While other forces, such as public opinion, seek to influence, the dominant energy seeks to become, and as it attains its purpose does become, the will of the State. "In this view of the matter, the past does not govern the present, the books do not con tain, either in development or in germ, all the law. To understand the law, past or present, the decisions of the courts and the acts of the legislature must be read in the light of accom panying social history. This we call a scien tific school of legal thought." The illustrations of the inadequacy of the "theory of development," pure and simple, are all striking; space permits us to give but one, chosen because it treats of a subject of great present interest that in various forms is the subject of several articles reviewed in this
number of"Let us put ourselves at the crisis of our own national birth, when it was proclaimed that all men are born equal. This was the preaching of the economists of England from Bentham on, and prevailing here as well as there brought in the era of equality, along the line of which all our decisions and statutes proceeded to run. But putting ourselves there we shall note another idea proclaimed by the same set of men, with if possible still greater emphasis, to wit, freedom of contract, along which line also our decisions and statutes pro ceeded to run. With what result? Let the controversy of last winter and spring in Con gress, and the controversy still going on throughout the country, give answer. Free dom of contract proved the worst kind of delusion; it ran to gigantic monopoly and threatens to-day, whether for good or ill I am not concerned as a teacher of law to say, the whole fabric of equality. Was freedom of contract a development of unfree contract, which the economists tore down? The econ omists made a great mistake in their dogma of freedom of contract, a mistake which has precipitated another conflict, at the crisis of which we now stand, • trembling at the possi bilities even while we notice the new economists discarding the old error and trying to save the day." JURISPRUDENCE (Roman and Civil Law). The American Law Review has a valuable short article by William Wirt Howe on " The Study
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of Roman and Civil Law " (V. xli, p. 47), out lining a course of reading for those who wish to learn some of the fundamentals of the civil law and gain some idea of its modern applica tion. JURISPRUDENCE (Mohammedan). In • the February Columbia Law Review (V. vii, p. 101) appears the first part of "A Historical Sketch of Mohammedan Jurisprudence," by Abdur Rahim. This installment sketches the customary law and usages among the Arabs at the time of the promulgation of Islam, which the writer thinks have not received the atten tion that the importance of their bearing on the study of Mohammedan jurisprudence entitles them to. It will be followed by " a succinct review of such of the principles of Mohammedan law as were established during the lifetime of the Prophet — called the ' leg islative ' period of Islam — by the Qur'dn and by his precepts (HacUth). These form the main foundation and primary sources of the Mohammedan jurisprudence, and upon them the superstructures of the four Sunni schools have been constructed. "The second period extends from the date of the Prophet's death to the foundation of different schpols of jurisprudence, and would cover, roughly speaking, the time of the Com panions of the Prophet (Sahabah) and their successors (Tabi-un). In the history of Mohammedan law it was an age of collection and interpretation and partly supplementing the Qur'anic and traditionic laws by means of ijma' (concensus of opinion). "The third period is that of the science of jurisprudence properly so called, commencing from the establishment of the four Sunni schools until the completion of their work. A short historical account of the last two periods will be given in order to trace the chief elements in the growth and development of Mohamme dan jurisprudence. This will enable the reader to keep in view the principal ideas in the Mohammedan science of law, and make it easier for him to follow the processes of theorization elaborated by the leading jurisconsults.' The article is to be commended to all inter ested in the subject as a well written one with many interesting details. It is possible to give only the following instance of an Arab custom of compurgation :
