Bill Clinton: “Mrs. Brennan, members of the Brennan family, Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Congress, the administration…”

“Mrs. Brennan, members of the Brennan family, Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Congress, the administration, Father Jordan, Father O'Hara, Monsignor: Throughout our history, a few powerful ideals have transformed the lives of our people. And throughout our history, there have been a few individuals so devoted to those ideals they could hammer them on the anvil of history to reshape our land and our future. Often, when our Nation could have fractured, a few have stepped into the breach, bringing us together and moving us forward. Justice Brennan found the ideals in the Constitution time and time again. And time and time again, he stepped into the breach to hammer them on the anvil of our history, saving us from our darker impulses and always pulling us together and pushing us forward. We thank God for his life and work, for Justice Brennan's America is America at its best. Today we recall his decency and grace which made out of his philosophical foes some close, personal friends. We recall his humor and humility, we recall his pride in his own heritage and the stunning, almost inexplicable empathy that enabled him to walk in the shoes of those whose lives were so very different from his own. We recall him as a legal giant, the balance wheel who molded the Supreme Court into an instrument of liberty and equality during tumultuous times.…”