Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1768, vol III).djvu/14

2 the proecution of the firt of thee enquiries, we ditinguihed rights into two orts: firt, uch as concern or are annexed to the perns of men, and are then called jura peronarum, or the rights of perons; which, together with the means of acquiring and loing them, compoed the firt book of thee commentaries: and, econdly, uch as a man may acquire over external objects, or things unconnected with his peron, which are called jura rerum, or the rights of things, and thee, with the means of transferring them from man to man, were the ubject of the econd book. I am now therefore to proceed to the conidederation of wrongs; which for the mot part convey to us an idea merely negative, as being nothing ele but a privation of right. For which reaon it was neceary, that, before we entered at all into the dicuion of wrongs, we hould entertain a clear and ditinct notion of rights: the contemplation of what is jus being necearily prior to what may be termed injuria, and the definition of fas precedent to that of nefas. are diviible into two orts or pecies; private wrongs, and public wrongs. The former are an infringement or privation of the private or civil rights belonging to individuals, conidered as individuals; and are thereupon frequently termed civil injuries: the latter are a breach and violation of public rights and duties, which affect the whole community, conidered as a community; and are ditinguihed by the harher appellation of crimes and midemenors. To invetigate the firt of thee pecies of wrongs, with their legal remedies, will be our employment in the preent book; and the other pecies will be reerved till the next or concluding volume.

more effectually to accomplih the redres of private injuries, courts of jutice are intituted in every civilized ociety, in order to protect the weak from the inults of the tronger, by expounding and enforcing thoe laws, by which rights are defined, and wrongs prohibited. This remedy is therefore Rh