--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wise legislator will only rarely…" description: "\"The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule of behaviour; more usually he will confine himself to affirming in law what has already become..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png" --- # The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule… ![“The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule of behaviour; more usually he will confine himself to affirming in law what has already become the custom of the people.” quote by Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png) > “The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule of behaviour; more usually he will confine himself to affirming in law what has already become the custom of the people.” [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that effective legislators should codify existing customs rather than constantly creating new rules. **In simple terms:** Law should reflect current customs, not constantly create new ones. Key Takeaway Align new laws with established social practices. Themes governance law custom wisdom Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy drafting - community meetings - legal reform Key Concepts social norms legislative strategy cultural continuity Questions to Reflect On - When should a law change existing customs? - How to balance tradition with progress? A Different Perspective May stifle necessary innovation or reform. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirming/) [Affirming Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirming-law-1448807/) [Behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviour/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [In-laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/in-laws/) [Initiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiate/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-custom-1228140/) [Legislator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislator/) [Legislator Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislator-rarely-1448805/) [Legislators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislators/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise Legislator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-legislator-1448806/) ## Related quotes > [According to the law of custom, and perhaps of reason, foreign travel completes the education of an English gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/according-to-the-law-of-custom-and-perhaps-of-reason-foreign-travel/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The best interpreter of the law is custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-best-interpreter-of-the-law-is-custom/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This means that they are bound by law and custom to plough the fields of their masters, harvest the corn, gather it into barns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-froissart/this-means-that-they-are-bound-by-law-and-custom-to-plough-the-fields/) [Jean Froissart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-froissart/) > [“Law and custom are becoming the subjects of a new field of learning. The anarch endeavors to judge them ethnographically, historically, and also –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/law-and-custom-are-becoming-the-subjects-of-a-new-field-of-learning/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [Individual and national rights to wealth rest on the basis of civil and international law, or at least of custom that has the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/individual-and-national-rights-to-wealth-rest-on-the-basis-of-civil/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [A crime persevered in a thousand centuries ceases to be a crime, and becomes a virtue. This is the law of custom, and custom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-crime-persevered-in-a-thousand-centuries-ceases-to-be-a-crime-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A strong person makes the law and custom null before his own will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-strong-person-makes-the-law-and-custom-null-before-his-own-will/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Whoever has overthrown an existing law of custom has always first been accounted a bad man: but when, as did happen, the law could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whoever-has-overthrown-an-existing-law-of-custom-has-always-first/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [America... where law and custom alike are based upon the dreams of spinsters...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/america-where-law-and-custom-alike-are-based-upon-the-dreams-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“necessity had no respect for law. Even custom must bow to it at times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-stirling-2/necessity-had-no-respect-for-law-even-custom-must-bow-to-it-at-times/) [S. M. Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling-2/) > [My concept of hitting the ground running and being an effective legislator is to focus on my district and having really good constituent work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-frankel/my-concept-of-hitting-the-ground-running-and-being-an-effective/) [Lois Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-frankel/) > [I had a white senator call me a rag head, and I had an African-American legislator call me a conservative with a tan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-haley/i-had-a-white-senator-call-me-a-rag-head-and-i-had-an-african/) [Nikki Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-haley/) > [The same things are best both for individuals and for states, and these are the things which the legislator ought to implant in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-same-things-are-best-both-for-individuals-and-for-states-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [What I have absolutely no sympathy with is the legislator, the man who seeks, for his own profit, to exploit the weaknesses of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/what-i-have-absolutely-no-sympathy-with-is-the-legislator-the-man-who/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“Any law too often subject to infraction is bad; it is the duty of the legislator to repeal or to change it, lest the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/any-law-too-often-subject-to-infraction-is-bad-it-is-the-duty-of-the/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) ## More by Gregory Bateson > [Number is different from quantity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/number-is-different-from-quantity/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [We do not know enough about how the present will lead into the future. We shall never be able to say, "Ha! My perception,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-do-not-know-enough-about-how-the-present-will-lead-into-the-future/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Synaptic summation is the technical term used in neurophysiology for those instances in which some neuron C is fired only by a combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/synaptic-summation-is-the-technical-term-used-in-neurophysiology-for/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Somebody was saying to Picasso that he ought to make pictures of things the way they are-objective pictures. He mumbled that he wasn't quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/somebody-was-saying-to-picasso-that-he-ought-to-make-pictures-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [What is true is that the idea of power corrupts. Power corrupts most rapidly those who believe in it, and it is they who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/what-is-true-is-that-the-idea-of-power-corrupts-power-corrupts-most/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“A little hypocrisy and a little compromise oils the wheels of social life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/a-little-hypocrisy-and-a-little-compromise-oils-the-wheels-of-social/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Science, like art, religion, commerce, warfare, and even sleep, is based on presuppositions. It differs, however, from most other branches of human activity in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/science-like-art-religion-commerce-warfare-and-even-sleep-is-based-on/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Desired substance, things, patterns, or sequences of experience that are in some sense "good" for the organism - items of diet, conditions of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/desired-substance-things-patterns-or-sequences-of-experience-that-are/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [No organism can afford to be conscious of matters with which it could deal at unconscious levels. Broadly, we can afford to sink those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/no-organism-can-afford-to-be-conscious-of-matters-with-which-it-could/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Wisdom is the intelligence of the system as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/wisdom-is-the-intelligence-of-the-system-as-a-whole/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-we-call/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [The pathology is to want control, not that you ever get it, because of course you never do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-pathology-is-to-want-control-not-that-you-ever-get-it-because-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Our initial sensory data are always "first derivatives," statements about differences which exist among external objects or statements about changes which occur either in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/our-initial-sensory-data-are-always-first-derivatives-statements/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Multiple descriptions are better than one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/multiple-descriptions-are-better-than-one/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) [Explore all 94 Gregory Bateson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) ## More Affirming quotes > [I don't think that writing, real writing, has much to do with affirming belief--if anything it causes rifts and gaps in belief which make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-think-that-writing-real-writing-has-much-to-do-with-affirming/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Where a generation ago people felt entitled to a chance at education, they now feel entitled to the credential affirming that they have completed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-henry-iii/where-a-generation-ago-people-felt-entitled-to-a-chance-at-education/) [William A. Henry III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-henry-iii/) > [To create something beautiful about despair or out of a feeling of despair is for me the most hopeful life affirming thing a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/to-create-something-beautiful-about-despair-or-out-of-a-feeling-of/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“By affirming that all 'meaning,' every assertion about the significance of life and reality, must be judged by reference to a brief succession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/by-affirming-that-all-meaning-every-assertion-about-the-significance/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [It feels intimate and life affirming to me when someone tweets things that appear to just be insane thoughts they had and typed out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-gonzalez/it-feels-intimate-and-life-affirming-to-me-when-someone-tweets-things/) [Mira Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-gonzalez/) > [ \[F\]or academic men to be happy, the universe would have to take shape. All of philosophy has no other goal: it is a matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/f-or-academic-men-to-be-happy-the-universe-would-have-to-take-shape/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [It is so inspiring to see a new group coming together not to focus on a particular war or weapons system, but on all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/medea-benjamin/it-is-so-inspiring-to-see-a-new-group-coming-together-not-to-focus-on/) [Medea Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/medea-benjamin/) > [I think we're in a new era where the advancing tide is towards human unity, where people all around the world want to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/i-think-we-re-in-a-new-era-where-the-advancing-tide-is-towards-human/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Despite two decisions, in 2008 and 2010, by the U.S. Supreme Court unequivocally affirming that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees an individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barr/despite-two-decisions-in-2008-and-2010-by-the-u-s-supreme-court/) [Bob Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barr/) > [To be honest, I am not theatre-trained and though I am confident in my skill set, to do theatre requires a better-tuned set of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamlyn-tomita/to-be-honest-i-am-not-theatre-trained-and-though-i-am-confident-in-my/) [Tamlyn Tomita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamlyn-tomita/) > [The fact that you have a policy of such consequence directly affecting millions of people and you have a legal question of great consequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-verrilli-jr/the-fact-that-you-have-a-policy-of-such-consequence-directly/) [Donald Verrilli Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-verrilli-jr/) > [Action eradicates fear. No matter what you fear,--- positive, self-affirming action can diminish or completely cancel that which you are fearful of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-victor-hansen/action-eradicates-fear-no-matter-what-you-fear-positive-self/) [Mark Victor Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-victor-hansen/) > [Coming out to gays is a way of affirming sanity and self-worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weinberg/coming-out-to-gays-is-a-way-of-affirming-sanity-and-self-worth/) [George Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weinberg/) > [“we are affirming our trust that creation means well within us all, and that whatever painful growth and change may lie ahead, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-silf/we-are-affirming-our-trust-that-creation-means-well-within-us-all-and/) [Margaret Silf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-silf/) [Browse all 167 Affirming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule of behaviour; more usually he will confine himself to affirming in law what has already become the custom of the people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory Bateson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-initiate-a-new-rule-of-behaviour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affirming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-initiate-a-new-rule-of-behaviour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/gregory-bateson-7135_affirming_the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-ini_1733132.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The wise legislator will only rarely initiate a new rule of behaviour; more usually he will confine himself…” — Gregory Bateson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gregory Bateson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The wise legislator will only rarely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-initiate-a-new-rule-of-behaviour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-wise-legislator-will-only-rarely-initiate-a-new-rule-of-behaviour/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```