Bowring, vol. 1, p. 249 ; vol. X, p

3. Bentham se donne pour l'adversaire acharné de Blackstone, V « anti- Blackstone », depuis le moment où il écrit le Fragment on Government^ jusqu'au moment où, en 1828, quatre ans avant sa mort, nous le trouvons encore occuper à réfuter Blackstone. Le titre de cet ouvrage projeté, qui ne fut jamais achevé, c'est « A familiar view of Blackstone ; or say Blackstone lamiliariscd ; or else Blackstone and Law familiarized ». Et voici le

(Pp. 56-57) NOTES. 30a

début de rintroductioD : Tliis paper bas for its object or end in Tiew, the giving to the people of Eogland and its dependencies in as few words as possible a conception as clear as possit>le of the state of tlie law as it is, in England. On oonsidering bow this can bedone, it bas beenfoundthatby no otber means could anv conception be given of law as it is» so cléar, if ut ail, as bj means of law as it ouglit to be. •— Bentbam projette de commencer cet écrit par une allégorie, le récit d*un rêve, il s^est endormi dans le Lectare Room de TUniversité de Londres ; et quatre femmes lui apparaissent: Âstraea, déesse de la justice, à sa droite Félicia, qui, en se fondant sur le principe du plus grand bonheur, enseigne la loi telle qu'elle doit être, à sa gauche, Gubernia, qui enseigne la loi telle qu'elle est, et Dolosa, qui enseigne ce que la loi n'est pas, et cependant prétend être dans un cas donné. — « 1 observed, continue Benthaui, that the seat of the Professer Blackslone was part of it under onc of them [Gubernia and Dolosa], part of it under the otber, but he appeared a great fayourite with both and that without interruption of amity be scemed to be in the possession of both on the footing of joint tcnancy s. Suit un dialogue auquel prennent part les quatre femmes et Blackstone (Mss. Univ. Coll. n*> 31). — V. d'autre part (Mss. Univ. Coll. n** 73) la lettre imaginaire d'un Country Gentleman qui a acheté les Commentaires pour apprendre le droit et qui dit ses déceptions : « 1 am a (>)untry Gentleman. — 1 wish to bave some acquaintance with the Laws under which I live. 1 hcar from ali quarters of there being a book by the help of which 1 may compass it with a pleasure which can only be surpassed by the soiidity of tlie instruction... the work being peculiarly calculated for the instruction ofsuch personsashave no more than that sliare of prcliminary knowledge which 1 flatter myself to possess. It contains not indeed, 1 am told, the whole law : for of this there are but four volumes and of tiiat there are four hundred ; but that so much as it does contain may be depended upon for true. — I purchase it. — Et voici comment se termine la lettre : « In conclusion, if it be true that the use of languagc is, not to furnish terms for a man to shelter himself under, wliile he causes othei's to go astray, but to imprint ideas on the minds of tliose to whom it is addresscd, conformable to the truth of Ihings ; we may venture to establish it as an universal and inviolable rule, for those who inean to give the roality, without contenting themselves with the delusive shadow of right instruction, nevcr to give the Law without the EquUy which controuls it, nor the Cominon Law without the Statute wliicli bas allered it, nor the Letler without the Practice which modifies it into offect.