Excerpt from Handbook on the Law of Damages The author's object in the present work, tin preparation of which has occupied a large portion of his time and attention for a period of nearly two years, has been to state, explain, and illustrate with elementary clearness and accuracy all the rules and principles governing the award of damages in civil cases. In view of the limitations of space in a one-volume work, it has been thought best to give the greater prominence to the discussion of the gen oral principles underlying the whole subject, letting the application of those principles to special classes of cases fall into a subsidiary place. Another reason for this arrangement is that the book is intended as much for the use of students as of practitioners. and for that purpose it is absolutely essential that the general and controlling principles of the subject should be fully and clearly explained. These are few, and are easily grasped when explained in logical and connected order; but when presented with a mass of details applicable only to the special case under discussion the difficulties of the subject are largely increased. Much confusion has also been caused by the loose and unscientific use of terms both by law writers and in judicial opinions. This is notably true with regard to nominal damages. That subject has been made almost unintelligible by the lack of consistency and precision in the use of the terms "wrong" and "damage." The notions embraced in these words have been very carefully analyzed in the first chapter. The fundamental nature of legal rights and wrongs has been looked at from a new point of view; and while no new theories are advanced, it is hoped that the subject has been made clearer. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.