It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule of law than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still more revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and the rule simply persists from blind imitation of the past ...
... I look forward to a time when the part played by history in the explanation of dogma still shall be very small, and instead of ingenious research we shall spend our energy on a study of the ends sought to be attached and the reasons for desiring them.Holmes, The Path of the Law