Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the Fourth (in Four Books)

"...for the law holds that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer."

-Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book Four (1769)

Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book Four (1825) is the last in a four-volume set originally published between 1765 and 1770. This edition is the 16th, released in 1825, and includes notes by J. T. Coleridge. Deeply rooted in Roman law, Blackstone's text was instrumental in developing both English and American common law, and its readable format for non-lawyers makes law accessible to anyone. Book four focuses on public wrongs, crimes, and punishments, from felonies to indictments. A more condensed, abridged version combining all four volumes is also available from Cosimo Classics.