Branch, Thomas, fl. 1753.
Branch's Principia Legis : English Law
Thomas Branch is an anonymous figure. Nothing is known about his personal life. It is known that he wrote at least one work in addition to his dictionary: Thoughts on Dreaming (1738), examining "the soul in sleep" and the phenomenon of dreaming.
Branch's dictionary was first published in 1753 and was highly commended as a student's textbook; Marvin wrote, "As a manual, this little book contains more law and more useful matter, than any one book of the same size which can be put into the hands of a student." The "dictionary" is more of a collection of memorable sayings, in Latin and English, in alphabetical order: "Legis minister non tenetur, in executione officii sui, fugere aut retrocedere. 6 Co. 68. - The minister of the law is bound, in the execution of his office, neither to fly nor retreat."
The work was reissued in several subsequent editions in both the UK and America through the middle of the 19th century. In 1824 William Waller Hening compiled several works, including those of William Noye, Richard Francis, and Branch, and republished them in Richmond as Maxims in law and equity.
See John G. Marvin, Legal Bibliography, or a Thesaurus of
American, English, Irish, and Scotch Law Books (Philadelphia: T.
& J. W. Johnson, 1847).
Bibliography
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