Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 01.pdf/333

294 He's learned he must not, e'en though others break The laws, into his own hands justice take. Feræ naturæ, hens some scornful call, But law's broad ægis doth protect them all. So shall respected be all things alive; And everywhere let litigation thrive!

THE MORALITY OF ADVOCACY.

HE disregard of lawyers for truth and justice has been for many generations a standing topic for satire. The common view of the subject is expressed by Southey, with his usual neatness, in the address to Bishop Basil, which he puts into the mouth of the devil:—

"The law thy calling ought to have been, With thy wit so ready and tongue so free, To prove by reason, in reason's despite, That right is wrong, and wrong is right, And white is black, and black is white,— What a loss I have had in thee!"

Dr. Arnold seems to have looked upon the profession of an advocate as of necessity immoral. In the "History of Rome" he speaks of "the study of law, which is as wholesome to the human mind as the practice of it is often injurious." And in one of his published letters to Sir J. Coleridge, he speaks of his "abhorrence of the profession of advocacy," and asks whether there is no way by which a man can hope to reach the position of a judge without exposing himself to the injurious influences of the bar. It is, perhaps, however, amongst the lighter class of writers that lawyers of all sorts are most hardly dealt with. There is a piquancy in the contrast which is alleged to exist between the solemnity of the function which they claim to discharge—the administration of justice—and the disregard which their conduct is said to display for everything but the interest of their clients, which is irresistibly tempting to those who are bound to make a point of some sort or other, whatever may be the subject on which they write.

On the other hand, those who are guided in forming their opinions by their judgments rather than their sympathies will be slow to condemn any established and recognized profession as immoral; for they will feel that to do so is to condemn the general constitution of society, as it forms a connected whole, the different members of which are closely connected with one another. Advocacy has been a recognized profession in all societies, except the most barbarous and despotic, and it would be absurd to deny that it has rendered splendid services to every nation in which it has existed.

The leading principle by which the whole subject is governed is, that the profession of advocacy is an essential part of the general administration of the law. The principle itself is familiar, perhaps even trite, but its practical application is generally unperceived; for though both the words and the thoughts for which they stand are commonplace enough, few persons set themselves seriously to consider what law is, and what is implied in its administration. A clear view on each of these points is, however, essential to any one who wishes to understand the moral questions connected with advocacy.

First, then, what is law? It is usually supposed that if a contrast can be drawn out