We seek to find peace of mind in the word, the formula, the ritual. The hope is illusion.
The heroic hours of life do not announce their presence by drum and trumpet.
Method is much, technique is much, but inspiration is even more.
Law never is, but is always about to be.
What has once been settled by a precedent will not be unsettled overnight, for certainty and uniformity are gains not lightly sacrificed. Above all is this true when honest men have shaped their conduct on the faith of the pronouncement.
No judicial system could do society's work if each issue had to be decided afresh in every case which raised it.