He who adheres to the letter of the law adheres to its bark.

Explanation

A purely literal reading of a statute that ignores its purpose and reason grasps only the surface — courts must look to the spirit and intent of the law, not merely its words, to reach a just construction. (Duplicate maxim — see also 10.2.21.)

Where this applies

• A court reads a statute banning 'vehicles in the park' and refuses to apply it to a child's toy wagon, holding that the literal text must yield to the legislature's obvious purpose of regulating motorized traffic.
• A creditor points to the exact wording of a promissory note to demand payment in a form the borrower never agreed to, and the court looks past the letter to the parties' actual intent.
• A government agency enforces a regulation by its literal text to produce a result the drafters never intended, and the court reverses because clinging to the bark of the law ignores its living substance.

See also

• 10.2.21 He who sticks to the letter sticks to the bark; he who considers merely the letter of an instrument cannot comprehend its meaning.