de Laudibus Legum Angliae; The Translation Into English, Published A.D. MDCCLXXV, and the Original Latin Text, with Notes  (English, Paperback, Fortescue John Sir)

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: CHAP. V. But, Sir! how will you love righteousness, or justice, unless you first acquire a competent knowledge of the laws, by which justice is to be learned and known : for, as the philosopher says, "Nothing is admired or loved unless it be known," which made the orator Fabius say, " That it would be well with the arts and sciences, if artists only were to make a judgment of them." What is not known, is so far from being loved, that it is usually despised, as saitli a certain poet, The Rustic what he knows not always slights. Nor is this the way of the clown only, but of men of learning and skill in the liberal arts and sciences. Suppose (for instance) a natural philosopher, who had never studied either the Mathematics, or Metaphysics, should be told by a Metaphysician that his science considers things abstracted from all matter and motion, both as to their essence or reality, and as to our conception of them: the Mathematician asserts, that his science considers things in reality conjoined to matter and motion, but separated from them in our conception : it is certain that our Naturalist, who was never acquainted with any thing separated from matter and motion, either in reality or conception, would not forbear laughing at both of them, and would be apt to despise their respective sciences, though of a sublimer nature than his own ; and that for no other reason, but because he is perfectly unacquainted with them. So (my Prince) would you in like manner be surprised at a lawyerwho should assert, that one brother shall not succeed in the father's inheritance to another brother, who is not born of the same mother, but that the inheritance shall rather descend to the sister of the whole blood, or it shall come to the lord of the fee by way of escheat: you would be surprised...