ABSTRACT
THEtheoryofasetoflegalprinciplesentitledby theirintrinsicsuperioritytosupersedetheolderlaw, veryearlyobtainedcurrencybothintheRoman StateandinEngland.Suchabodyofprinciples, existinginanysystem,hasintheforegoingchapters beendenominatedEquity,atermwhich,aswillpresentlybeseen,wasone(thoughonlyone)ofthe designationsbywhichthisagentoflegalchangewas knowntotheRomanjurisconsults.ThejurisprudenceoftheCourtofChancery,whichbearsthe nameofEquityinEngland,couldonlybeadequately discussedinaseparatetreatise.Itisextre~ely complexinitstexture,andderivesitsmaterialsfrom severalheterogeneoussources.TheearlyecclesiasM ticalchancellorscontributedtoit,fromtheCanon Law,manyoftheprincipleswhichliedeepestinits structure.TheRomanlaw,morefertilethanthe CanonLawinrulesapplicabletoseculardisputes, wasnotseldomresortedtobyalatergenerationof Chanceryjudges,amidwhoserecordeddictawe oftenfindentiretextsfromtheCorpusJurisCivilis
imbedded,withtheirtermsunaltered,thoughtheir originisneveracknowledged.Stillmorerecently,and particularlyatthemiddleandduringthelatterhalfof theeighteenthcentury,themixedsystemsofjurisprudenceandmoralsconstructedbythepublicistsof theLowCountriesappeartohavebeenmuchstudied byEnglishlawyers,andfromthechancellorshipof LordTalbottothecommencementofLordEldon's chancellorshiptheseworkshadconsiderableeffecton therulingsoftheCourtofChancery.Thesystem, whichobtaineditsingredientsfromthesevarious quarters,wasgreatlycontrolledinitsgrowthbythe necessityimposed.onitofconformingitselftothe analogiesofthecommonlaw,butithasalwaysansweredthedescriptionofabodyofcomparatively novellegalprinciplesclaimingtooverridetheolder jurisprudenceofthecountryonthestrengthofan intrinsicethicalsuperiority.
