Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
| NUMBER: | 930 |
| AUTHOR: | Daniel Webster (1782–1852) |
| QUOTATION: | When the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell on John Jay, it touched nothing less spotless than itself. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Senator The dinner, given in Webster’s honor by the citizens of New York, was to thank him for his defense of the Constitution in the previous session of Congress. John Jay was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. |
| SUBJECTS: | Judges |