Our civil laws will never be supple enough to fit the immense and changing variety of facts. Laws change more slowly than custom, and though dangerous when they fall behind the times are more dangerous still when they presume to anticipate custom.
• p. 113
• p. 113
“
Nos lois civiles ne seront jamais assez souples pour s'adapter à l'immense et fluide variété des faits. Elles changent moins vite que les moeurs; dangereuses quand elles retardent sur celles-ci, elles le sont davantage quand elles se mêlent de les précéder.
— Marguerite Yourcenar
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Nos lois civiles ne seront jamais assez souples pour s'adapter à l'immense et fluide variété des faits. Elles changent moins vite que les moeurs; dangereuses quand elles retardent sur celles-ci, elles le sont davantage quand elles se mêlent de les précéder." in the context of "Our civil laws will never be supple enough to fit the immense and changing variety of facts. Laws change more slowly than custom, and though dangerous when they fall behind the times are more dangerous still when they presume to anticipate custom.
• p. 113" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Marguerite Yourcenar" (Quotes, Memoirs of Hadrian (1951): Mémoires d'Hadrien, English translation by Grace Frick in collaboration with Marguerite Yourcenar (1984), The page numbers below are from the English translation.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
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