Jurisprudence is the knowledge of things divine and human.

Explanation

True knowledge of the law encompasses both divine law (the moral order established by the Creator) and human law (the civil order established by men) — a jurisprudence that ignores either is incomplete.

Where this applies

• A judge deciding a case about parental rights considers both the divine law reflected in Scripture about the duty of parents to raise their children and the human law of custody statutes, because true jurisprudence requires knowledge of both.
• A scholar of law argues that understanding natural law — what is inherently right and wrong — is essential to interpreting positive law, because legal knowledge divorced from moral knowledge is incomplete.
• A court considering the right to life examines both theological traditions and statutory frameworks, recognizing that jurisprudence at its best draws from both the divine and the human.