REVIEWS
| Published date | 01 May 1954 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1954.tb02156.x |
| Date | 01 May 1954 |
REVIEWS
HOLMES-LASKI LETTERS
:
THE
CORRESPONDENCE
OF
MR.
JUSTICE
HOLMES
AND
HAROLD
J.
LASKI,
1916-1935. Edited by
MARK
DE
WOLFE HOWE,
2
vols.
[London
:
Geoffrey Cumberlege at the
Oxford University Press. 1953. 1650
pp.
(with index).
24
4s.
Od. net.]
IN
a
letter to Sir Frederick Pollock dated July
12, 1916,
Justice Holmes
asked Pollock “did you know Harold Laski, an astonishing young Jew, whom
Frankfurter brought over here the other day
?
”
During the following twelve
months
or
so
Holmes refers more than once to Laski in his correspondence
with Pollock, and always in superlative terms-“ one of the most very learned
men
I
ever saw of any age
”-“
an extraordinarily agreeable chap
”-“
diaboli-
cally clever and omniscient.” This shows what an impression the youthful
Laski had made
at
once upon the already ageing judge. But it had been
a
mutual liking and admiration, as appears from ‘the first letter with which
on July
11, 1916,
Laski began the correspondence which was to continue
its unbroken flow until the death of the great lawyer in
1935,
and practically
the whole of which is contained in these two volumes.
It
is interesting to speculate, with several
of
the reviewers of this book,
as
to how personalities
so
different
as
Holmes and Laski could have
developed, and developed
so
quickly, the affection and respect which shows
out of all these long pages. Indeed, the speculation is more than merely
interesting, it
is
important, for without some understanding of it the purpose
of the correspondence will not be understood. Holmes was then seventy-
five.
I
have the impression that he was, indeed always had been, rather
a
lonely man. Although somewhat of
a
pessimist by nature he had
a
profound
faith in the future of his country, and
a
realisation of the important part
which ‘the law must play in it. and of the contribution which he had made
and could continue to make to the development of that law, if only he could
keep young, have the ability to respond fully to the underlying
“
necessities
of the times.” As he said, “one ought to have two rules-(a) to know one’s
subject inside
out,
and (b) to have an eye
to
what the rest of the world is
doing.” And therefore he must keep up with the literature-above
all
he
must be in contact with the best of the young men, especially those from his
old Law School at Harvard.
So
he was seeing much of that robust, forward-
looking law professor Felix Frankfurter, and when the latter brought along
Laski who could keep him abreast of the movements in political and socio-
logical thought he seems instinc‘tively
to
have realised that he was on the
brink of
a
life-giving friendship, for his prompt reply to Laski’s opening
“bread and butter letter” was full
of
cordiality and the hope of further
acquaintance. For the visit had been
a
“refreshment” to him, and in this
word we have the secret of the correspondence.
Moreover, Holmes was,
I
think, starved emotionally, at any rate at that
time; wi’thout children he seems to have developed
a
strong liking for more
than one of his law secretaries, and Laski with his vivid personality and
wider outlook gave him an object on whom he could lavish his affection.
Laski, in whom the liking for the society of the eminent, which all
intellectuals have, was strongly developed, must have rejoiced greatly in the
opportunity to make the friendship of one who was perhaps the greatest
American of the age, and one whose contribution had lain of recent years
particularly to ‘that field of law lying on the border of politics and social
development which it was his own ambition as
a
student of political philosophy
275
876
THE MODERN LAW REVIEW
VOL.
17
to explore. Already in
1916
he writes that the legal aspect of State-theory
throws him
“
into
a
perspiration of mental excitement.”
He
perhaps knew
instinctively that much of the judge’s best work still lay before him, and
that in
a
sense they might be able to work together. Moreover, Laski also
needed emotional support and an object for his ever generous affection.
He had long passed out of either intellectual or emotional sympathy with
his father,
a
successful Manchester business man but narrow both as regards
culture and in his religious beliefs, which had led to
a
deep estrangement
from his son, who had married
a
Gentile. There were thus strong reasons
why
a
friendship should start, and develop.
Laski seems
Yo
have realised from an early stage how much Holmes
stood in need of the “refreshment” which he was, as it happpened,
so
singularly well equipped to supply.
He
set himself by personal visits, and
when these were impossible,
as
was usually the case, by correspondence, to
give the old judge the mental recreation and entertainment which would
help to keep him intellectually vigorous and able to keep abreast of his
work.
It
seems to me that in large measure he succeeded, and that America,
and the whole of the common law world which has been
so
much invigorated
by the judicial thought and method of Holmes, is more in Laski’s debt than
it is aware. Again and again the judge acknowledges the pleasure and
stimulus which he is receiving, and almost pathetically adjures his young
friend not to cease writing. His gratitude and affection develop, and
although the letters always commence “Dear Laski,” after
a
time they
conclude
“
affectionately yours.”
As
his technique develops
he establishes a pattern of correspondence. He tells the judge of his own
current doings, and these of course cover
a
wide and fascinating field, for
he moved in political, university and legal circles
at
high levels: he travelled
a
good deal, and had friends in many lands. The episodes described
frequently feature
the
leading figures of the day, and often in dramatic or
amusing situations. In order to paint the scene more vividly Laski collects
and embroiders the gossip of the times, mixes in the more amusing stories
which are floating around, and embellishes the narrative with the resources
of
a
style which
at
its best, and it is in these pages always completely
unaffected, was one of the most readable of his generation. Holmes was
clearly entertained and refreshed, and it is difficult to believe that anybody
who lived through this period, and took an intelligent interest in what was
going on, will not enjoy these pages just
as
much or more.
I
have indeed
found that
I
never opened the book without deriving entertainment from
it;
for there are here more good stories well told than in any work
I
have read
in many
a
long day.
But Holmes relied enormously on literature. When
F.
D.
Roosevelt
called on him in
1933
and found him reading Plat0 he told the President
that he was “improving his mind.” Laski realised what an essential element
this
was, and part of the ever recurrent pattern in the letters is his com-
mentary on the books which he was currently reading. Few men can have
ever read mme rapidly or more widely. Holmes, of course, never kept up
with him, but the criticism when Laski is dealing with his own subject usually
has permanent value, and if on belles lettres and general literature his
judgments are erratic, being
too
often affected by personal prejudices, they
are often stimulating and sometimes penetrating.
Apart from his family, his work, and politics, Laski’s main interest was
book collecting. He had an extraordinary flair for picking up rare editions,
and
recounts his exploits with such gusto that even the reader who does not
share his collector’s zeal can hardly help being carried away by the excite-
ment of the chase, the description of which forms
a
regular part of this
correspondence. And some of his adventures,
as
that in the den of the
Yet these volumes are substantially Laski’s.
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