Benjamin Harrison, The Constitution and Administration of the United States of America (1897), p. 320; quoting a comment by Thomas Jefferson on judges' apparel.
“

Jefferson was against any needless official apparel, but if the gown was to carry, he said: "For Heaven's sake discard the monstrous wig which makes the English judges look like rats peeping through bunches of oakum."

— Benjamin Harrison on Judges

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Jefferson was against any needless official apparel, but if the gown was to carry, he said: "For Heaven's sake discard the monstrous wig which makes the English judges look like rats peeping through bunches of oakum."" in the context of "Benjamin Harrison, The Constitution and Administration of the United States of America (1897), p. 320; quoting a comment by Thomas Jefferson on judges' apparel." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Judges" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Benjamin Harrison

About Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison (20 August 1833 – 13 March 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States (1889–1893); he was the grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Before ascending to the presidency, Harrison established himself as a prominent local attorney, Presbyterian church leader and politician in Indianapolis, Indiana. During the American Civil War, he served the Union as a colonel and on February 14, 1865 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from January 23, 1865. After the war, he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate by the Indiana legislature.