Questioning accepted views of common law, this book attempts to clarify the nature of common-law practice and the way in which it was envisaged by its practitioners. It asserts that attempts--notably those by Blackstone and Bentham--to expound or criticize common law in essentially theoretical terms were mistaken, and examines the evolution and spread of judicial ideas which were grounded upon the work of moral and political philosophers. Covering important philosophical and political debates of the time and the development of legal theory over a period of 70 years, The Common Law and English Jurisprudence makes a valuable corrective contribution to our understanding of this critical period in English legal history.