Source identified1
Image design Midnight
Read & copy
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
Meaning & context
Adams argues that judgment in a legal case should follow evidence even when emotion, public pressure or personal wishes point toward a preferred conclusion.
Source details
Closing defense argument in the Boston Massacre soldiers’ trial, December 1770, preserved by Founders Online. The line belongs to courtroom advocacy about evidence and due process in a specific criminal proceeding.