Quote unquote

A judge in a high court was at his poetic best on Monday. In the space of an hour, he had quoted Kabir to two lawyers representing two arms of the government and Mahatma Gandhi to a policeman, who did not behave in an appropriate manner in the court. He went on to quote Roman historian Tacitus while giving a fresh date to a litigant before threatening to dismiss his case. "He that fights and runs away, may turn and fight another day," he said. Lawyers, happy to win an adjournment, joined the judge to complete the quote: "... But he that is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again."