Learned Hand Quotes

"A wise man once said, "Convention is like the shell to the chick, a protection till he is strong enough to break it through."

"I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it..."

"While I should be the last to say that the making of a profit was not in itself a pleasure, I hope I should also be one of those to agree that there were other pleasures than making a profit"

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it"

"With the courage which only comes of justified self-confidence, he dared to rest his case upon its strongest point, and so avoided that appearance of weakness and uncertainty which comes of a clutter of arguments. Few lawyers are willing to do this; it is the mark of the most distinguished talent."

"What to an outsider will be no more than the vigorous presentation of a conviction, to an employee may be the manifestation of a determination which it is not safe to thwart"

"Words are not pebbles in alien juxtaposition."

"Life is made up of constant calls to action, and we seldom have time for more than hastily contrived answers."

"The mid-day sun is too much for most eyes; one is dazzled even with its reflection. Be careful that too broad and high an aim does not paralyze your effort and clog your springs of action."

"In the end it is worse to suppress dissent than to run the risk of heresy."

"A self-made man may prefer a self-made name."

"The art of publicity is a black art; but it has come to stay, and every year adds to its potency."

"No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture."

"I shall ask no more than that you agree with Dean Inge that even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it is better than breaking them."

"It lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. While it lies there, it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it."

"If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice."

"What to an outsider will be no more than the vigorous presentation of a conviction, to an employee may be the manifestation of a determination which it is not safe to thwart."

"Yet with all the attraction that it has, our youth cannot long remain without feeling the narrowness of simply a classification of the world. Life is not a thing of knowing only - nay, mere knowledge has properly no place at all save as it becomes the handmaiden of feeling and emotion."

"The aim of law is the maximum gratification of the nervous system of man"

"(Common law) stands as a monument slowly raised, like a coral reef, from the minute accretions of past individuals, of whom each built upon the relics which his predecessors left, and in his turn left a foundation upon which his successors might work"