Project Gutenberg 2000-12-01 Public domain in the USA. 1957 Holmes, Oliver Wendell 1841 1935 Holmes, O. W. (Oliver Wendell) The Common Law Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Common_Law_(book) Produced by Stuart E. Thiel and David Widger "The Common Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is a legal treatise written in the late 19th century. This comprehensive work explores the development and underlying principles of the common law system, examining how laws have evolved from historical practices to their modern interpretations. The author emphasizes the role of historical context, societal needs, and the evolution of moral and political theories in shaping legal principles, presenting law as a living system interconnected with human experience. At the start of the text, Holmes sets the stage for his examination of the common law by discussing the notion of liability—both civil and criminal—and its historical roots. He outlines how early legal systems were influenced by human emotions, particularly the desire for vengeance, and how this influenced the development of legal principles over centuries. The opening portion delves into the transformation of liability concepts, tracing the progression from barbaric customs rooted in revenge to more nuanced understandings instilled in contemporary legal frameworks. Holmes seeks to illustrate that modern legal doctrines have grown from these early forms, often adapting once-primal impulses into elaborate rules that both reflect and serve the needs of society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 67.2 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Common law K Text United States Law Category: History - Other Category: Law & Criminology 929312 2025-07-01T12:58:03.411853 text/html 928562 2013-02-04T13:23:06 text/html; charset=us-ascii 286178 2013-02-04T13:23:06 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 362824 2025-07-01T12:58:12.688796 application/epub+zip 372944 2025-07-01T12:58:05.549838 application/epub+zip 372945 2025-07-01T12:58:04.257831 application/epub+zip 640363 2025-07-01T12:58:18.187849 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 616306 2025-07-01T12:58:11.850791 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 579577 2022-09-02T04:09:49.553162 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 765125 2025-07-01T12:58:01.952838 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 764854 2012-07-17T12:58:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 266410 2012-07-17T13:02:46 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18727 2025-07-01T12:58:18.315767 application/rdf+xml 11211 2025-07-01T12:58:04.784883 image/jpeg 3156 2025-07-01T12:58:04.521870 image/jpeg 352459 2025-07-01T12:58:03.471875 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