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Yet the whole structure of the common law is an obvious denial of this theory; it 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.

— Learned Hand

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More quotes by Learned Hand

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

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.

Class-Day Oration (1893)

What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty?

Right knows no boundaries and justice no frontiers; the brotherhood of man is not a domestic institution.

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

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Learned Hand (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.