lect06-第6部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！








world　commences；　we　find　plebeian　classes　deeply　indebted　to






aristocratic　orders。　At　the　beginning　of　Athenian　history　we　find






the　Athenian　commonalty　the　bondslaves　through　debt　of　the






Eupatrids；　at　the　beginning　of　Roman　history　we　find　the　Roman






Commons　in　money　bondage　to　the　Patricians。　The　fact　has　been






accounted　for　in　many　ways；　and　it　has　been　plausibly　suggested






that　it　was　the　occurrence　of　repeated　bad　seasons　which　placed






the　small　farmers　of　the　Attic　and　Roman　territory　at　the　mercy






of　wealthy　nobles。　But　the　explanation　is　imperfect　unless　we






keep　in　mind　the　chief　lesson　of　these　Brehon　tracts；　and






recollect　that　the　relative　importance　of　Land　and　Capital　has






been　altering　throughout　history。　The　general　proposition　that






Land　is　limited　in　quantity　and　is　distinguished　by　this






limitation　from　all　other　commodities　which　are　practically






capable　of　indefinite　multiplication；　has　always　of　course　been






abstractedly　true；　but；　like　many　other　principles　of　Political






Economy；　its　value　depends　on　the　circumstances　to　which　it　is






applied。　In　very　ancient　times　land　was　a　drug；　while　capital　was






extremely　perishable；　added　to　with　the　greatest　difficulty；　and






lodged　in　very　few　hands。　The　proportionate　importance　of　the　two






requisites　of　cultivation　changed　very　slowly；　and　it　is　only






quite　recently　that　in　some　countries　it　has　been　well…nigh






reversed。　The　ownership　of　the　instruments　of　tillage　other　than






the　land　itself　was　thus；　in　early　agricultural　communities；　a






power　of　the　first　order；　and；　as　it　may　be　believed　that　a　stock






of　the　primitive　capital　larger　than　usual　was　very　generally






obtained　by　plunder；　we　can　understand　that　these　stocks　were






mostly　in　the　hands　of　noble　classes　whose　occupation　was　war；






and　who　at　all　events　had　a　monopoly　of　the　profits　of　office。






The　advance　of　capital　at　usurious　interest；　and　the　helpless






degradation　of　the　borrowers；　were　the　natural　results　of　such






economical　conditions。　For　the　honour　of　the　obscure　and






forgotten　Brehon　writers　of　the　Cain…Saerrath　and　the






Cain…Aigillne；　let　it　not　be　forgotten　that　their　undertaking　was






essentially　the　same　as　that　which　went　far　to　immortalise　one






great　Athenian　legislator。　By　their　precise　and　detailed






statements　of　the　proportion　which　is　to　be　preserved　between　the






stock　which　the　Chief　supplies　and　the　returns　which　the　tenant






pays；　they　plainly　intend　to　introduce　certainty　and　equity　into






a　naturally　oppressive　system。　Solon；　dealing　with　a　state　of






society　in　which　coined　money　had　probably　not　long　taken　the






place　of　something　like　the　'seds'　of　the　Brehon　law；　had　no






expedient　open　to　him　but　the　debasement　of　the　currency　and　the






cancellation　of　debts；　but　he　was　attacking　the　same　evil　as　the






Brehon　lawyers；　and　equally　interfering　with　that　freedom　of






contract　which　wears　a　very　different　aspect　according　to　the






condition　of　the　society　in　which　it　prevails。






　　　　The　great　part　played　in　the　Brehon　law　by　Cattle　as　the






oldest　form　of　Capital　ought　further　to　leave　no　doubt　of　the






original　objects　of　the　system　of　'eric'…fines；　or　pecuniary






composition　for　violent　crime。　As　I　said　before；　no　Irish






institution　was　so　strongly　denounced　by　Englishmen　as　this；　or






with　so　great　a　show　of　righteous　indignation。　As　members　of　a






wealthy　community；　long　accustomed　to　a　strong　government；　they






were　revolted　partly　by　its　apparent　inadequacy　and　partly　the






unjust　impunity　which　it　seemed　to　give　to　the　rich　man　and　to






deny　to　the　poor。　Although　the　English　system　of　criminal






penalties　which　they　sought　to　substitute　for　the　Irish　system　of






compositions　would　nowadays　be　described　by　an　ordinary　writer　in






pretty　much　as　dark　colours　as　those　used　by　Spenser　and　Davis






for　the　Irish　institution；　it　is　very　possible　that　in　the






sixteenth　century　it　would　have　been　an　advantage　to　Ireland　to






have　the　English　procedure　and　the　English　punishments。　There　is






much　evidence　that　the　usefulness　of　'eric'…fines　had　died　out；






and　that　they　unjustly　profited　the　rich　and　powerful。　But　that






only　shows　that　the　confusions　of　Ireland　had　kept　alive　beyond






its　time　an　institution　which　in　the　beginning　had　been　a　great






step　forwards　from　barbarism。　If　the　modern　writers　who　have






spoken　harshly　of　these　pecuniary　compositions　had　come　upon　a






set　of　usages　belonging　to　a　society　in　which　tribe　was






perpetually　struggling　with　tribe；　and　in　which　life　was　held






extraordinarily　cheap；　and　had　found　that；　by　this　customary　law；






the　sept　or　family　to　which　the　perpetrator　of　a　crime　belonged






forfeited　a　considerable　portion　of　its　lauds；　I　am　not　sure　that






they　would　not　have　regarded　the　institution　as　showing　for　the






age　an　extremely　strict　police。　But　in　the　infancy　of　society　a






fine　on　the　cultivating　communities；　of　the　kind　afterwards






called　pecuniary；　was　a　much　severer　punishment　than　the






forfeiture　of　land。　They　had　plenty　of　land　within　their　domains；






but　very　slight　appliances　for　cultivating　it；　and　it　was　out　of






these　last　that　compositions　were　paid。　The　system　of　course　lost






its　meaning　as　the　communities　broke　up　and　as　property　became






unequally　divided。　In　its　day；　nevertheless；　it　had　been　a　great






achievement；　and　there　are　traces　of　it　everywhere；　even　in　Roman






law；　where；　however；　it　is　a　mere　survival。






　　　　Before　I　quit　the　subject　let　me　say　something　on　the






etymology　of　the　famous　word；　Feodum；　Feud；　or　Fief。　The






derivation　from　Emphyteusis　is　now　altogether　abandoned；　and






there　is　general；　though　not　quite　universal；　agreement　that






Feodum　is　descended　from　one　or　other　of　the　numerous　family　of






old　Teutonic　terms　which　have　their　present　representative　in　the






modern　German　Vieh；　'cattle。'　There　is　supposed　to　have　been　much






the　same　transmutation　of　meaning　which　occurred　with　the






analogous　Latin　word。　Pecunia；　allied　to　pecus；　signified　first






money；　and　then　property　generally；　the　Roman　lawyers；　in　fact；






tell　us　that　it　is　the　most　comprehensive　term　for　all　a　man's






property；'　and　in　the　same　way