HEREDITARY1. That which is inherited.
HERESY2, Eng. law. The adoption3 of any erroneous religious tenet, not warranted by the established church.
2. This is punished by the deprivation4 of certain civil rights, and by fine and imprisonment5. 1 East, P. C. 4.
3. In other countries than England, by heresy is meant the profession, by Christians6, of religious opinions contrary to the dogmas approved by the established church of the respective countries. For an account of the origin and progress of the laws against heresy, see Giannoni's Istoria di Napoli, vol. 3, pp, 250, 251, &c.
4. in the United State, happily, we have no established religion; there can, therefore, be no legal heresy. Vide Apostacy; Christianity.
HERISCHILD. A species of English military service, or knight's fee.
HERIOTS, Eng. law. A render of the best beast or other goods, as the custom may be, to the lord, on the death of the tenant7. 2 Bl. Com. 97.
2. They are usually divided into two sorts, heriot service, and heriot custom; the former are such as are due upon a special reservation in the grant or lease of lands, and therefore amount to little more than a mere8 rent; the latter arise upon no special reservation whatsoever9, but depend merely upon immemorial usage and custom. These are defined to be a customary tribute of goods and chattels10, payable11 to the lord of the fee, on the decease of the owner of the land. 2 Bl. Com. 422. Vide Com. Dig. Copyhold, K 18; Bac. Ab. h. t.; 2 Saund. lndex, h. t.; 1 Vern. 441.
HERITAGE. By this word is understood, among the civilians12, every species of immovable which can be the subject of property, such as lands, houses, orchards13, woods, marshes14, ponds, &c., in whatever mode they may have been acquired, either by descent or purchase. 3 Toull. 472. It is something that can be inherited. Co. Litt. s. 731.
HERMAPHRODITES. Persons who have in the sexual organs the appearance of both sexes. They are adjudged to belong to that which prevails in them. Co. Litt. 2, 7; Domat, Lois Civ. liv. 1, t. 2, s. 1, n.. 9.
2. The sexual characteristics in the human species are widely separated, and the two sexes are never, perhaps, united in the same individual. 2 Dunglison's Hum. Physiol. 304; 1 Beck's Med. Jur. 94 to 110.
3. Dr. William Harris, in a lecture delivered to the Philadelphia Medical Institute, gives an interesting account of a supposed hermaphrodite who came under his own observation in Chester county, Pennsylvania. The individual was called Elizabeth, and till the age of eighteen, wore the female dress, when she threw it off, and assumed the name of Rees, with the dress and habits of a man; at twenty-five, she married a woman, but had no children. Her clitoris was five or six inches long, and in coition, which she greatly enjoyed, she used this instead of the male organ. She lived till she was sixty years of age, and died in possession of a large estate, which she had acquired by her industry and enterprise. Medical Examiner, vol. ii. p, 314. Vide 1 Briand, M´d. L´g. c. 2, art. 2 , §2, n. 2; Dict. des Sciences M´d. art. Hypospadias, et art. Impuissance; Guy, Med. Jur. 42,47.
HIDE, measures. In England, a hide of land, according to some ancient-manuscripts, contained one hundred and twenty acres. Co. Litt. 5; Plowd. 167; Touchst. 93.
HIERARCHY15, eccl. law. A hierarchy signified, originally, power of the priest; for in the beginning of societies, the priests were entrusted16 with all the power but, among the priests themselves, there were different degrees of power and authority, at the summit of which was the sovereign pontiff, and this was called the hierarchy. Now it signifies, not so much the power of the priests as the border of power.
HIGH. This word has various signifcations: 1. Principal or chief, as high constable17, high sheriff. 2. Prominent, in a bad sense, as high treason. 3. Open, not confined, as high seas.
HIGH CONSTABLE. An officer appointed in some cities bears this name. His powers are generally Iimited to matters of police, and are not more extensive in these respects than those of constables18. (q. v.)
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