be supine

So if Congress promises to be supine, what of the supreme court, surely the ultimate restraint?

Imagine if a white minister in, say, South Carolina preached this way about African-Americans, knife and all: Would the news media be supine in reporting it?

By editors everywhere: don't be supine in the face of referees' requests.

There was another point of infinite importance, which was, that the business should not be allowed to pass over without any investigation, as might be the case, if, for one reason or other, every one thought it necessary to be supine.

And it supposes the ideal intellectual posture to be “supine.”