But  if  in  connection  with  the  context  or  as  applied  to
the  extrinsic  facts  and  circumstances  proved,  the  ordinary  or
technical  sense  of  the  words  gives  no  meaning  at  all  or  an
absurd,  unreasonable,  unjust  or  unlawful  meaning,  then  the
court  may  interprete  the  words  in  some  other  sense.  Thus  if
a  man  by  his  will  leaves  property  to  his  children,  he  is
presumed  to  mean  his  legitimate  children,  that  being  the
ordinary  legal  signification  of  the  word.  But  if  he  describes
them  as  his  children  by  a  certain  woman,  who  is  not  his
wife,  the  context  forbids  that  interpretation  and  shows  that
illegitimate  children  were  intended.  So  if  the  will  contains
no  description  pf  the  children,  but  it  is  proved  that  the
testator  had  no  children  except  illegitimate  ones,  that  makes
it  evident  that  the  word  children  could  not  have  been  used
to  its  technical  sense.
349.  In  the    interpretation  of  words,  and  particularly  of  TUe  context.
written   documents,    the    whole   must    be   construed   together;


Unusual
meaningi.
230  PBIYATB  LAW.
each  particular  part  must  be  explained  by  the  context ;  word»
or  phrases  must  not  be  torn  from  their  connection  and  treated
as  if  they  stood  alone ;  noscitur  a  sodis.  Moreover  the  con-
struction, if  possible,  should  be  such  as  to  give  effect  to  all
of  the  words ;  it  is  not  to  be  presumed  without  necessity
that  the  parties  have  inserted  any  wholly  superfluous,  useless
or  meaningless   words.
