It [history] will not remember him well for his air of superiority, the sting of his rhetoric, his frequent disdain for collegiality, his exaggerated estimate of himself as a comedian and thespian
Toward the end the author makes these observations about the private man:
For those who knew Antonin Scalia personally and privately, he was the warmest friend, the most devout in his faith, the delight of any dinner party, a steady partner to his wife, and a proud and loving parent of his children
I am not at all put off Antonin Scalia's alleged limited capacity to suffer fools in his professional life. Argument before the Supreme Court should be one of the most rigorous intellectual exercises our society produces and Justice Scalia was renowned for his cut and thrust. It is not a function of a Supreme Court Justice to conduct a therapy group, he is engaged in an adversarial proceeding in which he is often adversarial to counsel and very often adversarial to his colleagues. This is as it should be because without the rub of conflict there can be no clearing away of intellectual rubbish. At oral argument a justice might well be adversarial with himself and needs the process for clarification.
I take the description that Scalia was prone to exaggerate his prowess as a comedian or thespian not as a negative facet to his character but as evidence of the man's basic humility. A devout Christian, the foundation of his humility which found expression in the secular world in love of children, love of family, and a love of fun. Sounds like a remarkably well-balanced human to me.
