I. The Government and Laws of the more ancient IT BOOK TT is faid by Ariftotle, that whoever lives tarily out of civil fociety must have a difpofition, or be an exiftence fuperior to But nature has endeavoured to preserve her offspring from this difmal and flagitious pendence. She has given us faculties which only used, and wants which can be only pro for in fociety. She has made the focial uni feparable from our fafety, our virtue, our and our felicity. GOVERNMENT and laws muft have been with fociety, for they are effentially neceffary continuance. A fpacious edifice might as w expected to laft without cement or foundation fociety to fubfit without fome regulations of in dual will, and fome acknowledged authority t force their obfervance. THE Athenian philofopher has correctly t the progreis of our fpecies towards political in tions. The connubial union is one of the imperious and moft acceptante laws of our fr From this arofe families and relationships. F Ariftotle's Politic. lib, i, c. 2. p. 390. ed. 16c6. OF THE ANGLU-SAXUNS. 11. lies enlarged into villages and towns, and an aggre. CHA P. gation of these gave being to a state 2. A FAMILY is naturally governed by its parents, and its ramifications by the aged. The father, says Homer, is the legiflator to his wife and children 3. Among moft barbarous tribes the aged ancestors have prescribed to the community the rules of mutual behaviour, and have adjudged disputes. As population multiplied, as civilization advanced, and the sphere of human activity has been enlarged, more precife regulations, more decided fubordination, and more complicated governments became neceffary, and have been established. THAT the Saxon focieties, in their early stages, were governed by the aged is very strikingly fhewn in the fact, that the words of their language which denote authority alfo exprefs age. When it ftates that Jofeph was appointed ruler over Egypt, the words are, "fette into ealdre over Egypta land 4." For Cæfar, the emperor, we have "Caferas tha beoth cyninga yldeft"." Here eldest is ufed as fynonimous to greateft. A British general is called an "ealdorman"." The latin term fatrapa, by which Bede expreffed the ruling Saxon chief of a diftrict on the continent, is rendered by * Ariftot. lib. i. c. 3. p. 381. noft valuable works, and will areful attention. 3 Cited by Aristot. ib. p. 379. This is one of Aristotle's repay with great profit, a → Genefis, xlv. v. 8, in Thwaite's Saxon Heptateuch. Sax. Chron. his BOOK his royal tranflator "ealdorman"." The phrafe of "a certain ruler" in St. Luke is, in the Saxon gofpel, "fum ealdor"." The contest between the difciples of Christ which should be the greateft, is expreffed in the Saxon, which fhould be the yldeft. The aged were the primitive chiefs and governors among the Saxons, and therefore the terms expreffing age were used to denote dignity fo habitually that they were retained in common phrase even after the cuftom of connecting power with feniority had become obfolete. THE most ancient account of the Saxon government on the continent exifts in this short but ex preffive paffage of Bede. "The ancient Saxons "have no king, but many chiefs set over their "people, who, when war preffes, draw lots equally; "and whomfoever the chance points out, they all "follow as leader, and obey during the war. The war concluded, all the chiefs become again of "equal power." THAT the continental Saxons in the eighth and preceding centuries were under an aristocracy of chieftains, and had no kings but in war; and that 7 Smith's edition of Bede, p. 624. 8 Luke xviii. v. 18. So the highest feats in the fynagogue are called tha yldestan setl, Luke xx. 46. The Saxons had yldest wyrhta for the chief workman, yldest wicing for the chief of pirates, on fcype yldoft for a pilot, yeldest on tham yfelan flocce for prince of that evil flock. So Bede's "he "who by the priority of feat feemed to be their chief," lib. v. c. 13, is rendered by Alfred fe wes fetles yldeft et me thuhte tha he heora caldor beon sceolde, p. 633. Luke xxii. v. 24. 10 Bede Hift. Ecclef. lib. v. c. 10 p. 192. the II. the war-kings who were then chofen laid afide C HA P. their power when peace was re-established, is attested by other ancient authorities ". More recent hiftorians have repeated the affertion". The illuftrious Cæfar gives an account nearly fimilar of the German magistracy in his time '3. We may, therefore, fafely infer, that when the Anglo-Saxons vifited England they came under war-kings. The reigns of Hengift, and the founders of the dynafties of the Octarchy, were fo many periods of continued warfare, and their immediate posterity were Du Chefne. Sed variis divifa modis plebs omnis habebat, Quot pagos, tot pene duces. Si autem univerfale bellum ingrueret, forte eligitur cui omnes obedire oporteat ad administrandum imminens bellum. Quo peracto æquo jure ac lege propria contentus poteftate unusquifque vivebat.-Wittichind, lib. i. p. 7. So the Vetus Theotifce-Chronicon on the year 810. Twelff Edelinge der Saffen de reden over dat lant tho Saffen. Und Wannere dat fe krich in dat lant tho Saffen hadden fo koren fe von 'den twelffen einen, de was ore Koning de wile de krich warde. Und wan de krich bericht wart, fo weren de twelffe gelick, fo was des einen koniges ftate uth, und was den anderon gelick Lindenb. Gloff. 1347. 12 Krantz Mehopol. lib. i. c. 1, and Belli Dithmar. p. 431. Fabricius Hift. Sax. i. p. 69. Sagittarius Hift. Bard. to. 13 Quum bellum civitas aut illatum defendit aut infert, magiftratus qui eo bello præfint, ut vitæ necifque habeant poteftatem deliguntur. In pace nullus eft communis magiftratus, fed principes regionum atque pagorum inter fuos jus dicunt controverfiasque minuunt.-De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. C. 21. affailed BOOK affailed with hoftility from the natives almost per I. petual. The Anglo Saxons were under a neceffity of continuing their war-kings, until at length a permanent, though a limited monarchy, was eftablished. Their chiefs, or witena, continued in their influence and power. They elected the king, though they chofe him from the family of the deceased fovereign; and their confent in their gemot continued to be neceffary to the more important acts of his authority. But these points will be more fully illustrated in a subsequent divifion of this work. THERE were four orders of men among the an cient Saxons: the Etheling or noble, the free man, the freed man, and the fervile. The nobles were jealous of their race and rank. Nobles married nobles only, and the fevereft penalties prohibited intrufions of one rank into the others "4. Of their laws, in their pagan ftate, very little can be detailed from authority fufficiently ancient. From the uniformity of their principles of legifla tion in continental Saxony and in England, in a fubfequent age, we may infer, that pecuniary compenfation was their general mode of redreffing perfonal injuries, and of punishing criminal offences. This feature certainly announces that the spirit of legislation began to be understood, and that the fword of punishment had been wrefted, by the government, out of the hand of the vindictive indivi dual. It alfo displays a state of fociety in which property was accumulating, It is, however, a form 14 Meginhard 2 Lang. p. 40. Nithardus, lib. iv. Hucbald Vita B. Lebuini Act. Sanct. vol. vi. p. 282, and Wittichind. of |