Title deed

“ I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in the cool tranquillity of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds and mortgages and title-deeds. All who know me, consider me an eminently safe man. ”

“ Persons require to possess a title, or some other badge of rank, or of the consideration of people of rank, to be able to indulge somewhat in the luxury of doing as they like without detriment to their estimation. ”

“ If something must proclaim the answer,
And I cannot, the title can, sir!
The Moral is: All said and done,
There’s nothing new beneath the sun,
And many times before, a title
Was incapacity’s requital! ”

“ Men willingly prefix a handle to their names, and tack on to them any two or more honorary letters of the alphabet as a tail; they drop their surnames for a dignity, and change them for an estate or a title. ”

“ AMO. Redeem that we cannot, but to create a new flame is in our power. Here is a gentleman, my scholar, whom, for some private reasons me specially moving, I am covetous to gratify with title of master in the noble and subtile science of courtship: for which grace, he shall this night, in court, and in the long gallery, hold his public act, by open challenge, to all masters of the mystery whatsoever, to play at the four choice and principal weapons thereof, viz., "the Bare Accost, the Better Regard, the Solemn Address," and "the Perfect Close." ”

“ But turn to the deed [pulls out an immeasurable parchment] , for the will is of no force if I please, for he was not capable of making one after the former—as I managed it; upon which account I now wait upon my lady. By the way, do you know the true meaning of the word, a deed?
Clerk. Ay, sir; a deed is as if a man should say the deed.
Puz. Right. 'Tis emphatically so-called because after it all deeds and actions are of no effect, and you have [Pg 24] nothing to do but hang yourself, the only obliging thing you can then do——But I was telling you the use of tautology. ”

“ We are called on to adjudge what the equities of claimants are; and to do this, it is proper 'to look at all the several parts and ceremonies necessary to complete the title, and to take them together as one act.' 10 How., 372. ”

“ Think of your duties—not your supposed duties as a landowner to your estate, as a merchant to your business, as emperor, minister, or official to the state, but of your real duties, the duties that follow from your real position as a being called into life and endowed with reason and love. ”

“ Note also, that by courtesy of England, all the Sons of Dukes and Marquesses and the eldest Sons of Earls, have the titles of Lord and Right Honourable; and their daughters have the title of Honourable, but without any other addition. Every gentleman, in any place of honour or trust, is styled Honourable. ”

“ But, though title and fortune communicate a splendor all around them, and the footmen of men of quality and of estate think themselves entitled to a part of that respect which is paid to the quality and estate of their masters, it is clearly otherwise with regard to virtue and understanding. ”

“ But while nobody could oust you—the wife who would have the sympathies of judge and jury—it might be a different case with any one who derived title from you. Any purchaser would know that you could not sell, or if you did, it would be at a ridiculous sacrifice. ”

“ In a word, I wanted a clear valid title, as lawyers would say, to my hawks, and I believe no title would have satisfied me that did not extend up to the time of the first hawk, that is, prior to Adam; and, could I have obtained such a title, I make no doubt that, young as I was, I should have suspected that it was full of flaws. ”

“ The methods therefore of acquiring on the one hand, and of losing on the other, a title to estates in things real, are reduced by our law to two: descent, where the title is vested in a man by the single operation of law ”

“ The same is more or less true of all titles. They are traditional, and are mainly valued for this reason. An imaginative person might devise a dozen styles in themselves better fitted to express the peculiar eminency of a successful money-lender or a wealthy brewer than the feudal title of baron, or than that of knight to indicate the qualities of a Radical apostle of the gospel of “peace at any price.” ”

“ The qualities are made for the special purpose of designating each individual, and at the same time be entirely safe from the least suspicion. When a Grand Master has had the honour of promotion conferred, he is supplied with the table of qualities; likewise the secret of correspondence is submitted to his confidence, under an oath, the penalty of which is death, if he, by word, deed, or action develop, or by any means expose, the principles of his special charge. ”

“ Fancy a member of the legal profession appearing in court to defend such a person for selling a title, separate from an actuality, on the ground that such a title was property because he was able to sell it, and that somebody not keen was persuaded to buy it! ”

“ Titular, tit′ū-lar, adj. existing in name or title only: nominal: having the title without the duties of an office.—n. one who enjoys the bare title of an office, without the actual possession of that office: a person invested with a title in virtue of which he holds a benefice, whether he performs its duties or not.—n. ”

“ It wants the hereditary influence and great estates necessary to command popular respect. The title of Peer is for life only, and is the reward of prescribed services in all the chief employments of the state. ”

“ But it follows not, by any sound rule of argument, that, because no other superiority than that of rank and authority is implied in the title, no other belongs to the person distinguished by the title, and that he is in all other respects a mere angel. ”

“ In very marked contrast with this young man is the something more than middle-aged Register of Deeds, a rusty, sallow, smoke-dried looking personage, who belongs to this earth as exclusively as the other belongs to the firmament. ”

“ The qualities, however, which command public respect, and the services which have secured it to you in so high a degree, must appear a sufficient motive for offering you this slight tribute, in the eyes not only of those who know and love you in the relations of private life, but of all the many who have marked your career, either as a lawyer, alike eminent in learning and in eloquence, or as a just, impartial, clear-sighted, and yet merciful judge. ”

“ Possession and ownership—fact and right—enjoyment and title—are presumed by the law to be coincident. Every man may therefore keep what he has got, until and unless some one else can prove that he himself has a better title to it. ”

“ We remind a lawyer that he has the honor of being a counsellor to the king, and that he should set an example. We say to a soldier to encourage him: "Remember that thou art of the regiment of Champagne." We should say to every individual: "Remember thy dignity as a man." ”

“ Nay, more—I am ready to acknowledge, and I do for myself, my executors, administrators and assigns—or publishers—hereby acknowledge, and I hope with no unbecoming nor uncourteous qualification, that, taken together, as a power, body, or estate, the Lawyers of our land are to the full as honest—and as trustworthy—by nature—as any other power, body or estate among us, of equal numbers, wealth, dignity, or intelligence ”

“ for it is with literature as with law or empire-an established name is an estate in tenure, or a throne in possession. ”

“ I therefore enjoyn all persons, of what estate soever they be, that they and every of them, as much as in them is, shall uphold and maintain these articles granted by our Lord and master in all points. ”

“ To form that character advantageously, you have three objects particularly to attend to: your character as a man of morality, truth, and honor; your knowledge in the objects of your destination, as a man of business; and your engaging and insinuating address, air and manners, as a courtier; the sure and only steps to favor.
Merit at courts, without favor, will do little or nothing; favor, without merit, will do a good deal; but favor and merit together will do everything. ”

“ The great orator, statesman, historian, lawyer, judge,—counsellor, companion and ancestor of monarchs,— flying for his life, in his old age, into a foreign land, from the court of which, for a generation, he had been the ornament and head, soon as his feet touch a place of safety, thinks of his University. ”

“ The rogue fumbled his doffed hat.
“None of my own, master, but my brother’s. A waits in the street below, unwitting of my purpose.”
“What need? What purpose? State, state, and be done with it.”
“The purpose to have his wits cured, if so be I can entice him into your honour’s presence.”
“What, then, hath befallen his wits?”
“What not, great sir? A thinks every one he meets doth owe him money, and importunes the same for payment.” ”

“ Do you conceive, in general, that those who hold such employments as are guarded by oaths perform their duties in consequence of the oath, or because they conceive that integrity and due attention are right for their own sakes? ”

“ The writer does not, however, treat virtue, honour and diligence as the foundations of success, but circumspection, knowledge of men, and a crafty use of opportunities. The book was really intended for the use of young courtiers who wished to advance to honour over the treacherous ground of Court life. ”

“ And does not experience justify the observation, that where titles—a thing very rare—have been conferred as the rewards of merit, those to whom they have descended, far from being thereby animated to imitate their ancestor, have presumed upon that lustre which they supposed thrown round them, and, prodigally relying on such resources, lavished what alone was their own, their personal reputation? ”

“ If any one is for examining and making requisitions on title we can search too, and can require the title of the state as against any other state, or against the world at large. But suppose we succeed in this, we must search further still and show by what title mankind has ousted the lower animals, and by what title we eat them, or they themselves eat grass or one another. ”

“ I. First then, a deed is a writing sealed and delivered by the parties [1] . It is sometimes called a charter, carta, from it's materials; but most usually, when applied to the transactions of private subjects, it is called a deed, in Latin factum, κατ' εξοχην, because it is the most solemn and authentic act that a man can possibly perform, with relation to the disposal of his property; and therefore a man shall always be estopped by his own deed, or not permitted to aver or prove any thing in contradiction to what he has once so solemnly and deliberately avowed [2] . ”

“ All statements are confirmed by some argument or other, either by that which is derived from persons, or by that which is deduced from circumstances. Now we consider that these different things belong to persons, a name, nature, a way of life, fortune, custom, affection, pursuits, intentions, actions, accidents, orations. A name is that which is given to each separate person, so that each is called by his own proper and fixed appellation. To define nature itself is difficult, but to enumerate those parts of it which we require for the laying down of these precepts is more easy. ”

“ On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory
And shall try their works,
And their places of rest shall be innumerable.
And their souls shall grow strong within them when they see Mine elect ones,
And those who have called upon My glorious name:
4. Then will I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them. ”

“ I had already grasped the fact that the title of my discourse was the important thing. In the list of the Society's lectures sent to me there was hardly one whose title did not impress the imagination in advance. I must be equally impressive... ”

“ In my experience as a lecturer on the Law of Wills, and in the practical administration of estates controlled by wills, in which I have been engaged for many years, it has been a subject of surprise to me that no one in America has seriously undertaken the collection of curious and famous wills. ”

“ Between the purpose hinted at here, and the execution of that purpose contained in the succeeding pages, lies the broad line of separation which distinguishes between the will and the deed. How far I may fall short of another man’s standard, remains to be discovered. How far I have fallen short of my own, I know painfully well. ”

“ I am a very private man, distinguished by neither dignities nor titles, which I have never done any thing to deserve—but as I am certain that titles alone would not have procured me the honour of your notice, I am content without them. ”

“ The observations which obtain in the presentation and acceptance of a material object—as a book, a silver tea set, a medal, an art gallery—apply just as well to the bestowal and acceptance of an honor, such as a degree from a university, an office, an appointment as head of a committee or as foreign representative, or membership in a society. ”

“ Now, with this understanding, make your own arrangements to suit yourself, and as you may determine most conducive to your interests. In confirming your action, as the executor or your grandfather, I must, however, take such measures as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of his will.... If you are determined to hold the estate, I think you ought to make it profitable. As to the means of doing so, you must decide for yourself. ”

“ Noble patricians, patrons of my right, Defend the justice of my cause with arms; And, countrymen, my loving followers, Plead my successive title with your swords. ”

“ You are at present,' continued he, 'the head of your family, have a large estate, are young, handsome, accomplished; in fine, have all the requisites to make a shining character in life, and to be a service and an honour to your country. ”