Note 109 — Chapter VI · THE SOURCES OF LAW.

In addition to the formal, historical, and legal sources of the law, it is necessary to note and distinguish what may be termed its literary sources, though this is a Continental, rather than an English use of the term source. The literary sources are the sources of our knowledge of the law, or rather the original and authoritative sources of such knowledge, as opposed to later commentary or literature. The sources of Roman law are in this sense the compilations of the Emperor Justinian, as contrasted with the works of commentators. So the sources of English law are the statute-book, the reports, and the older and authoritative text-books, such as Littleton. The literature, as opposed to the sources of our law, comprises all modern text-books and commentaries.