It was his introduction to the reign of primitive law, and he met the introduction halfway.

让他尝到了原始法则的滋味，并且只尝了一半个。

Hence they do not steadily conform to their primitive laws; and even those of their own instituting they frequently infringe.

所以，他们并不是永恒地遵守自己最初级的规律；即使那些规律是他们自己制定的，他们却总是不去遵守它们。