Commentaries on the Laws of England. Book 1 (1765)
William Blackstone
Play
Length 17 h 54 min
Chapters 48
First published 1765
~ BOOK THE FIRST ~ The Commentaries on the Laws of England are an influential 18th century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765-1769.
The Commentaries were long regarded as the leading work on the development of English law and played a role in the development of the American legal system. They were in fact the first methodical treatise on the common law suitable for a lay readership since at least the Middle Ages. The common law of England has relied on precedent more than statute and codifications and has been far less amenable than the civil law, developed from the Roman law, to the needs of a treatise. The Commentaries were influential largely because they were in fact readable, and because they met a need. The work is as much an apologia for the legal system of the time as it is an explanation; even when the law was obscure, Blackstone sought to make it seem rational, just, and inevitable that things should be how they were. (Summary from Wikipedia.)
Chapters
1
Preface Read by Jc Guan 5:03
2
Introduction - Section 1 - Part 2 Read by Jc Guan 23:29
3
Introduction - Section 1 - Part 3 Read by Graham Redman 13:35
4
Introduction - Section 1 - Part 4 Read by Jc Guan 19:27
5
Introduction - Section 2 - Part 1 Read by Jc Guan 24:56
6
Introduction - Section 2 - Part 2 Read by Jc Guan 28:13
7
Introduction - Section 2 - Part 3 Read by Jc Guan 13:18
8
Introduction - Secton 3 - Part 1 Read by Jc Guan 28:20
9
Introduction - Section 3 - Part 2 Read by Jc Guan 22:29
10
Introduction - Section 3 - Part 3 Read by Jc Guan 28:56
11
Introduction - Section 4 - Part 1 Read by Jc Guan 32:50
12
Introduction - Section 4 - Part 2 Read by Jc Guan 25:44
13
Ch 1: Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals - Part 1 Read by Anna Simon 28:39
14
Ch 1: Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals - Part 2 Read by Anna Simon 23:46
15
Ch 2: Of the Parliament - Part 1 Read by Jc Guan 18:42
16
Ch 2: Of the Parliament - Part 2 Read by Graham Redman 17:37
17
Ch 2: Of the Parliament - Part 3 Read by Jc Guan 18:34
18
Ch 2: Of the Parliament - Part 4 Read by Graham Redman 30:00
19
Ch 2: Of the Parliament - Part 5 Read by Graham Redman 20:56
20
Ch 3: Of the King and his Title - Part 1 Read by Jc Guan 26:39
21
Ch 3: Of the King and his Title - Part 2 Read by Jc Guan 25:12
22
Ch 3: Of the King and his Title - Part 3 Read by Jc Guan 27:09
23
Ch 4: Of the King's Royal Family Read by Jc Guan 16:31
24
Ch 5: Of the Councils Belonging to the King Read by Sibella Denton 11:01
25
Ch 6: Of the King's Duties Read by Sibella Denton 6:53
26
Ch 7: Of the King's Prerogative - Part 1 Read by Sibella Denton 19:32
27
Ch 7: Of the King's Prerogative - Part 2 Read by Sibella Denton 24:10
28
Ch 7: Of the King's Prerogative - Part 3 Read by Sibella Denton 24:05
29
Ch 7: Of the King's Prerogative - Part 4 Read by Sibella Denton 18:05
30
Ch 8: Of the King's Revenue - Part 1 Read by Sibella Denton 19:41
31
Ch 8: Of the King's Revenue - Part 2 Read by Sibella Denton 24:04
32
Ch 8: Of the King's Revenue - Part 3 Read by Sibella Denton 22:17
33
Ch 8: Of the King's Revenue - Part 4 Read by Sibella Denton 24:40
34
Ch 8: Of the King's Revenue - Part 5 Read by Sibella Denton 24:49
35
Ch 9: Of Subordinate Magistrates - Part 1 Read by Sibella Denton 21:00
36
Ch 9: Of Subordinate Magistrates - Part 2 Read by Sibella Denton 15:17
37
Ch 9: Of Subordinate Magistrates - Part 3 Read by Sibella Denton 16:34
38
Ch 10: Of the People, whether Aliens, Denizens, or Natives Read by Sibella Denton 19:04
39
Ch 11: Of the Clergy - Part 1 Read by Fr. Richard Zeile of Detroit 18:52
40
Ch 11: Of the Clergy - Part 2 Read by Fr. Richard Zeile of Detroit 31:10
41
Ch 12: Of the Civil State Read by Sibella Denton 20:21
42
Ch 13: Of the Military and Maritime States Read by Jc Guan 34:48
43
Ch 14: Of Master and Servant Read by Sibella Denton 19:00
44
Ch 15: Of Husband and Wife Read by Andrew Coleman 32:06
45
Ch 16: Of Parent and Child Read by Jc Guan 33:47
46
Ch 17: Of Guardian and Ward Read by Sibella Denton 12:02
47
Ch 18: Of Corporations - Part 1 Read by Sibella Denton 15:56
48
Ch 18: Of Corporations - Part 2 Read by Sibella Denton 22:10
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens posner.library.cmu.edu) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
