03079cam a22003253u 4500 77514 UtSlPG 20260610134809.0 m cr n 260607r20251907utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PR Rushton, William Lowes, 1827-1909 Shakespeare's legal maxims Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Release date is 2025-12-20 Tim Miller and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "Shakespeare's legal maxims by William Lowes Rushton" is a literary-legal treatise written in the early 20th century. It examines how Shakespeare’s plays embed and accurately translate Latin legal maxims, arguing that the playwright possessed genuine legal training. The book’s likely topic is the demonstration of Shakespeare’s legal knowledge through detailed comparison of legal principles with passages from the plays, presented as evidence that he studied law. The work opens with a defensive notice about earlier editions and misattributions, then proceeds as a continuous series of maxims paired with Shakespearean excerpts and succinct legal commentary. It explains judicial impartiality and the rule against judging one’s own cause; the authority of precedent; the distinct roles of judge and jury; possession and title; the legal unity of husband and wife; fixtures law; statutes that “sleep” but do not die; the Chancellor’s seal; a gaoler’s liability for escapes; lawful oaths and perjury; execution conforming to judgment; obedience to judicial orders; sovereign immunity; the need for concurrence of act and intent, including madness, misadventure, unlawful acts turning accidental deaths into murder, and self-defence; coroner’s findings in Ophelia’s case; contempt against judges as against the king; heraldic devices and seals; royal coinage; the city as its people; the danger of unenforced laws; the limits of will versus law; impartial justice; market value; attempts versus completed deeds; forfeiture of legal benefits by subverters of law; the credibility of deathbed statements; the sacred nature of swearing; and the “necessity of time.” It concludes that the consistent, precise application of these maxims across the plays is best explained by the poet’s having been, at least for a time, a student-at-law. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: Liverpool: Henry Young & Sons, 1907 Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Knowledge -- Law Law in literature https://archive.org/details/shakespeareslega00rushuoft/mode/2up https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77514 118234 118234