I.] POOR MAN'S FRIEND. 19 



exception from the ordinary punishment inflicted by 

 their law upon that offence." 



21. C. "Indeed this rule, c in casu extremes neces- 

 sitatis omnia sunt communiaj does hold, in some 

 measure^ in some particular cases, where, by the tacit 

 consent of nations, or of some particular countries or 

 societies, it hath obtained. First, among the Jews, 

 it was lawful in case of hunger to pull ears of stand- 

 ing corn, and eat, (Matt. xii. 1;) and for one to pass 

 through a vineyard, or olive-yard, to gather and eat 

 without carrying away. Deut. xxiii. 24, 25. SECOND, 

 By the Rhodian law, and the common-maritime 

 custom, if the common provision for the ship's com- 

 pany fail, the master may, under certain tempera- 

 ments, break open the private chests of the mariners 

 or passengers, and make a distribution of that par- 

 ticular and private provision for the preservation of 

 the ship's company." Vide CONSOLATO DEL MARE, 

 cap. 256. LE CUSTOMES DE LA MERE, p. 77. 



22. SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE agrees, in substance, 

 with HALE ; but he is, as we shall presently see, much 

 more eager to establish his doctrine ; and, we shall 

 see besides, that he has not scrupled to be guilty of 

 misquoting, and of very shamefully garbling, the 

 Scripture, in order to establish his point. We shall 

 find him flatly contradicting the laws of England ; 

 but, he might have spared the Holy Scriptures, 

 which, however, he has not done. 



23. To return to HALE, you see he is compelled to 

 begin with acknowledging that there are great 

 authorities against him; and he could not say that 

 GROTIUS was not one of the most virtuous as well 

 as one of the most learned of mankind. HALE does 

 pot know very well what to do with those old say- 

 ings about the justification which hard necessity 

 gives : he does not know what to do with the maxim, 

 that, "in case of extreme necessity all things are 

 owned in common." He is exceedingly puzzled with 

 these ancient authorities, and flies off into prattle 

 rather than argument, and tells us a story about "Jesu- 

 itical " casuists in France, who advised apprentices 



