Rufus Choate (October 1, 1799-July 13, 1859) was a lawyer, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1831-34, and U.S. Senator, 1841-45. Before he was six years old, he had become so familiar with John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as to repeat from memory large portions of it. Famous for his definition of a lawyer's vacation being "the space between a question to a witness and his answer," Rufus Choate was extremely fond of the
Bible. He declared:
<No lawyer can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.> 1799RC001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1799RC001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Rufus Choate. Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume I. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 83. 1799RC002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Rufus Choate. Tryon Edwards, D.D., The New Dictionary of Thoughts-A Cyclopedia of Quotations (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1852; revised and enlarged by C.H. Catrevas, Ralph Emerson Browns and Jonathan Edwards [descendent, along with Tryon, of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), president of Princeton], 1891; The Standard Book Company, 1955, 1963), p. 47.