Context

Those parts of a writing which precede and follow a phrase or passage in question; the connection. It is a general principle of legal interpretation that a passage or phrase is not to be understood absolutely as if it stood by itself, but is to be read in the light of the context, i. e. in its connection with the general composition of the instrument. The rule is frequently stated to be that where there is any obscurity in a passage the context is to be considered; but the true rule is much broader. It is always proper to look at the context in the application of the most ambiguous expression. Thus, if on a sale of goods the vendor should give a written receipt acknowledging payment of the price, and containing, also, a promise not to deliver the goods, the word "not" would be rejected by the court, because it is repugnant to the context. It not unfrequently happens that two provisions of an instrument are conflicting: each is then the context of the other, and they are to be taken together and so understood as to harmonize with each other so far as may be, and to carry out the general intent of the instrument. In the context of a will, that which follows which precedes; and the same rule