The Common Law

The Common Law (LARGE PRINT EDITION) is a book written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., an American jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. This book is a collection of lectures that Holmes delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston in 1880. The book is a comprehensive study of the common law system, which is the legal system that relies on judicial decisions and precedents rather than on written statutes. Holmes explores the origins and development of the common law, its principles and doctrines, and its relationship to other legal systems. He also discusses the role of judges in the common law system, the importance of legal reasoning and interpretation, and the challenges of applying the law to changing social and economic conditions. The large print edition of the book is designed for readers who have difficulty reading standard-sized print. It features larger font sizes and wider margins, making it easier to read and more accessible to a wider audience. Overall, The Common Law is a classic work of legal scholarship that remains relevant and influential today.(LARGE PRINT EDITION) 1881. Underneath the enormous structure of codes, acts and laws to which each generation adds another story lies the cornerstone of the common law. It is not of itself a law nor yet a code of laws. Lawyers cannot refer to it by chapter and verse. It comprises the fundamental ideas, the philosophy of law. As such it has long attracted the thoughtful layman in the same way that he is attracted to the philosophy of religion or ethics or any other fundamental ideas of civilization. The Common Law by Holmes is probably the most famous exposition of this subject. The book was developed from a series of Lowell lectures addressed to a lay audience. It may well be unique among famous law books in that it was not written specifically for lawyers. In one other respect it is unusual. It has never been revised in the more than seventy-five years of its existence. The common law is one thing that has changed little from one generation to the next. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.