To allow opposition by speech seems to indicate that you think the speech impotent, as when a man says that he has squared the circle, or that you do… - Oliver Wendell Holmes

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To allow opposition by speech seems to indicate that you think the speech impotent, as when a man says that he has squared the circle, or that you do not care whole-heartedly for the result, or that you doubt either your power or your premises. But when men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas —that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution.

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About Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (8 March 1841 – 6 March 1935) was an American jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932; he was often called "The Great Dissenter", and was the son of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Alternative Names: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. Oliver Wendell, Jr. Holmes Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr Oliver Wendell Holmes, jr. Oliver W. Holmes Jr. Oliver Holmes Jr. Oliver Holmes Oliver W. Holmes
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When men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas – that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That, at any rate, is the theory of our Constitution. It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment.

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