Thomas More Rejects Roper Arrest Demand, Extends Legal Cover to Devil
dniete97
Dismantling human statutes to hunt an enemy eliminates the only legal shield protecting citizens once power turns against them.
AI-assisted summary of A Man for All Seasons - The Devil Speech — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- Sir Thomas More rejects calls to detain a suspected spy and bad actor, maintaining that being morally corrupt or dangerous does not constitute a legal offense. (0:00)
- When William Roper invokes divine law to justify an arrest, More rebuffs the theological rationale by declaring that divine enforcement belongs strictly to God. (0:00)
- More insists that even the Devil must receive the benefit of the law until a human statute is broken, arguing that dismantling legal protections leaves humanity defenseless when evil turns back on them. (0:00)
Detailed notes
## Background Published on YouTube by dniete97 on May 30, 2009, this video features the famous "Devil Speech" from Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons." According to the video description, the clip highlights Sir Thomas More's defense of man's laws over divine law, framed by the uploader as particularly relevant to contemporary debates regarding torture and extralegal government actions.
## TL;DR In this dramatic confrontation, Sir Thomas More refuses demands from his family and William Roper to arrest a dangerous adversary without proof of a broken human law. When Roper insists on pursuing the man under God's law and proclaims he would cut down every statute in England to catch the Devil, More delivers a searing rebuke. More warns that destroying human laws leaves society with no shelter against the winds of tyranny once the Devil turns back on them. Ultimately, More defends granting even the Devil the protection of the law for the sake of everyone's shared survival.
## Atmosphere & style The scene begins with frantic, high-stakes urgency as family members shout for an immediate arrest, creating a sharp clash between Roper's impulsive moral zeal and More's composed, razor-sharp pragmatism. As More begins his climactic counterargument, the energy shifts from domestic argument into sobering, quiet gravity. It feels intense, intellectually gripping, and deeply principled, capturing the terrifying fragility of justice when men abandon legal restraint in the name of righteousness.
## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) Sir Thomas More rejects calls to detain a suspected spy and bad actor, maintaining that being morally corrupt or dangerous does not constitute a legal offense. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) When William Roper invokes divine law to justify an arrest, More rebuffs the theological rationale by declaring that divine enforcement belongs strictly to God. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More insists that even the Devil must receive the benefit of the law until a human statute is broken, arguing that dismantling legal protections leaves humanity defenseless when evil turns back on them.
## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) Family members urge Sir Thomas More to arrest an adversary on the grounds of being dangerous, guilty of libel, and serving as a spy. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More rejects William Roper's claim that being a 'bad' man warrants arrest, noting there is no law against moral wrongdoing alone. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More dismisses Roper's appeal to God's law by arguing that human magistrates enforce human statutes, leaving divine judgment to God. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More asserts that an adversary—even if he were the Devil himself—must be allowed to go free until he violates the law. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) Roper admits his willingness to cut down every law in England in order to pursue and eradicate evil. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More warns that flattening the legal landscape removes the very shelter that protects individuals once their adversary turns on them. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More emphasizes that England is planted thick with man's laws, rather than God's laws, to safeguard mortal society. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) More concludes that granting even the Devil the benefit of law is necessary for self-preservation and the safety of all citizens.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) The Rule of Law and the Devil Speech
The scene opens in heated urgency as family members insist that an adversary be immediately seized and detained, shouting, “Arrest him.” When Sir Thomas More calmly asks, “For what?” the immediate justification offered is that the man is dangerous, guilty of libel, and serving as a spy. William Roper passionately intervenes, declaring, “Father, that man’s bad.” More refuses to entertain moral condemnation as grounds for imprisonment, flatly answering, “There’s no law against that.” When Roper counters that moral transgressions fall under divine judgment by insisting, “There is God’s law,” More dryly deflects the theological appeal back to the Almighty, stating, “Then God can arrest him.”
As Roper protests that the suspect is slipping away while they waste time talking, More stands firm on the principles of jurisprudence, stating: “And go he should if he were the devil himself until he broke the law.” Shocked by this absolute restraint, Roper incredulously asks, “So, now you’d give the devil benefit of law.” More challenges Roper’s rash zeal, questioning whether he would tear through legal protections simply to pursue an enemy: “Yes, what would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the devil?” Roper eagerly confirms his willingness to bypass every legal barrier, exclaiming, “Yes! I’d cut down every law in England to do that.”
More then delivers his devastating counterargument on the fragility of human liberty and the protective necessity of human legal structures:
> “Oh? And when the last law was down and the devil turned round on you, where would you hide, Roper? The law’s all being flat. This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast. Man’s laws, not God’s. And if you cut them down and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes. I’d give the devil benefit of law for my own safety’s sake.”
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: The Rule of Law vs Zealotry accDescr: Diagram illustrating Roper's proposal to destroy laws to pursue evil versus More's defense of human law as essential protection.
subgraph Roper ["Roper's Impulsive Zeal"] R1["Identify Bad/Dangerous Man"] --> R2["Invoke God's Law / Extralegal Force"] R2 --> R3["Cut down every law in England to catch the Devil"] end
subgraph More ["More's Jurisprudential Defense"] M1["Require a broken human statute"] --> M2["Preserve man's laws from coast to coast"] M2 --> M3["Shelter all men from the winds when the Devil turns"] end
R3 -.->|"Destroys legal shelter"| M3 ```
- **Accusations leveled against the target:** He is deemed “dangerous,” accused of being a “spy,” guilty of “libel,” and simply a “bad” man. - **Roper’s justification:** Roper appeals to higher morality (“God’s law”) and expresses a willingness to fell every statute across England to capture evil. - **More’s governing principle:** Protection under man’s law must extend universally—even to the Devil himself—because once those legal barriers are flattened, no individual has any shield left against tyranny or malice.
## Notable quotes > [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk&t=0s) I’d give the devil benefit of law for my own safety’s sake. — Sir Thomas More
## Mentioned A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt, Sir Thomas More, William Roper, England
## Video description From Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons," this is Sir Thomas More's speech about the primacy of man's laws over God's laws. I feel this is especially relevant today in the torture debate and for those who would like to add the word "extralegal" to our collective vocabulary...
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBiLT3LASk)