Nerva

[curtislclay]

Meine Erklärung von "The exception proves the rule" stimmt auch nicht; nach Mark Israel ist die Bedeutung dieses Spruches wie folgt zu erklären:

The common misconception (which you will find in several books,
including the Dictionary of Misinformation) is that "proves" in
this phrase means "tests". That is *not* the case, although "proof"
*does* mean "test" in such locutions as "proving ground",
"proofreader", "proof spirit", and "The proof of the pudding is in
the eating."
As Fowler's Modern English Usage says, "the original legal sense of the 'the exception
proves the rule' is as follows: 'Special leave is given for men to
be out of barracks tonight till 11 p.m.'; 'The exception proves
the rule' means that this special leave implies a rule requiring
men, except when an exception is made, to be in earlier. The value
of this in interpreting statutes is plain."
Fowler's second edition adds: "'A rule is not proved by exceptions unless the
exceptions themselves lead one to infer a rule' (Lord Atkin). The
formula in full is exceptio probat regulam in casibus non
exceptis." [That's Latin for "The exception proves the rule in
cases not excepted."]
The phrase seems to date from the 17th century.

[Homer J. Simpson]

Die Ausnahme von der Regel beweist also, insbesondere dadurch, daß sie als Ausnahme existiert, daß es ansonsten eine Regel gibt. Also heißt "Die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel" soviel wie "Die Existenz einer Ausnahme bestätigt die Existenz einer Regel". Scheint logisch.

Homer