--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know what an Act to make things simpler…" description: "\"I know what an Act to make things simpler means. It means that the people who drew it up don't understand it themselves and that every one of its claus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/dorothy-l-sayers-738_clauses_i-know-what-an-act-to-make-things-simple_2393574.jpg" --- # I know what an Act to make things simpler means. It means… ![“I know what an Act to make things simpler means. It means that the people who drew it up don't understand it themselves and that every one of its clauses needs a law-suit to disentangle it.” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/dorothy-l-sayers-738_clauses_i-know-what-an-act-to-make-things-simple_2393574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/dorothy-l-sayers-738_clauses_i-know-what-an-act-to-make-things-simple_2393574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/dorothy-l-sayers-738_clauses_i-know-what-an-act-to-make-things-simple_2393574.jpg) > “I know what an Act to make things simpler means. It means that the people who drew it up don't understand it themselves and that every one of its clauses needs a law-suit to disentangle it.” [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex legislation often reflects its creators' lack of understanding, leading to tangled clauses needing legal untangling. **In simple terms:** Complicated laws show their drafters' confusion. Key Takeaway Simplify legal language. Themes law complexity bureaucracy Mood critical analytical Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - drafting statutes - legal analysis - government reform Key Concepts legislation interpretation policy design Questions to Reflect On - Why do lawmakers create confusing statutes? - How can clarity be enforced in lawmaking? A Different Perspective Simplification can be politically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clauses/) [Don Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-understand-237268/) [Know Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-act-361459/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Simpler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simpler/) [Simpler Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simpler-means-5969659/) [Suits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suits/) [Understand Clauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-clauses-5969660/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Did you\] ever know a sincere emotion to express itself in a subordinate clause? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/did-you-ever-know-a-sincere-emotion-to-express-itself-in-a/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We are not put into this world to sit still and know; we are put into it to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-not-put-into-this-world-to-sit-still-and-know-we-are-put-into/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Do you really want to know who you are ? Act , because acts will define who you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-really-want-to-know-who-you-are-act-because-acts-will-define/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know I can act and it doesn't matter where you come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-kodjoe/i-know-i-can-act-and-it-doesn-t-matter-where-you-come-from/) [Boris Kodjoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-kodjoe/) > [I only know how to act. I don't know anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/i-only-know-how-to-act-i-don-t-know-anything-else/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [I know I can act. There aren't too many other jobs I know how to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-know-i-can-act-there-aren-t-too-many-other-jobs-i-know-how-to-do/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [When someone attacks me, I don't know how to act sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larsa-pippen/when-someone-attacks-me-i-don-t-know-how-to-act-sometimes/) [Larsa Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larsa-pippen/) > [You know how they do, how they act. See you with another man and they want you back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina/you-know-how-they-do-how-they-act-see-you-with-another-man-and-they/) [Trina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina/) > [We have to know before we can act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-have-to-know-before-we-can-act/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Actors may know how to act, but a lot of them don't know how to behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/actors-may-know-how-to-act-but-a-lot-of-them-don-t-know-how-to-behave/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I don't know how to put on an act; I always show myself for what I am, in whatever mood I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-know-how-to-put-on-an-act-i-always-show-myself-for-what-i-am/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“People don't want to know. They have to be made to know. Whether they act on what they know is up to them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/people-don-t-want-to-know-they-have-to-be-made-to-know-whether-they/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act-and-there-is-no-educator-to/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I don't know how to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-don-t-know-how-to-act/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [“If those who know why and how neglect to act, those who do not know will act, and the world will continue to flounder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/if-those-who-know-why-and-how-neglect-to-act-those-who-do-not-know/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) ## More by Dorothy L. Sayers > [“The really essential factors of success in any undertaking are money and opportunity, and as a rule, the man who can make the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-really-essential-factors-of-success-in-any-undertaking-are-money/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“ Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/peter-were-you-looking-for-a-horse-shoe-no-i-was-expecting-the-horse/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [One must not only die daily, but every day we must be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/one-must-not-only-die-daily-but-every-day-we-must-be-born-again/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/at-no-point-have-i-yet-found-artistic-truth-and-theological-truth-at/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“That was the second time within five minutes that he had warned her off his private ground. His mood had changed since the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/that-was-the-second-time-within-five-minutes-that-he-had-warned-her/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Those who make some other person their job... are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/those-who-make-some-other-person-their-job-are-dangerous/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) [Explore all 386 Dorothy L. Sayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More Clauses quotes > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) > [She told me that all the girls in Annezin prayed every night for the war to end and for the English to go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/she-told-me-that-all-the-girls-in-annezin-prayed-every-night-for-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/believe-in-your-dreams-if-you-don-t-who-will/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [It is triple ultra forbidden to respond to criticism with violence. There are a very few injunctions in the human art of rationality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/it-is-triple-ultra-forbidden-to-respond-to-criticism-with-violence/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [It's never been integral to the story that I take my clothes off. I've always had clauses in my contracts saying no nudity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/it-s-never-been-integral-to-the-story-that-i-take-my-clothes-off-i-ve/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [The men who wrote the First Amendment religion clause did not view paid legislative chaplains and opening prayers as a violation of that amendment...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-men-who-wrote-the-first-amendment-religion-clause-did-not-view/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [A comma . . . catches the gentle drift of the mind in thought, turning in on itself and back on itself, reversing, redoubling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/a-comma-catches-the-gentle-drift-of-the-mind-in-thought-turning-in-on/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [The Supreme Court has never ruled that Congress can use the Commerce Clause to require individuals to engage in an activity they have chosen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/the-supreme-court-has-never-ruled-that-congress-can-use-the-commerce/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [Language is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a total coherent system of these integrating with each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/language-is-not-merely-a-set-of-unrelated-sounds-clauses-rules-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your children are not the same. Not at all. Each one is unique. There are no "boiler plate" clauses that fit all children. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-benson/your-children-are-not-the-same-not-at-all-each-one-is-unique-there/) [Bob Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-benson/) > [The United States has made a massive effort since the end of the Second World War to secure the dominance of its films in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-jameson/the-united-states-has-made-a-massive-effort-since-the-end-of-the/) [Fredric Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-jameson/) > [Marriage succeeds only as lifetime commitment with no escape clauses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/marriage-succeeds-only-as-lifetime-commitment-with-no-escape-clauses/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [With respect to public acknowledgment of religious belief, it is entirely clear from our nation's historical practices that the Establishment Clause permits this disregard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/with-respect-to-public-acknowledgment-of-religious-belief-it-is/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [The Supreme Court has said that: Marriage is the most important relation in life. 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