“I asked Judge Kavanaugh whether the passage of time is relevant to following precedent. He said decisions become part of our legal framework with the passage of time and that honoring precedent is essential to maintaining public confidence.”–Senator Susan Collins, October 2018
“Collins says Kavanaugh ‘misled’ her with private assurances”–New York Times, June 2022
Theognis, 963-970.
Don’t praise a man until you know him through and through,
His impulses, leanings, and conduct.
Many hide a false and cunning character
By cosplaying for a day certain leanings.
But time reveals each one’s actual ways.
I too strayed quite far from sense: I lauded you
Before I knew just what you were about.
Now, like a ship, I give you a wide berth.
μήποτ᾽ ἐπαινήσῃς πρὶν ἂν εἰδῇς ἄνδρα σαφηνέως,
ὀργὴν καὶ ρυθμὸν καὶ τρόπον ὅστις ἂν᾽ῇ.
πολλοί τοι κίβδηλον ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος ἔχοντες
κρύπτουσ᾽, ἐνθέμενοι ῥυθμὸν ἐφημέριον:
τούτων δ᾽ ἐκφαίνει πάντων χρόνος ἦθος ἑκάστου.
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ γνώμης πολλὸν ἄρ᾽ ἐκτὸς ἔβην:
ἔφθην αἰνήσας πρίν σου κατὰ πάντα δαῆναι
ἤθεα: νῦν δ᾽ ἤδη νηῦς ἅθ᾽ ἑκὰς διέχω.
Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.
