higher law
an ethical or religious principle considered as taking precedence over the laws of society, and to which one may appeal in order to justify disobedience to a constitution or enacted law with which it conflicts.
Origin of higher law
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use higher law in a sentence
Next was explained to him the higher law of the Tarykat, or "path" to perfection.
Life of Schamyl | John Milton MackieWe require some solid ground for our belief in this higher law.
The Hidden Power | Thomas TrowardThere is a To-morrow after to-day, and a higher law which crushes all fugitive slave bills into their kindred dust.
The Trial of Theodore Parker | Theodore ParkerThey shrank apprehensively from the phrase in one of his speeches that "there is a higher law than the Constitution."
A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln | John G. NicolayThe lex talionis has been abolished by the law of civilization and the higher law of the gospel.
The Vote That Made the President | David Dudley Field
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