Oliver Wendell Holmes on the legal system

This is a court of law, not a court of justice.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes on taxation

I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes on liberty

The liberty of the citizen to do as he likes so long as he does not interfere with the liberty of others to do the same, which has been a shibboleth for some well-known writers, is interfered with by school laws, by the Post Office, by every state or municipal institution which takes his money for purposes thought desirable, whether he likes it or not.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, dissenting opinion, Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45, 25 S.Ct. 539 (1905)