Although ‘Law in Context’ is a well-known motto for law-and-society scholarship, the idea could benefit from closer examination. This paper introduces a principle of `fidelity to context' and suggests that contexts may be transcended by invoking general purposes and principles. These issues have special relevance for contextual analysis of free speech, academic freedom, and other rights and responsibilities. I also consider the relevance of legal pluralism, and the contextual analysis of human rights.