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Thursday, May 10, 2007

What's In a Phrase? Ask Oliver Wendell Holmes

Brian Tamanaha

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a few brilliant aphorisms. His most famous was initially set out in an 1880 review of Langdell's Contracts book:

"The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience."

That sounds perfect.

Compare that to the following line he wrote in 1870 to express the same basic idea:

"Law is not a science, but is essentially empirical."

Yuck! That line has never been quoted (until now), as far as I know, and for good reason.

For all the writers who struggle to get a phrase just right, remember this example when you are about to give up in frustration--and toil on.

Comments:

Where is the science quotation from? Thanks
 

The line comes from an article Holmes wrote when he served as an editor for the American Law Review: "Codes, and the Arrangement of the Law," 5 American Law Review 1,4 (1870).
 

Not only is there a difference in the style of the phrase, but in its meaning. The earlier quote opposes science and empiricism. Two concepts that are not actually opposed. Science relies on empirical evidence to justify a hypothesis. The hypoethsis of the "quintenssence" (or fifth element) of the ether was to be proved by Michalson and Morely's experiment. However, the practical result verified Einstien's theory's of special relativity.

The second sentence more correctly opposes logic and experience. This opposition makes sense because we can assume by logic, Holmes meant a rule based system that would create predictable results. However, such a rule based system is too deterministic. Holmes was too pragmatic for that and recognized that the facts of a given case can change the law.
 

So it's true then... sometimes even good old Oliver nods.
 

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