law 
Law means a rule which we have always found to hold 
good, and which we expect always will hold good. 
Huxley, lay Sermons, p. 340. 
Thus the belief in an unchanging order the belief in 
law, now spreading among the more cultivated through- 
out the civilized world, is a belief of which the primitive 
man is absolutely incapable. 
H. Spencer, Priu. of 1'sychol., 488. 
4. One of the rules or principles by which any- 
thing is regulated: as, the laws of the turf; 
the laws of versification. 5. A rule according 
to which anything is produced : as, the mathe- 
matical law of a curve. 6. An allowance in 
distance or time granted to an animal in a 
chase, or to a weaker competitor in a race or 
other contest; permission given to one compet- 
itor to start a certain distance ahead of, or a 
certain time before, another, in order to equal- 
ize the chances of winning. 
These late years of our Civil Wars have been very de- 
structive unto them ; and no wonder if no Law hath oeen 
given to Hares, when so little hath been observed toward 
men. Fuller, Worthies, Cambridgeshire. 
Her Grace saw from a turret " sixteen bucks, all hav- 
ing fayre lawe, pulled downe with greyhounds in a laund 
or lawn." Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 71. 
Two well-known runners, chosen for the hares, . . . 
started off. . . . Then the hounds clustered round Thorne, 
who explained shortly, "They're to have six minutes' 
law." T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, i. 7. 
7. Custom; manner. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
Act and operation Of law, such a mode of the creation 
or transfer or rights as does not depend on the intention 
of the parties, but on rules of law, applied, it may be, ir- 
respective of their intention. Thus, where an owner of 
land dies intestate, the title is cast upon the heir by act and 
operation of law; and where a man becomes bankrupt, his 
property may be divested by act and operation of law, aa 
distinguished from a transfer by devise or voluntary act. 
Adjective law, rules of procedure, as distinguished from 
substantive law (which see, below). Agrarian laws. See 
agrarian Alienand sedition laws. Seealien Avo- 
gadro's law, in physics, the law that equal volumes of 
different gases, under like conditions of pressure and tem- 
perature, contain the same number of molecules. Baer's 
law. [NamedfromKarlErnstaer,1792-1876.] Thedoc- 
trine that the evolution of an individual of a certain ani- 
mal form is determined by two conditions : first, by a con- 
-tinuous perfecting of the animal body by means of an in- 
creasing histological and morphological differentiation, or 
an increasing number and diversity of tissues and organic 
forms; second (and at the same time), by the continual 
transition from a more general form of the type to one more 
specific. Bankrupt laws, bankruptcy laws. See bank- 
ruptcy. Bell's law, thelaw that the anterior spinal nerve- 
roots are motor and the posterior sensory. Bode's law. 
an empirical formula supposed to express approximately 
the distances of the planets from the sun in terms of the dis- 
tance from the sun of the innermost two. The rule is that 
the distances of the third, fourth, fifth, etc., planets from 
the orbit of the first are respectively twice, four times, 
eight times, sixteen times, etc., that of the second planet. 
It holds very roughly for all the planets except Neptune, 
and for the satellites of Saturn and Uranus. Boyle's law, 
in physics,the law that at any given temperature the vol- 
ume of a given mass of gas varies inversely as the pressure 
which it bears. It was discovered by Robert Boyle, and pub- 
lished by him about 1662; but Edme Mariotte having pub- 
lished a book concerning it (about 1679), the law was for a 
long time called Mariolte's law. Brehon laws. See bre- 
Ao. Canon law. See canoni. Case law, law estab- 
lished by judicial decision in particular cases, as distin- 
guished from statute law. Thus, when the courts are ap- 
plied to for redress under novel circumstances as in cer- 
tain instances of boycotting for which no positive law 
exists, case law necessarily results whichever way the 
courts decide ; for if they hold that the person aggrieved 
is entitled to injunction or damages, they establish the un- 
lawfulness of the act complained of ; and if they decide 
that the action cannot be maintained, because there is no 
positive law to sustain it, they establish the lawfulness of 
the act, and, as a consequence, the lawfulness of inciden- 
tal agreements to combine or render services in the pro- 
motion of such an act. The great body of the common law 
has grown up thus as case law, constantly modified, how- 
ever, by statutes, which in their turn commonly give rise 
to new developments of case law called forth by contro- 
versy as to the interpretation and application of the statu- 
tory provisions. Charles's law, the law that equal in- 
crements of temperature add equal amounts to the pro- 
duct of the volume and pressure of a given mass of gas. It 
was discovered by the French physicist Jacques Alexan- 
dre CiSsar Charles (1746-1823), the inventor of the Char- 
liere or hydrogen balloon, but was formerly often attrib- 
uted to Dalton and to Gay-Lussac. 
Charles's law that, if the temperature be varied while 
the pressure upon the gas remains the same, the gas in- 
creases by ,},,d of its volume at zero centigrade for every 
degree of centigrade added to the temperature, or, which 
in combination with Boyle's law is the same thing, that if 
the density be constant, the pressure is directly propor- 
tional to the temperature measured from the point 273 
centigrade, this point being called the zero of absolute 
temperature. Encyc. Brit., XVI. 611. 
Clncian law, in Rom. hist., a law passed under the tri- 
bune M. Cincius Alimentus, 204 B. c., forbidding an advo- 
cate to receive compensation for the pleading of a case, 
and restricting ill-considered or unwise gifts of any nature 
by requiring certain legal forms of gift to be observed in 
almost all cases. The law was confirmed by a senatus con- 
sultum under Augustus, and so modified under Claudius 
as to permit a restricted compensation to lawyers. 
Civil, commercial, common, consuetudinary, crim- 
inal law. Seethe adjectives. Conclusion of law. See 
conclusion Conflict of laws. See conflict. Crown- 
er's quest law. See crawnerZ. Crown law. See 
3376 
crown, a. Customary law. Same as consuetudinary 
law.'DsMon'B law, a law enunciated by John Dalton, 
that in a mixture of gases which do not enter into chemi- 
cal reaction, but are in equilibrium, the total pressure is 
the same as the sum of the pressures which would be ex- 
erted by each constituent if the others were not present. 
The ordinary statement that each portion of gas behaves 
as a vacuum to all the rest is in a sense true, but tends 
to convey a wrong idea Due process Of law. See 
duel. Dulong and Petit'S law, in physics, the law that 
the product of the specific heat of any element in the solid 
state multiplied by its atomic weight is (approximately) 
constant ; or, in other words, that the different elementary 
substances have (nearly) the same atomic heat. Eccle- 
siastical law. See ecclesiastical. Eight-hour law 
See hour. Empirical law. See empirical. Enforce- 
ment law, a United States statute of 1870 (16 Stat., 140) 
for enforcing the right of citizens to vote, and punishing 
offenses against the equal enjoyment of suffrage. It was 
specially directed to the protection of emancipated slaves 
recently admitted to citizenship. Exceptive law. See 
exceptive. Ex post facto law. See ex post facto. 
Falk laws. Same as May laws. Faraday's laws, in 
elect., certain principles established by Faraday govern- 
ing the electrolysis of compounds. The most important 
are : (1) that the quantity of an electrolyte decomposed 
in a given time is proportional to the strength of the cur- 
rent ; (2) that the weights of the elements separated are 
proportional to their chemical equivalents ; and (3) that 
the strength of the electrolytic action is the same for cells 
in any part of the same circuit. Fechner's psychophya- 
ical law, the law that as the physical force of excitation of 
a nerve increases geometrically the sensation increases 
arithmetically, so that the sensation is proportional to the 
logarithm of the excitation. Thus, if with a given degree 
of attention we just perceive the difference between the 
sensations of pressure produced by 1 pound and 1.1 pounds, 
we shall also just perceive the difference produced by 2 
pounds and 2.2 pounds. The differences of sensation are 
thus the same in the two cases, and so are the differences 
of the logarithms of the pressures. According to Fech- 
ner, the total sensation varies directly with the logarithm 
of the stimulus divided by the stimulus just sufllcient to 
give an appreciable sensation, or s = k log ^,. This is Fech- 
ner'sformula. Federal law, that law which is prescribed 
by the supreme power in the United States, and regulates 
the organization of the federal government and its inter- 
course with the people, and that of the people with each oth- 
er in matters of a national character, or with citizens of for- 
eign states, as distinguished from state law, or that which 
is prescribed by the supreme power in any individual state, 
and regulates, in all matters not of a national character, the 
intercourse of such state with its own people, and that of its 
people among themselves. Robinson. Forest law, for- 
mal law, Galilean law. See the adjectives. Four 
years' limitation law. See limitation. Fugitive- 
slave law. See fugitive. Gay-Lussac's law. Same 
as Charles's law. General law, law nob local, nor con- 
fined in application to particular persons ; a statute so 
expressed as to be capable of application throughout the 
jurisdiction of the lawgiver. Some controversy has ex- 
isted as to whether the test is in the form of the law or in 
the existence of the subject to which it applies ; but it is 
now generally held that a law which in terms purports to 
apply to all persons or places of a specified class through- 
out the state is a general law, although at the time when 
it is passed there may be only one such person or one such 
place in the state. Gibbet law. See Halifax law. 
Gothland sea laws. See laws of Wisby, below. Gresh- 
am'S law, in polit. mm., the tendency of the inferior 
of two forms or classes of currency in circulation to- 
gether to circulate more freely than the superior : a law 
shortly stated in the maxim that " bad money drives out 
good. It results from the disposition of those who hold 
both to get rid of the inferior by passing it, and to hoard 
the superior, or, if coin, to select it for exportation. The 
law was named from a former master of the English 
mint, who observed and commented on it. Grimm's 
law, in phUol., a law announced by Jacob Grimm, a great 
German philologist, though previously stated in part by 
Erasmus Bask, a Danish philologist, formulating certain 
changes or differences which the mute consonants under- 
go or exhibit in corresponding words in the Germanic or 
Teutonic branches of the Aryan family of languages. Ac- 
cording to this law, stated briefly, the labials p, b, f in 
Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit become /, p, b in Gothic (with 
which English and theother Low German languages agree), 
and b (), /, p in Old High German ; the dentals I, d, th in 
Greek, etc., become th, t, d in Gothic, and d, z, t in Old 
High German ; and the gutturals k, g, ch in Greek, etc., 
become h (not quite regularly), k, g in Gothic, and g, ch, 
k in Old High German. But the Old High German shift- 
ing (which is a second and much later shifting, beginning 
about A. D. 600, from the completed Low German shifting) 
is incomplete and not wholly regular ; it is best exhibited 
among the dental mutes. The following table shows the 
changes and the usual correspondences : (1) Aryan (San- 
skrit, Greek, Latin, etc.). (2) Low German (Gothic, Scan- 
dinavian, Anglo-Saxon, English, etc.). (3) High German 
(Old High German, Middle High German, New High Ger- 
man). 
(1) p b f(ph, bh) t d tti(dh) k g ch(kh, gh) 
(2) }(b) p b th t d h k g 
(3) b(i,v) f p d z(ts) t g(h) ch k(g). 
For example, Skt. pitri (pitar) = Or. pater = L. pater = 
Goth./odar = OHG. vatar = E. father; Skt. tmm = Gr. 
= L. tu = Goth, thu = OHG. du = E. thou ; Skt. janu (for 
*gdnu) = Gr. yov v L. genu = Goth, kniu = OHG. chniu, 
chneo = E. knee, etc. In the application of Grimm's law 
numerous inconsistencies and anomalies appear, due to in- 
terference, conformation, particular position or sequence 
of sounds, variations of accent, and other causes explained 
by other philological laws, or remaining in small part oc- 
cult. The most important of these other laws is Verner's 
law (which see, below). See also the articles on the separate 
letters. Haeckel'S law, a concise statement of the fact 
that every individual organism, in its development from 
the ovum (or its ontogeny), goes through a series of evolu- 
tionary stages in each of which it represents a stage of the 
evolution of the class to which it belongs (the evolution of 
the class being phylogeny) ; and that every such organism 
law 
"breeds true"(or shows palingeny) in so far as it is influ- 
enced by heredity, and becomes modified (or shows ke- 
nogeny) in so far as it is influenced by conditions of en- 
vironment. See kenogeny, ontogeny, pcdingemj, and phy- 
lageny. Halifax law or inquest, a hasty trial followed 
by immediate punishment; an irrevocable punishment in- 
flicted upon a summary trial without adequate opportunity 
of defense, so that subsequent proof of innocence becomes 
unavailing. The phrase originated from the so-called gib- 
bet law or custom in the forest of Hardwick, coextensive 
with the parish of Halifax, England, under which the frith 
burghers summarily tried any one charged with stealing 
goods to the value of I'tyd., and could condemn him to be 
beheaded on the market-day. Health laws. See health. 
Heir at law. See heir. Higher law, a law paramount 
to human law or statute. This phrase was used by Wil- 
liam H. Seward in a speech in the United States Senate, 
March llth, 1860, on the admission of California as a State, 
and became celebrated in connection with the slavery ques- 
tion, as intimating that, if the Constitution and laws did 
not condemn it, the law of a common humanity and jus- 
tice should be appealed to. Homestead law. See home- 
stead. Inheritance tax law. See inheritance. Insol- 
vent law. See insolvent. International law. Seeinter- 
national. In the intendment of law. Seeintendment. 
Issue Of law. See issue, 10. Joule's law, in elect., 
the law that the number of heat-units developed in a con- 
ductor is proportional to the product of the square of the 
strength of the current, the resistance of the conductor, and 
the time during which the current flows. Judiciary law, 
that part of law the source and evidence of which is the ad- 
judications of the courts, as distinguished from statutes or 
positive law. See case law, above. Jurin's law, in phys- 
ics, the law that the ascent of a given liquid in a capillary 
tube is inversely proportional to its diameter. Kepler's 
laws, three laws of planetary motion, discovered by Johann 
Kepler (1571-1630X who announced the first two in his "De 
Motibus Stellse Martis,"in 1609, anddiscovered the third on 
March 8th, 1618. The three laws are as follows : (1) The or- 
bits of the planets are ellipses having the sun at one focus. 
(2) The areas described by their radii vectores in equal times 
are equal. (3) The squares of their periodic tim es are propor- 
tional to the cubes of their mean distances from the sun. 
KirchhofF s laws, in elect., two laws stated as follows : (a) 
At any junction-point in a network of conductors the sum 
of all the currents which flow toward the junction is equal 
to the sum of all the currents which flow away from the 
junction (called the condition of continuity). (6) In any 
complete electric circuit the sum of the electromotive 
forces, reckoned in order round the circuit, is equal to the 
sum of the products of the current through and the resist- 
ance of each conductor forming the circuit. Kopp'S law 
of boiling-points. See boiling-point. Law French, the 
form of Old French (Norman French) used in all common- 
law proceedings from the time of William the Conqueror 
to that of Edward III., and to some extent long afterward 
in certain formal state proceedings. Law language, the 
technical phraseology used in legal writings and forms. 
Law Latin, Latin as used in law and in legal documents. 
It is a mixture of Latin with Old French and English words 
adapted to Latin inflections. Law merchant, commer- 
cial law ; the body of principles and rules, drawn chiefly 
from the customs of merchants, by which the rights and 
obligations arising in commercial transactions are deter- 
mined. Law Of absorption Of light, the law that the 
proportion of homogeneous light transmitted varies geo- 
metricallyas the thickness of the absorbing medium varies 
arithmetically. Law of action and reaction, law of 
causation, law of citations, law of color. See action, 
causation, citation, color. Law Of contiguity. See con- 
tiguity, 3. Law of continuity, of demand and supply, 
Of equivalents. See continuity, demand, equivalent. 
Law of disgregation, the law that the work of disgrega- 
tion is proportional to the absolute temperature. Law 
of error. See error, 6. Law of evidence, of facility, 
of heterogeneity, of homogeneity, of integrity, of 
mortality, of nature. See evidence, etc. Law of in- 
dependence. See laws of motion, under motion. Law 
Of nations, international law. The phrase law of nations, 
originally adopted to designate those ethical principles of 
law deemed obligatory on all nations as the law of a par- 
ticular nation is conceived as applicable to all persons with- 
in that nation, has been superseded by the more appropri- 
ate term international law (which see, under internation- 
al), which includes the results of conventions and treaties. 
Law of parsimony, the logical principle that we ought 
not to suppose the existence of anything not necessary to 
account for admitted facts. Law of perseverance. See 
laws of motion, under motion. Law Of reciprocity Of 
prime numbers, the proposition that if p and q are two 
prime numbers, then, if p is a quadratic residue of q, q is 
also a quadratic residue of p, unless both leave the remain- 
der 3 when divided by 4, when, if p is a quadratic residue 
of_g, then Q is not a quadratic residue of p. Law of the 
affinity or ideas. See affinity, 7. Law of the Burgun- 
dians. See Papian code, under code. Law of the flag, 
the law of the country to which a ship belongs. Law Of 
the forum. See forum Law Of the land, (a) In con- 
stitutional provisions securing its protection to persons 
and property, due process of law. 
By the law of the land is more clearly intended the gen- 
eral law which hears before it condemns ; which proceeds 
upon inquiry, and renders judgment only after trial. The 
meaning is that any citizen shall hold his life, liberty, 
property, and immunities under the protection of general 
rules which govern society. D. Webster, 
(b) The established law of a country. 
As soon as a nation has assumed the obligations of in- 
ternational law, they become a portion of the lav; of the 
land to govern the decisions of courts, the conduct of the 
rulers, and that of the people. 
Woolsey, Introd. to Inter. Law, 29. 
Law saliquet. See Salic law, under Salic. Laws Of as- 
sociation. See association of ideas, under association. 
Laws Of honor. See honor. Laws Of Manu, a Hindu 
code or compilation, partly of the laws administered in 
Hindustan, and partly of that which in the opinion of 
Brahmans ought to be the law. Laws Of motion. See 
motion. Laws Of Ol&ron, the oldest collection of mod- 
ern maritime laws, said to be a code existing at Oleron, 
an island off the coast of France, about the middle of the 
twelfth century, which was compiled and put on record 
