 | University of Virginia |  |
COURSE OF STUDY.
The course is organized with a view to acquaint the
student familiarly and practically with the principles of his
profession. Especial care is taken to teach him to think
for himself, and to rely upon reason and principle, rather
than upon memory; it being considered that it is better for
the student to follow the principle to its legitimate conclusion,
though that be at variance with the decisions of the
courts, than to arrive at a faultless result by the exercise of
memory or by accident.
The instruction is as thorough as possible, and is given
partly through text-books and partly through lectures, with
careful daily examinations upon both.
The course is designed to occupy two years, and, since
the future professional success of the student depends upon
his intimate acquaintance with elementary principles, it is
imprudent, if not hazardous, to devote less time to preparation
for practice at the bar. It is a maxim sanctioned by
long and wide experience that "he who is not a good lawyer
when he comes to the bar, will seldom be a good one
of the elements of the law, thought is requisite as well as
reading; and, for the purpose of thought, there must be
time to digest as well as industry to acquire. One cannot
expect to gorge himself with legal principles and to digest
them afterwards; the process of assimilation must accompany
the reception of knowledge, if it is to proceed healthfully
and beneficially.
| University of Virginia | |