American Law
Dictionary of quotations : ( American Law, 1869)
This book of quotations, which went through more than six editions beginning in the early nineteenth century, seems indispensable for a lawyer, writer, or serious reader. In what must have been painstaking work, the compilers collected well-known words, proverbs, and phrases from literature and legal practice, mostly in Latin and French (although the work includes Greek, Spanish, and Italian quotations as well), and translated them, placed them in proper context, and cited their source.
The result is a collection of searchable, quotable wisdom, a good deal of it relating to legal matters. In general though, this is just a fascinating book to page through; finding gems such as Terence's Auribus teneo lupum: "I hold a wolf by the ears," and Ovid's Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno: "A rare bird on the earth, and very like a black swan."
Pocket Lawyer : (American Law, 1831)
This charming little book was put to good use by people all over America, as it was put through approximately fifteen editions in two decades. A sort of legal guidebook for laymen that was a very common genre at the time, the work would have been useful for any head of a household interested in learning enough about the law to provide some security for his livelihood and family. The book provided ready and affordable legal guidance; one who read the book would understand how to write bills, receipts, wills, and inventories that might be legally binding.
The work is not primarily a dictionary, but it does include a very abridged law dictionary, providing brief definitions of a few common, important legal (mostly Latin) terms that would be sufficient for most of its readers' purposes. This first edition was, as the title page describes, "embellished with upwards of 20 pages of script, serving as a model for good writing." These script pages served as models for assigning bonds and writing legal receipts, notes, and petitions of all kinds. The book contains examples of other common legal agreements and actions as well, giving templates for such matters as the dissolution of a partnership, the appointment of guardianship, and an agreement to build a house. It concludes with a fee schedule for the courts of Pennsylvania, listing fee amounts for the services of attorneys, witnesses, constables, and clerks of all kinds. The work is well-indexed and conveniently arranged.
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