I do not think of any Judge of his time anywhere, either here or in England, to whom the profession would ascribe a higher place if he be judged only by the correctness of his opinions in cases where there were no precedents on which to lean and for the excellent original reasons which he had to give.
Hoar reflects on Judge Gray's original reasoning in legal opinions, emphasizing his independence from precedent.
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It relates to matters more permanent than human life.
But, as I have already said, when the time came, he always subordinated his own desire to what he deemed the welfare of the public.
He proceeded to attack, to promote his own ambitions, the fair name and fame of the Commonwealth itself.
He indignantly rejected it, and declared he would not eat a creature that he loved.
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