Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Dictionary of Legal Quotations The dicta of our Chancellors and Judges are so numerous and often so good that regret has often been expressed that a record, in accessible form, has not been made of them. Many excellent specimens of judicial rules generally and of forensic wit lie buried, however, among a vast quantity of dull material scattered in the law libraries, and an attempt on a large scale has now been made, for the first time it is believed, to consult the treasures they contain, and as far as is possible, to disinter and codify them. The author's object in producing this work has been to digest this kind of learning, and thus exhibit in a compendious and accessible form those sayings embodied in judicial decisions which cannot be traced without considerable research and difficulty: often difficulty upon any terms, for the books are not always accessible, or if accessible, the quotations them selves are often as not quoted without folio or page or ene quoted. In this lies the primary importance of this work, which is therefore a supplementary digest in itself which it is hoped may obtain a wide sphere. The Judges of England have long enjoyed a well-earned reputation for eminence and dialectic feeling, and a study of their thoughts from their opinions and judgments show the numerous sayings, both grave and gay, that have proceeded from the judicial bench. It was a Bishop of London, the late Bishop Creighton, who once said that he found special virtues in old books 1; and so did the famous Lord Bacon.' How far this is correct as regards books of ordinary literature most people will agree, but with regard. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.