The Volokh Conspiracy - Blackstone's Postscript:

I have two early sets of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, and I was reminded today of the interesting Postcript inside one of the editions (a 12th Edition, published in 1793) in which Blackstone responds to his critics. The postscript appears right after the preface from the original edition, dated November 2, 1765, which Blackstone had ended by apologizing to the reader for any errors in such a massive undertaking: "the candid and judicious reader will make due allowances for the difficulties of a search so new, so extensive, and so laborious."

Here is the postscript that appears on the next page:

NOTWITHSTANDING the diffidence expressed in the foregoing Preface, no sooner was the work completed, but many of its positions were vehemently attacked by zealots of all (even opposite) denominations, religious as well as civil; by some with a greater, by others with a less degree of acrimony. To such of these animadverters as have fallen within the author's notice (for he doubts not but some have escaped it) he owes at least this obligation; that they have occasioned him from time to time to revise his work, in respect to the particulars objected to; to retract or expunge from it what appeared to be really erroneous; to amend or supply it when inaccurate or defective; to illustrate and explain it when obscure. But, where he thought the objections ill-founded, he hath left and shall leave the book to defend itself; being fully of opinion, that if his principles be false and his doctrine unwarrantable, no apology from himself can make them right; if founded in truth and rectitude, no censure from others can make them wrong.

Incicentally, according to the dictionary, "animadverter" roughly means "critic."

(link)

magoo (mail):

Compare Lincoln:

"If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House by Francis B. Carpenter (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1995), pp. 258-259.

11.17.2006 4:47pm

John Burgess (mail) (www):

What's most refreshing in both quotations is that the authors clearly held in their minds the possibilities that they could be wrong. That's an attitude that's sorely lacking today, IMO.

11.17.2006 5:55pm

dearieme:

What does he have to say on abortion?

11.17.2006 6:22pm

Speaking the Obvious:

Incicentally, according to the dictionary, "animadverter" roughly means "critic."

Yes, of course. But what does "Incicentally" mean? :-)

11.17.2006 7:17pm

Sparky:

Dang! They don't write like that any more! Just gorgeous.

11.18.2006 1:15am

Perhaps one of the most revealing aspects of the passage, from a sociological perspective, is "no sooner was the work completed, but many of its positions were vehemently attacked by zealots of all (even opposite) denominations, religious as well as civil; by some with a greater, by others with a less degree of acrimony. "

Consider, in 1765, the phrase "no sooner" in that passage. That means that, before the internet, before TV and radio, before the 24 hour news networks, before even the telegraph, at a time when it took weeks to get news from one part of Europe to another, when scholarly tomes were not printed in mass quantity and were relatively expensive (and thus were not bought immediately, but instead saved up for), it was STILL the case that academic criticism of scholarly work occurred in what was seen as near instantaneous fashion.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

11.18.2006 4:28am

anonVCfan:

Looks like a good template for the author footnote in the next law review article.

11.18.2006 8:28pm

	[Orin Kerr, November 17, 2006 at 3:20pm] Trackbacks Blackstone's Postscript: I have two early sets of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, and I was reminded today of the interesting Postcript inside one of the editions (a 12th Edition, published in 1793) in which Blackstone responds to his critics. The postscript appears right after the preface from the original edition, dated November 2, 1765, which Blackstone had ended by apologizing to the reader for any errors in such a massive undertaking: "the candid and judicious reader will make due allowances for the difficulties of a search so new, so extensive, and so laborious." Here is the postscript that appears on the next page: NOTWITHSTANDING the diffidence expressed in the foregoing Preface, no sooner was the work completed, but many of its positions were vehemently attacked by zealots of all (even opposite) denominations, religious as well as civil; by some with a greater, by others with a less degree of acrimony. To such of these animadverters as have fallen within the author's notice (for he doubts not but some have escaped it) he owes at least this obligation; that they have occasioned him from time to time to revise his work, in respect to the particulars objected to; to retract or expunge from it what appeared to be really erroneous; to amend or supply it when inaccurate or defective; to illustrate and explain it when obscure. But, where he thought the objections ill-founded, he hath left and shall leave the book to defend itself; being fully of opinion, that if his principles be false and his doctrine unwarrantable, no apology from himself can make them right; if founded in truth and rectitude, no censure from others can make them wrong. Incicentally, according to the dictionary, "animadverter" roughly means "critic." (link) magoo (mail): Compare Lincoln: "If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House by Francis B. Carpenter (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1995), pp. 258-259. 11.17.2006 4:47pm (link) John Burgess (mail) (www): What's most refreshing in both quotations is that the authors clearly held in their minds the possibilities that they could be wrong. That's an attitude that's sorely lacking today, IMO. 11.17.2006 5:55pm (link) dearieme: What does he have to say on abortion? 11.17.2006 6:22pm (link) Speaking the Obvious: Incicentally, according to the dictionary, "animadverter" roughly means "critic." Yes, of course. But what does "Incicentally" mean? :-) 11.17.2006 7:17pm (link) Sparky: Dang! They don't write like that any more! Just gorgeous. 11.18.2006 1:15am (link) Speaking the Obvious: Perhaps one of the most revealing aspects of the passage, from a sociological perspective, is "no sooner was the work completed, but many of its positions were vehemently attacked by zealots of all (even opposite) denominations, religious as well as civil; by some with a greater, by others with a less degree of acrimony. " Consider, in 1765, the phrase "no sooner" in that passage. That means that, before the internet, before TV and radio, before the 24 hour news networks, before even the telegraph, at a time when it took weeks to get news from one part of Europe to another, when scholarly tomes were not printed in mass quantity and were relatively expensive (and thus were not bought immediately, but instead saved up for), it was STILL the case that academic criticism of scholarly work occurred in what was seen as near instantaneous fashion. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose... 11.18.2006 4:28am (link) anonVCfan: Looks like a good template for the author footnote in the next law review article. 11.18.2006 8:28pm