Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr. “The Path of the Law.”

Justice Holmes delivers the speech at the dedication of the new home of the Boston University School of Law. In it, he declares, “The prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law.” He also declares that a “bad man” is not interested in ethics or morality but what about avoiding having to pay damages or stay out of jail.