The Grounds and Rudiments of Law and Equity, Alphabetically Digested: Containing a Collection of Rules or Maxims, with the Doctrine Upon Them, ... to Evince that these Principles Have Been...

[A Gentleman of the Middle Temple].
The Grounds and Rudiments of Law and Equity, Alphabetically Digested: Containing a Collection of Rules or Maxims, with the Doctrine Upon Them, Illustrated by Various Cases Extracted from the Books and Records, to Evince that these Principles Have Been the Foundation Upon Which the Judges and Sages of the Law Have Built Their Solemn Resolutions and Determinations. The whole designed to reduce the knowledge of the laws of England to a more regular science, and to form them into a proper digest for the service of the nobility, clergy, gentlemen in the commission of the peace, and private gentlemen, as well as the professors and students of the law. With three tables. First, of the rudiments and grounds. Second, of the new cases. Third, of principal matters. London: T. Osborne, 1751. Tall folio (8" x 12"), [34], 372, [16] pp. Reprint available January 2009 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-935-3. ISBN-10: 1-58477-935-7. Cloth. $150.

* Reprint of the second edition. First published in 1749, this fascinating textbook for laymen and law students is a fine example of the maxim-based pedagogy represented by such authors as Bacon, Noy, Wingate and Broome. Grounds and Rudiments contains 526 alphabetically arranged maxims, rules, principles and quotations accompanied by comments and illustrations. It also includes short essays on law in general, the sources of law, the nature of equity and the pedagogical value of maxims. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 1:243 (6).