Odger's English Common Law

ODGEKS ON THE COMMON LAW.
BOOK I.
INTRODUCTION.
Chapter I.
EIGHTS AND DUTIES.
There are two kinds of law—the law of God and the law
of the State. There is no other kind of law. Philosophers
write about "the moral law." By this they mean man's
imperfect conception of the law of God. Writers on Juris-
prudence also use the phrase " moral law," but in an entirely
different sense—namely, to denote the restrictions which are
imposed on a man's conduct by the manners, customs and
etiquettes of his tribe, caste, sect, profession, trade union or
clique. But such restrictions are not laws at all. Neither
God nor the State will punish a man who disregards them.
"We often hear of " the customary law." But this is
merely the name given to that portion of the law of any
State which happens to have been custom before it became
law. A custom is not of itself a law. Until the State chooses
to adopt and enforce it, it is merely a rule which a man may
follow or not as he pleases ; it is not a law which he will be
compelled to obey. Customs are not decreed by the State
they are the creations of habit and fashion ; they are constantly
changing,
" Lest one good custom should corrupt the world."
The State may, if it chooses, adopt a custom and make it a
law, and then, of course, it must be obeyed.
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