Project Gutenberg 2006-02-26 Public domain in the USA. 703 Holmes, Oliver Wendell 1841 1935 Holmes, O. W. (Oliver Wendell) The Path of the Law Produced by Stuart E. Thiel and David Widger "The Path of the Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is a legal essay written during the late 19th century, specifically the late 1800s. This academic work delves into the nature and purpose of law as a predictive system of societal regulation, emphasizing the distinction between legal obligations and moral principles. Holmes aims to explore law not as a rigid set of moral codes, but as a set of prophecies regarding the consequences individuals may face for their actions. In this essay, Holmes articulates that the law is fundamentally about predicting how courts will react to specific actions, framing legal duties as predictions of societal reactions rather than moral imperatives. He critically examines the tendency to conflate legal rules with moral values, arguing that such confusion often leads to misinterpretations in legal reasoning. By dissecting concepts like contracts, torts, and legal obligations, he illustrates how the language of law can mislead practitioners if understood through a purely moral lens. Ultimately, Holmes advocates for a clear, analytical approach to legal study that prioritizes the practical implications of law over its historical or ethical underpinnings, underscoring his belief in the law as a dynamic system reflective of societal needs and realities. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 60.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Law Law -- History KF Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Law & Criminology 86115 2025-10-01T12:41:17.096028 text/html 80807 2013-02-04T13:21:00 text/html; charset=us-ascii 28978 2013-02-04T13:21:00 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 93605 2025-10-01T12:41:20.779011 application/epub+zip 92356 2025-10-01T12:41:18.714046 application/epub+zip 92357 2025-10-01T12:41:17.631034 application/epub+zip 176263 2025-10-01T12:41:22.372161 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 168346 2025-10-01T12:41:20.222066 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 145664 2022-09-02T03:48:12.442321 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 75060 2025-10-01T12:41:16.862994 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 74901 2006-02-25T16:15:38 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 27962 2006-02-25T16:17:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18609 2025-10-01T12:41:22.498046 application/rdf+xml 11514 2025-10-01T12:41:18.117011 image/jpeg 3187 2025-10-01T12:41:17.872999 image/jpeg 90778 2025-10-01T12:41:17.107018 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia