Studies on Celtic Law

XVII

PRÉFACE.

bility of escaping those antinomies An antinomy is a contradiction between two beliefs or conclusions that both seem equally valid or logical. which a logic as rigorous as it is unjust, or irony wielded by a gifted adversary, can always exploit against them to the applause of the crowd and with the momentary appearance of triumph.

In this volume and the next, one will find a summary of a course of teaching that continued at the Collège de France One of France's most prestigious research and teaching institutions, founded in 1530. for about ten years, various parts of which have already been brought to the attention of specialists through articles published in the New Historical Review of French and Foreign Law original: Nouvelle revue historique de droit français et étranger, in the General Law Review original: Revue générale du droit, and in the Celtic Review original: Revue celtique.

This course never had more than a limited number of listeners, but by way of compensation, it was attended by a few students. I call a "student" élève: the author distinguishes between a passive listener (auditeur) and an active, critical student. a listener diligent, zealous, and intelligent enough to succeed in debating the conclusions proposed by the professor, and sometimes, at the very least, to be right against him.