It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule of law than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still more revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and the rule simply persists from blind imitation of the past.

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Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Path of the Law." Address to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at the dedication of the new hall of the Boston University School of Law. 8 Jan. 1897, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, USA.

Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Path of the Law." The Essential Holmes: Selections from the Letters, Speeches, Judicial Opinions, and Other Writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, edited by Richard A. Posner. University of Chicago Press, 1997.