Commentaries on the Laws of England

by William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England BOOK THE FIRST. BY William Blackstone The Commentaries on the Laws of England are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765-1769. The work is divided into four volumes, on the rights of persons, the rights of things, of private wrongs and of public wrongs. The Commentaries were long regarded as the leading work on the development of English law and played a role in the development of the American legal system. They were in fact the first methodical treatise on the common law suitable for a lay readership since at least the Middle Ages. The common law of England has relied on precedent more than statute and codifications and has been far less amenable than the civil law, developed from the Roman law, to the needs of a treatise. The Commentaries were influential largely because they were in fact readable, and because they met a need. The work is as much an apologia for the legal system of the time as it is an explanation; even when the law was obscure, Blackstone sought to make it seem rational, just, and inevitable that things should be how they were. The Commentaries are often quoted as the definitive pre-Revolutionary source of common law by United States courts. Opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States quote from Blackstone's work whenever they wish to engage in historical discussion that goes back that far, or farther (for example, when discussing the intent of the Framers of the Constitution). The book was famously used as the key in Benedict Arnold's book cipher, which he used to communicate secretly with his conspirator John Andre during their plot to betray the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Genres: Law, Politics, History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, British Literature, 18th Century

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1765

About the author

Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge, and Tory politician. He served as the first Vinerian Professor of Common Law at the University of Oxford from 1758 until 1766. His series of lectures on English law, the first of their kind in any university, have endured since their publication as a definitive reference on the principles of Common Law. The first American edition was produced in 1772; prior to this, over 1,000 copies had already been sold in the Thirteen Colonies, and it was greatly influential among the Framers of the Constitution. Event today, Blackstone's Commentaries are cited in U.S. Supreme Court decisions 10-12 times a year. His plan for a dedicated School of Law, included in the Commentaries upon its rejection by Oxford, provided the foundation of the modern system of American law schools. A 9-foot statue of Blackstone stands on Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C.

Reviews

[Blunt Of Mercia]

Aside from its immense and even contemporary influence on the constitutions of England and the United States, this book represents an ideal in pedagogy. A labyrinthine subject is very carefully unravelled and put neatly into four almost identically sized volumes, the first two being of Rights, the latter of Wrongs. The first book is, of all of them the one worth the closest reading, as it expresses very eloquently the political philosophy of 18th century constitutionalism, yet in more definite terms than one can find in Burke or in Locke. Its influence upon subsequent English and American literature will be constantly felt by anyone who reads it. Even the legalistic prose used to mock lawyers in victorian novels seems to be modelled on Blackstone's very distinctive and precise use of prepositions.

Examples of literary influence I can think of:
Throughout Moby Dick, but especially in Chapter 90, Melville plays about with the laws regarding Royal Fish (Whales & Sturgeons). It is quite obvious that Blackstone is his source. Flotsam and Jetsam laws are also alluded to in the novel.

Dickens's lawyer characters seem influenced by Blackstone, especially his prose. In his Tale of Two Cities, he also alludes to the very large number of capital punishments in the 18th century, as described in Blackstone's Book IV. (For such things too as draining fishponds!)

The book on Property law (Rights of Things, Book II) contains many excellent things pertaining to Feudalism, and additionally, for those who dabble in family or local history, makes clearer some of the terms found in wills & deeds of the time.

[Phillip]

Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769) were the first attempt, since Henri de Bracton in the 13th century, to describe the doctrines of English law in a comprehensive and systematic manner. Highly Recommended!

[Chris]

The book reproduces the images of the original text, which is a little difficult to read at first, but eventually you get the hang of it.

[Michael K.]

A hard and arduously long read, but is, in fact, the basis of our laws. Worthy read to understand or law presently!

[Parker Samelson]

Fascinating book and extremely historically significant.