Quote #70

Self-reliance, good-humored tolerance, recognition of the other fellow's right to be and to thrive, even though you may not think he is as good as you are, suspicion of authority as well as awareness of its need, disdain of arrogance and self-righteousness, a preference for truculent independence over prudent deference and conformity - these were the feelings that shaped his outlook on life. He liked his kind without being sentimental about it; he was gregarious but shy about intimacies.

More from Robert H. Jackson

  1. His speech breaks through the printed page. He was one of those rare men whose spoken word survives in type.
  2. As Attorney General, Solicitor General, and Assistant Attorney General,:he lost but a single case in the Supreme Court. Against [that] may …
  3. Not every defeat of authority is a gain for individual freedom, nor every judicial rescue of a convict a victory for liberty.
  4. He had a quiet courage, which never led to a bellow of defiance but which permitted him to take in every instance the action he thought bes…
  5. There is no such thing as an achieved liberty; like electricity, there can be no substantial storage and it must be generated as it is enjo…
  6. Robert Jackson represented the advocate at his best. He possessed the rare combination of a good jury personality and the qualities of a pr…
  7. For over a century it has been the settled doctrine of the Supreme Court that the principle of stare decisis has only limited application i…
  8. He had a reservoir of learning, from which he drew gracefully and effortlessly. But the most marked quality of his judicial and non-judicia…

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