Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/51

§. 1. I hall take the liberty to follow the ame that I have already ubmitted to the public. To fill up and finih that outline with propriety and correctnes, and to render the whole intelligible to the uninformed minds of beginners, (whom we are too apt to uppoe acquainted with terms and ideas, which they never had opportunity to learn) this mut be my ardent endeavour, though by no means my promie to accomplih. You will permit me however very briefly to decribe, rather what I conceive an academical expounder of the laws hould do, than what I have ever known to be done.

hould conider his coure as a general map of the law, marking out the hape of the country, it’s connexions and boundaries, it’s greater diviions and principal cities: it is not his buines to decribe minutely the ubordinate limits, or to fix the longitude and latitude of every inconiderable hamlet. His attention hould be engaged, like that of the readers in Fortecue’s inns of chancery, “in tracing out the originals and as it were the elements of the law.” For if, as Jutinian has oberved, the tender undertanding of the tudent be loaded at the firt with a multitude and variety of matter, it will either occaion him to deert his tudies, or will carry him heavily through them, with much labour, delay, and depondence. Thee originals hould be traced to their fountains, as well as our ditance will permit; to the cutoms of the Britons and Germans, as recorded by Caear and Tacitus; to the codes of the northern nations on the continent, and more epecially to thoe of our own Saxon princes; to the rules of the Roman law, either left here in the days of Papinian, or imported by Vacarius and his followers; but, above Rh