Literary notes about Legislation (AI summary)
In literature, the term "legislation" is often employed as a multifaceted symbol that extends well beyond its strict legal meaning. It can signify the deeply entrenched systems of power and control, as well as the nuanced balance between order and individual liberty, reflecting both the ideals and the contradictions of society. Some texts portray it as a divine or poetic quality that lifts mere legal codes to an art form, suggesting that even grand legal systems require the soul of a true lawgiver or inspiration beyond the mundane [1, 2, 3]. Other works critically examine legislation as inherently fragmentary, questioning its ability to address the minutiae of human life while simultaneously serving as a vehicle for moral progress or suppression [4, 5, 6]. In this way, literature uses "legislation" to foster debates about the nature of justice, freedom, and governance, inviting readers to consider its aesthetic, philosophical, and practical dimensions [7, 8, 9].
- And the same is true of legislation: even if circumstances are favourable, a skilful lawgiver is still necessary.
— from Laws by Plato - And yet legislation has a poetical or rhetorical element, and must find words which will wing their way to the hearts of men.
— from Laws by Plato - Numa pretended that he was instructed in the art of legislation by the divine nymph Egeria, who dwelt in the Arician grove.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon - This means more legislation, more control, and less individual liberty.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Morality consists then in the reference of all action to the legislation which alone can render a kingdom of ends possible.
— from Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals by Immanuel Kant - A new spirit of legislation, respectable even in its error, arose in the empire with the religion of Constantine.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The legislation of Constantine, despite its startling inequalities, forms a unique chapter in the statute book of Rome.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - He came to Athens and was a friend to Solon, assisting him greatly in his legislation.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - Regarding religious institutions in a human point of view, he acknowledges their influence upon manners and legislation.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville
