“You have the outline?”

The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would often ask that question of his assistant while plotting out an upcoming speech.

It was a single typewritten page of 50 words or so, supplemented with “fragmented scribbles and names of people,” according to his son Christopher Scalia, a former English professor. It contained the key points of his stump speech in favor of originalism and against the notion of a “living Constitution.”

“You could put the words on a napkin and you could look at it and think, 'What is this?'” said Edward Whelan, a former clerk to Scalia. “Yet he insisted on having it with him. I think every word, every mark, on the piece of paper would remind him of something.”

As often as he relied on the outline, Scalia also ignored it as he covered a stunning range of topics in his public talks, from his Catholic faith to Irish jokes, turkey hunting, natural law and freedom of speech. After Scalia's death in February 2016, Whelan and Chris Scalia set out to compile these speeches, most of which were not widely publicized, if at all.

The result is the book “Scalia Speaks,” officially published today. Organized by topic, the book is easy to dip into for a sampling of Scalia's wit and writing skill, often funny and sometimes self-deprecating. It contains a foreword by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “The work of his fine hand will both inspire and challenge legions of judges and advocates,” she wrote.

“There's a breadth here that coheres,” Whelan said in an interview. “It is distinctively different from his judging.”

Some excerpts from the Scalia speeches included in the book:

On legal education: “The law is, as we used to be told when I was a student at Harvard, a stern mistress. (I suppose that formulation is sexist, if not indeed unlawful, today—but you get the point.) The sheer body of law that there is to learn increases mathematically every year. And large portions of that corpus ought to be known, at least in general outlines, by any member of the profession, whatever the particular specialty he or she practices … Do not mistake me: I do not believe it is the function of the law school to prepare moneymaking associates for the law firms—graduates who can hit the ground running and be billed at high hourly rates from the outset. But I think it is the law school's function to provide the broad intellectual and technical grounding that can form the basis of a successful legal career.” – 1999 speech at George Mason University Law School, renamed last year as Antonin Scalia Law School.

On turkey hunting: “I would never have imagined there were any turkeys left in New Jersey, at least not near the state capital [where Scalia was born]. I've also seen a wild turkey inside the Beltway, right on my property, 20 minutes from the nation's capital. There are a lot of turkeys inside the Beltway, but this one was wild.” – 2006 speech before the National Wild Turkey Federation.

On legal writing: “I learned that there is no such thing as legal writing during my two years of teaching, when I taught classes in (supposedly) legal writing at the University of Virginia School of Law. It became immediately clear to me … that what these students lacked was not the skill of legal writing, but the skill of writing at all … What I hope to have taught were the prerequisites for self-improvement in writing, which are two things: (1) the realization … that there is an immense difference between writing and good writing; and (2) the recognition that it takes time and sweat to convert the former into the latter.” – 2008 talk before Scribes, a legal writing organization.

On the legal profession: “One of the distinctive skills of our profession is to discern ambiguities, inaccuracies and insufficiencies that would not occur to the ordinary layman: the term in a draft contract that seems clear enough but, when you think about it, could mean either of two slightly different things … It is this particular skill or instinct or habit that has earned us a reputation as hairsplitters and pettifoggers. The reputation is well-deserved—though it might be put more nicely. The fact is that we do tend to pick things apart; and that is exactly what the nature of our work requires.” – 1984 speech at the University of Dayton.

On Irish intellect: “When an Irishman does not know the answer to a question, he is most unlikely to admit that. If all else fails, he will simply ask a question in return. I once asked Chief Judge Howard Markey of the Federal Circuit, 'Why does an Irishman always answer a question with a question?' And Markey said, 'Why do you say that?'” – 1988 speech before the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

On the vocation of a judge: One key quality of a judge is “an appropriate demeanor that projects to the parties and to the public fairness and impartiality. This does not mean that judges cannot have strong views nor need they keep those views hidden. But it does mean that when a litigant comes before a court, he knows they will be playing on an even field, and that his legal arguments will be carefully considered … The judge must conduct himself and his court in a way that inspires public confidence. – 2007 speech before a law school in Peru.

Contact Tony Mauro at [email protected]. On Twitter: @Tonymauro