Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/30

14 men, to be acquainted with many branches of the law, which are almot peculiar and appropriated to themelves alone. Such are the laws relating to advowons, intitutions, and inductions; to imony, and imoniacal contracts; to uniformity, reidence, and pluralities; to tithes and other eccleiatical dues; to marriages (more epecially of late) and to a variety of other ubjects, which are conigned to the care of their order by the proviions of particular tatutes. To undertand thee aright, to dicern what is warranted or enjoined, and what is forbidden by law, demands a ort of legal apprehenion; which is no otherwie to be acquired than by ue and a familiar acquaintance with legal writers.

the gentlemen of the faculty of phyic, I mut frankly own that I ee no pecial reaon, why they in particular hould apply themelves to the tudy of the law; unles in common with other gentlemen, and to complete the character of general and extenive knowlege; a character which their profeion, beyond others, has remarkably deerved. They will give me leave however to ugget, and that not ludicrouly, that it might frequently be of ue to families upon udden emergencies, if the phyician were acquainted with the doctrine of lat wills and tetaments, at leat o far as relates to the formal part of their execution.

thoe gentlemen who intend to profes the civil and eccleiatical laws in the piritual and maritime courts of this kingdom, are of all men (next to common lawyers) the mot indipenably obliged to apply themelves eriouly to the tudy of our municipal laws. For the civil and canon laws, conidered with repect to any intrinic obligation, have no force or authority in this kingdom; they are no more binding in England than our laws are binding at Rome. But as far as thee foreign laws, on account of ome peculiar propriety, have in ome particular caes, and in ome particular courts, been introduced and allowed by our laws, o far they oblige, and no farther; their authority being wholly founded upon that permiion and adoption. In which we are not ingular in our notions: for even in Holland, where the imperial