Gentlemen, the passage I am about to quote from Jefferson’s letter to Major Cartwright, contains the opinion of Justice Prisot, in old French, but I have procured a literal and a free translation, which I will read to the Jury. Your Lordship can refer to the original in the Year Book. "I was glad to find, in your book, a formal contradiction, at length, of the judiciary usurpation of legislative powers; for such the judges have usurped in their repeated decisions that Christianity is a part of the common law. The proof of the contrary which you have adduced is incontrovertible; to wit, that the common law existed while the Anglo-Saxons were yet Pagans; at a time when they had never yet heard the name of Christ pronounced, or knew that such a character had ever existed. But it may amuse you to show when, and by what means, they stole this law in upon us. In a case of quare impedit, in the year-book, 34 H. 6, fo. 38, (1458,) a question was made, how far the ecclesiastical law was to be respected in a common law court? And Justice Prisot, c. 5, gives his opinion in these words:-- "’A tiel leis que ils de seint eglise ont en _ancien scripture_, covient "’_To such laws which they of the holy church have in ancient writing, it is proper_ à nous à donner credence; car ceo common ley sur quels touts manners _for us to give credence; because that is the common law on which all sorts of leis_ sont lor dés--et auxy, Sir, nous sumus obligés de conustre leur ley de saint _laws are founded--and thus, Sir, we are obliged to know their law of the holy_ eglise; et semblablement ils sont obligés de conustre nostre lev: et, Sir, si _church; and in like manner they are obliged to know our law; and, Sir, if_ poit apperer or ù nous que Tevesque ad fait come un ordinary fera en tiel _it can be shown thus to us that the bishop has done as a layman would in such_ cas, adonq nous devons ceo adjuger bon, ou auterment nemy,’ &c.(1) See S. C, _a case, then we ought this to judge good, or otherwise not at all._ 1. _Translation read to the Jury._ Fitzherbert’s Abr. qu. imp. 89. Brown’s Abr. qu. imp. 12. Finch, in his first book, c. 3, is the first afterwards who quotes this case, and misstates it thus, ’To such laws of the church as have warrant in _holy scripture_ our law giveth credence,’ and cites Prisot, mistranslating ’ancien scripture’ into ’holy scripture;’ whereas Prisot palpably says, ’to such laws as those of holy church have in _ancient writing_ it is proper for us to give credence to wit, to their ancient written laws. This was in 1613, a century and a half after the dictum of Prisot. Wingate, in 1658, erects this false translation into a maxim of the common law, copying the words of Finch, but citing Prisot. Wingate’s Maxims, 3; and Sheppard, tit. ’Religion in 1675. copies the same mistranslation, quoting the Year-book, Finch and Wingate. Hale expresses it in these words, ’Christianity is parcel of the laws of England.’