<i><b>Before the Law</b></i>&nbsp;(German: <i>Vor dem Gesetz</i>) is a&nbsp;parable&nbsp;contained in the novel&nbsp;<i>The Trial</i>&nbsp;(German:&nbsp;<i>Der Prozess</i>), by&nbsp;Franz Kafka. <i>Before the Law</i>&nbsp;was published in Kafka&#39;s lifetime, first in the 1915 New Year&#39;s edition of the independent Jewish weekly&nbsp;<i>Selbstwehr</i>, then in 1919 as part of the collection&nbsp;<i>Ein Landarzt</i>&nbsp;(<i>A Country Doctor</i>).&nbsp;<i>The Trial</i>, however, was not published until 1925, after Kafka&#39;s death.