There Are Vogues And Fashions In Jurisprudence

In Our Worship Of Certainty We Must Distinguish Between The Sound Certainty And The Sham, Between What Is Gold And What Is Tinsel; And Then, When Certainty Is Attained, We Must Remember That It Is Not The Only Good; That We Can Buy It At Too High A Price; That There Is Danger In Perpetual Quiescence As Well As In Perpetual Motion; And That A Compromise Must Be Found In A Principle Of Growth.

The Constitution Was Framed Upon The Theory That The Peoples Of The Several States Must Sink Or Swim Together, And That In The Long Run Prosperity And Salvation Are In Union And Not Division.

More Truly Characteristic Of Dissent Is A Dignity, An Elevation, Of Mood And Thought And Phrase. Deep Conviction And Warm Feeling Are Saying Their Last Say With Knowledge That The Cause Is Lost. The Voice Of The Majority May Be That Of Force Triumphant, Content With The Plaudits Of The Hour, And Recking Little Of The Morrow. The Dissenter Speaks To The Future, And His Voice Is Pitched To A Key That Will Carry Through The Years.

The Great Generalities Of The Constitution Have A Content And A Significance That Vary From Age To Age.

Code Is Followed By Commentary, And Commentary By Revision, And Thus The Task Is Never Done.