 Holmes says, surprisingly, the original reason of keeping the easement was that land was considered like a living thing. An easement would run with the land. The land was personified in the way they used to personify axes, which they would put on trial and punish after a crime took place. Nowadays, said Holmes, the reason to allow the easement to run is because title would be much more complicated if you weren't sure whether you bought a piece of land, whether you could keep the easement.