classics digests, reflections and reviews
The obvious definition of a monarchy seems to be that of a state, in which a single person, by whatsoever name he may be distinguished, is intrusted with the execution of the laws, the management of the revenue, and the command of the army. … A martial nobility and stubborn commons, possessed of arms, tenacious of property, and collected into constitutional assemblies, form the only balance capable of preserving a […]
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Opinion of the Court 1. The Constitution of the United States does not protect a right to (obtain) abortion, neither explicitly nor implicitly. 2. There are other rights not mentioned in the Constitution, but the Court has judged them to be protected by the Constitution, such as the right to obtain contraceptives and right to same-sex marriage. 3. Abortion is fundamentally different from those rights. It concerns not only a […]
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On the Subversion of the State Government The legislature of the United States are vested with the great and uncontrollable powers of laying and collecting taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; of regulating trade, raising and supporting armies, organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, instituting courts, and other general powers; and are by this clause invested with the power of making all laws, proper and necessary, for carrying all these into […]
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The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; … It may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment; and must […]
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The Character of the Government In order to ascertain the real character of the government, it may be considered in relation to the foundation on which it is to be established; to the sources from which its ordinary powers are to be drawn; to the operation of those powers; to the extent of them; and to the authority by which future changes in the government are to be introduced. On […]
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The Federal Constitution The Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of the State governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty, by allowing them a direct representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power. This fully corresponds, in every rational import of the terms, with the idea of a federal government. The two great points of difference between […]
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The important thing in Democracy is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not to have conquered but to have fought well. –The Olympian Socrates v. Scalia About four years ago, I had an interesting group discussion about the trial and death of Socrates. Someone said that the Athenians were good at sophistry, not sound reasoning, whereas the judicial system in the US was […]
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