From our point of view,

在我们看来
early codes like Draco are notorious for how harsh they are.

《德拉古法典》一类的早期法典都以严酷著称
The Greeks later on said

希腊人后来说到
that the Code of Draco was written not in ink,

《德拉古法典》不是以墨水书写
but in blood.

而是以鲜血描绘
In fact, what it does is to codify

实际上该法典的作用只是编纂
what had been the ordinary practice.

当时的普遍行为规范
Nobody was inventing laws;

没有人发明这些法律
they were writing down what had been the customary procedures.

他们只是写下当时的惯例程序
And again,

再者
a characteristic for such developments

这种发展的一个特点就是
is that over time when people know how harsh these things are

在人们渐渐了解到这些刑罚的严酷