Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/395

 Ch. 23. lands will pas under uch devie, unles, ubequent to the purchae or contract , the devior re-publihes his will.

have now conidered the everal pecies of common aurances, whereby a title to lands and tenements may be tranferred and conveyed from one man to another. But, before we conclude this head, it may not be improper to take notice of a few general rules and maxims, which have been laid down by courts of jutice, for the contruction and expoition of them all. Thee are

1. the contruction be favourable, and as near the minds and apparent intents of the parties, as the rules of law will admit. For the maxims of law are, that "verba intentioni debent inervire;" and, "benigne interpretamur chartas propter implicitatem laicorum." And therefore the contruction mut alo be reaonable, and agreeable to common undertanding.

2. quoties in verbis nulla et ambiguitas, ibi nulla expoitio contra verba fienda et : but that, where the intention is clear, too minute a tres be not laid on the trict and precie ignification of words; nam qui haeret in litera, haeret in cortice. Therefore, by a grant of a remainder a reverion may well pas, and e convero. And another maxim of law is, that "mala grammatica non vitiat chartam;" neither fale Englih nor bad Latin will detroy a deed. Which perhaps a claical critic may think to be no unneceary caution.

3. the contructonconstruction [sic]  be made upon the entire deed, and not merely upon disjointed parts of it. "Nam ex antecedentibus Rh