John Marshall

. . . a constitution, intended toendure for ages to come, andconsequently, to be adapted to thevarious crises of human affairs.

My father superintended the English part of my education, and to his care I am indebted for anything valuable which I may have acquired in my youth. He was my only intelligent companion, and was both a watchful parent and an affectionate friend.

I was born on the 24th of September 1755 in the county of Fauquier, at that time one of the frontier counties of Virginia. My father possessed scarcely any fortune and had received a very limited education - but was a man to whom nature had been bountiful, and who had assiduously improved her gifts.

The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim the protection of the laws, whenever he receives an injury. One of the first duties of government is to afford that protection.

The power to tax is the power to destroy.

What is it that makes us trust our judges? Their independence in office and manner of appointment.

The French Revolution will be found to have had great influence on the strength of parties, and on the subsequent political transactions of the United States.

To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.

The power to tax involves the power to destroy.

The corporation is an artificial being invisible intangible and existing only in contemplation of law.

It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is.

An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.

The law does not expect a man to be prepared to defend every act of his life which may be suddenly and without notice alleged against him.

The Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.