Why did Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. choose to study law?

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. did not initially choose to study law out of a clear sense of personal vocation. In fact, he entered Harvard Law School in 1864 without a strong incentive and had even contemplated a career in medicine, which his father opposed.

Holmes later described his entry into the legal profession as being driven by his father, whom he referred to as the "Governor." He famously remarked that his father "put on the screws" to force him into law school or "kicked" him into it. Despite this lack of initial enthusiasm, Holmes eventually became deeply engaged in the field after discovering that the philosophy, history, and science of law offered a depth that transcended the "stagnant" and "narrowly precedent-centered" curriculum he initially encountered.1