the force of the sword cannot afford to be squeamish." in the context of "Chapter III, Feudalism And Land Law, p. 27" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Edward Jenks" (Quotes, A Short History Of The English Law (First Edition) (1912)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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Edward Jenks

About Edward Jenks

Edward Jenks (20 February 1861 - 10 November 1939) was a jurist and noted writer on law and its place in history. He was a brilliant law student at King's College and was placed first in the law tripos of 1886. He was called to the bar in 1887. Jenks was a Fellow of the British Academy. He was a founder of the Society of Public Teachers of Law and its secretary 1909 - 1917.