It is here examined to what extent the special rules of exegesis which have been developed in legal science conform to the general rules of hermeneutics, and how far the doctrines of legal exegesis can be attributed to these general doctrines. Firstly, a general view is given of the historical origin of the doctrines of legal exegesis (in antiquity philological-gram matical exegesis, exegesis according to the sententia of the exponent, as well as according to the ratio legis; in modern times the systematic, historical and sociological method of exegesis) and the main principles of general...