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Commentaries on the Laws of England: Of public wrongs
Commentaries on the Laws of England Of public wrongs Author:William Blackstone Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. OF OFFENCES AGAINST GOD AND RELIGION. In the present chapter we are to enter upon the detail of the [ 41 1 several species of crimes and misdem... more »eanors, with the punishment annexed to each by the law of England. It was observed, in the beginning of this book, that crimes and misdemeanors are a breach and violation of the public rights and duties, owing to the whole community, considered as a community, in its social aggregate capacity. And in'the very entrance of these Commentaries it was shown, that human laws can have no concern with any but social and relative duties; being intended only to regulate the conduct of man, considered under various relations, as a member of civil society. All crimes ought, therefore, to be estimated merely according to the mischiefs which they produce in civil society: and of consequence, private vices or the breach of mere absolute duties, which man is hound to perform considered only as an individual, are not, cannot be, the object of any municipal law; any farther than as by then- evil example, or other pernicious effects, they may prejudice the community, and thereby become a species of public crimes. Thus the vice of drunkenness, if committed privately and alone, is beyond the knowledge and of course beyond the reach of human tribunals: but if committed publicly, in the face of the world, its evil example makes it liable to temporal censures. The vice of lying, which consists (abstractedly taken) in a criminal violation of truth, and therefore in any shape is derogatory from sound [ 42 ] morality, is not however taken notice of by our law, unless it Carries with it- some public inconvenience, as spreading false news; or some social injury, as slander and malicious prosecution, for which a private recompense is given. And yet dru...« less