Wearethusbroughtfacetofacewithaproblemwhich
possessesinterestinproportiontoitsdifficulty——theproblem
oftheoriginofCastes。Icannotprofesstodomorethan
approachit，buttheopportunityofthrowingeventheleastlight
onasubjectsodarkoughtnottobeneglected。Firstletmesay
that，amongthecomparativelyfewEnglishwriterswhohave
noticedtheBrehonlawyers，somehavelooselydescribedthemasa
caste。Butthisisanimproperuseoftheword，thoughitisone
notuncommoninIndia。AsregardsthepositionoftheBrehonsin
veryearlytimes，theevidenceoftheIrishrecordsisconsistent
withthetestimonyofCaesarastotheliteraryclassofthe
GallicCelts，andseemstoshowthatanyonewhowentthrougha
particulartrainingmightbecomeaBrehon。When，however，Ireland
begantobeexaminedbyEnglishobservers，itisplainthatthe
artandknowledgeoftheBrehonhadbecomehereditaryincertain
familieswhowereattachedtoordependentontheChiefsof
particulartribes。Thereisnothingremarkableinthischange，
whichhasobviouslyoccurredwithavastnumberoftradesand
professionsinIndia，nowpopularlycalledcastes。Insocieties
ofanarchaictype，aparticularcraftorkindofknowledge
becomesintimeanhereditaryprofessionoffamilies，almostasa
matterofcourse。ThedifficultywithanativeofIndia，
unsophisticatedbyEnglishideas，isnottofindareasonwhya
sonshouldsucceedtothelearningofhisfather，and
consequentlytohisofficeandduties；hisdifficultywould
ratherbetoexplaintohimselfwhyitshouldnotbeso，andhow
thepublicinterestscouldbeconsultedbyanyotherarrangement。
TheStatesgovernedbynativeIndianPrincesarebecomingagood
dealAnglicised，butstillinthemitisthepractically
universalrulethatofficeishereditary。Wedonot，however，
thusarriveatacompleteaccountofthegrowthofthosecastes
whicharedefinitesectionsofgreatpopulationsoneonlyof
thesecastesreallysurvivesinIndia，thatoftheBrahmins，and
itisstronglysuspectedthatthewholeliterarytheoryofCaste，
whichisofBrahminorigin，isbasedontheexistenceofthe
Brahmincasteatone。Now，thetendencyofknowledgetobecome
hereditaryis，byitself，consistentwithagreatvarietyof
religiousandliterarycultivation；but，asafact，theBrahmins
ofIndiaarearemarkablyhomogeneousclass，admittingthoughno
doubtwithconsiderablelocalqualificationsageneral
brotherhoodofallmembersoftheorder。
While，then，Icannotsaythatourscantyinformation
respectingchangesinthestatusoftheBrehonlawyershelpsus
muchtowardsacomprehensionofthebeginningsofCasteinthe
truesense，Icertainlythinkthatwelearnsomethingmorethan
weknewbeforefromthereferencesintheBrehontractsto
LiteraryFosterage。Theyappeartometogiveanewemphasisand
pointtotherulesofHindooLawrespectingtheremotesuccession
ofthe’spiritualpreceptor’tothepropertyoffamilies。It
seemsasifinthemostancientstateofbothsystemsLiteraryor
Religiousfatherhoodhadbeencloselyassimilatedtoactual
fatherhood。Underthesecircumstances，ifgreatschoolsofVedaic
learningexistedinIndiainveryancienttimes，aswehave
strongreasontothinktheydid，therelationbetweenTeacherand
Pupilwouldcloselyfollowandimitatetherelationbetween
fatherandson。Agreatprofessionwouldthusbeformed，with
storesofcommonknowledge；butthetiebetweenthememberswould
notbepurelyintellectual；itwouldfromthefirstbeconceived
asofthenatureofkinship。Suchasystem，astheoldideas
decayed，wouldtendinfalliblytobecomeoneofreal
consanguinity。Theaptitudeforsacredknowledgewouldcometo
bethoughttoruninthebloodofsonswhosefathershadbeen
instructedinit，andnonebutsuchsonswouldbereceivedinto
theschools。ACastewouldthusbeformed，intheeyesofits
membersthetypeofallCastes。
Wehavethusstrongreasonforthinkingthatsocietiesstill
undertheinfluenceofprimitivethoughtlabourunderacertain
incapacityforregardingmen，groupedtogetherbyvirtueofany
institutionswhatsoever，asconnectedotherwisethanthrough
blood-relationship。Wefindthat，throughthisbarrennessof
conception，theyareapttoextendthenotionofconsanguinity
andthelanguagebeginninginittoinstitutionsoftheirownnot
reallyfoundedoncommunityofblood，andeventoinstitutionsof
foreignorigin。Wefindalsothattheassociationbetween
institutionsarisingfromtruekinshipandinstitutionsbasedon
artificialkinshipissometimessostrong，thattheemotions
whichtheyrespectivelycallfortharepractically
indistinguishable。Thesephenomenaofearlythoughtandfeeling
appeartomeamplytoaccountforsomefactsofIrishhistory
whichnearlyallEnglishwritersonIrelandhavenoticedwith
extremesurpriseorindignation。TheexpressionsofSirJohn
Davis，whilestatingthatmanyoftheearlyAnglo-Norman
adventurerssettledinIrelandbecameintimepureIrish
chieftains，reflecttheviolentastonishmentandangerwhichthe
transformationexcitedinEnglishmen。’TheEnglishColonistsdid
embraceandusetheIrishcustom，aftertheyhadrejectedthe
CivilandHonourableLawsandCustomsofEngland，wherebythey
becamedegenerateandmetamorphosedlikeNebuchadnezzar，who，
althoughhehadthefaceofaman，hadtheheartofabeast；or
likethosewhohaddrunkofCirce’scupandwereturnedintovery
beasts，andyettooksuchpleasureintheirbeastlymannerof
lifeastheywouldnotreturntotheirshapeofmenagain；
insomuchaswithinlesstimethantheageofaman，theyhadno
marksordifferenceleftamongthemofthatnoblenationfrom
whichtheyweredescended。’Thefact，statedinthisbitter
language，isnotespeciallymarvellous。Wehaveseenthegeneral
complexionofIrishsocietygivingitscolourtoinstitutionsof
allsorts——associationsofkinsmenshadingoffintoassemblages
ofpartnersandguild-brothers——fosterparentage，spiritual
parentage，andpreceptorshiptakingtheirhuefromnatural
paternity——ecclesiasticalorganisationblendingwithtribal
organisation。TheAnglo-Normancaptainwhohadthoughttoconquer
forhimselfanIrishsignorypassedinsensiblyinthesameway
intothechieftainofanIrishtribe。Thedependantswho
surroundedhimdidnotpossiblydrawanycleardistinction
betweentheactualdepositaryofpowerandthenaturaldepositary
ofpower，and，asthecontagiousnessofideasisinproportionto
theirfewness，itisintelligiblethathetoowasaffectedbythe
mentalatmosphereinwhichhelived。Norwereothermotives
wanting。TheextremepovertyandconstantdistractionsofIreland
didnotpreventanextraordinaryamountoftheprideof
authority，oftheprideofbirth，andevenoftheprideofwealth
fromcentringinthedignityofanIrishChief。
ThePrimitiveFormsofLegalRemediesI。
IstatedonaformeroccasionLecture1。p。8thatthebranchoflawwhichwenowcalltheLawofDistressoccupiesthegreatestpartofthelargestBrehonlaw-tract，theSenchusMor。
TheimportancethusgiventoDistressisafactofmuchsignificance，andinthisandthefollowingLectureIproposetodiscussthequestionsitraisesandtheconclusionsitsuggests。
ThevalueofthepreciousdiscoverymadebyNiebuhr，whenhedisinterredin1816themanuscriptofGaius，doesnotsolelyarisefromthenewlightwhichwasatoncethrownonthebeginningsofthelegalsystemwhichisthemountainofthegreatestpartofcivilisedjurisprudence。Thereareportionsofthetreatisethenrestoredtotheworldwhichaffordusglimpsesofsomethingolderthanlawitself，andwhichenableustoconnectwithlawthepracticesdictatedtobarbarousmenbyimpulseswhichithasbecometheprimeofficeofalllawtocontrol。AttheheadofthepassagesintheworkofGaiuswhichallowthemind’seyetopenetratesomelittlewayintothechaosoutofwhichsocialordersprang，Iplacethefragmentaryandimperfectaccount，givennearthecommencementoftheFourthBook，oftheoldLegisActiones，whichintheageofGaiushimselfhadceasedtohavemorethananhistoricalandantiquarianinterest。
LegisActio，ofwhichtheexactmeaningdoesnotseemtohavebeenknowntoGaius，maybeconjecturedtohavebeenthesubstantiveformoftheverbalexpression，legemorlegeagere，andtohavebeenequivalenttowhatwenowcallProcedure。IthasbeenseveraltimesobservedthatamongtheLegisActionesareincludedseveralproceedingswhicharenotofthenatureofActionsorSuits，butarerathermodesofexecutingdecrees。Thefactseemstobethat，byacourseofchangewhichmaybetracedinthehistoryofRomanlaw，oneportion，’Actio，’ofthevenerablephrase’LegisActio’hasbeengraduallydisjoinedfromtherest，andhascometodenotethatstageoftheadministrationofjusticewhichisdirectlyconductedbytheCourt，together，insomejudicialsystems，withthestageimmediatelyprecedingit。I
supposethatoriginallylex，usedoftheassumedwrittenbasisofRomanlaw，andlegisactio，correspondedroughlytowhatmanycenturiesafterwardswerecalledSubstantiveandAdjectiveLaw，thelawdeclaringrightsanddutiesandtherulesaccordingtowhichthelawdeclaringrightsanddutiesisadministered。Ontheexpressionjustmentioned，AdjectiveLaw，withwhichBenthamandhisschoolhavefamiliarisedus，IwillmakearemarkwhichappliestomuchinthephraseologyandclassificationsoftheAnalyticalJurists，thatitiscorrectandconvenientaccordingtotheideasoftheirday，butthat，ifusedofveryoldlaw，itisapttoleadtoanhistoricalmisconception。Itwouldnotbeuntruetoassertthat，inonestageofhumanaffairs，rightsanddutiesarerathertheadjectiveofprocedurethanprocedureamereappendagetorightsandduties。Therehavebeentimeswhentherealdifficultylay，notinconceivingwhatamanwasentitledto，butinobtainingit；sothatthemethod，violentorlegal，bywhichanendwasobtainedwasofmoreconsequencethanthenatureoftheenditself。Asafact，itisonlyinthemostrecenttimesorinthemosthighlydevelopedlegalsystemsthatremedieshavelostimportanceincomparisonwithrightsandhaveceasedtoaffectthemdeeplyandvariously。
ThefirstandinmanyrespectsthemostinterestingoftheseancientmodesofproceedingistheLegisActioSacramenti，theundoubtedparentofalltheRomanActions，andconsequentlyofmostofthecivilremediesnowinuseintheworld。SeveralyearsagoIpointedoutAncientLaw，pp。376，377thatthetechnicalformalitiesappearedplainly，uponinspection，tobeadramatisationoftheOriginofJustice。’Twoarmedmen，’Isaid，’arewranglingaboutsomedisputedproperty。ThePraetor，virpietategravis，happenstobegoingbyandinterposestostopthecontest。Thedisputantsstatetheircasetohim，andagreethatheshallarbitratebetweenthem，itbeingarrangedthattheloser，besidesresigningthesubjectofthequarrel，shallpayasumofmoneytotheumpireasremunerationforhistroubleandlossoftime。’’Thisinterpretation，’Ithenadded，’wouldbelessplausiblethanitis，wereitnotthat，byasurprisingcoincidence，theceremonydescribedbyGaiusastheimperativecourseofproceedinginaLegisActioissubstantiallythesamewithoneofthetwosubjectswhichtheGodHephaestusisDescribedbyHomerasmouldingintotheFirstCompartmentoftheShieldofAchilles。’Singethesepassageswerewritten，thelaboursofmorerecentenquirersenableustoclassthisjudicialpictureoftheoriginofonegreatinstitution，CivilJustice，withotherpictorialordramaticrepresentationsofforgottenpracticeswhich，invariouspartsoftheworld，surviveintheformsattendinginstitutionsofatleastequalimportance。Itmaybeseen，forexample，fromMrMcLennan’sworkon’PrimitiveMarriage，’thatalargepartofmankindstillsimulateintheirmarriageceremoniesthecarryingoffthebridebyviolence，andthuspreservethememoryofthereignofforcewhich，atalleventsasbetweentribeandtribe，precededeverywherethereignoflaw。Itisnotatthesametimetobesupposedthattheselong-descendeddramasimplyoreverimpliedanydisrespectfortheinstitutionswithwhichtheyareassociated。Inallprobabilitytheyintentionallycommemoratenottheevilbuttheremedyfortheevil：and，untiltheydegenerateintomeaninglessusages，theyareenacted，notinhonourofbruteforce，butinhonouroftheinstitutionswhichsupersededit，MarriageandCivilJustice。