But by one of those legal fictions which Sir Henry Maine describes so well, primitive nations contrived to do what they found convenient, as well as to adhere to what they fancied to be right.
Bagehot references legal fictions that allowed primitive nations to balance convenience and perceived morality.
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The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
It is natural that those who by special and admirable culture have come to look at all things upon the artistic side, should start back from these queer peculiarities.
But it is natural also that persons used to analyse political institutions should look at these anomalies with a little tenderness and a little interest.
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