论法的精神 （君主政体的性质与相关法律）

Of the Relation of Laws to the Nature of Monarchical Government.

 

The intermediate, subordinate, and dependent powers constitute the nature of monarchical government; I mean of that in which a single person governs by fundamental laws.

中间、从属和依赖性的权力特征构成君主政治的性质。换言之，君主政体的本质，在于由一个君王依照基本法治理国家。

I said the intermediate, subordinate, and dependent powers. And indeed, in monarchies the prince is the source of all power, political and civil.

我所以说“中间”、“从属”和“依赖”性的权力，那是因为在君主政体中，君王是一切政治权力与公民权利的渊源。

These fundamental laws necessarily suppose the intermediate channels through which the power flows: for if there be only the momentary and capricious will of a single person to govern the state, nothing can be fixed, and of course there is no fundamental law.

这些基本法的实施必须要有一些中间渠道，因为如果在某一个国家，单凭某个人一时的冲动以及多变的意志治理国家的话，这个国家中的一切都会毫无确定性，而且其结果也毫无基本法律可言。

The most natural intermediate and subordinate power is that of the nobility. This in some measure seems to be essential to a monarchy, whose fundamental maxim is: no monarch, no nobility; no nobility, no monarch; but there may be a despotic prince.

最为自然的中间及从属的权力，便是贵族的权力。从某种意义上说，贵族是君主政体的本质，其基本准则是：没有君主便没有贵族；没有贵族亦没有君主。然而在没有贵族的君主国中，君主也许会成为专制君主。

   

There are men who have endeavoured in some countries in Europe to suppress the jurisdiction of the nobility, not perceiving that they were driving at the very thing that was done by the parliament of England. Abolish the privileges of the lords, the clergy and cities in a monarchy, and you will soon have a popular state, or else a despotic government.

欧洲国家的一些人，曾想废除贵族所拥有的司法权。他们却不清楚，他们想做的事，英国国会已经做过了。废黜君主政体中的贵族、僧侣、市政人员的特权，那么这个政体会是平民政体或专制政体。

 

The courts of a considerable kingdom in Europe have, for many ages, been striking at the patrimonial jurisdiction of the lords and clergy. We do not pretend to censure these sage magistrates; but we leave it to the public to judge how far this may alter the constitution.

Patrimonial：祖传的  censure：严厉批评;指责

数个世纪以来，欧洲某个大国的法院，无休止地对贵族世袭的司法权权进行抨击，对教会亦如此。我们并不愿意指责那些如此理智的法官。但是我们却要他们判定，政体的改变究竟可能达到何种程度。

Far am I from being prejudiced in favour of the privileges of the clergy; however, I should be glad if their jurisdiction were once fixed. The question is not whether their jurisdiction was justly established; but whether it be really established; whether it constitutes a part of the laws of the country, and is in every respect in relation to those laws: whether between two powers acknowledged independent, the conditions ought not to be reciprocal; and whether it be not equally the duty of a good subject to defend the prerogative of the prince, and to maintain the limits which from time immemorial have been prescribed to his authority.

Prerogative：特权，君权   immemorial：远古的  prescribe（人、法律、规则）规定，指定  Prejudice：有成见的；偏爱的        reciprocal：互相关联的事物

我并不支持僧侣们的特权，但是，我希望能够将僧侣们的管辖权予以明确的界定。问题并不在于要了解这种管辖权的设立是否公平，而是要了解这种管辖权是否设立；是否成为国家法律的一部分；并且是否与法律的各个部分相联系；在人们认为两种相互独立的权力之间，是否就不该具有相互关联的种种条件；对君主的司法权进行维护与对君主司法权的种种限定进行保护，在一个出色的臣民看来是不是对等？

Though the ecclesiastic power be so dangerous in a republic, yet it is extremely proper in a monarchy, especially of the absolute kind.

What would become of Spain and Portugal, since the subversion of their laws, were it not for this only barrier against the incursions of arbitrary power? A barrier ever useful when there is no other: for since a despotic government is productive of the most dreadful calamities to human nature, the very evil that restrains it is beneficial to the subject.

Ecclesiastic：（基督教的）牧师，神职人员   subversion ：(对政府或政治体系的)颠覆，暗中破坏incursion：侵犯   calamity：灾难;灾祸; 祸患  restrain:抑制;限制

僧侣的权力在共和国里是具有危险性的，但却十分适合君主政体，尤其对于那些倾向于专制政体的君主国更合适不过了，自从西班牙和葡萄牙的法律被败坏之后，没有一种惟一的权力能够制衡专制的话，将会是什么样的情形呢?当专制主义不受其他外力约束的时候，某种桎梏总是有益的，因为专制主义容易诱发人性中最黑暗恐怖的部分。因此，只要能够遏制专制主义，就算它有很多弊端，那也是灵丹妙药。

 

In the same manner as the ocean, threatening to overflow the whole earth, is stopped by weeds and pebbles that lie scattered along the shore, so monarchs, whose power seems unbounded, are restrained by the smallest obstacles, and suffer their natural pride to be subdued by supplication and prayer.

Subdued：制服的，被抑制的       supplication：恳求;祈愿;哀求

如同似乎要淹盖整个陆地的大海一般，它却被海岸边的小草和砂砾阻隔。同样那些好像拥有无限权力的君主，也会被微小的障碍阻止，并且使那自然的蛮横屈从于民众的恳求。

   

The English, to favour their liberty, have abolished all the intermediate powers of which their monarchy was composed. They have a great deal of reason to be jealous of this liberty; were they ever to be so unhappy as to lose it, they would be one of the most servile nations upon earth.

Servile：奴性的;逢迎的;恭顺的

为了维护自由，英国人把所有组成君主政体的中间势力铲除干净。他们维护自由有充分的理由，一旦他们丧失了自由的话，就将会沦为地球上最受奴役的民族之一。

 

Mr. Law, through ignorance both of a republican and monarchical constitution, was one of the greatest promoters of absolute power ever known in Europe. Besides the violent and extraordinary changes owing to his direction, he would fain suppress all the intermediate ranks, and abolish the political communities. He was dissolving the monarchy by his chimerical reimbursements, and seemed as if he even wanted to redeem the constitution.

chimerical：不真实的，奇异的        reimbursement：补偿;赔偿

约翰·劳：1671年，约翰·劳出生于苏格兰爱丁堡的一户富裕人家，他所建立的金融体系，使法国陷入无法控制的贪婪狂潮，并最终走向泡沫破灭的冰点。

约翰.劳先生出于对共和政体和君主政体都一无所知的缘故，成为欧洲有史以来对专制主义最为吹捧的人。除了在他的倡导下发生的极端的变革之外，他还试图挽救基本政制，幻想铲除中间力量，并要消灭其政治集团。他用华而不实的补偿收归贵族们的土地，最终导致君主政体瓦解。

  

It is not enough to have intermediate powers in a monarchy; there must be also a depositary of the laws. This depositary can only be the judges of the supreme courts of justice, who promulgate the new laws, and revive the obsolete.

Depositary：保管人;受托人;受托公司;存放处  promulgate：颁布（法令、新法律等）obsolete：过时的；废弃的；淘汰的

在一个君主国中，仅仅有中间阶级是不够的，还必须有一个法律监督机构。这个监督机构相当于最高法院。这些团体在法律制定时公布于众，当法律被人们遗忘时，它则提醒人们遵守这些法律。

The natural ignorance of the nobility, their indolence and contempt of civil government, require that there should be a body invested with the power of reviving and executing the laws, which would be otherwise buried in oblivion.

Indolence：懒惰     oblivion：被遗忘的状态

由于贵族的蒙昧、怠惰和对民事机构的蔑视，所以要有一个机构将法律从遗忘的状态中激活。

The prince's council are not a proper depositary. They are naturally the depositary of the momentary will of the prince, and not of the fundamental laws.

Besides, the prince's council is continually changing; it is neither permanent nor numerous; neither has it a sufficient share of the confidence of the people; consequently it is incapable of setting them right in difficult conjunctures, or of reducing them to proper obedience.

Conjuncture: 危机   枢密院：早在诺曼王朝时代，便已有一王室机构向君主提供建议，该机构主要由权贵、教士和重要官员所组成。此机构原本分别就立法、行政和司法事务向君主提供意见。但到了后来，不少机构拥有相类似的权力：法院取得了司法权，而国会则得到了王国至高无上的立法权。然而，枢密院仍保留了相当的权力，包括在原讼法庭和上诉法庭听取法律纠纷。此外，除了向国会咨询外，君主经咨询枢密院而设立的法例，也是被认为有效的。而君主的枢密院并不是一个合适的法律监察机构。就性质而言，枢密院主要是监督君王随意的行为。更何况君主的枢密院频繁地更换，不具有常设性；其成员不多，在人民中也缺乏足够的信任度，因此在非常时期它既不能引导人民，也不能让人民顺从。

Despotic governments, where there are no fundamental laws, have no such kind of depositary. Hence it is that religion has generally so much influence in those countries, because it forms a kind of permanent depositary; and if this cannot be said of religion, it may of the customs that are respected instead of laws.

在专制国家里，没有任何基本法，也没有法律的监察机构。由此得出结论，在这些国家里，宗教拥有巨大的权力；宗教成为一种监察机构，并且具有永久性。假如这些国家没有宗教，那么习俗将会受到人们的尊崇，而并不是法律。