# XII: The Division of the Laws explained — The Social Contract

> Chapter companion for The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

## What happens

Rousseau categorizes laws into four types: political (fundamental) laws governing the relation of Sovereign to State, civil laws governing relations among members, criminal laws as sanctions, and most importantly, moral laws of custom and public opinion that form the true constitution of the State.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Role of the Legislator

The legislator secretly concerns himself with manners and morals, which form the keystone of the State.

### Decline and Corruption of the State

Moral laws take on new powers when other laws decay or die out, restoring them.

## Character check-ins

### Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Author and narrator, presenting the division of laws.

## Key lines

> I am speaking of morality, of custom, above all of public opinion; a power unknown to political thinkers, on which none the less success in everything else depends.

Rousseau emphasizes that morality, custom, and public opinion are the most crucial yet overlooked forces shaping the State's success.

_Highlights the importance of unwritten laws._

> With this the great legislator concerns himself in secret, though he seems to confine himself to particular regulations; for these are only the arc of the arch, while manners and morals, slower to arise, form in the end its immovable keystone.

The legislator secretly cultivates public morals, which are the true foundation of the State, while outwardly focusing on specific laws.

_Illustrates the legislator's dual role._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se/chapters/xii-the-division-of-the-laws
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se/chapters