Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Quote

"That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution.
It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment."

by:	Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) US Supreme Court Justice, also known as "The Great Dissenter"
Source:	Abrams et. al v United States, 1919
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Categories:	Constitution, Freedom, Government, Justice, Law, Liberty, Politics, Sovereignty, Truth
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Reader comments about this quote:

...and you might add, as Holmes did, possibly in a different context, "...and experiments fail." I've lent the text in which this was quoted, but it can be found in "The Metaphysical Club" by Louis Menand. -- Gary Bell, Jericho, Vermont
Experiments may fail, but that does not stop us from making corrections and trying again! -- E Archer, NYC
For one, I'd like to return to the experiment. -- Mike, Norwalk
Speaking strictly of experiments, they never fail if they are properly designed. They may either show positive or negative results but there is always something to be learned from them. -- Ken, Allyn, WA
Each state was to be an individual experiment in libery. Unfortunately between the Civil War and the 16th and 17th Amendments, we have virtually shut down those "lines of reaearch" thus reducing the chances of the positive results Ken so rightly mentions. -- helorat, Milton