Step 1: Understanding the essay.
‘The Path of the Law’ is a landmark legal essay that explains law from a practical and realist perspective, focusing on how judges actually decide cases.
Step 2: Identifying the author.
The essay was written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., a prominent jurist and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Step 3: Conclusion.
Thus, the correct answer is (C) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.