Note 13 — Chapter III · The Division of War Into Public and Private and the Nature of Sovereign Power.

"Wrongs are divisible into two sorts or species, PRIVATE WRONGS, and PUBLIC WRONGS. The former are an infringement or privation of the private or civil rights belonging to individuals, considered as individuals, and are therefore frequently termed civil injuries; the latter are a breach and violation of public rights and duties which affect the whole community considered as a community, and are distinguished by the harsher appellation of crimes and misdemeanors."—Blackst. Com. b. iii. c. i.