The Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle famously wrote that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” It was his contention that a special few wrought the collective destiny of the mundane many. However, one does not have to be a strict historical materialist or biological determinist to recognize that this seems a tad exaggerated – environmental settings and social dynamics have a lot to do with historical change and the rise to prominence of certain individuals. Accordingly, a more cogent account of “the history of the world” might make more of the insight that, although great men and women have undoubtedly played vital roles in shaping society, they have themselves been forged by that same society. Greatness is the complex and serendipitous interaction of personal character and historical circumstance.

James Atkin was one of those strong characters who was a product of his own social milieu as well as a major influence on it. Although he stood out from the crowd, he never sought to put himself above or beyond ordinary people. In his long and illustrious career, he managed to hold on to and celebrate the original basis of the common law – that it arose from the customs of the common people and was intended to serve their best interests. As such, he took seriously the special judicial undertaking to develop the law in line with the ideals of the society of which he was such a part. He was an ordinary man in the best and most extraordinary sense of the description.