The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-06-13


PLATO has compared the progressive Ire
~ society TO the prolonged life OF single
man The career of equity may De IL
Ike manner compared TO the ploiohs'u
life OF a single judge who fashions his
dacrecs sccordlng to the most honorable
henencsnt. and enlightened view OF the
times.
WHAT MINOR HAS TAUGHT
Rlackstone gives us the ideal citizen
I'm one "who lives honestly. hurts nobody
and renders 10 every man his due. Sucn
has orr preceptor been. Ienocrates, the
sublime philosopher. was once asked "ha'
his disciples learned. and he replied: &c
do that of their own accord which they
might be compelled TO do by law. >.
has our preceptor taught. His .hignes'
ann has been to Undue his pupIs WITH
those instincts OF right doing and righi
thinking without which they might he
come book-worms. phrase mongers plea
ineglcrs. and money getters. but never
LAWYERS in any reputable sense OF the
term. They have learned this not only
from his lips but from his example, ioi
they have seen him governing himself &C
cording 10 the rigors Of the common law
and dealing with others according to<tht
principles OF equity. When he has wish
cd his pupils after the manner Of Coke
"the gladstone light Of Jurisprudence. the
loveiiness OF temperance, the stability Of
fortitude. and the soHdty of justice, ne
has invoked for them only what he him
self possessed.
The lawyers mission is the laws mis-
sion, the making Of peace with honor
He who pervcrcs II 20 the stirring w OF
strife for profit is a disgrace 10 his pro.
fession. an Arnold 20 his country, and
Judas to his kind IL is force of character
and weight Of opinion that makes the
able lawyer. They can only be built NJ
or the foundation Of strict integrity.
faithful courage. and sound judgment,
and these have been the things that Johr
+. Minor has taught here.
his ARTS AND ymluEs.
From his luminous and equitable char
ac.cr as from the mead waters Of a river
have flowed into the various channels OF
Mr.. Minors professional lie me various
arts and virtues which lie has brought &c
bear I'm stimulating and ennObling the
heart and mind entrusted TO his care
Patience prudence ard punctuality; con-
cen.ra;iOn and continuous attention &c
the business in hand; Infinite tact anc
lainstak..g. sweetness of temper, milo
and winning manner, unfailing courtesy
and consideration. modcsty withal with
what long and labOriOus fidelity has he
exercised these virtues here,
With what fatherly interest has he fol-
10 we'd his old pupils in their professional
tolls. Who amongst them. struggling
with the responsibility of his first i'm
portant case, or "corked" ~ iome knotty
question. has not imposed upon his good
nature by writing 10 him to aid in unrid-
ding the riddle? Had he been cold. sell
fish and Indifferent, the waste basket
would have been the eager receptacle
OF such epistles but he always took time
from his exacting labors to give polite
and learned response. showing the warm
sympathy he felt in his pupils success
ami a nobility of character beyond money
ana beyond price.
ASALYTICAL SYSTEM or TEACHING.
The method of imparting instruction
pursued by Mr.. Minor has placed his
wisdom on a plane with his moral quail
fcations, Adopting the system of ana
lysis which was delneated by Hale and
amplihed by Blackstone, he built upon
il those eXpOstions Of com non law princi-
pies and statutory alterations which re-
veal the law TO the minds eye as 4
typographical map Of a country cast In
has relief His pupils see the law ia
looking al his analysis on a blackboard
or on the printed page as you will see on
such east the outlines Of boundaries
and the courses of streams. and realize
the relative importance of the main prin-
ciplos with their ramiications and excep-
tons. as they would realize the proper
Tomato elevation Of mountains and plains
and valleys. To this analytical plan he
has added his oral lectures as if a painter
were to come along and turn the map into
a picture, clothing the naked landscape
with animation and yerdure. Two great
ends are subscryed by this method. First
he enables the student 10 grasp princi-
PIES I'm detail with cOntemporaneOus sense
Of their comparative Importance and 10
take step by step with clcarncss, hrmness
and precision He has seemed To us 20
cut the law. as il were, into thin slices
and 10 cater IL ont in forms of appe-
tizing dclIcacy and easy digestion. To
those who like them. some think II is an
acquired taste though he has even made
tempting dishes of springing uses. re-
sulting trusts. conditional limitations.
eXecutOry deVises and contingent remain
ders. He has also by this method given
a valuable hint TO the practitioner i'm
preparing the argument Of cases. There
is something appalling in great mass
Of tangled and contradictory testimony
I'm q complicated case when il is laid
before an inexperienced and unframed
mind II looks like "A mighty maze
witLcut a PLAN" an awful chaos. "Crudis
"a
clue 10 every labyrinth; there is q clari-
fer Of every muddy problem. there is a
sword Tor every Gordian knot: and a
resolvent for every difficulty. They are
10 be found i'm those rugged maNims
hewn from life" in which The common
law is so abundant. and the analytical
method of Minors Institutes" and
Minors Lectures have seemed 10 me to
probe at once into the dark places. TO
reduce and clarity the massive mysteries
into lucid order. and 20 turn on the
electric light Of those maxims which have
been well called "the condensed good
sense OF nations"
That remarkable work, Minors Inst-
tutes." cannot be surpassed as a wade
mecum Of the law. II IS like a statue
solid. compact. sloan-Cut. ThOms Jeffer-
son lamented that Mathew Bacon adopt
ed the alphabetical, or dictionary sys-
TEN, in his abridgement. How a scien-
tific mind like his would have delighted
I'm a scientific work Ike this. IL has
been said Of Francis Bacons essays that
Of ali compositions they contained "the
most matter in fewest words" and
Minors Institutes contains more law in
fewer words than any work i'm legal
literature with which | am acquainted
The Roman Forum had an empty place
lacking Cato's figure. and a LAWYERS
library without this book has one also.
IMPORTANCE OF LAW IFARNISC.
To an American more than 10 the
citizen OF any other nation is law learn
Ing important. for he is himself a sover-