Justice Holmes: The Measure of His Thought

摘要

48 The writings of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (considered a leading figure-if not the leading figure-in American judicial thought) guide and inspire lawyers and judges more than eighty years after his death. Justice Holmes: The Measure of His Thought by Anthony Murray and Edwin G. Quattlebaum III tells the story of the life and judicial outlook of this amazing man.49 The book begins with a description of Holmes's early years and the effect that his childhood and experiences as a young man had on his later career. He was born in Boston in 1841 to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (a well-known writer, poet, and physician) and Amelia Lee Jackson, both from prominent Boston families. Holmes grew up surrounded by books; leading writers regularly visited his family home. This had a major effect on Holmes: while he would ultimately write a single book-The Common Law, published in 1881-his love of the written word would remain with him for life. That love of writing can certainly be seen in his brilliantly written opinions and dissents.50 Like his father, Holmes attended Harvard College. However, he felt duty-bound to leave school in 1861 to join the Union Army. Thrice wounded, Holmes saw numerous friends perish during the conflict. The authors write that "[i]f Holmes ever had religious beliefs, he certainly abandoned them after experiencing the slaughter of war" (p.40). In his writings, Holmes rejected the concept of natural law, refusing to defer to a higher power when making his judicial decisions.