"We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be, what do the words of the text mean in our time"
- William J. Brennan, Jr.
About this Quote
This quote by William J. Brennan, Jr. talks to the significance of comprehending the context of a text in order to analyze it accurately. He recommends that we must want to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of analysis in order to gain a better understanding of the text. Nevertheless, he likewise emphasizes that the supreme concern must be what the words of the text mean in our time. This recommends that the interpretation of a text need to not be fixed, but ought to be adjusted to the current context in order to be relevant and meaningful. To put it simply, the interpretation of a text should be dynamic and should take into consideration the existing context in order to be significant and suitable.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"
