Through Literature To Jurisprudence

THROUGH LITERATURE TO JURISPRUDENCE A THESIS PRESENTED BY » T. A. CULHAM, B.A. As partial requirement For the Degree of MA.STER OF ARTS In t h e f a c u l t y of A r t s J ^ T ^ a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Ott^wi MAT, 1943. *V etty e , 0*> UMI Number: EC56005 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform EC56005 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 P R E F A C E . Whenever an author undertakes to write a history of literature he usually commences by giving a definition of the word "literature". It will be understood that this is necessary in view of the many publications of modern times which are designated as literature. Fraternal organizations, secret associ* ations, propaganda distributors, mall order firms and many others refer to their particular types of printed material as "literature"• Literature, as the word is popularly used, may include such topics as philosophy, medicine, music, art and architecture. It is not in this sense that I refer to the word in my thesis. It will include both prose and poetry inasmuch as these writings have the qualities of beauty of form combined with emotional effect or intellectual appeal. Used in this sense those forms of writing which have as their sole object the distribution of information are totally eliminated. Certain prose writings have the beauty and expression of poetry and these I shall include under the name of literature. - 2 - As to the other part of my subject which I intend to oonnect with literature I am well aware of the popular notion that the two can never be combined and that they are as far apart as the North and the South Pole. Yet, as with the Poles, they are very intimately connected and bear a closer relation to each other than at first sight appears possible. Literature is classed with the arts; Jurisprudence is defined as a science; yet is it not based on philosophy and is there no philosophy in literature? It is with this in mind that I propose to venture into a field, hitherto untrodden, to show that literature can be made a basis for jurisprudence, and through this jurisprudence, founded on the philosophy of poets, laws have been and may be codified which will work to the betterment of the human race. This work would not have been possible had it not been for the kindly advice of members of the Faculty of the University of Ottawa, to certain members of the legal profession of Ottawa, and to the assistance given to me by members of the R.C.M.Police, one, in particular, who has had practical experience in dealing with crime and who has aided me considerably in my classification of evidence. To these I owe a debt - 3 of gratitude as without their advice it is quite possible that I would have fallen into many grievous technical errors, which, although of no particular concern to the average layman, would have offended, undoubtedly, the trained minds of the legal profession. C O N T E N T S Chapter Page 1. POETS AS LEGISLATORS 1 1.Shelley's Defence of Poetry