Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230204
- eISBN:
- 9780191710681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230204.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The chapter begins by explaining that two major Latin works, a set of Commentaries on all the Pauline epistles save Hebrews, and 127 Quaestiones on the Old and New Testaments are now known as the ...
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The chapter begins by explaining that two major Latin works, a set of Commentaries on all the Pauline epistles save Hebrews, and 127 Quaestiones on the Old and New Testaments are now known as the work of a single author, an anonymous author who has for over 300 years been referred to as Ambrosiaster. There have been several distinct stages in the emergence of Ambrosiaster. In the earliest phase of their circulation, portions of the Quaestiones and Commentaries were attributed by their readers to various different authors or they were said to be written anonymously. This confusion over the authorship of Ambrosiaster's works is further reflected in the manuscript tradition.Less
The chapter begins by explaining that two major Latin works, a set of Commentaries on all the Pauline epistles save Hebrews, and 127 Quaestiones on the Old and New Testaments are now known as the work of a single author, an anonymous author who has for over 300 years been referred to as Ambrosiaster. There have been several distinct stages in the emergence of Ambrosiaster. In the earliest phase of their circulation, portions of the Quaestiones and Commentaries were attributed by their readers to various different authors or they were said to be written anonymously. This confusion over the authorship of Ambrosiaster's works is further reflected in the manuscript tradition.
Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230204
- eISBN:
- 9780191710681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230204.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's position in and attitude towards the Roman church in the 370s and 380s. Some of the Quaestiones in particular contain clues that leads to the belief that they ...
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This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's position in and attitude towards the Roman church in the 370s and 380s. Some of the Quaestiones in particular contain clues that leads to the belief that they originated as sermons or lectures, and the possibility that Ambrosiaster wrote homiletic texts suggests he was, in fact, a cleric. The Quaestiones are given precedence in this analysis, because they are less uniform in nature than the Commentaries and contain more clues to the circumstances of their composition and delivery.Less
This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's position in and attitude towards the Roman church in the 370s and 380s. Some of the Quaestiones in particular contain clues that leads to the belief that they originated as sermons or lectures, and the possibility that Ambrosiaster wrote homiletic texts suggests he was, in fact, a cleric. The Quaestiones are given precedence in this analysis, because they are less uniform in nature than the Commentaries and contain more clues to the circumstances of their composition and delivery.
Wilfrid Prest
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199550296
- eISBN:
- 9780191720925
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199550296.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This introductory chapter sets the scene and provides a rationale for the book as a whole. Various reasons are offered to explain why the author of such a major work as the Commentaries has yet to ...
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This introductory chapter sets the scene and provides a rationale for the book as a whole. Various reasons are offered to explain why the author of such a major work as the Commentaries has yet to receive anything like adequate attention from biographers and historians. Besides reviewing Blackstone's fluctuating reputation, and the state of the currently available literature on the man and his career, there is some discussion of problems of evidence and the influence of Blackstone's own autobiographical account, as represented in the authoritative ‘Memoirs’ compiled by his brother-in-law James Clitherow. The chapter concludes with a brief outline of the book's main aims, as being in particular to provide a contextualized account of Blackstone's life, told so far as possible without the benefit of hindsight. The relationship between biographer and subject is also discussed.Less
This introductory chapter sets the scene and provides a rationale for the book as a whole. Various reasons are offered to explain why the author of such a major work as the Commentaries has yet to receive anything like adequate attention from biographers and historians. Besides reviewing Blackstone's fluctuating reputation, and the state of the currently available literature on the man and his career, there is some discussion of problems of evidence and the influence of Blackstone's own autobiographical account, as represented in the authoritative ‘Memoirs’ compiled by his brother-in-law James Clitherow. The chapter concludes with a brief outline of the book's main aims, as being in particular to provide a contextualized account of Blackstone's life, told so far as possible without the benefit of hindsight. The relationship between biographer and subject is also discussed.
Wilfrid Prest
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199550296
- eISBN:
- 9780191720925
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199550296.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter deals with aspects of Blackstone's domestic, family and private life, his role as husband and father, his diet, alcoholic intake, lack of exercise, and martyrdom to gout. Besides ...
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This chapter deals with aspects of Blackstone's domestic, family and private life, his role as husband and father, his diet, alcoholic intake, lack of exercise, and martyrdom to gout. Besides maintaining an active presence in and around his home in the borough of Wallingford, Blackstone kept up a busy commuting existence to and from London and Oxford. His law lectures had become a celebrated institution, but shrinking enrolments and the threat of pirate publication led him to publish in book form. The highly favourable reception accorded the first two books of the Commentaries on the Laws of England helped boost Blackstone's professional profile, while his resignation from the Vinerian chair freed him to devote more time and attention to his practice and parliamentary responsibilities.Less
This chapter deals with aspects of Blackstone's domestic, family and private life, his role as husband and father, his diet, alcoholic intake, lack of exercise, and martyrdom to gout. Besides maintaining an active presence in and around his home in the borough of Wallingford, Blackstone kept up a busy commuting existence to and from London and Oxford. His law lectures had become a celebrated institution, but shrinking enrolments and the threat of pirate publication led him to publish in book form. The highly favourable reception accorded the first two books of the Commentaries on the Laws of England helped boost Blackstone's professional profile, while his resignation from the Vinerian chair freed him to devote more time and attention to his practice and parliamentary responsibilities.
Diana de Armas Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198160052
- eISBN:
- 9780191673764
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198160052.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter turns to Cervantes's posthumously published Persiles, the novel that most strenuously references America and on which he wagered his posthumous literary fame. The novel's opening ...
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This chapter turns to Cervantes's posthumously published Persiles, the novel that most strenuously references America and on which he wagered his posthumous literary fame. The novel's opening ‘Barbaric Isle’narrative invites readers into a world of slavery and cannibalism. The discussion here also examines the role of Inca Garcilaso, the so-called ‘Herodotus of the Incas’ in this atrocious world. It furthermore examines the oft-remarked presence in Cervantes of the Royal Commentaries of the Incas. This chapter both documents and augments the role of Inca Garcilaso as Cervantes's main precursor in ‘barbaric’ scriptures.Less
This chapter turns to Cervantes's posthumously published Persiles, the novel that most strenuously references America and on which he wagered his posthumous literary fame. The novel's opening ‘Barbaric Isle’narrative invites readers into a world of slavery and cannibalism. The discussion here also examines the role of Inca Garcilaso, the so-called ‘Herodotus of the Incas’ in this atrocious world. It furthermore examines the oft-remarked presence in Cervantes of the Royal Commentaries of the Incas. This chapter both documents and augments the role of Inca Garcilaso as Cervantes's main precursor in ‘barbaric’ scriptures.
L. W. C. van Lit
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474415859
- eISBN:
- 9781474435024
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474415859.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other ...
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This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other parts of the history of philosophy. The notion originated out of discussions on the fate of human beings after death; would this be spiritual only or physical as well? The world of image suggests that there exists a world of non-physical (imagined) bodies, beyond our earthly existence. This world may be entered after death and glimpses of it may already be witnessed during sleep or meditation. Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) was the first to suggest something along these lines, arguing that people could simply imagine their afterlife without the need for it to be actually physical. Suhrawardī (d. 1191) included this suggestion in his innovative thinking on epistemology, known as ‘knowledge by presence’, without fully ontologizing it. Shahrazūrī (d. > 1286), finally, turned Suhrawardī’s thinking into the full-blown notion of a world of image. Notably through Taftāzānī (d. 1390) and Shaykh Bahāʾī (d. 1621), the idea gained wider popularity and continued to be discussed, especially in Shīʿī circles, up to this day. This book gives an insight into late medieval and early modern Islamic philosophy, especially the role of commentary writing. It sets the record straight for the provenance and development of the world of image and reconsiders the importance of Suhrawardī for the development of philosophy in the Islamic world.Less
This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other parts of the history of philosophy. The notion originated out of discussions on the fate of human beings after death; would this be spiritual only or physical as well? The world of image suggests that there exists a world of non-physical (imagined) bodies, beyond our earthly existence. This world may be entered after death and glimpses of it may already be witnessed during sleep or meditation. Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) was the first to suggest something along these lines, arguing that people could simply imagine their afterlife without the need for it to be actually physical. Suhrawardī (d. 1191) included this suggestion in his innovative thinking on epistemology, known as ‘knowledge by presence’, without fully ontologizing it. Shahrazūrī (d. > 1286), finally, turned Suhrawardī’s thinking into the full-blown notion of a world of image. Notably through Taftāzānī (d. 1390) and Shaykh Bahāʾī (d. 1621), the idea gained wider popularity and continued to be discussed, especially in Shīʿī circles, up to this day. This book gives an insight into late medieval and early modern Islamic philosophy, especially the role of commentary writing. It sets the record straight for the provenance and development of the world of image and reconsiders the importance of Suhrawardī for the development of philosophy in the Islamic world.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0020
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The functioning of Roman public life depended on amicitia. The fulcrum of the political groups, amicitia also humanised and strengthened relations between representatives of different alignments. ...
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The functioning of Roman public life depended on amicitia. The fulcrum of the political groups, amicitia also humanised and strengthened relations between representatives of different alignments. According to some, it explains Roman politics: it was certainly a determining factor also because the political class had a single provenance. Indeed, ‘the conservative Roman voter could seldom be induced to elect a man whose name had not been known for centuries as a part of the history of the Republic’. Cicero reflects on amicitia in a famous treatise, in which he asserts categorically that true amicitia must be disinterested. He fails to acknowledge that amicitia founded on mutual interest and benefit may be in every sense perceived as amicitia and to all intents the same. One should look therefore not to Cicero's De amicitia for an understanding of amicitia, but rather to Caesar's Commentaries on the civil war.Less
The functioning of Roman public life depended on amicitia. The fulcrum of the political groups, amicitia also humanised and strengthened relations between representatives of different alignments. According to some, it explains Roman politics: it was certainly a determining factor also because the political class had a single provenance. Indeed, ‘the conservative Roman voter could seldom be induced to elect a man whose name had not been known for centuries as a part of the history of the Republic’. Cicero reflects on amicitia in a famous treatise, in which he asserts categorically that true amicitia must be disinterested. He fails to acknowledge that amicitia founded on mutual interest and benefit may be in every sense perceived as amicitia and to all intents the same. One should look therefore not to Cicero's De amicitia for an understanding of amicitia, but rather to Caesar's Commentaries on the civil war.
John Finnis
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199580088
- eISBN:
- 9780191729409
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580088.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The introductory discourse in Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765), and its definition of law, has usually been read as focused on the thesis that unjust laws are not laws. But ...
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The introductory discourse in Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765), and its definition of law, has usually been read as focused on the thesis that unjust laws are not laws. But that was not Blackstone's point, and his theoretical intentions, as manifested in the highly deliberated architecture of the Commentaries (traced in historical origin and structural and linguistic detail in the chapter), were much more interesting and complex. Like the main body of the natural law tradition, his interest lay in the various forms of derivation of positive from natural law (moral principle). His works' fruits in William Jones 1781 Essay on Bailments are methodologically superior to Bentham's work from 1776 onwards.Less
The introductory discourse in Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765), and its definition of law, has usually been read as focused on the thesis that unjust laws are not laws. But that was not Blackstone's point, and his theoretical intentions, as manifested in the highly deliberated architecture of the Commentaries (traced in historical origin and structural and linguistic detail in the chapter), were much more interesting and complex. Like the main body of the natural law tradition, his interest lay in the various forms of derivation of positive from natural law (moral principle). His works' fruits in William Jones 1781 Essay on Bailments are methodologically superior to Bentham's work from 1776 onwards.
Paul White
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265543
- eISBN:
- 9780191760358
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265543.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
Jodocus Badius Ascensius (1462-1535), also known as Josse Bade, was a scholar and printer who played a central role in the flourishing of humanism and print culture in the French Renaissance. In a ...
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Jodocus Badius Ascensius (1462-1535), also known as Josse Bade, was a scholar and printer who played a central role in the flourishing of humanism and print culture in the French Renaissance. In a career spanning four decades, he was involved with the print publication of something approaching one thousand editions. He was known for the ‘familiar’ commentaries he wrote and published as introductions to the major authors of Latin (and less frequently, Greek) antiquity, as well as on texts by medieval and contemporary authors. His commentaries and prefaces document the early stages of French humanism, and his texts played a major role in forming the minds of future generations. This book provides an account of Badius’s contributions to pedagogy, scholarship, printing and humanist culture. Its main focus is on Latin language commentaries on classical texts. It examines Badius’s multiple roles in the light of changing conceptions of textual culture during the Renaissance. It also explores the wider context of the communities with which Badius cultivated relationships: scholars and printers, figures from religious orders, the university and officialdom. It considers the readerships for which Badius produced texts in France, England, Scotland, the Low Countries, and beyond. It explores the ways in which humanists understood the circulation of knowledge in terms of economy and commerce, and their conceptualizations of commentary as a site of cultural mediation.Less
Jodocus Badius Ascensius (1462-1535), also known as Josse Bade, was a scholar and printer who played a central role in the flourishing of humanism and print culture in the French Renaissance. In a career spanning four decades, he was involved with the print publication of something approaching one thousand editions. He was known for the ‘familiar’ commentaries he wrote and published as introductions to the major authors of Latin (and less frequently, Greek) antiquity, as well as on texts by medieval and contemporary authors. His commentaries and prefaces document the early stages of French humanism, and his texts played a major role in forming the minds of future generations. This book provides an account of Badius’s contributions to pedagogy, scholarship, printing and humanist culture. Its main focus is on Latin language commentaries on classical texts. It examines Badius’s multiple roles in the light of changing conceptions of textual culture during the Renaissance. It also explores the wider context of the communities with which Badius cultivated relationships: scholars and printers, figures from religious orders, the university and officialdom. It considers the readerships for which Badius produced texts in France, England, Scotland, the Low Countries, and beyond. It explores the ways in which humanists understood the circulation of knowledge in terms of economy and commerce, and their conceptualizations of commentary as a site of cultural mediation.
Lindsay Farmer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748640706
- eISBN:
- 9780748651450
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748640706.003.0017
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter tries to articulate some of the ideas about principle — or the uses of the term — that are embedded in doctrinal writings on Scots criminal law. It then examines conceptions of principle ...
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This chapter tries to articulate some of the ideas about principle — or the uses of the term — that are embedded in doctrinal writings on Scots criminal law. It then examines conceptions of principle in the literature of Scots criminal law, from Baron Hume's Commentaries to Gordon's Criminal Law, looking at the different conceptions of principle and their implications for the substantive criminal law. In so doing, it argues that Gordon's justly celebrated treatise on Criminal Law was primarily organised around an idea of principle that was in important respects alien to Scots criminal law, but that his distinctive and important contribution lies in the way that he was able in this work to graft this conception onto the more native and traditional ideas of principle that had informed the earlier development of Scots criminal law.Less
This chapter tries to articulate some of the ideas about principle — or the uses of the term — that are embedded in doctrinal writings on Scots criminal law. It then examines conceptions of principle in the literature of Scots criminal law, from Baron Hume's Commentaries to Gordon's Criminal Law, looking at the different conceptions of principle and their implications for the substantive criminal law. In so doing, it argues that Gordon's justly celebrated treatise on Criminal Law was primarily organised around an idea of principle that was in important respects alien to Scots criminal law, but that his distinctive and important contribution lies in the way that he was able in this work to graft this conception onto the more native and traditional ideas of principle that had informed the earlier development of Scots criminal law.
Paul White
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265543
- eISBN:
- 9780191760358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265543.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
The chapter examines aspects of the history and theory of commentary, and places Badius’s own commentary practice within these contexts. It focuses in particular of the tradition of grammatica ...
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The chapter examines aspects of the history and theory of commentary, and places Badius’s own commentary practice within these contexts. It focuses in particular of the tradition of grammatica associated with the grammarians of Late Antiquity: Servius, Donatus, Diomedes. The chapter distinguishes between the designations used for different types of humanist commentary in the Renaissance, and narrows the focus to Badius’s own ‘familiar commentary’ (familiaris interpretatio). In his commentaries, on medieval and religious texts as well as on humanist and classical authors, Badius maintained an identifiably ‘humanist’ approach which was nevertheless firmly grounded in a long tradition of pedagogical commentary, bringing out the moral meanings of a text through a close examination of grammar and style. The chapter examines the defining features of this type of commentary, its composition and uses, and analyses the figurative language Badius used to characterize his commentary text.Less
The chapter examines aspects of the history and theory of commentary, and places Badius’s own commentary practice within these contexts. It focuses in particular of the tradition of grammatica associated with the grammarians of Late Antiquity: Servius, Donatus, Diomedes. The chapter distinguishes between the designations used for different types of humanist commentary in the Renaissance, and narrows the focus to Badius’s own ‘familiar commentary’ (familiaris interpretatio). In his commentaries, on medieval and religious texts as well as on humanist and classical authors, Badius maintained an identifiably ‘humanist’ approach which was nevertheless firmly grounded in a long tradition of pedagogical commentary, bringing out the moral meanings of a text through a close examination of grammar and style. The chapter examines the defining features of this type of commentary, its composition and uses, and analyses the figurative language Badius used to characterize his commentary text.
Kathryn D. Temple
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781479895274
- eISBN:
- 9781479832637
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479895274.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
How do people develop loyalty to the legal system they inhabit? This book focuses on legal emotions in William Blackstone's transformative, bestselling Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), ...
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How do people develop loyalty to the legal system they inhabit? This book focuses on legal emotions in William Blackstone's transformative, bestselling Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), a collection of volumes that deeply impacted English legal culture and became an icon for English common law values across the British Empire. Blackstone, not only a lawyer and judge, but a poet who believed that “the only true and natural foundations of society are the wants and fears of individuals,” was ideally situated to condense English law into a form that evoked emotions. Using a history of emotions and Law and Humanities approach, the book argues that in enlisting an affective aesthetics to invoke emotions such as desire, disgust, melancholia, embarrassment, terror, tenderness, and happiness, Blackstone encouraged readers to feel as much as reason their way to justice in ways that have continued to influence the Western world. This book treats the Commentaries—reinterpreted here in affective, aesthetic, and real-world contexts—as offering a complex map of our affective relationship to juridical culture, one that illuminates both individual and communal understandings of our search for justice and is crucial for understanding both justice and injustice today.Less
How do people develop loyalty to the legal system they inhabit? This book focuses on legal emotions in William Blackstone's transformative, bestselling Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), a collection of volumes that deeply impacted English legal culture and became an icon for English common law values across the British Empire. Blackstone, not only a lawyer and judge, but a poet who believed that “the only true and natural foundations of society are the wants and fears of individuals,” was ideally situated to condense English law into a form that evoked emotions. Using a history of emotions and Law and Humanities approach, the book argues that in enlisting an affective aesthetics to invoke emotions such as desire, disgust, melancholia, embarrassment, terror, tenderness, and happiness, Blackstone encouraged readers to feel as much as reason their way to justice in ways that have continued to influence the Western world. This book treats the Commentaries—reinterpreted here in affective, aesthetic, and real-world contexts—as offering a complex map of our affective relationship to juridical culture, one that illuminates both individual and communal understandings of our search for justice and is crucial for understanding both justice and injustice today.
James Q. Whitman
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195182606
- eISBN:
- 9780199850266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182606.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter refers to Blackstone's Commentaries to further examine Blackstone's interpretation of the place that the respect for persons holds in the ...
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This chapter refers to Blackstone's Commentaries to further examine Blackstone's interpretation of the place that the respect for persons holds in the law. Blackstone believed that common law rejected the notion of “respect of persons”—the Christian term used in the New Testament to depict how Christ refused to respect the differences in social classes—since the common law did not account for social rank and position. With this, common law is described not merely as Christian, but as something enlightening. The chapter explains that America's criminal justice system rejects this respect of persons because it aims to treat people equally, and that this approach veers away from treating offenders with respect.Less
This chapter refers to Blackstone's Commentaries to further examine Blackstone's interpretation of the place that the respect for persons holds in the law. Blackstone believed that common law rejected the notion of “respect of persons”—the Christian term used in the New Testament to depict how Christ refused to respect the differences in social classes—since the common law did not account for social rank and position. With this, common law is described not merely as Christian, but as something enlightening. The chapter explains that America's criminal justice system rejects this respect of persons because it aims to treat people equally, and that this approach veers away from treating offenders with respect.
Lisa L. Moore, Joanna Brooks, and Caroline Wigginton (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199743483
- eISBN:
- 9780190252830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199743483.003.0023
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature, Women's Literature
In his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Sir William Blackstone articulated the legal doctrine of coverture or feme covert (l“covered woman”). According to Blackstone, women lose the ...
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In his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Sir William Blackstone articulated the legal doctrine of coverture or feme covert (l“covered woman”). According to Blackstone, women lose the right to make their own contracts and own their own property upon marriage; those rights are transferred to their husbands. He also calls on husbands to discipline their wives like “children” or “servants.” This chapter features Blackstone’s “Of Husband and Wife,” which is part of Commentaries on the Laws of England.Less
In his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Sir William Blackstone articulated the legal doctrine of coverture or feme covert (l“covered woman”). According to Blackstone, women lose the right to make their own contracts and own their own property upon marriage; those rights are transferred to their husbands. He also calls on husbands to discipline their wives like “children” or “servants.” This chapter features Blackstone’s “Of Husband and Wife,” which is part of Commentaries on the Laws of England.
John W Cairns
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748682096
- eISBN:
- 9781474415989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748682096.003.0015
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
The publication of Blackstone’s Commentaries in the 1760s initially gained a favourable reception. However, the criticisms made in 1776 by Bentham in the Fragment on Government did such serious ...
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The publication of Blackstone’s Commentaries in the 1760s initially gained a favourable reception. However, the criticisms made in 1776 by Bentham in the Fragment on Government did such serious damage to Blackstone’s reputation that, in the nineteenth century, among many scholars, his standing was low. This chapter argues that an important way of understanding Blackstone’s book is as an institutional work. This argument is developed in three parts: first, institutional writings as a genre will briefly be discussed; second, the recognition of this genre in England will be described; and third, Blackstone’s status as an institutional writer will be argued for, and the solution this provides to some of the problems related to his Commentaries will be demonstrated.Less
The publication of Blackstone’s Commentaries in the 1760s initially gained a favourable reception. However, the criticisms made in 1776 by Bentham in the Fragment on Government did such serious damage to Blackstone’s reputation that, in the nineteenth century, among many scholars, his standing was low. This chapter argues that an important way of understanding Blackstone’s book is as an institutional work. This argument is developed in three parts: first, institutional writings as a genre will briefly be discussed; second, the recognition of this genre in England will be described; and third, Blackstone’s status as an institutional writer will be argued for, and the solution this provides to some of the problems related to his Commentaries will be demonstrated.
Robert Garland
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781904675020
- eISBN:
- 9781781380611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781904675020.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter describes accounts of Caesar's career. The chief witness for Caesar's military accomplishments is Caesar himself, whose seven books of Commentaries on the Gallic War (de bello Gallico) ...
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This chapter describes accounts of Caesar's career. The chief witness for Caesar's military accomplishments is Caesar himself, whose seven books of Commentaries on the Gallic War (de bello Gallico) relate the events of his proconsulship of Gaul from 58 to 52. Other important sources include the letters of the celebrated orator and politician, M. Tullius Cicero; the historian Sallust, one of Caesar's clients; and biographies written by Plutarch and Suetonius.Less
This chapter describes accounts of Caesar's career. The chief witness for Caesar's military accomplishments is Caesar himself, whose seven books of Commentaries on the Gallic War (de bello Gallico) relate the events of his proconsulship of Gaul from 58 to 52. Other important sources include the letters of the celebrated orator and politician, M. Tullius Cicero; the historian Sallust, one of Caesar's clients; and biographies written by Plutarch and Suetonius.
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226094823
- eISBN:
- 9780226094830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226094830.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter focuses on the influence of Sir William Blackstone's training of lawyers and judges in liberal constitutions and states that he also had an important influence on liberal politics. ...
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This chapter focuses on the influence of Sir William Blackstone's training of lawyers and judges in liberal constitutions and states that he also had an important influence on liberal politics. Contrary to the portrait of him painted by Jeremy Bentham and others impatient for progress toward more radical reforms of liberal constitutionalism, he understood the Commentaries as embodying a reform project in English law. The contempt of Blackstone's critics is proportional, ironically, to this striking achievement in the history of Anglo-American and modern law. Blackstone like Montesquieu would get the benefits of modern philosophy as evident in the Commentaries' subsequent discussion of the state of nature, or of Beccaria on a precise scale of punishments. Analysis of Blackstone's debt to Montesquieu confirms that such “public spirit” represents the jurisprudence of The Spirit of the Laws—not least with regard to the role of the judicial power in a complex constitution of liberty.Less
This chapter focuses on the influence of Sir William Blackstone's training of lawyers and judges in liberal constitutions and states that he also had an important influence on liberal politics. Contrary to the portrait of him painted by Jeremy Bentham and others impatient for progress toward more radical reforms of liberal constitutionalism, he understood the Commentaries as embodying a reform project in English law. The contempt of Blackstone's critics is proportional, ironically, to this striking achievement in the history of Anglo-American and modern law. Blackstone like Montesquieu would get the benefits of modern philosophy as evident in the Commentaries' subsequent discussion of the state of nature, or of Beccaria on a precise scale of punishments. Analysis of Blackstone's debt to Montesquieu confirms that such “public spirit” represents the jurisprudence of The Spirit of the Laws—not least with regard to the role of the judicial power in a complex constitution of liberty.
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226094823
- eISBN:
- 9780226094830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226094830.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter compares the common law by Blackstone to a Gothic castle that gradually renovated, but not replaced, by respectful craftsmen as Blackstone places constitutional structures above ...
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This chapter compares the common law by Blackstone to a Gothic castle that gradually renovated, but not replaced, by respectful craftsmen as Blackstone places constitutional structures above immediate utility, both as a matter of the rule of law and to promote the ultimate utility for liberty and liberalism of such enduring principles. Blackstone adopted to a large extent Lord Hawkesbury's less jingoistic, but still patriotic mode, mostly citing Montesquieu for general principles of liberty, and when citing him on specific laws, French or otherwise, usually doing so in support of English law. Blackstone is as much a positivist as Hobbes or was “a forerunner of Austinian jurisprudence” as judged by the jurisprudence of the Commentaries that is too complex and balanced. Therefore, Blackstone's introductory discourse quietly places judicial power at the center of his theory of constitutional and statutory interpretation.Less
This chapter compares the common law by Blackstone to a Gothic castle that gradually renovated, but not replaced, by respectful craftsmen as Blackstone places constitutional structures above immediate utility, both as a matter of the rule of law and to promote the ultimate utility for liberty and liberalism of such enduring principles. Blackstone adopted to a large extent Lord Hawkesbury's less jingoistic, but still patriotic mode, mostly citing Montesquieu for general principles of liberty, and when citing him on specific laws, French or otherwise, usually doing so in support of English law. Blackstone is as much a positivist as Hobbes or was “a forerunner of Austinian jurisprudence” as judged by the jurisprudence of the Commentaries that is too complex and balanced. Therefore, Blackstone's introductory discourse quietly places judicial power at the center of his theory of constitutional and statutory interpretation.
Bruce Gibson and Thomas Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199608409
- eISBN:
- 9780191745102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199608409.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter takes as its starting-point Walbank's writings on Greek decline. Far from having renounced his political interests in order to write his commentary on Polybius, Walbank's examination of ...
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This chapter takes as its starting-point Walbank's writings on Greek decline. Far from having renounced his political interests in order to write his commentary on Polybius, Walbank's examination of the decline of ancient societies (both Greek and Roman) is deeply embedded within Walbank's wider political and social concerns. Though the 1930s and 1940s was the period where Walbank's historiography is most obviously engaged with contemporary concerns, echoing his interest in historians such as Rostovtzeff and De Sanctis, engagement with the contemporary world remains a significant but underrated element of his scholarship throughout his career. Drawing extensively on Walbank's unpublished papers (now held in Liverpool), this chapter seeks to set the poise and objectivity of Walbank's achievement as an ancient historian in counterpoint with a pervasive and long-lasting element of his work, the continuing topicality of ancient history in the modern world.Less
This chapter takes as its starting-point Walbank's writings on Greek decline. Far from having renounced his political interests in order to write his commentary on Polybius, Walbank's examination of the decline of ancient societies (both Greek and Roman) is deeply embedded within Walbank's wider political and social concerns. Though the 1930s and 1940s was the period where Walbank's historiography is most obviously engaged with contemporary concerns, echoing his interest in historians such as Rostovtzeff and De Sanctis, engagement with the contemporary world remains a significant but underrated element of his scholarship throughout his career. Drawing extensively on Walbank's unpublished papers (now held in Liverpool), this chapter seeks to set the poise and objectivity of Walbank's achievement as an ancient historian in counterpoint with a pervasive and long-lasting element of his work, the continuing topicality of ancient history in the modern world.
John Henderson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199608409
- eISBN:
- 9780191745102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199608409.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter examines the history of Walbank's engagement with Polybius and subsequently with his commentary on Polybius, whose origins and development towards publication is charted against the ...
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This chapter examines the history of Walbank's engagement with Polybius and subsequently with his commentary on Polybius, whose origins and development towards publication is charted against the materials held in the archives of Oxford University Press, and against Walbank's career and his unpublished memoir, Hypomnemata. As well as showing how the history of scholarship can be illuminated by the study of publication practice, the sustained examination of correspondence between the Press and Walbank (and involving other scholars as well) demonstrates how Walbank's initial plan of writing on Tacitus' Histories came to metamorphose into a commentary on Polybius. His skilful correspondence with the Press over decades thus enabled him to ensure that his commentary had the necessary scale and physical scope of three substantial volumes that such a project of 'long-distance writing' needed.Less
This chapter examines the history of Walbank's engagement with Polybius and subsequently with his commentary on Polybius, whose origins and development towards publication is charted against the materials held in the archives of Oxford University Press, and against Walbank's career and his unpublished memoir, Hypomnemata. As well as showing how the history of scholarship can be illuminated by the study of publication practice, the sustained examination of correspondence between the Press and Walbank (and involving other scholars as well) demonstrates how Walbank's initial plan of writing on Tacitus' Histories came to metamorphose into a commentary on Polybius. His skilful correspondence with the Press over decades thus enabled him to ensure that his commentary had the necessary scale and physical scope of three substantial volumes that such a project of 'long-distance writing' needed.
