Lawyers. Two names appear on the roll of Eng lish lawyers, which are identified with the worst characteristics of the race : that of Jeffreys, whose ferocious persecution of those suspected of complicity with Monmouth's re bellion forms one of the most scandalous chapters in the history of British courts; and Lord Thurlow, who in a more refined age won the alias of Tiger, for his rudenesses, inflexibility, oaths, and ill manners, his black brows and audible growls. In beautiful con trast shine forth the law reformers of Eng land, whose benign eloquence and unwearied labor mitigated the sanguinary rigors of the criminal code, and pressed the common law into the service of humanity. Romilly and Erskine have gained a renown more endur ing than that of learned and gifted advocates; their professional glory is heightened- and mellowed by the sacred cause it illustrates. The popular estimate of a profession is dependent on circumstances; and the law, like every other human pursuit, takes its range and tone from the character of its votaries, and the existent relation it holds to public sentiment; not so much from what it technically demands, but from the spirit in which it is followed, come the dig nity and the shame of the law. The erudite generalizations of Savigny belong to the most difficult and enlarged sphere of thought; while the cunning tergiversations of the legal adventurer identify him with sharpers and roguery. In the first cycle of our repub lic, when a liberal education was rare, the best lawyers were ornaments of society, and the intellectual benefactors of the country. In that study were disciplined the chivalrous minds of Hamilton, Adams, Morris, and other statesmen of the Revolution. A' trial which afforded the least scope for their remarkable powers was attended by the intelligent citi zens with very much the same kind of in terest as filled the Athenian theatre, — a mental banquet was confidently expected and deeply enjoyed. To have a great legal reputation then implied all that is noble in intellect, graceful in manner, and courteous 43
329
in spirit; it bespoke the scholar, the gentle man, and the wit, as well as the advocate. No profession affords better opportunities for the study of human nature; indeed, an acute insight of motives is a prerequisite of success; but unfortunately, it is the dark side of character, the selfish instincts, that are most frequenfly displayed in litigation; and hence the exclusive recognition of these which many a practised lawyer manifests. In its ideal phase among the noblest, in its possible actuality among the lowest, of human pursuits, we can scarcely wonder that popu lar sentiment and literature exhibit such apparently irreconcilable estimates of its value and tendencies. English lawyers of the first class are scholars and gentlemen. Classical knowledge and familiarity with standard modern literature are indispensa ble to their equipment, and such attain ments are usually conducive to a humane and refined character. In the programme suggested by eminent lawyers for a general training for the bar, there is, however, an amusing diversity of opinion as to the best literary culture : one writer recommends the Bible, another, Shakspeare, one, English history, and another, Joe Miller, as the best resource for apt quotation and discipline in the art of efficient rhetoric. Coke was re markable for his citations from Virgil. But there is no doubt that general knowledge is an essential advantage to the lawyer, if he understand the rare art of using it with tact. The mere fact that the highest political dis tinction and official duty are open to the lawyer ought to incline him to liberal studies and comprehensive acquaintance with litera ture, science, and philosophy. The trial of Aaron Burr elicited the most characteristic eloquence of Clay and Wirt; that of Knapp, the tragic force of statement in which Webster' excelled; Emmett's ad dress to his judges has become a charter to his countrymen; Patrick Henry's remarkable powers of argument and appeal, which fanned the embers of revolutionary zeal into a flame, originally exhibited themselves in a Virginia
