Complex sentence: He describes him as a quiet, precise, modest and courteous man; diligent, upright, with a great fund of legal knowledge; despite the severity of the sentences he handed down in criminal cases, he was esteemed by all who knew him.
Split into simpler sentences: He describes him as a quiet, precise, modest and courteous man; diligent, upright, with a great fund of legal knowledge. Despite the severity of the sentences he handed down in criminal cases, he was esteemed by all who knew him.