Sparks Commentary: A review of William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England”

“The objects of the laws of England are so very numerous and extensive, that, in order to consider them with any tolerable ease and perspicuity, it will be necessary to distribute them methodically, under proper and distinct heads ; avoiding as much as possible divisions too large and comprehensive on the one hand, and too trifling and minute on the other ; both of which are equally productive of confusion.”

– Opening lines of William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England” (1760’s), Book 1, Chapter 1

So I spent four and a half years reading Sir William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England.” This is a four-volume work which influenced our Founding Fathers. The first volume was originally released in 1765, and the last was originally released in 1769. This is one of the best books that I’ve ever read, as I’ve tried to show in other posts. But this is the first post in which I’ve attempted to give an overview of the entire work. Thus, I will try to summarize the work for those who’ve never read it before. In doing so, I will give my reaction to the different volumes of Blackstone’s “Commentaries,” and what parts of each volume most stood out to me personally.

Title page of the original edition of the first volume of Blackstone’s “Commentaries”

Book the First: “Of the Rights of Persons”

This first volume is titled “Of the Rights of Persons.” Alexander Hamilton later quoted from this volume in the Federalist Papers. Its first chapter is one of the most philosophical in the entire “Commentaries.” This is because this chapter is simply entitled “Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals.” In it, Blackstone discusses the rights to personal security, personal liberty, and private property. In many ways, this chapter lays the foundation for the entire four-volume work. This is because, even then, the primary purpose of the British Constitution was to protect people’s rights.

Alexander Hamilton, a fan of Blackstone’s “Commentaries”

The rights of the Parliament and the King in Blackstone’s time

This first volume also contains a notable chapter about the rights of the Parliament, and a full six chapters about the rights of the King. Although the British monarchy had some strong limits on its power (somewhat like it does today), it still possessed much more power in Blackstone’s time than it does today. Whatever one thinks of the institution, it was still a major player in British politics at that time; and Blackstone could not afford to ignore it in any true discussion of the laws of England. Blackstone still got some things wrong in this discussion, I should make clear, since he supported a continuation of the power of the monarchy, more or less as it existed then. Nonetheless, he did believe in some firm limits on the royal power (including those coming from Parliament), and his views are still worth hearing today.

King George the Third, who was then the ruling British monarch

Other topics covered in this volume

This volume also contains some discussion of other topics, including citizenship and naturalization laws. It also discusses some laws regarding the church, the military, and the family; as well as laws regarding employment and corporations.

Sir William Blackstone

Book the Second: “Of the Rights of Things” (property law)

The second volume is entitled “Of the Rights of Things” – or in other words, the right to own things as property (hence, property law). Since these rights are technically possessed by people rather than “things,” there is some awkwardness in the title “Of the Rights of Things,” although the volume is still solid despite this. This is the longest of the four volumes, and is often considered the most technical. Thus, it felt like something of an accomplishment to get through it all – even though there were a number of parts of it that I couldn’t make much sense of, if any. This discussion of property law rivals Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” in its complexity. Adam Smith would later quote from “Dr. Blackstone” in “The Wealth of Nations,” so one presumes that Adam Smith was influenced by Blackstone’s work.

Sir William Blackstone

I’ve hitherto only blogged about a couple of parts of this volume (which I describe below)

One of the only parts of this property-law volume that I’ve hitherto blogged about was a chapter entitled “Of Title by Purchase, and First by Escheat” (Book 2, Chapter 15). This is because it discusses the eighteenth-century phenomenon of “corruption of blood.” This was a law that prevented those attainted of treason from passing on any property to their descendants. This was one part of our mother country’s laws that the Founding Fathers wanted to avoid in America. Thus, there is a clause in our Constitution forbidding “corruption of blood.” (Source: The United States Constitution, Article 3, Section 3, Paragraph 2) Incidentally, Blackstone himself was also opposed to corruption of blood, as he makes clear when he discusses this concept in this chapter.

Sir William Blackstone

Book the Third: “Of Private Wrongs” (civil or tort law)

This third volume is just entitled “Of Private Wrongs.” In addition to a discussion of the British court system in general, it gives some extensive coverage of lawsuits. The formal name for this is “tort” law, because “tort” is the French word for “wrong.” The most common way to address “private wrongs” is through lawsuits. For me, the most interesting chapter here was the one entitled “Of the Trial by Jury.” Some of this applies to criminal law as much as it applies to civil or tort law.

Royal coat of arms of Great Britain, 1714–1800

Book the Fourth: “Of Public Wrongs” (criminal law)

And the fourth and final volume is entitled “Of Public Wrongs.” This is just another way of saying “crimes.” This volume contains Blackstone’s discussion of criminal law, and how it applies to these “public wrongs.” This volume is a classic work on the criminal laws of England. It eventually influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton even quoted from this particular volume in the Federalist Papers. The volume’s first chapter is one of the most philosophical in the entire “Commentaries.” It is entitled “Of the Nature of Crimes, and Their Punishment.” It helps to lay the foundations for this volume, by discussing why government has the power to punish crimes at all. Several chapters in this volume describe what kinds of acts were considered “crimes” in his time, and what were then the associated punishments. Other chapters discuss criminal procedures – from arrests, trials, and convictions to appeals, reprieves, and pardons.

Statue of Sir William Blackstone

Some notable parts of this criminal law volume

The criminal laws of Blackstone’s time were noted for their severity, as Blackstone himself says. As he puts it, “It is a melancholy truth, that among the variety of actions which men are daily liable to commit, no less than an hundred and sixty have been declared by act of parliament [footnote] to be felonies without benefit of clergy ; or, in other words, to be worthy of instant death.” (Source: Book 4, Chapter 1) Blackstone later makes clear that he is actually in favor of some uses of capital punishment, but he correctly surmised that it was being applied too broadly in his own time. He also says that murder is “the highest crime against the law of nature, that man is capable of committing.” (Source: Book 4, Chapter 14) I should note that he made a distinction between the “law of nature” and the laws of the community. With this in mind, he had earlier said that treason was “the highest civil crime, which (considered as a member of the community) any man can possibly commit.” (Source: Book 4, Chapter 6) In contrast, murder (again) is “the highest crime against the law of nature.” One also remembers the broad definition of treason in his time, and his graphic description of the harsh punishments for high treason at that time.

Abraham Lincoln, another fan of Blackstone’s “Commentaries”

Conclusion: This is one of the great books of history

Each of the volumes is a real tour de force, and the work as a whole is an invaluable window into its own time. Among those listening were Alexander Hamilton (as I show here), and Abraham Lincoln (as I show here). I now count myself among the disciples of this work, and I would highly recommend it to aspiring legal or constitutional scholars. It is one of the great books of history, and it deserves to be remembered as such today.

“The protection of THE LIBERTY OF BRITAIN is a duty which they owe to themselves, who enjoy it; to their ancestors, who transmitted it down; and to their posterity, who will claim at their hands this, the best birthright, and noblest inheritance of mankind.”

– Closing lines of William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England” (1760’s), Book 4, Chapter 33 (the last chapter of the last volume)

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