Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, , was a British Whig comparative jurist and historian. He is famous for the thesis outlined in his book Ancient Law that law and society developed "from status to contract." According to the thesis, in the ancient world individuals were tightly bound by status to traditional groups, while in the modern one, in which individuals are viewed as autonomous agents, they are free to make contracts and form associations with whomever they choose. Because of this thesis, Maine can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern legal anthropology, legal history and sociology of law. Wikipedia
‘Dissertations on Early Law and Custom’ (1883) ch. 11.
“Except the blind forces of Nature, nothing moves in this world which is not Greek in its origin.”
‘Village Communities’ (3rd ed., 1876) p. 238.
