A higher purpose
Wonderful article in Fortune this month on Chief Justice Roberts that related this passage from a speech he made in 2004 to oral advocates. He urged these advocates to approach their craft as medieval stonemasons did their work:
Those masons - the ones who built the great cathedrals - would spend months meticulously carving the gargoyles high up in the cathedral . . . gargoyles that when the cathedral was completed could not even be seen from the ground below. [Similarly,] the advocate must meticulously prepare, analyze, and rehearse answers to hundred of questions, questions that in all likelihood will actually never be asked by the Court. The medieval stonemasons did what they did because, it was said, they were carving for the eye of God. The advocate who stands before the Supreme Court also needs to infuse his craft with a higher purpose. He must appreciate that what happens here, in mundane case after mundane case, is extraordinary - the vindication of the rule of law - and that he as the advocate plays a critical role in the process.
Great advice. You may not be presenting a case to the Supreme Court, and at times you may feel overburdened with mundane processes, but craftsmanship is all about the attention to detail you are able to bring day in and day out to whatever your trade or craft.
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