[Sidenote: Feudal Jurisprudence.]

A complicated or refined system of jurisprudence is not to be looked for
in them; but, if they are considered with due regard to the state of
society for which they were calculated, they will be found to contain
much that deserves praise. The _capitularies_, or short legislative
provisions, propounded by the sovereign, and adopted by the public
assemblies of the nation, were a further advance in legislation. By
degrees, so much regularity prevailed in the judicial proceedings and
legal transactions, that they were regulated by established
_formularies_; and, in addition to those provisions, every nation
contained a collection of unwritten usages or _customs_, which had the
force of law. The natural tendency of these institutions to introduce
order and peaceful habits into society was great; but it was so much
counteracted by the turbulent spirit of every class of men, that it was
not till the beginning of the thirteenth century that this effect of
them became discernible.

[Sidenote: CHAP. II. 1597-1610]

From this time, the governments of Europe sensibly improved. A better
spirit of legislation shewed itself; the administration of justice
became more regular; trade and husbandry were protected, several arts
were encouraged; and a general wish for a better order of things
prevailed in every part of Europe. While the public mind was in this
state of improvement, an event fortunately happened, which gave it a
very salutary direction. This was, (what we have already noticed), the
discovery of a complete copy of the _Pandects of Justinian_ at Amalfi, a
town in Italy, near Salerno. From Amalfi, it found its way to Pisa; and