Out of Print
This book is an attempt to sketch the development of some of the main trends in the theory of law. Even to-day so many roads in the law lead us back to Rome by way of the Commentators on the Roman law, that it seemed convenient to begin with some brief account of the methods of the medieval Civilians.
The aim of the other chapters is not to provide a systematic treatment of the whole field of modern legal theory, but to serve as an introduction to certain aspects which the law has presented, when it has been approached from different points of view and for different purposes.
Thus some names will be found under more than one heading, and the individual chapters are far from being completely self-contained. Not all the metaphysicians avow themselves to be such, while there are writers who would extend the term 'fiction' to cover almost every theory but their own.
I owe many thanks to Professor J. L. Brierly for very kindly finding time to read the manuscript.
J.W.J. Oxford May, 1940
