9 May 1808

I. Reason

Ch.II. Law & Pleadings simul [...?]

§.2. Simul facile erunt sub lege

7. The circumstances by which individual objects are characterized and distinguished are mostly out of the reach of the legislators eye. It is not possible therefore that of the words requisite for the composition of any such formulary - of an instrument of demand in any case - or of the correspondent instrument of defence, the whole assemblage should have been chosen by his hands. But for this exigence there exists a well known and, in experience, sufficient remedy: which is, for the legislator to choose with his own hands all such words [as] are necessary to the designation of the genus of the object, leaving blanks for the reception of the words designative of individualizing circumstances, such as those of the individual person or persons, thing or things concerned on each individual occasion, together with the individual portions of space and time.

8. Such is the course taken by volunteer penmen, writing without authority: the authors of the numerous books with which the science swarms, under the name of books of practice.