Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/224

 210 therefore a peron dies o eied, the inheritance firt goes to his iue: as if there be Geoffrey, John, and Matthew, grandfather, father, and on; and John purchaes land and dies; his on Matthew hall ucceed him as heir, and not the grandfather Geoffrey; to whom the land hall never acend, but hall rather echeat to the lord.

rule, o far as it is affirmative and relates to lineal decents, is almot univerally adopted by all nations; and it eems founded on a principle of natural reaon, that (whenever a right of property tranmiible to repreentatives is admitted) the poeions of the parents hould go, upon their deceae, in the firt place to their children, as thoe to whom they have given being, and for whom they are therefore bound to provide. But the negative branch, or total excluion of parents and all lineal ancetors from ucceeding to the inheritance of their offspring, is peculiar to our own laws, and uch as have been deduced from the ame original. For, by the Jewih law, on failure of iue the father ucceeded to the on, in excluion of brethren, unles one of them married the widow and raied up feed to his brother. And, by the laws of Rome, in the firt place the children or lineal decendants were preferred; and, on failure of thee, the father and mother or lineal acendants ucceeded together with the brethren and iters ; though by the law of the twelve tables the mother was originally, on account of her ex, excluded. Hence this rule of our laws has been cenured and declaimed againt, as aburd and derogating from the maxims of equity and natural jutice. Yet that there is nothing unjut or aburd in it, but that on the contrary it is founded upon very good reaon, may appear from conidering as well the nature of the rule itelf, as the occaion of introducing it into our laws. Rh