pted 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
in 1406, was carried to Florence, where it has since remained.

[Sidenote: The Civil Law]

Few events in history can be mentioned which have conduced more to the
welfare of Europe than this discovery. The codes, the capitularies, the
formularies, and the customs, by which, till that time, the feudal
nations had been governed, fell very short of affording them the legal
provisions, which society, in the improved state of civilization, to
which it was then advancing, evidently required. Unexpectedly, a system
of law presented itself, which seemed to contain every thing that the
most enlightened men of those times could have desired. The wisdom and
justice of the system of law expressed in the Pandects seem to have been
universally felt. The study of it was immediately pursued with ardour.
It was introduced into several universities; exercises were performed,
lectures read, and degrees conferred in that, as in other branches of
science; and most of the nations of the continent adopted it, if not as
the basis, at least as an important portion of their civil
jurisprudence. A regular _succession of civil_ lawyers followed. At
f