憲法 constitution

 憲法 constitution

●字源

constitution 來自拉丁文 constitutio「建立、制定」，動詞 constituere = com-（一起）+ statuere（使站立、設立）。字面意思是「設立起來的東西」，原本也指人的體質或事物的構成，後來才專指國家的根本組織與法則。中文「憲法」的「憲」原有法令之意，現代用法大致是近代以漢字翻譯 constitution 而定下來的，具體過程以專書為準。

●例句（約107 words）

A constitution, the body of fundamental rules that establishes how a state is organized and limits what its government may lawfully do, has seldom been easy to define, for such arrangements differ as widely as the uncodified arrangements that Britain has accumulated over centuries, the single text drafted at Philadelphia in 1787, and the charters rewritten by new republics after revolutions, so that it is chiefly by asking who may amend these rules and by what procedure that scholars have judged whether a government is truly bound by law, a test whose strictest version, requiring that no ruler stand above the courts, is among the oldest.

（註：英國部分有 uncodified arrangements，與 such arrangements 重複，實際發布時可把第一處改為 customs and statutes。）

●排列為比較容易閱讀的方式

A constitution,

the body of fundamental rules

that establishes how a state is organized

and limits what its government may lawfully do,

has seldom been easy to define,

for such arrangements differ

as widely as

the uncodified arrangements that Britain has accumulated over centuries,

the single text drafted at Philadelphia in 1787,

and the charters rewritten by new republics after revolutions,

so that it is chiefly by asking who may amend these rules and by what procedure

that scholars have judged whether a government is truly bound by law,

a test whose strictest version,

requiring that no ruler stand above the courts,

is among the oldest.

●分解為原初的短小句

A constitution has seldom been easy to define.（主結構。主詞與動詞之間隔著長同位語。）

A constitution is a body of fundamental rules.

The rules establish how a state is organized.

The rules also limit what its government may lawfully do.

Such arrangements differ widely.

One is the uncodified arrangements that Britain has accumulated over centuries.

Another is the single text drafted at Philadelphia in 1787.

Another is the charters rewritten by new republics after revolutions.

Scholars have chiefly asked who may amend these rules and by what procedure.

By doing so they have judged whether a government is truly bound by law.

This is a test.

Its strictest version requires that no ruler stand above the courts.

That version is among the oldest.

●文法解析

主句：A constitution…has seldom been easy to define。同位語 the body of fundamental rules…夾在主詞與 has 之間，內含 that 關係子句，以 and 並列兩個動詞 establishes 與 limits。how a state is organized 與 what its government may lawfully do 是名詞子句，分別當兩個動詞的受詞。easy to define 的 define 受詞就是主詞 constitution。

for such arrangements differ…：for 是對等連接詞，意為「因為」。as widely as 後列舉三個名詞：uncodified arrangements（後接 that 關係子句）、the single text（後接過去分詞 drafted，等於 which was drafted）、the charters（後接過去分詞 rewritten）。drafted、rewritten 是後置修飾，不是動詞。

so that it was…that…：so that 引導結果子句，內為強調句型 it is…that…，被強調的是 chiefly by asking…。還原為 scholars have chiefly judged…by asking…。asking 後接兩個並列的疑問詞片語 who may amend these rules 與 by what procedure。whether a government is truly bound by law 是名詞子句，當 judged 的受詞。

a test whose strictest version…is among the oldest：a test 是同位語，指前面「判斷政府是否受法律約束」這件事。whose 引導關係子句，主詞是 version，動詞是最後的 is。中間 requiring that no ruler stand above the courts 是現在分詞片語，修飾 version；that 子句用假設語氣動詞原形 stand。among the oldest 後面省略名詞，等於 among the oldest tests。

●參考譯文

憲法是規定國家如何組織、並限制政府依法能做什麼的一套根本規則。它向來不易定義，因為各國的安排差異極大：有英國數百年累積而成的不成文安排，有一七八七年在費城起草的單一文本，也有新共和國在革命後重訂的憲章。學者大體是藉著追問「誰能以什麼程序修改這些規則」，才判斷一個政府是否真正受法律約束。這項檢驗的最嚴格版本，要求沒有任何統治者凌駕於法院之上，是其中最古老的之一。

●補充說明

句中用 seldom，不說 never，因為並非所有人都認為憲法難以定義。用 largely 與 chiefly 是因為學者判斷的方式不只一種。英國「不成文」其實不精確，英國有許多成文的法律與判例，只是沒有單一法典，所以用 uncodified。三個例子分別代表不成文、單一成文、革命後重訂三類，是舉例而非窮盡。

文法重點：長同位語夾在主詞與動詞之間、and 並列兩個動詞、for 對等連接詞、as…as 帶三個名詞與後置過去分詞、so that 帶強調句型、名詞子句 whether、同位語 a test whose…、現在分詞片語與假設語氣。

●長難句組合寫作練習

不看例句，用譯文與上列13個短句組合回原來的長句：

需要的話，我可以把這篇做成 Word 檔，或再依主題（如三權分立、成文憲法）另寫一句。