2014年，黨的十八屆四中全會(huì)以依法治國(guó)為主題。之后，設(shè)立巡回法庭、清理執(zhí)法考核指標(biāo)、推行司法公開(kāi)等跟法治有關(guān)的新聞不斷，而“法治”自然成為近兩年的一個(gè)熱詞。2015年全國(guó)兩會(huì)召開(kāi)在即，在各路媒體預(yù)測(cè)的兩會(huì)看點(diǎn)中，有關(guān)“法治”的議題也占了相當(dāng)?shù)谋戎亍２蝗缥覀兘裉炀蛠?lái)預(yù)熱一下，先從學(xué)習(xí)的角度談一談這個(gè)“法”字。

Numerous definitions of law have been put forward over the centuries. The Third New International Dictionary from Merriam-Webster defines law as: "Law is a binding custom or practice of a community; a rule or mode of conduct or action that is prescribed or formally recognized as binding by a supreme controlling authority or is made obligatory by a sanction (as an edict, decree, prescript, order, ordinance, statute, resolution, rule, judicial decision, or usage) made, recognized, or enforced by the controlling authority."
幾千年以來(lái)，關(guān)于“法律”（law）一詞的定義，曾出現(xiàn)過(guò)很多版本?！俄f氏第三版新國(guó)際字典》對(duì)其的定義是：“法律是一個(gè)社區(qū)內(nèi)的約束性習(xí)俗或慣例；由最高權(quán)力機(jī)構(gòu)規(guī)定或正式認(rèn)可為有約束力的法則或行為準(zhǔn)則，或是由該權(quán)力機(jī)構(gòu)作出的、認(rèn)可的或者執(zhí)行的帶有強(qiáng)制性的裁決（包括法令、政令、規(guī)定、命令、條例、法規(guī)、決議、規(guī)則、司法決定或者司法踐行）?！?/p>

The Dictionary of the History of Ideas published by Scribner's in 1973 defined the concept of law accordingly as: "A legal system is the most explicit, institutionalized, and complex mode of regulating human conduct. At the same time it plays only one part in the congeries of rules which influence behavior, for social and moral rules of a less institutionalized kind are also of great importance."
斯克里布納爾出版社在1973年出版的《思想史字典》由此將法律這一概念定義為：“法律體系是用于約束人類行為的最明晰、最成體系又最復(fù)雜的規(guī)則。同時(shí)，它又僅僅是影響人類行為的眾多規(guī)則集合中的一個(gè)部分，因?yàn)椋^為缺乏體系的社會(huì)和道德守則也是很重要的?！?/p>

The earliest lawbook was written about 2100 B.C. for Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, a Middle Eastern city-state. Within three centuries Hammurabi, king of Babylonia, had enumerated laws of private conduct, business and legal precedents, of which 282 articles have survived. The term "eye for an eye" (or the equivalent value) is found there, as is drowning as punishment for adultery by a wife (while a husband could have slave concubines), and unequal treatment of the rich and the poor was codified here first. It took another thousand years before written law codes developed among the Greek city-states (particularly Athens) and Israel. China developed similar rules of conduct, as did Egypt.
最早的法典約在公元前2100年寫成，是為中東一個(gè)名為烏爾的城邦國(guó)王所寫。在之后的300年間，古巴比倫國(guó)的國(guó)王列出了包括個(gè)人行為、商業(yè)行為以及法律先例等在內(nèi)的各類法條，其中有282項(xiàng)條款得以保留。“以眼還眼”（或者同樣對(duì)待）就出現(xiàn)在這個(gè)時(shí)期的法律中；同時(shí)還有，妻子通奸被處以溺刑（丈夫可以有妻奴），另外還首次出現(xiàn)貧富區(qū)別對(duì)待的條款。之后又經(jīng)歷了數(shù)千年，希臘各城邦（尤其是雅典）和以色列才出現(xiàn)了書面法典。中國(guó)和埃及也制定了類似的法典。

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法律的歷史悠久，但是想要給“法律”下一個(gè)明確的定義似乎也不太可能，那我們就來(lái)說(shuō)一說(shuō)英文中由這個(gè)詞衍生出來(lái)的一些詞匯和表達(dá)吧。

1. Legal

According to law, not in violation of law or anything related to the law.

Legal一詞指“法定的”、“合法的”或“與法律相關(guān)的”。

比如：legal system 法律體系，legal action 法律行動(dòng)， legal loophole 法律漏洞， legal identity 合法身份。

2. Legitimate

Legal, proper, real; (a child) born to parents who are married; to make proper and/or legal.

Legitimate做形容詞時(shí)指“合法的、正當(dāng)?shù)摹被颉昂戏ɑ橐鏊摹?，做?dòng)詞時(shí)則指“使…合法”。

如：legitimate business activities 合法經(jīng)營(yíng)活動(dòng)，legitimate reason 正當(dāng)理由，legitimate the process 使程序合法化等。

3. Legislature

The group of people who have the power to make and pass laws.

Legislature指有權(quán)力制定并頒布法律的組織，即“立法機(jī)構(gòu)”。

我國(guó)的最高立法機(jī)構(gòu)（top legislature）就是全國(guó)人民代表大會(huì)（National People’s Congress, NPC）。

4. Legislation

Law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or the process of making it.

Legislation指已經(jīng)由立法機(jī)構(gòu)通過(guò)程序頒布的法律，我們多譯為“立法”，因?yàn)樵撛~更強(qiáng)調(diào)立法機(jī)構(gòu)立法的過(guò)程。

大家有沒(méi)有發(fā)現(xiàn)上面講到的四個(gè)詞都是以leg開(kāi)頭的？這個(gè)leg是英文里的一個(gè)詞根，來(lái)源于拉丁語(yǔ) legalis（法律）。其他類似的詞還有：legislate（v. 立法），legislator （n. 立法者），legist（n. 法律學(xué)者）等。

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說(shuō)完英文中的law，咱們來(lái)說(shuō)一說(shuō)中文里的“法”。

法，古寫作“灋”（會(huì)意。從“水”，表示法律、法度公平如水的表面；從“廌”（zhì），即解廌），這是神話傳說(shuō)中的一種神獸。據(jù)說(shuō)，它能辨別曲直，在審理案件時(shí)，它能用角去觸碰理屈的人。在古代，人們將它作為斷案的工具，每當(dāng)辦案時(shí)出現(xiàn)多個(gè)嫌疑人的時(shí)候，人們通常把它放出來(lái)，它如果用犄角頂誰(shuí)，誰(shuí)就是罪犯。

2014年，黨的十八屆四中全會(huì)以依法治國(guó)為主題，反映出中國(guó)改革已進(jìn)入攻堅(jiān)期，將通過(guò)完善法治實(shí)現(xiàn)改革目標(biāo)。

在英文報(bào)道中，“依法治國(guó)”多表示為rule of law，“社會(huì)主義法治”則是the socialist rule of law。坊間曾有rule of law和rule by law的爭(zhēng)辯，大家可要記清楚了，rule of law，也寫作nomocracy，指的是“國(guó)家應(yīng)該由法律來(lái)統(tǒng)治，而不是由政府官員個(gè)人意志決定”這樣的理念；而rule by law則表示用法律來(lái)施行專制統(tǒng)治的情形。所以呢，咱們國(guó)家現(xiàn)在提倡的“法治”自然就是rule of law了。

習(xí)近平主席和李克強(qiáng)總理也都曾經(jīng)針對(duì)法治發(fā)表過(guò)不少言論，我們來(lái)看一看他們都是怎么說(shuō)的。

習(xí)近平：

我們要全面推進(jìn)依法治國(guó)，用法治保障人民權(quán)益、維護(hù)社會(huì)公平正義、促進(jìn)國(guó)家發(fā)展。
We will push forward the rule of law in an all-round way, safeguard the rights of people in line with law, maintain social justice and promote national development.

要堅(jiān)持黨紀(jì)國(guó)法面前沒(méi)有例外，不管涉及到誰(shuí)，都要一查到底，決不姑息。
We should adhere that there are no exceptions in the face of party discipline and state law, with no leniency, no matter who is involved.?

所有共產(chǎn)黨員都不得謀求任何法外特權(quán)。
Party cadres at various levels should keep in mind that no one enjoys absolute power outside the law.?

不論什么人，不論其職務(wù)多高，只要觸犯了黨紀(jì)國(guó)法，都要受到嚴(yán)肅追究和嚴(yán)厲懲處。
No exceptions will be made when it comes to Party discipline and law. Cases will be investigated completely, and no leniency will be granted to those found guilty, no matter who is involved.

李克強(qiáng)：

中國(guó)是法治國(guó)家，不論是誰(shuí)，不論職位高低，法律面前人人平等，只要是觸犯了黨紀(jì)國(guó)法，就要依法依紀(jì)嚴(yán)肅查處、懲治。
China is a country under the rule of law. No matter who he is and how senior his position is, if he violates Party discipline and law of the country, he will be seriously dealt with and punished to the full extent of the law, because everybody is equal before the law.?

我們要堅(jiān)決打擊一切瀆褻國(guó)家法律尊嚴(yán)，挑戰(zhàn)人類文明底線的暴恐犯罪，確保廣大人民群眾生命財(cái)產(chǎn)安全，共同建設(shè)平安中國(guó)。
We will strengthen comprehensive maintenance of public order, crack down hard on violent crimes of terrorism, safeguard China's national security, create good public order, and work together to ensure public security in China.?

深入貫徹依法治國(guó)基本方略，把政府工作全面納入法治軌道，用法治思維和法治方式履行職責(zé)。
We will fully implement the basic strategy of law-based governance, act in accordance with the law in all our government work, and be guided by law in both thinking and action in performing our duties.

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Helen）