Original Magna Carta and replica get a cleaning

By The Post's Ann Gerhart:

The Magna Carta is the oldest document seen as establishing the rule of common law. (Office Of The Architect Of The Capitol)

Okay, liberty lovers -- time for your summer-slowdown pop quiz:

True or false? The following sentence appears in the U.S. Constitution:

"No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned . . . or in any other way destroyed . . . except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice."

The correct answer: False.

In 1215, scribes for King John of England wrote that declaration, in Latin, into the Magna Carta, after a bunch of barons confronted their despotic king about their rights and demanded, "put it in writing, your Majesty." It is the oldest document seen as establishing the rule of common law that became codified 575 years later with this variation: "No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

That's the sentence in the Constitution

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