--- title: "4 Interpretation Quotes By William J. Brennan" description: "4 Interpretation quotes by William J. Brennan. Plus more from William J. Brennan and more Interpretation sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg" --- > [Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar-for-our-aspirations-like/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg) > [We current Justices read the Constitution in the only way that we can: as Twentieth Century Americans. We look to the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/we-current-justices-read-the-constitution-in-the-only-way-that-we-can-2/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/william-j-brennan-15212_adaptability_we-current-justices-read-the-constitutio_2408808.jpg) > [Consequences flow from a justice's interpretation in a direct and immediate way. A judicial decision respecting the incompatibility of Jim Crow with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/consequences-flow-from-a-justice-s-interpretation-in-a-direct-and/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/william-j-brennan-15212_consequence_consequences-flow-from-a-justice-s-inter_2890672.jpg) > [Authoritative interpretations of the First Amendment guarantees have consistently refused to recognize an exception for any test of truth whether administered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/authoritative-interpretations-of-the-first-amendment-guarantees-have/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cb/william-j-brennan-15212_administrative_authoritative-interpretations-of-the-fir_3083437.jpg) ## Other authors on Interpretation - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-susan-sontag-88140.jpg) Susan Sontag 15 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/susan-sontag/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-friedrich-nietzsche-36363.jpg) Friedrich Nietzsche 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/friedrich-nietzsche/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-umberto-eco-92726.jpg) Umberto Eco 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/umberto-eco/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-marshall-b-rosenberg-64571.jpg) Marshall B. Rosenberg 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/marshall-b-rosenberg/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-mahatma-gandhi-62675.jpg) Mahatma Gandhi 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by William J. Brennan > [If our free society is to endure, those who govern must recognize human dignity and accept the enforcement of constitutional limitations on their power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-our-free-society-is-to-endure-those-who-govern-must-recognize/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/debate-on-public-issues-should-be-uninhibited-robust-and-wide-open/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The modern public school derived from a philosophy of freedom reflected in the First Amendment ... The non-sectarian or secular public school was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-modern-public-school-derived-from-a-philosophy-of-freedom/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [If a policeman must know the Constitution, then why not a planner?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-a-policeman-must-know-the-constitution-then-why-not-a-planner/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Our statute books gradually became laden with gross, stereotyped distinctions between the sexes and, indeed, throughout much of the 19th century the position of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-statute-books-gradually-became-laden-with-gross-stereotyped/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [We cannot let colorblindness become myopia which masks the reality that many "created equal" have been treated within our lifetimes as inferior both by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/we-cannot-let-colorblindness-become-myopia-which-masks-the-reality/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [After each perceived security crisis ended, the United States has remorsefully realized that the abrogation of civil liberties was unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/after-each-perceived-security-crisis-ended-the-united-states-has/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The door of the Free Exercise Clause stands tightly closed against any government regulation of religious beliefs as such. Government may neither compel affirmation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-door-of-the-free-exercise-clause-stands-tightly-closed-against/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [One area of law more than any other besmirches the constitutional vision of human dignity. . . . The barbaric death penalty violates our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/one-area-of-law-more-than-any-other-besmirches-the-constitutional/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [“Thus, we consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/thus-we-consider-this-case-against-the-background-of-a-profound/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/whether-to-the-average-person-applying-contemporary-community/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar-for-our-aspirations-like/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The public schools are supported entirely, in most communities, by public funds-funds exacted not only from parents, nor alone from those who hold particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-public-schools-are-supported-entirely-in-most-communities-by/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-genius-of-the-constitution-rests-not-in-any-static-meaning-it/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/william-j-brennan/#itemlist", "name": "4 Interpretation Quotes By William J. Brennan", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the limitations of its provisions are not clearly marked. Its majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements are both luminous and obscure. This ambiguity of course calls forth interpretation, the interaction of reader and text. The encounter with the Constitutional text has been, in many senses, my life's work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William J. 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