'Prove the rule' actually comes from the idea that a king or queen had the legal right to punish criminal offenders -- thus coming down hard on 'exceptions' to the law was proving the power of their rulership. Either that or it's an obscure ELO lyric that became a proto-meme on Laugh-In.
Dr. Bob Nicholson is a wonderful historian of Victoriana — with a special focus on the printed material of the era. I’ve enjoyed following his work for some time!
In this video for Wired, he does a lovely job answering reader questions about Victorian England.
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