Too many rules removes man’s need to think

What is the origin of "Too many rules removes man’s need to think" - unknown (Plato or Socrates?

I can't imagine either Plato or Socrates saying anything of the kind, given that they lived in a society with very few regulations. Some anonymous wiseacre must have come up with this one, and probably very recently, since it gets precisely no google hits at all. (VSD)

I looked through three quote books -- including Bartlett's -- and didn't find it. I did find this (looking through a Christmas catalog): There are no rules here. We are trying to accomplish something. Thomas Edison.