noun: a law passed by a government and formally written down
noun: a written rule made by an organization or institution
"Thou art Thyself the secret of Thy works;
Thou art the key: Thine image bear they all,
Or more or less. And heaven-born music, as
The balance of the force elastic, with
The gravitating force that holdeth all,—
Music the statute is, which more than most,
Of all that stands on Nature's statute-book,
Image and superscription—Three in one—
In interlacing monogram doth show of Thee!"
Rev. John Andrew.
[Harmonies of Tones and Colours, Reflections on the Scheme1, page 43]