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A collection of Latin maxims and phrases literally translated / Intended for the use of students for all legal examinations cover

A collection of Latin maxims and phrases literally translated / Intended for the use of students for all legal examinations

Chapter 3: PREFACE TO SECOND AND THIRD EDITIONS.
By John N. Cotterell
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About This Book

A concise reference of Latin legal maxims presented with literal English translations and brief explanatory notes, organized as numbered entries for easy study. Prefatory material explains its aim for students preparing legal examinations and notes an expanded edition with starred maxims recommended for memorization. Entries summarize underlying principles, typical exceptions, and common applications in common-law contexts, often pointing to illustrative cases or related maxims, so readers can quickly grasp doctrines such as equity, estoppel, criminal intent, and rules of interpretation for exam preparation and practical revision.

PREFACE TO SECOND AND THIRD EDITIONS.

After a busy and practical experience of many years the writer can now in all earnestness—as during the days of studentship he did in all distrust and doubtfulness—emulate the writer of old who said—

“Cognitio legis est copulata et complicata.”

Our greatest writers of more recent years have also recognised the intricate and ever-changing study of the Law. The late Lord Tennyson, in that most beautiful poem, “Aylmer’s Field,” tells us—

“So Leolin went; and as we task ourselves
To learn a language known but smatteringly
In phrases here and there at random—toiled
Mastering the lawless science of our law,
That codeless myriad of precedent,
That wilderness of single instances,
Thro’ which a few, by wit or fortune led,
May beat a pathway out to wealth and fame.”

Those who wish to follow successfully the law as a profession must remain students to the last, and the leading truths and time-honoured legal principles, as defined by the maxims hereafter contained, will ever serve alike as safe landmarks, and sheet anchors, in times of doubt and uncertainty.

Since the publication of the First Edition, the number of maxims (very properly defined as the condensed good sense of nations) has been considerably enlarged, but the student will find the more important ones prefixed by an asterisk, and these may with advantage be memorized.

Walsall, 1913.