2014年，黨的十八屆四中全會以依法治國為主題。之后，設立巡回法庭、清理執法考核指標、推行司法公開等跟法治有關的新聞不斷，而“法治”自然成為近兩年的一個熱詞。2015年全國兩會召開在即，在各路媒體預測的兩會看點中，有關“法治”的議題也占了相當的比重。不如我們今天就來預熱一下，先從學習的角度談一談這個“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，關于“法律”（law）一詞的定義，曾出現過很多版本。《韋氏第三版新國際字典》對其的定義是：“法律是一個社區內的約束性習俗或慣例；由最高權力機構規定或正式認可為有約束力的法則或行為準則，或是由該權力機構作出的、認可的或者執行的帶有強制性的裁決（包括法令、政令、規定、命令、條例、法規、決議、規則、司法決定或者司法踐行）。”

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、最成體系又最復雜的規則。同時，它又僅僅是影響人類行為的眾多規則集合中的一個部分，因為，較為缺乏體系的社會和道德守則也是很重要的。”

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，是為中東一個名為烏爾的城邦國王所寫。在之后的300年間，古巴比倫國的國王列出了包括個人行為、商業行為以及法律先例等在內的各類法條，其中有282項條款得以保留。“以眼還眼”（或者同樣對待）就出現在這個時期的法律中；同時還有，妻子通奸被處以溺刑（丈夫可以有妻奴），另外還首次出現貧富區別對待的條款。之后又經歷了數千年，希臘各城邦（尤其是雅典）和以色列才出現了書面法典。中國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”下一個明確的定義似乎也不太可能，那我們就來說一說英文中由這個詞衍生出來的一些詞匯和表達吧。

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“與法律相關的”。

比如：legal system 法律體系，legal action 法律行動， 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做形容詞時指“合法的、正當的”或“合法婚姻所生的”，做動詞時則指“使…合法”。

如：legitimate business activities 合法經營活動，legitimate reason 正當理由，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指有權力制定并頒布法律的組織，即“立法機構”。

我國的最高立法機構（top legislature）就是全國人民代表大會（National People’s Congress, NPC）。

4. Legislation

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

Legislation指已經由立法機構通過程序頒布的法律，我們多譯為“立法”，因為該詞更強調立法機構立法的過程。

大家有沒有發現上面講到的四個詞都是以leg開頭的？這個leg是英文里的一個詞根，來源于拉丁語 legalis（法律）。其他類似的詞還有：legislate（v. 立法），legislator （n. 立法者），legist（n. 法律學者）等。

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說完英文中的law，咱們來說一說中文里的“法”。

法，古寫作“灋”（會意。從“水”，表示法律、法度公平如水的表面；從“廌”（zhì），即解廌），這是神話傳說中的一種神獸。據說，它能辨別曲直，在審理案件時，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，每當辦案時出現多個嫌疑人的時候，人們通常把它放出來，它如果用犄角頂誰，誰就是罪犯。

2014年，黨的十八屆四中全會以依法治國為主題，反映出中國改革已進入攻堅期，將通過完善法治實現改革目標。

在英文報道中，“依法治國”多表示為rule of law，“社會主義法治”則是the socialist rule of law。坊間曾有rule of law和rule by law的爭辯，大家可要記清楚了，rule of law，也寫作nomocracy，指的是“國家應該由法律來統治，而不是由政府官員個人意志決定”這樣的理念；而rule by law則表示用法律來施行專制統治的情形。所以呢，咱們國家現在提倡的“法治”自然就是rule of law了。

習近平主席和李克強總理也都曾經針對法治發表過不少言論，我們來看一看他們都是怎么說的。

習近平：

我們要全面推進依法治國，用法治保障人民權益、維護社會公平正義、促進國家發展。
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.

要堅持黨紀國法面前沒有例外，不管涉及到誰，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.?

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

不論什么人，不論其職務多高，只要觸犯了黨紀國法，都要受到嚴肅追究和嚴厲懲處。
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：

中國是法治國家，不論是誰，不論職位高低，法律面前人人平等，只要是觸犯了黨紀國法，就要依法依紀嚴肅查處、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.?

我們要堅決打擊一切瀆褻國家法律尊嚴，挑戰人類文明底線的暴恐犯罪，確保廣大人民群眾生命財產安全，共同建設平安中國。
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。
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.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）