roots from which it buds
and flourishes, and that the emanation of its springs may be seen of
all men; for thus from the cognate and harmonious light of the truth of
conclusion to principles, the whole body of science will be full of
light, having no part dark. But laws, on the contrary, since they are
only human enactments for the regulation of social life, or the yokes
of princes thrown over the necks of their subjects, refuse to be
brought to the standard of synteresis, the origin of equity, because
they feel that they possess more of arbitrary will than rational
judgment. Wherefore the judgment of the wise for the most part is that
the causes of laws are not a fit subject of discussion. In truth, many
laws acquire force by mere custom, not by syllogistic necessity, like
the arts: as Aristotle, the Phoebus of the Schools, urges in the second
book of the Politics, where he confutes the policy of Hippodamus, which
holds out rewards to the inventors of new laws, because to abrogate old
laws and establish new ones is to weaken the force of those which
exist. For whatever receives its stability from use alone must
necessarily be brought to nought by disuse.

From which it is seen clearly enough, that as laws are neither arts nor
sciences, so books of law cannot properly be called books of art or
science. Nor is this faculty which we may call by a special term
geologia, or the earthly science, to be properly numbered among the
sciences. Now the books of the liberal arts are so useful to the
divine writings, that without their aid the intellect would vainly
aspire to understand them.

CHAPTER XII

WHY WE HAVE CAUSED BOOKS OF GRAMMAR TO BE SO DILIGENTLY PREPARED

While we were constantly delighting ourselves with the reading of
books, which it was our custom to read or have read to us every day, we
noticed plainly how much the defective knowledge even of a single word
hinders the understanding, as the meaning of no sentence can be
apprehended, if any part of it be not understood. Wherefore we ordered
the meanings of foreign words to be noted with particular care, and
studied the orthography, prosody, etymology, and syntax in ancient
grammarians with unrelaxing carefulness, and took pains to elucidate
terms that had grown too obscure by age with suitable explanations, in
order to make a smooth path for our students.

This is the whole reason why we took care to replace the antiquated
volumes of the grammari