Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/17

Ch. 1. decency to thoe, whoe abilities and tations enable them to apply the remedy. Having therefore premied this apology for ome of the enuing remarks, which might otherwie eem to avour of arrogance, I proceed now to conider (in the firt place) the general nature of crimes.

or midemenor, is an act committed, or omitted, in violation of a public law, either forbidding or commanding it. This general definition comprehends both crimes and midemenors ; which, properly peaking, are mere ynonymous terms : though, in common uage, the word “crimes” is made to denote uch offences as are of a deeper and more atrocious dye ; while maller faults, and omiions of les conequence, are comprized under the gentler name of “midemenors” only.

ditinction of public wrongs from private, of crimes and midemenors from civil injuries, eems principally to conit in this : that private wrongs, or civil injuries, are an infringement or privation of the civil rights which belong to individuals, conidered merely as individuals ; public wrongs, or crimes and midemenors, are a breach and violation of the public rights and duties, due to the whole community, conidered as a community, in it's ocial aggregate capacity. As if I detain a field from another man, to which the law has given him a right, this is a civil injury, and not a crime; for here only the right of an individual is concerned, and it is immaterial to the public, which of us is in poeion of the land : but treaon, murder, and robbery are properly ranked among crimes ; ince, beides the injury done to individuals, they trike at the very being of ociety ; which cannot poibly ubit, where actions of this ort are uffered to ecape with impunity.

all caes the crime includes an injury: every public offence is alo a private wrong, and omewhat more ; it affects the individual, and it likewie affects the community. Thus Rh