Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/76

60 2.&ensp; words happen to be till dubious, we may etablih their meaning from the context; with which it may be of ingular ue to compare a word, or a entence, whenever they are ambiguous, equivocal, or intricate. Thus the proeme, or preamble, is often called in to help the contruction of an act of parliament. Of the ame nature and ue is the comparion of a law with other laws, that are made by the ame legilator, that have ome affinity with the ubject, or that exprely relate to the ame point. Thus, when the law of England declares murder to be felony without benefit of clergy, we mut reort to the ame law of England to learn what the benefit of clergy is: and, when the common law cenures imoniacal contracts, it affords great light to the ubject to conider what the canon law has adjudged to be imony. 3.&ensp; to the ubject matter, words are always to be undertood as having a regard thereto; for that is always uppoed to be in the eye of the legilator, and all his expreions directed to that end. Thus, when a law of our Edward III forbids all eccleiatical perons to purchae proviions at Rome, it might eem to prohibit the buying of grain and other victual; but when we conider that the tatute was made to repres the uurpations of the papal ee, and that the nominations to benefices by the pope were called proviions, we hall ee that the retraint is intended to be laid upon uch proviions only. 4.&ensp; to the effects and conequence, the rule is, where words bear either none, or a very aburd ignification, if literally undertood, we mut a little deviate from the received ene of them. Therefore the Bolognian law, mentioned by Puffendorf, which enacted “that whoever drew blood in the treets hould be punihed with the utmoft everity,” was held after long debate not to extend to the urgeon, who opened the vein of a peron that fell down in the treet with a fit. 5. ,