Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/193

Ch. 14. " that he die, no blood hall be hed for him : but if the fun " be rien upon him, there hall blood be hed for him ; for he " mould have made full retitution ." At Athens, if any theft was committed by night, it was lawful to kill the criminal, if taken in the fact : and, by the Roman law of the twelve tables, a thief might be lain by night with impunity ; or even by day, if he armed himelf with any dangerous weapon : which amounts very nearly to the fame as is permitted by our own contitutions.

Roman law alo justifies homicide, when committed in defence of the chatity either of oneelf or relations : and o alo, according to Selden, flood the law in the Jewih republic. The Englih law likewie jutifies a woman, killing one who attempts to ravih her : and o too the huband or father may jutify killing a man, who attempts a rape upon his wife or daughter ; but not if he takes them in adultery by conent, for the one is forcible and felonious, but not the other. And I make no doubt but the forcibly attempting a crime, of a till more detetable nature, may be equally reited by the death of the unnatural aggreor. For the one uniform principle that runs through our own, and all other laws, eems to be this : that where a crime, in itelf capital, is endeavoured to be committed by force, it is lawful to repel that force by the death of the party attempting. But we mut not carry this doctrine to the ame viionary length that Mr. Locke does ; who holds, " that all man " ner of force without right upon a man's peron, puts him in a " tate of war with the aggreor ; and, of conequence, that, " being in uch a tate of war, he may lawfully kill him that " puts him under this unnatural retraint." However jut this concluion may be in a tate of uncivilized nature, yet the law of