The reconciliation of the irreconcilable, the merger of antitheses, the synthesis of opposites, these are the great problems of the law... We have the claims of stability to be harmonized with those of progress. We are to reconcile liberty with equality, and both of them with order. The property rights of the individual we are to respect, yet we are not to press them to the point at which they threaten the welfare or the security of the many. We must preserve to justice its universal quality, and yet leave to it the capacity to be individual and particular.
More from Benjamin N. Cardozo
Code is followed by commentary, and commentary by revision, and thus the task is never done.
Permalink to quote #33 The state in commissioning its judges has commanded them to judge, but neither in constitution nor in statute has it formulated a code to define the manner of …
Permalink to quote #35 I do not underrate the yearning for mechanical and formal tests. They are possible and useful in zones upon the legal sphere. The pain of choosing is the pain …
Permalink to quote #32