LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
>( 321
L79
1690
Minus Historical Survey
TWO
TR
OF
n '-I
4 )
In the former,
The fa/fe {Principles , and Foundation
OF
Sit FILMED
And his F o l l o w e r s,
ARE .
3Defette& and j3D&ertt»onm,
The latter is an
ESSAY
CONCERNING THE
True Original, Extent, and End
t •; - ' ;OF
Civil Government.
LONDON.
9 *
Printed for Awnjham Churchill , at the Black.
Swan in Ave-Mary-Lane , by Amen -
Corner, 1690.
'■. - - 'G *•/
37.1
l_n ^
uqo
•Yt' i
l—
*7
ra^icM-
•tfiMe..'
J
THE
PREFACE.
0 • * " • * •
Reader ,
nr^Hoii had here the Beginning
and End ol a Dilcourle,
concerning Government;
what Fate has otherwife diipofed of
the Papers, that fhouid have filled up
the middle, and were more than all
the reft, ’tis not worth while to tell
thee, Thefe, which remain, l hope,
are lufficient to eftablifh the Throne
/ * ^ *
of our great Reftorer, Our present
King William *, to make good his
Title, in the Conlenc of the People,
which being the only one, of all
lawful Governments, he has more
fully and clearly than any Prince in
Chriftendom. And to juftifie to the
World, the People of England , whole
love of their juft and natural Rights,
> A 3 with
.y
• i
A L.
The
which are here untouched, to drip
>ir Robert’s Difcourles of the Flourifli
>f doubtful Expreflions, and endea-
4 * &
/our to reduce his Words to direcf,
X)fitive , intelligible Propofitions,
ind then compare them one with
mother, he will quickly be latisfied,
here was never (o much glib Non-
enfe put together in well founding
S nglijh . If he think it not worth
while, to examine his Works all
J • • «
hrough, let him make an Experi-
nent in that Part where he treats
)f Ulurpation ; and lc t him try whe-
her he can, with a’l his Skill, make
' * /
fir Robert intelligible, and confident
with himfelf, or common lenle. I
hould not (peak fo plainly of a Gen-
leman, long fince pad anfwering,
lad not the Pulpit, of late Years,
)ublickly owned his Do • / " < i
/V
1
*
I
l
\
| THE
Contents of Boo k I.
Chap. I. *" I s HE Introduction p. i.
\ Chap. II. Of Paternal, and
Regal Power p. 6 .
Chap. III. Of Adam’/ Title to Sovereignty ,
by Creation p. 18;
Chap. IV. Of Adam 7 s Title to Sovereignty,
by Donation , Gen. i. 28. p. 27.
Chap. V. Of Ada mV Title to Sovereignty ,
by the Subjection of Eve p. < ■ p. 1
:
- — m
THE
Contents of Book II:
t | ' ; 9 ",
• a. a. X 4 A fc. % \
IV
Chap. I.
HE Introduction p. 217.
Chap. II. Of the 1 State of
Nature p. 220.
Chap.
The CONTENTS.
Chap. III. Of the State of War p. 2 2 <.
Chap. IV. Of Slavery p. 241.
Chap. V. Of Property p. 245.
Chap. VI; Of Paternal Power p. 271.
Chap. VII. Of Political , or Civil Society
p. 297.
Chap. VIII. Of the Beginning of Political
Societies p. gi6i
Chap. IX. Of the Ends of Political Society ,
and Government P* 545*
Chap. X. Of the Forms of a Commonwealth
p. ?<>i.
Chap. XI. Of the Extent of the Legiftative
Power P- 35 ?.
Chap. XII. Of the Legiftative , Executive,
and Federative Power of the Common-
wealth p. 365.
Chap. XIII. Of the Subordination of the
Powers of the Commonwealth p. 269.
Chap. XIV. Of Prerogative p. 382.
Chap. XV; Of Paternal, Political, and De-
fpotical Power, confidered together p. 392.
Chap; XVI. Of Conqueft p. 397.
Chap. XVII. Of Vfurpation p.418.
Chap. XVIII. Of Tyranny p. 420.
Chap. XIX. Of the Dijfolution of Govern¬
ments P-432-
The End of the Contents.
BOOK
BOOK I.
CHAP. !.
Lavery is Co vile and milerable an
Eftateof Man,and lb dire&ly op-
. j| polite to the generous temper and
courage of our Nation 3 that ’tis
ardly to be conceived,that an Englifhman ,
iuchlefsaGe*//e»/rf#,lhould plead for’t.And
ruly I fhould have taken this as any other
‘reatife, which would pcifwade all Men,
lat they are Slaves and ought to be Co 3
>rfuch an other exercife of Wit, as was
is who writ the Encomium of Ntro> ra-
ier than for a ferious Difcourle meant in
trneft, had not the gravity of the Title
id Epiftle, the Pifture in the Front of Sr.
bts^ Book, and the applaufe that folic'V-
i it) required me to believe that the Au»
tor and Publilher were both in earned,
therefore took the Patriarcha of Sr. R. •
timer into my hands with all the expe&a-
r>n, and read it through with all the
tention due to a Trcatife, that made
ch a noife at it’s coming abroad, and can-
B not
( 2 )
not but confefs ray felf mightily furprifed
that in a Book which was to j>rovid<
Chains for all mankind, I (honld find no
thing but a Rope of Sand ufeful perhap
to fuch vvhofe skill and bufinels it is tc
raife a dull, and would blind the Peoph
the better to mitlcad them, but is noto
any force to draw thofe into Bondage
.who have their Eyes open and fo mucl
Senfe about them, as to confider tha
Chains are but an ill wearing, how mucl
care foever hath been taken to file ant
polifh them.
§. 2. If any one think I take too mud
liberty in fpeaking fo freely of a Man who i
the great Champion of absolute Power, anc
the Idol of thofe who worfhip it , I be
feech him to make this fmail allowano
for once, to one, who even after the read
ing of Roberts Book, cannot but thinl
himfelf as the Laws allow him a Free
v man, and I know no fault it is to do lb, un
kfs any one better skill’d in the Fateo
it than I, (hould have it revealed to him
that this Treatife which has lain dorman
fo long, was when it appeared in thi
World to carry by ftrength of its Argu
ments, all Liberty out of it, and tha
. from thence forth our Authors Ibort mode
was to be the pattern in the Mount an<
_ the perfect Standard of Politics for th<
^ future
( 3 )
'uture.. His Syftem lies in a little com*
)afs ’tis no more but this,
[hat all Government is alfohtte 'Monarchy ,
and the ground he builds on is this ,
That no Man is born free .
» • *V •" S JL r « " " > at r i | If
i e •
3. Since there have been a generation of
Vlen fprung up in the World that would
latter Princes with an Opinion that they
tave a Divine Right to abfolute Power,
let the Laws by which they are continu¬
ed and are to govern, and the Conditi¬
ons under which they enter upon their
Authority, be what they will, and their
mgagements to obferve them never to
veil ratified by folemn Oaths and Pro-
nifes, they have denied Mankind a Right,
:o natural Freedom, whereby they have
lot only as much as in them lies expos’d
ill Subje&s to the utmoft Mitery of Ty¬
ranny and Oppreflion* but have alio to
jnlettled the Titles, and (haken the
Thrones of Princes. (For they too, by
thefe Men’s Do&rin, except only one, are
all born Slaves, and by divine Right are
Subje&sto Adams right Heir) as if they
bad defign’d to make War upon all Go¬
vernment, and fubvert the very Founda¬
tions of Human Society.
k'. ;i; . $ 2
How*
CO
4. However we muft believe them upon
their own bare words, when they tell U9
we are all born Slaves and there is no
remedy for it, we muft continue fo $ Life
and Thraldom we entered into together,
and ca n ne ver be quit of the one,till we part
with the other, though I do not find
Scripture or Reafon any. where fay fo,
however thefe Men would perfwade us
that Divine Authority hath fubje&ed us |
to the unlimited Will of another. An ad¬
mirable State of Mankind, and that which
they have not had wit enough to find out
till this latter Age. For however Sr. Rob.
Filmer feems to condemn the Novelty
of the contrary Opinion, Patr. p. 3. yet l|
believe it will be hard for him to find any
other Age or Country of the World, but
this which have alTerted Monarchy to be
Jure D/vino. And he confeffes Patr. p. 4.
That Heyvoard , Blackwood , Barclay and 0-
thers that have bravely vindicated the Right
of Kings in mojl Points , never thought
©f this, but with one Conjent admitted the
Natural Liberty and Equality of Mankind.
By whom this Doftrine came at firft to
be broalch’d and brought in fafhion a -
mongft us, and what fad Effe&s it gave
rife to , I leave to Hiflorians to relate or
the Memory of thofe who were Contem*
poraries with Sibthorp and Manwering to
* recol-
CO
recoleft my bufinels at prelent, being on¬
ly to confider what Sr. R. F. who is allow¬
ed to have carried this Argument tar-
:heft, and is fuppofed to have brought it
:o perfeftion, has faid in it 3 For from
lim every one who would be as faihion-
ible as French was at Court, has learned
md runs away with this fhort Syltem of
Politics, viz. Men are not born free, and
herefore could never have the liberty to
:hoofe either Governors or Forms of Go¬
vernment, Princes have their Power Ab-
olute and by Divine Right, for Slaves
:ould never have a right to Compaft or
fonfent} Adam was an abfolute Monarch,
nd fo are all Princes ever fince.
B 2 CHAP.
I
C 6 )
CHAP. II.
§ , f
Of Paternal and Regal Power.
6 ' OlR-R. & s great Pofit * ,orl that Mcft
are not naturally free^ this is the Foun¬
dation on which his ablolute Monarchy
ftands, and from which it ereds it felf to
an height that it’s Power is above every
Power, Caput inter nubila , fo high above
all earthly and human Things, that
thought can fcarce reach it, that Promiles
and Oaths which tye the infinite Deity,
cannot confine it. But if this foundation
fails, all his Fabric falls with it, and Go¬
vernments mult be left again to the old
way of being made by contrivance and
the content of Men *»w ?0 making
ufe of their reafon to unite together into
Society. To prove this grand Pofition of
his, he tells us, p. 12. Men are born in fab-
jdlion to their Parents , and therefore can¬
not be free. And this Authority of Pa¬
rents, he calls Royal sAuthority , p. 12, 14*
Fatherly Authority , Right of Fatherhood, p.
12, 20. one would have thought he would
in the beginning of fuch a Work as this,
on which was to depend the Authority of
Princes and the Obedience of Subjeds»
have told us exprefly what that Fatherly
Authority is, have defined it, though not
( 7 )
limited it, becaufe in Tome other Treaties
of his, he tells us ’tis unlimited, and unli-
mitable, he ftiould at Ieaft have given us
^ •
* In Grants and Gifts
that have their Origin
gin at from God or Kd-
ture , as the Power of
the Father hath , no in -
ferinr Power cf Man
can limit nor make any
La tty of prefeription a-
gxinfl tiemfj. l *p 8.
\Ti eScrip:ure teaches
that Supreme Power
was Originally m tic
Father without any
limitation, O. 145'.
fuch an account of it,
* that we might have
had an entire Notion of
this Fatherhood or Fa¬
therly Authority when e-
ver it came in our way
in his Writing, 5 This l
“xpefted to have found
in the firft Chapter o t
his Patriarchs But 1 ' in-
ftead thereof having, 1.
zn Pajjant made his Obey-
fa nee to the Arcana im -
per//, p. 5. 2° made his Complement to the
Rights and Liberties of this or any other Afa-
tion , p. 6. which he is going prefently to
null and deftroy 5 And 3 0 made his Leg to
thole Learned Men who did not fee fo far
into the Matter as himlelf, p. 7. he comes
to fall on Bellarmine , p. 8. and by a Victo¬
ry over him, Eftablilhes his Fatherly Au¬
thority beyond any queftion, Bellarmine
being routed by his own Confeffion, p.
11. the day is clear got, and there is no
more need of any Forces: For having
done that, I obferve not that he ftates
the Qi^eftion or rallies up any Arguments
to make good his Opinion, but rather tells
B 4 us
( 8 )
us the Stoiy as he thinks fit of this finance
kind of domineering Phantom, called the
fatherhood , which whoever could catch
prefently got Empire and unlimited ab-
folute Power. He allures us how this Fa¬
therhood begin in Adam, continued it’s
courfe, and kept the World in order all
the time of the Patriarchs till the Flood,
got out of the Arch with Noah and his
Sons, made and fupported all the Kings
of the Earth till the Captivity of the lf-
raelites in Egypt, and then the poor Fa¬
therhood was under hatches till God by
giving the IJraelites Kings , Re-ejlMified the
Ancient and prime Right of the lineal Sue-
cejjion in paternal Government. This is his
feuiinefs fromp. 12 to 19. And then obvi¬
ating an Objettion, and clearing a Diffi¬
culty or two with one half reafon, p 22
to confirm the Natural Right of Regal Power,
he ends the firft Chapter. I hope ’tis no
Injury to call an half Quotation an half
Reafon, for God lays, Honour thy Father
***** Mother , but our Author contents him-
VVItl \half, leaves out thy Mother quite,
as little ferviceable to his purpole, but of
that more in an other place. V i.
. 7 Ido not think our Author folittle.skill’d
in the way of Writing Difcourfes of. this
Nature, norlocarelels ol the Point in hand,
fnat he by overfight commits the fault that
( 9 )
he hi IT! ft If in his Anarchy ofi a mix* d Monar¬
chy,p^ 239. Obje&s to VIr. Hunton in thele
words. Where fir ft I charge the A that he
hath not given ms any Definition ^or Difcripti-
on of Monarchy in general, for by the Rules
of Method , he fhould have firft defin'd.
And by the like Rule of Method Sr. Rob.
Ihould have told us, what his Fatherhood
or Fatherly Authority is before he had told
us, in whom it was to • be found and
talked Co much of it. But perhaps Sr.
Hob. found that this Fatherly Authority , this
Power of Fathers and of Kings, for he
makes them both the fame, p. 24. would
make a very odd and frightful Figure,
and very difagreeing, with what either
Children imagin of their Parents, or Sub¬
jects of their Kings, if he fhould have
given us the whole di aught together in
that Gigantic Form, he had Painted it in
his own Phancy,and therefore like a wary
Phyfician, when he would have his Pati¬
ent fwallow fome harfh or Corrofive Li -
quor, he mingles it with a large quantity
of that, which may delute it 5 that the
fcatter’d Parts may go down with left
feeling and caufe left Averfion.
8. Let us then endeavour to find what
account he gives us of this Fatherly Autho¬
rity, as it lies fcatter’d in the feveral
Parts of his Writings. And firft as it was
deveft
(IO)
veiled in Adam , he fays not only s 4 dam,
hut the fucceeding Patriarchs, had by Right
of Fatherhood , Royal Authority over their
Children , p. 12. This Lordfbip which 4 dam
by Command had over the whole /TorId,
and by right defending from him , the Patri¬
archs did injoy i was as large and amble as
the Abfolute Dominion of any Monarch r
which hath been fince the Creation, p. 13.
Dominion of Life and Death ; making War
and concluding Peace, p. 13. Adam and the
Patriarchs had Abfolute Power of Life and
Deathy p. 35. Kings in the right of Parents,
ficceed to the Exercife of f/pream jnrifdifti~
on. p. 19. Kingly Power is by the Law
of God , fo it hath no inferior Law to Limit
it, Adam was Lord of all, p. 40. The
Father of a Family governs by no other Law,
then by his own willy p. 78. The Superiority
of Princes is above Laws , p. 7 9. The unli¬
mited jurifdiCtion of Kings, is fo amply de-
feribed by Samuel, p. 80. Kings are above the
Laws. p. 93. And to this purpofe fee a
great deal more which our A-delivers in
Bodins’s words. It is certain that all Laws,
Priviledges and Grants of Princes have no
Force , but during their Life j if they be not
ratified by the exprefs Coxfent or by Juffe-
ranee of the Prince following efpecially Fri-
viledges. O. p. 279. The rtafon why Laws
have been aljo made by Kings, was this j
wh$n
(» )
xhzn Kings were either buficd with IVirs , or
'hjiratfcd with Public Cares , fo that every
private Man, could not have Jccfs to their
Per font, to learn their fVills and Pleasure,
'hen were Laws cf necel/ity imtnted , that fo
tvery particular Sbjeti, might find his Prin-
ces Pleafure DecyphePd unto him in the Ta¬
bles of his Laws. p. 92. U a Monarchy , the
King mujl by neccjjity be above the Laws,
p. 100 . A perfect Kingdom is that ,
wherein the King Rules ' all things according
to his own Will , p. IQO., Neither Common
nor Statute Laws , are or can be any Diminu¬
tion of that General Power, which Kings have
over their People by right of Fatherhood , p.
115. Adam was the Father, King and Lord
over his Family , a Son , a Subject and a Ser¬
vant or Slave, were one and the fame thing at
firfl. The Father had Power to difpofe or fellhis
Children or Servants , whence we find that at
thefirfl reckoning up of Goods in Scripture ,
the Man-fervant and the Maid-Jervant , are
numbred among the Pojfejfions , and fubfiance
of the Owner , as other Goods were. O pre£
God alfb hath given to the Father a Right or
Liberty , to alien his Power over his Children j
to any other whence we find the Sale and Gift
of Children , to have been much in »fe, in
in the Beginning of the World , when Men
had their Servants for a Pojfeffion and an In*
heritance. as w>ell as other Goods , whereupon
• • / # * -* * f # # v* • ^ V
• , • C 12 J
ff fi n j the P °wr of Caflrating and makino
hum chsumach in uje in Old times. O. p. 15 5.
Law is nothing elfe hut the will of him
that hath the Power of the Supream Father\
O. p. 223. It was Gods Ordinance , that
■ supremacy flmtld be unlimited in Adam, and
as l fi e ^ all the Atts of his Will ,, and as
in him , fi in all others that have Supream
Power. O. p.245.
9.I have been fain to trouble my Reader
with thefe feveral Quotations in our A-)
own words that in them might be feen
his own Difcripticn, of his Fatherly J U -
thorny , as it lies fcatter’d up and down
in ms Writings, which he fuppotes was
ui it vefred in / 4 dam, and by Right, be¬
longs to all Princes ever fince. This Fa¬
therly Authority .then or Right of Father -
hood, vn ouM-s fence is a Divine unalterl
a ole Right of Sovereignty, whereby a Fa¬
ther or a Prince, hath an Ablblute Arbi¬
trary unlimited and unlimitable Power
over the Lives, Libertys, and Eftatesofhis
Children or Subjects, f 0 that he may take
or alienate their Eftates, fell, caftrate, or
* 15 ,. s! r ^ >er ^ >nsas he pleafes, they being
all his Haves, and he Lord and Proprietor
of every thing, and his unbounded Will
their Law.
ic. Qur A- having placed filch a
eighty Power in Adam , and upon that
fuppofition.
. .
. , r 15 )
uppofition, founded all Government, and
ill Power of Princes, it is reafonable to
exped, that he (honld have proved this
with Arguments clear and evident, fuita-
ble to the weightinels of the Caufc. That
fince Men had nothing elle left them 5 they
might in flavery had fuch undeniable
Proofs of its neceffity, that their con¬
ferences might be convinced, and oblige
them to fubmit peaceably to that Ablb-
lute Dominion, which their Governors
had a Right to Exercife over them, with¬
out this 5 what good could our A— do, or
pretend to do, by erecting fuch an unlimi¬
ted Power, but flatter the Natural Vanity
and Ambition of Men, too apt of its (elf
to grow and increale, with the Poffeflion
of any Power > And by perfwading thole,
who by the content of their fellow Men
ire advanced to great, but limited de¬
crees of it, that by that Part which is '
given them, they have a Right to all that
was not fo, and therefore may do what
they pleale, becaule they have Authority
to do more then other?, and (b tempt
them to do what is neither for their own,
nor the good of thole under their Care,
whereby great raifcheifs cannot but fol¬
low.
11. The Sovereignty of Adam , being
that on which as a fure bafis,our A-builds
v S 7 * ' ' ’ ■ his -
( 14 )
his Mighty Abfolute Monarchy,! expe&ed
that in his Patriarch/* , this his main fuppo-
fition would have been proved and efta-
blifhed, with all that evidence of Argu¬
ments, that fuch a Fundamental Tenet
required, and that this on which the great
ftrefs of the bufinels depends, would have
been made out with reafons fufficient to
juftifie the confidence,' with which it. was
affumed. But in all that Treatife, I could
find very little tending that way 5 the
thing is there fo taken for granted with¬
out Proof, that I could fcarce believe my
felf, when upon attentive Reading that
Treatife, 1 found there fo mighty a Stru¬
cture, rais’d upon the bare fuppofition of
this Foundation j for it is fcarce credible,
that in a Difcourfo where he pretends to
confute, the Erroneous Principle of Mans
Natural breedom, he does it by a bare fiip-
pofition of Adams Authority , without of^
fering any Proof for that Authority. Indeed
he confidently fays, that Adam had Royal
Authority, p. 12, and 13. Abjolute Z.ordjhip
and Dominion of life and death , p. 13 .An
Univerjal Monarchy, p. 3 3. abfolute Power
of life and death , p. 3 5. He is very frequent
in luch Aflertions, but what is ftrange in
all his whole Patriarcha , I find not one
pretence of a reafou, to Eftablifb this his*
great Foundation of Government } not
any
( *5 )
?-• •
any thing that looks like an Argument,
but thde words $ To confirm this Natural
Right of Regal Porter, we find in the Deca¬
logue , that the Law which injoyns Obedience
to Kings , is delivered in the terms. Honour
thy Father , as if all Power were Original!)
in the Father. And why may I rot add
as well, that in the Decalogue, the Law
that injoyns obedience to Queens, is de¬
livered in the Terms of Honour thy Mother ,
as if all Power were Originally in the
Mother / The Argument as Sr. Rob. puts it,
will hold as well for one as tother, but of
this more in its due place.
12. All that I take notice of here, is
that this is all our A— fays in this firft, or
any of the following Chapters, to prove
the Abjolute Power of Adam , which is his
. great Principle, and yet as if he had there
fettled it upon fure Demonftration, he
begins his 2 d. Chapter with thefe words,
by Confering thefe Proofs and Reafons , drawn
from the Authority of the Scripture. W here
thole Proofs and Reafons for Adams Sove¬
reignty, are, bateing that of Honour thy
Father above mentioned, I confefs, fcan-.
not find unlefs what he fays, p. 11. In thefe
words we have an evident Confejfion , viz. of
Belarmin , that Creation made Man Prince
of his Pofierity, muft be taken for Proofs
and Reafons drawn from Scripture, or for
" A any
c 16 >
any fort of Proofs at a’l : though from
thence by a new way of inference i i the
words, immediately following, And in¬
deed 'he concludes') the Royal Authority of
Adam, fufficiently fettled in him. „
15. If he has in that Chapter, or any
where in the whole Treatife, given any
other Proofs of Adams Royal Authority ,
other then by often repeating it, which
among Ibme Men goes for Argument, I
defire any body for him to (hew me the
Place and Page , that I may be convinced
of my miftake, and acknowledge my
overfight. If no fuch Arguments are to
be found, I beleech thole Men, who have
fo much cryed up this Book, to confider j
whether they do not give the World
caufe to fufpeft , that ’tis not the Force 1
ofReafon and Argument,that makes them |
for Abfolute Monarchy, but fome other
by intereft, and therefore are refolved to
applaud any Author, that writes in Fa¬
vour of this Dodtrin, whether he fupport
it with reafon or no. But I hope they do
not expedt that rational and indifferent
Men fhould be brought over to their Opi,
nion, becaufe this their great Dr. of it, in
a Dilcourfe made on purpofo, to let up the
Abfolute Monarchical Povoer of Adam, in op¬
position to the Natural Freedom of Man¬
kind, has faid fo little to prove it, from
' whence a
jj; ( I7>
whence it is rather naturally to be con¬
ned that there is little to be faid.
14* But that I might omit no care to
nform my lelf in our A-—s full Senfe, I
•onfulted his Obfervations on Ariflotle,
^fbs, &c. To fee whether in difputing
vith others he made ufe of any Argu*
nents, for this his Darling Tenet of A-
iams Sovereignty, fince in his Treatife of
he Natural Power of Kings, he had been
p fparing of them : And in his Obferva-
ions on Mr. Hobs* s Leviathan 1 think he
as put in (lort, all thofe Arguments for
\ together, which in his Writings I find
im any where to make ufe of, his Words
re theie. If God Created only A dam,and of
piece of him made the Woman, and if by
™ e ™ti6n from them two, as parts of them
1 Mankind be propagated: If alfo God
Ve A° n °t on ly the Dominion over
e W Oman and the Children that fhould Iffue
om them , but alfo over the whole Earth
fubc'ne it, and over all the Creatures on
fo that as long as Adam lived, no Man
dd claim or enjoy any thing but by Donati-
, AJJignation or Permijjton from him, /
•nder, &c. 0 . 165. Here we have the
m of all his Arguments, for Adams So.
v/gnty and againft Natural Freedom, t
ucn 1 find up and down in his other
eat lies, which are thefefollowing, Gods
,7 * C Creation
(-18 J
Creation of Adam , the Dominion he gave
him oner Eve : And the Dominion he had
as Father over hi? Children , all which 1
Ikall particularly confrder.i ' /r; 'dk.®
l % K Si
i W
i
CHAR III.
9 * * < *
Of Adams Title to Sovereignty by Crea -
iron.
'A
v \ i 4 • . JOB
Rob. in his Preface to his Obfer
v ) vations on y^rijlotle's Politics te Is us
A Natural Freedom of Mankind cannot b\
fuppofed without the denial of the Creation o
Adam , but how Adams being Created
which was nothing but his receiving a Be
sng immediately from Omnipotency, anc
the hand of God, gave Adam a Sovereignty
over any thing, 1 cannot fee, nor conle
quently under ftand how a Suppofition c
■natural Freedom is a denial of Adams Crea
tion, and would be glad any body elfe(finc<
our A — did not vouchfafe us the fa
vour) would make it out for him : fori
find no difficulty to fuppofe the Freedom
of Mankind, though I have always be
lieved the Creation of Adam 3 He wa
Created or began to e$ift by Cods imrne
C 19)
diate Power’ without the Tntervention of
Parents or the pre exigence of any of the
fame Species to beget him, when it pleafed
God hefhould, and fo did the Lyon, the
King of Beafts before him, by the fame
Creating Power of God, and if bare ex¬
igence by that Power,and in that way, will
$ive Dominion without any more adoe,
)ur A— by this Argument will make the
Jon have as good a Title to it as he, and
erfainly the Aneienter. No ! for Adam
sad his Title by the appointment of God-,
ays our A- in another place. Then bare
'nation gave him not Dominion, and one
light have fttppofed Mankind Free with*
ut denying the Creation of Adam, fince
:vvas Gods Appointment made him Mo-
arch.
16. But let us fee how he puts his Crea-
on and this Appointment together. By
)e appointment of God , fays Sir Rbt as food
r Adam was Created he was Monarch of
ie fVorld, though he had no Subjects , for
iough there could not be act cal Government
U there were Subjects, yet by the Right of
lature it was due to Adam to be Governour
his Poferity, though not in atf, yet at
aft in habit, Adam was a King from his
ration, I wi(h he had told us here what
- tueant by Gods appointment. For what-
evey Providence orders, or the Law of
if r C 2 Nature
-*4 _
( 2 ° )
Nature dire&s, or pofitive Revelation de¬
clares, may be faid to be by Gods appoint-
went, but I fuppole it cannot be meant
here in the firft Senfe, i. e. by providence *
becaule that would be to fay no more,
but that as foon as Adam was Created he
was de faclo Monarch, becaufe by Right of
filature it was due to Adam, to be Governonr
of his Polferity. But he could not de facto
be by providence Conftituted the Gover¬
nor of the World at a time, when there
was actually no GovernmentjnoSubjeftsto
be governed,which our A— here confeffes.
Monarch of the World is alfb differently
tiled by our Author, for fometimes hel
means by it a, Proprietor of all the World
exclufive of the reft of Mankind, and
thus he does in the fame page of his Pre¬
face before cited, Adam fays he being Com'
tnanded to Multiply and People the Earth
and to Jubdue it , and having Dominion gi¬
ven him over all Creatures , was thereby tht,
Monarch of the whole World , none of his Po¬
sterity had any Right to poffefs any thing but
by his Grant or Permiffion or by Succefjion
from him , 2° Let us underftand then by
Monarch Proprietor of the World , and by
appointment Gods adtual Donation, and
revealed pofitive Grant made to Adam ,
i Gen. 28. as we lee Sir Robt. himlelf does
in this parallel place, and then his Argu¬
ment
oo
ment will (land thus, by the poftive Grant
of God 5 As foon as Adam was Created , he
was Proprietor of the World , becaufe by the
Right oj Nature it was due to Ad an? to be
Govern our of his Polierity , in which way
arguing there are two manifeft Falfe-
loods. Firjl , it is falfe that God made
hat Grant to Adam , as foon as he was
treated, (ince though it (lands in the Text
mmediately after his Creation, yet it is
>lain it could hot be (poken to Adam till
ifter Eve was made and brought to him,
nd how then could he be Monarch by ap -
ointment as foon as Created , efpecially
ince he calls, if I miftake not, that which
iod fays to Eve, 3 Gen. 1 6. The original
irant of Government , which not being
ill after the fall, when Adam was fome-
fhat, at lead in time and very much, di-
rant in condition, from his Creation, I can-
ot fee,how our A can (ay in this Senfe,that
p Gods appointment as foon as Adam was
seated he was Monarch of the World .
tcondly, were it true that Gods aftual
donation appointed Adam Monarch of the
or Id as foon as he was Created , yet the
eafon here given for it would not prove
* but it would always be a falle Inference
iat God by a pofitive Donation appoint -
• Adam Monarch of the World, becaufe
Right of Nature it was due to Adam to
' ' C j h
C 22 .)
be Govern our of his Pojlerity 5 for having
given him the Right of Government b;
Nature, there was no need of a pcfttiw
Ponation, at ieaft it will never be a proo
of fuch a Donation.
17. On the other fide the Matter wi!
not be much mended, if we underline
ly Gods appointment the Law < * Natur<
(though it be a pretty harlh FxprefTioi
for it, in this place) and by Monarch c
the World , Sovereign Ruler of Mankind
for then the Sentence under conlideratioi
muft run thus. By the Law of Nature , a
foon as Adam was Created he was Governou
of Mankind , for by Right of Nature it wa
due to Adam to be Governour of his Pofteri
ty , which amounts to this, he was Go
ver'nour by Right of Nature , becaufe h
was Governour by Right of Nature j Bu
fuppofing we fnould grant that a Man i
by Nature Governour of his Children, A
dam could not hereby be Monarch as fio ;
as Created , for this Right of Nature bein$
founded in his being their Father, hov
Adam could haye a Natural Right to fo
Governour before he was a Father, b'
« x _ * i
which only he had that Right ,is, methink‘
hard to conceive unlefs he will have hin
to be a Father before he was a Father
and to have a Title before he had it.
** * 4 v *• -jf- -v -i <1 j \ ~ ^ * * ■* • > %. d x
.5 ■!:. V* “ * * •'
( *
a 1
. • r ■ ■'
• J 41'*
? 8 . 1 ;
H
v
( 25 )
i8. To this forefeen Objectionour A-
anfwers very logically, he was Governour in
Habit and notin A 3 : A very, pretty way of
being a Governour without Govern me nt,
a Father without Children, and a king
without Subjefts. And thus Sir Robt. was
an Author before he writ his Book, not
in slot Ms true, but in Habit , for when
lie had once Publiffc’d, it was due to him
by the Right oj Nature , to be an Author as
much as it was to Adam to be Governor of
his Children when he h?td btgot them 5
And if to be fuch a Alonarch of the Worlds
an abfolute Monarch in Habit but notin A 13
will ferve the turn: I fhould not much
envy it to any of Sir Robts. Friends that
he thought fit gracioufly to beftow it up¬
on, though even this of A 3 and Habit , if
it fignified any thing but our/!-’/ skill in de-
ftin&ions, be not to his purpofe in this
place} for the queftion is not here about
Adams aftual Exercife of Government,
but actually having a Title to be Gover¬
nour, Government fays our A- was due to
Adam by the Right of Nature, what is this
Right of Nature, a Right Fathers have
over their Children by begetting them,
Generatione jus acquiritur parentibus in li -
her os fays our A- out of Grotiusfd.12 5. The
right then follows the begetting as arifing
from it, fo that according to this way of
C 4 reafoning
( 24) •• r
reafoning or diftinguifhing of our A-,Adam
as foon as he was Created,had aTitle only
in Habit and not in which in plain Eng-
lilh is he had a&ually no Title at all.
19. To (peak left Learnedly and more
Intelligibly, one may fay of Adam he was
in a poflibihty of being Governour , fince
it was poffible he might beget Children
and thereby acquire that Right of Na¬
ture, be it what it will to govern them
that accrues from thence, but what Con¬
nexion this has With Adams Creation to
make him fay, that as foon as he was Crea¬
ted he was Monarch of the World 5 for it
may be as well faid of Noah , that as foon
as he was born he was Monarch of the
World, fince he was in poffibility 5 which
?n our A-s Senfe is enough to make a Mo¬
narch, a Monarch in Habit , to out live all
Mankind but his own Pofterity, I fay what
luch neceflary Connexion there is be¬
twixt Adams Creation and his Right to Go¬
vernment 5 fo that a Natural Freedom of
Mankind cannot be fnppos*d without the de¬
nial oj the Creation of Adam, I confeft for
my part I do not fee.Nor how thofe words
by the appointment , &c. O. 254* however
explain d,can be put together to make any
tollerable Senfe at leaft to Eftablifh this
Fofition, with which they end, viz. Adam
was a King from his Creation , a King fays
j - A
( *5 }
our A— not in /i& but in Habit j. e. actually
no King at all. ■ i
20. I fear I have tired my Readers Pa*
tience by dwelling longer on this paflage
then the weightinefs of any Argument
in it, feems to require: but I have una¬
voidably been ingag’d in it by our ji-s way
of Writing, who hudling feveral Suppofi-
tions together, and that in doubtful and
general terms makes fuch a medly and
confuflon, that it is iropoffible to fhew
his Miftakes without examining the fcve-
ral Senfes, wherein his Words may be
taken, and without feeing how in any of
thefe various Meanings, they will con¬
fix together , and have any Truth in
them^ for in this prefent paflage before us,
how can any one argue againfl: this Pofi-
tion of his, that jtfdant was a King front
his Creation , unlefsone examin whether the
Words front his Creation^ be to be taken as
they may for the time of the Commence¬
ment of his Government as the foregoing
Words import, as foon as he was Created he
teas Monarch , or for the caufe of it, as he
fays, p. 11. Creation made Man Prince of
his Pojierity. How farther can one judge of
the truth ofhis being thus King,till one has
examined whether King be to be taken, as
the words in the beginning of this paflage
would perfwade,on fuppofition ofhis P«-
- ■ - vate
*
(20
iMte Dominion , which was by Gods pofitiv<
Gra nt, Monarch o r the World by Appointment
or Kingon Supposition of his Fatherly Porvei
over his Off fpring which was b.y Nature
due by the Right of Nat re, whether I fay King
be to be taken in both, or one only ol
thele two Senfes or in neither of them,
but only this, that Creation made him
Prince in a way different from both the
others for though this aflertion,that Adam
rvas King from his Creation be true, in no
Senle yet it hands here as an evident
conclufion drawn from the preceding
words, though in truth it be but a bare
affertion joyn’d to ether affertions of the
fame kind, which confidently put toge¬
ther in words of undetermined and du¬
bious meaning, look like a fort of arguing,
when there is indeed neither Proof nor
Connexion : A way very familiar with our
^-ofwhich ha ving given theReader a tafte,
here, I (hall as much as the Argument will
permit me, avoid touching on hereafter,
and fhould not have done it here, were
it not to let the World fee how Incohe«
rences in Matter and Suppofitions, with-
out Proofs put handfbmly together in
good Words and a plaufible Stile, are apt
to pafs for ftrong Reafbn and good Senfe,
till they come to be look’d into with At¬
tention.
CHAP.
C 27 )
1
«
CHAP. IV.
% \
Of Adams Title to Sovereignty by Donation
1 Gen. 28.
? T - Li'Aving atlaft got through the
1 JL foregoing Paflage, where we
have been fo long detain’d, not by the
Force of Arguments and Oppofition, but
the intricacy of the words, and the •
doubtfulnefs of the meaning 5 let us go
on to his next Argument, for Adams So¬
vereignty our A- tells us in the words of
hit. Seiden , that Adam by (donation from
God, 1 Gen. ;8, was made the General
Lord of all tilings, not wit boat fuck a private
Dominion to himfelfi as -without his Grant
did exclude bis Children. This Determina-
tion of Mr.Selden,fat s our A-, is Conjoint
to the Hijiory of the Bible, and natural rea -
(on. O. 210. And in his Pref. to hi Ob.
on Jrijl.\ he fays thus} Thefirfl Government
in the If or Id was Monarchical in the Fa-
therofallflefh, Adam being Commanded to
Multiply and People the Earth, and to Sub -
due it, and having Dominion given him 0 -
nto * JJ A. - 1 . f 1 »° - _
Grant
(*3J
Grant or Permijfron, or by Succejfron from
him , the Earth , faith the Pfalmijl , hath he
given to the Children of Men , which frew the
Title comes from Fatherhood.
22. Before I examin this Argument,
and the Text on which it is founded, it
is neceflary to defire the Reader to ob-
ferve, that our A- according to his ufua!
Method,begins in one Senfe,and concludes
in another, he begins here with Adams
H Propriety,or Private Dominion , by Donati -
on, and his conclufion is, which Jhew the
Title comes from Fatherhood .
23. But let us fee the Argument, the
words of the Text are thefe 5 And God
Blejfed them , and God faid unto them , be
Fruitful and Multiply and Replenijh the
Earth end Subdue it> and have Dominion
over the Fiji] of the Sea , and over the Fowl
of the Air, and over every Living thing that
moveth upon the Earth , 1 Gen. 28. from
whence our A-concludes,*^# Adam having
here Dominion given him overall Creatures ,
was thereby the Monarch of the whole World j
whereby muft be meant, that either this
Grant of God, gave Adam Property, or as
our A' calls it, Private Dominion over the
Earth, and all inferior or irrational Crea¬
tures, and fo confequently, that he was
thereby Monarch , or 2° that it gave him
Rule and Dominion over all Earthly
Creatures
J
C *9 )
Creatures whatfoever, and thereby over
his Children, and lb he was Monarch $ for
as Mr. Selden has properly worded k,
Adam was made General Lord of all things ,
one may very clearly underftand him,that
he means nothing to be granted to A-
dam , here but Property, and therefore
he fays not one wotcI. of Adams Monarchy .
But our A- fays, Adam was hereby Monarch
of the World , which properly fpeaking,
ugnifies Sovereign Ruler of all the Men in
the World, and fo Adam by this Grant,
muft be conftituted filch a Ruler.lfour A-
means otherwife, he might with much
clearnefs, have faid, that Adam was here¬
by Proprietor of the whole World. But he
begs your Pardon in that Point, clear,
deftinft Speaking,not ferving every where
to his purpofe, you muft not expett it in
him, as in Mr. Selden , or other (uch
Writers.
24. In oppofition therefore to our A—s
Dofrrin, that Adam was Monarch of the
whole World , founded on this Place, 1 (hall
(hew. ;
i°. That by this Grant, iGen. 28.
God gave no immediate Power to Adam
over men, over his Children, over thole
of his own Species, and fo he was not
made Ruler, or Monarch by this Char¬
ter.
25. That
, ( 3 ° )
a’. That by this Grant, God gave h ini
not Private Dominion, over the inferior
Creatures, but rio;bt in common with all
Mankind, fb neither was he Monarch, upon
the account of the Property here given
J o III-l u
25. i. That this Donation, 1 Gen. 28.
gave Power over Men, will ap¬
pear if we confider the words of it. For
fince all Positive Grants, convey no more
then the Exprefs words, they are made
in, will carry, let us fee which of them
here will comprehend Mankind,or Mams
Pofterity,and thofe I imagin, if any, muff
be thefe, every living thing that moveth , the
Words in the Hebrew are , niSD-in run i. e,
Befliam Reptantem , of which words, the
Scripture it felf, is the beft Interpreter,
Goa having Created the Fifhes and Fowls
the 5 th day, the beginning of the 6 th ,
he creates the Irrational Inhabitants of
the dry Land, which Per. 24 th are defcri-
bed in thefe words, let the Earth bring
forth the living Creature after his kind 5 Cat*
tel and Creeping things , and Beafls of the
Earth , after has kind , and ver. 2. and God
made the Beafls of the Earth after his kind ,
and Cattel after their kind •, and every thing
thatCreepeth on the Earth, after his kinds,
Here in the Creation of the Brute Inhabi¬
tants of the Earth, he firft (peaks of them
(50
all under one general Name, of Living
Creatures , and then afterwards, divides
them into three Ranks, i°. Cattel, orfuch
Creatures as were or might be tame, and
lb be the Private Pofleflion of Particular
Men 2°. non which ver. 24 and 2 5 in onr
Bible, is Tranllated Beafls , and by the
Septuagint , Wild Beafls , and is the
lame word, that here in our Text, ver.
28. where we have this Great Charter to
sfdam, is Tranflated Living thing, and is
alfo the fame Word ufed, Gen. 9. 2. where
this Grant is renew’d to Noah, and there
likewife Tranflated Beaji, 3 0 . The third
Rank were the Creeping Animals, which
ver. 24 and 2 5 are compriled under the
word, mrann, the lame that is ufed here
ver. 28* and is Tranflated, moving but in
the former Verles Creeping , and by the
Septuagint in all thele places, I?*-***', or
Reptils 5 from whence it appears that the
words, which W’e Tranflate here in Gods
Donation, ver. 2 8. Living Creatures moving ,
are the fame which in the Hiftory of the
Creation, ver. 24, 25. fignifietwo Ranks
of Terreftrial Creatures, viz. Wild Beafls
and Reptils , and are fo underftood by the
Septuagint.
26. When God had made the Irrati¬
onal Animals of the World, divided into
three kinds, from the places of their Ha-
• bitation^
... • ( 90 ■ \ Jj
bitation, viz* Fifties of the Sea , Fowls of the
stir , and Living Creatures of the Earth,
and thele again into Cat tel, Wild Beafis
and Reptils, he confiders of making Man,
and the Dominion he Ihould have over
the Terreftrial World, ver. 2 6 . and then
he reckons up the Inhabitants of thefe
three Kingdoms 5 but in the Terreftrial,
leaves out the fecond Rank rrn, or Wild
Beafts, but here ver. 28. where he actu¬
ally executes this defign, and gives him
this Dominion the Text mentions ; the
Fifties of the Sea and Fowls of the Air , and
the Terreflial Creatures in the words that
fignifie the Wild Beafis and Reptils, though
TranOated Living thing , that moveth ,
leaving out Cattel. In both which places
though the word that fignifies VFild Beafis .
be omitted in one, and that which figni¬
fies Cattel in the other, yet fince God cer¬
tainly executed in one place what he de¬
clares he defigned in the other, we can¬
not but underftand the lame in both
places,and have here only an account,how
the Terreftrial irrational Animals, which
were already created and reckon’d up at
their Creation, in three diftinft Ranks of
Cattel, Wild Beafis and Reptils were here,
ver. 28. a&ually put under the Domini¬
on ofMan, as they were defigned O. 2 6;
nor do thefe words contain in them, the
kaft
*. '. ( 33 )
leaft appearance of any thing that can be
wrefted, to fignifie God’s giving one Mari
Dominion over another, Adam over his
Pofterity. .
27. And this further appears from Gen.
9. 2. where God renewing this Charter
to Noah and his Sons, he gives them Do¬
minion over the Fowls of the sfir, and the
Ftjhes oj the Sea , and the Jerreflrial Crea¬
tures, exprelled by JVn and Wild
Beafts and Reptils, the lame w ords that
intheText Before us 1 Gen. 28. are Tran-
Qated (very moving thing , that moveth on
the Earth , which by no means can compre-
lend Man,the Grant being made to Noah
tnd his Sons, all the Men then living, and
tot to one part of Men over another, which
s yet more evident from the very next
vords ver. 3. where God gives every
very moving thing , the very words uled
M. 1. 28. to them for Food. By all
vhichit is plain, that Gods Donation to
4 dam y Cha. 1. 28. and his defignation,
t,i 6 . and his Grant again to Noah and
lis Sons, refer to, and contain in them,
leither more nor Ids, then the works of
he Creation the 5 th day, and the Begin-
ling of the 6 th , as they are let down
rom 20 th, to 2 6 th, ver. inclufively of
he iji. Ch. and fo comprehend all the
pecies of irrational Animals of the Tera-
U queous -
( 34 )
queeni Globe , though all the woTds where¬
by they are expfeffed imthe Hiftory of
their Creation, are no where ufed many
of the following Grants, but (brae of
them omitted in one , and (ome in ano¬
ther, from whence I think it is pad all
doubt, that Man cannot be comprehended
in this Grant, nor any Dominion over
thofe of his own Species be convey’d to
Mam. All the Terreftrial irrational Crea¬
tures are enumerated at their Creation,
ver. 2$. under the Names, Beajls of the
Earth , Cattel and Creeping things , but Man
being not then Created, was not con¬
tain’d under any of thole Names, aneffl
therefore whether we underhand the
Hebrew words right or no, they cannot
be fuppofed to comprehend Man in the
very (ame Hiftory, and the very next
Verfes following, efpecially fince that
Hebrew word, which if any in this
Donation to Adam , Cha. 1. 28. muft
comprehend Man, is (o plainly ufed in
contradiftindtion to him, as Gen. 6. 20.
y. -14. 21. 23. Gen. 8. 17, 19. And if
God made all ManKind (laves to Adam
and his Heirs, by giving Adam Dominion
over every Living thing , that moveth on the
EarthyChap. i.28.as our A- would have it,
me thinks Sr. Rob. (hould have carried his
Monarchical Power one hep higher, and
fatisfied
t
’ c 35 y
'atisfied the World, that Princes might
live eat their Subjefts too,fince God gave
is full Power to Noah and his Heirs, Cha.
?. 2. to eat every Laving thing that moveth,
is he did to Adam, to have Dominion
>ver them, the Hebrew words in both
>lace being the fame.
28. David, who'might be fuppofed to
inderftand the Donation of God in this
ext, arid the right of Kings too, as well
sour A- in his Comment on this place, as
le Learned and Judicious sfinfworth calls
jb in the 8 th Pjalm, finds here no fuch
charter of Monarchical Power, his words
re, Thou hafl wade hint, i. e. Man the Son
f Man , a little lower then the AngeU, thou
'adejl hint to have Dominion over the works
( thy hands, thou hafl put all 1 hmgs under his
ett , all Sheep and Oxen and the Bead s of the
'ield,and the. Fowl of the Air, and Fifh oj'thc
'a, and whatjoever paffeth through the Paths
the Sea. In which words, if any one can
td out that there is meant any Monar-
licai Povver of one Man over another,
tt only the Dominion of the whole
ecies of Mankind, over the inferior
’ecies of Creatures, he may for ought f
low, deferve to be one of Sr. Rob. Afo-
rchsin habit for the rarenefs of thedifco-
ry. And by this time,I hope it is evident,
it he that ga v^Dontmion over every Living
/ v . . D 2 thing
(30
thing., that rnoveth on the Earth, gave Adam
no Monarchical Power over thofe of his
own Species, which will yet appear more
fully in the next thing l am to fhew.
29. 2°. Whatever God gave by the
words of this Grant, 1 Gen. 7 8. It wa:
not to Adam in particular, exciufive of al.
other Men, whatever Dominion he hac
thereby, it was not a Private Dominion
but a Dominion in common, with the ref
of Mankind. That this Donation wa
not made in particular to Adam , appear
evidently from the words of the Text, i
being made to more then one, for it wa
fpoken in the Plural Number, God bid
fed them, and faid unto them , have Do
minion, God lavs unto Adam and Ev>
have Dominion,*/*™^ fays our A-Adam m
Monarch of the World , but the Grant be
ing to them, /. e. fpoke to Eve alfo, a
many interpreters think with reafon, tha
thele words were not fpoken till Ada)
had his Wife, rauft not fhe thereby b
Lady, as well as he Lord of the World
If it be faid that Eve was fubje&ed to t
dam , it feeras fhe was not fo to him, as t
hinder her Dominion over the Creature
or Property in them, for (hall we fay tht
God ever made a joynt Grant to
and one only was to have the benehtf
it. _
30. Bi
' ( 37 ;)
30.But perhaps’twill be faid Eve was not
nade till afterward 5 grant it fo, what ad.
vantage will our / 4 - get by it,the Text will
>e only the more direftly againft him, and
hew that God in this Donation, gave the
Vorld to Mankind in common, and not
o Adam in particular. The word Them
n the Text muft include the Species of
4an, for ’tis certain Them can by no
leans fignify Adam alone.In the 2 6th Verfe
vhere God declares his intention to give
his Dominion, it is plain he meant, that
e would make a Species of Creatures,
hat Ihould have Dominion over the other
pecies of this Terreftrial Globe, the
/ords are, and God Jaid let us make Man
t our Image after our Likenefs , and let them
ave Dominion over the Fijh , Sec. They then
rere to have Dominion. Who } even
io(e who were to have the Image of God,
he Individuals of that Species of Man that
e was going to make,for that Them(hou\d
gnifie /4dam fingly, exclufive of the reft,
hat Ihould be in the World with him, is
gainft both Scripture and all tleafon :
md it cannot poflibly be made Senle, if
Aan in the former part of the Verfe do
ot fignifie the fame with Them in the
itter,only Man there, as is ufaal, is taken
ir the Species , and them thi individuals
f thatSpceies, and we hare a Heafoit in
I .-Of D d the
( 33 )
the very Text 5 for God makes him in his
own Image after his own Likenefs , makes him
an inrelle&ual Creature and fo capable of
Dominion } for wherein foever elfe the I-
mage of God confifted, the Intellectual
Nature was certainly a part of it, and
belong’d to the whole Species,and enabled
them to have Dominion over the Inferior
Creatures, and therefore David fays in
the 8 th Pfalm above cited, thou haft made
him little lower then the Angels, thou halt
made him to have Dominion , Vis not of
Adam King David fpeaks here, for Verfi
4. ’tis plain, ’tis of Man and the Son of
Man , of the Species of Mankind.
31* And that this Grant fpoken to At
dam was made to him, and the whole-Spe-
cies of Man,is clear from our As own Proofl
out of the Pfalmijl. The Earth , faith the
Pfalmift, hath he given to the Children of
Men , which /hews the Title comes from Fa -
thernood , thefe are Sir Robts. words in the
Preface before cited, and a ftrange Infe¬
rence it is he makes, God hath given the
Earth to the Children of Men 7 ergo the Title
comes from Fatherhood. ’Tis pi tty the Pro¬
priety of the Hebrew Tongue had not uled
Fathers of Men inftead of Children of Men ,
to exprefs Mankind, then indeed our
might have had the Countenance of the
Soigad of the V/ordSjto have placedthe Title
fj C 39) •
in the Fatherhood 3 but to conclude that the
Fatherhood had the Right to the Earth,
becaule God gave it to the Children of Men
is a way of arguing peculiar to our A — and
a Man muft have a great mind to go
contrary to the Sound as well as Sente ol
the Words, before he could light onit$
But the Sente is yet harder and more re¬
mote from cur A-s purpote: for as it hands
in his Preface, it is to prove Adams being
Monarch, and his reasoning i> thus, God
gave the Earth to the Children of Men , ergo
Adam was Monarch of the World , I defie
any Man to make a more pleafant Con¬
clusion then this, which cannot be excuted
from the mod obvious Abfurdity, till it
can be Ihewn that by Children of Men , he
who had no Father Adam alone is fignified,
but whatever our A— does the Scripture
fpeaks not Nontente.
32. To maintain this Property and Pri¬
vate Dominion of Adam,our d— labours in
the following page to defiroy the Com¬
munity granted to Noah and his Sons in
that parallel place, 9 Gen. 1,2,3. and he
endeavours to do it two ways. ' *
i o . Sir Robt. would perfvvadeusagamft
the exprefs words of the Scripture, that
what was here granted to Noah was not
granted to his Sons in Common with him 3
His words are. As for the general Comma-
& ' P 4 nit /
' f4°y
nity between Noah and his Sant,which Afc.Set-
den mill have to be granted r<> them , 9 Gen. 2.
the Text doth not warrant it, what warrant
our A- would have when the plain exprefs
words of Scripture, not capable of another
meaning, will not lathfie him,who pretends
to build wholly on Scripture is not eafy to i-
magine.The Text lays ,God Bleffed Noah and
his $ons,&Jaid unto themy e.as our d-would
have it unto him, for faith he, although the
Sons are there mentioned with Noah in the
Blejjing , yet it may be[l be underflood, with
a Subordination or Benediction in Succefjion ,
O.21 i.That indeed is befl, for our A- to be
underftood, which.beft ferves to his pur*
pole, but that truly may bcfl be underflood
by any body elle, which beft agrees with
the plain conftru&ion of the words,- nndu
ariles from the obvious meaning of the
place, and then with Subordination and in
Succejfion, will not be befl underflood, in a
Grant of God, where he himlelf put them
not, nor mentions any fuch Limitation.
But yet, our A— has reafons, why it may
befi be underflood fo. The Blejjing , fays he, in
the following words,might truly be fulfilled,
if the Sons either under or after their Father ,
enjoy'd a Private Dominion , 0. 211. which
is to lay,that a Grant whole exprels words
give a joynt Title in prelent} for the Text
fays into your hands they are delivered,
ft ' • k* * ,
m
1
('.40
nay befl be under flood with a Subordination or
n Succejfion, becaufe ’tis poffiblp, that in
Subordination , or Succejfion it may be en¬
joy’d, which is all one as to fay, that a
Grant of anything in prefent rofleffion,
may befl be underflood of reverfion j becaule
’tis poffible one may live to enjoy it in re¬
verfion. If the Grant be indeed to a Fa¬
ther and his Sons, who is fo kind as to let
his Children enjoy it prefently in com¬
mon with him, one may truly fay as to the
event, one will be as good as the other 5
but it can never be true, that what the
exprefs Words grants in pofTeffion and in
common, may befl be under flood , to be in
reverfion. The fumm of all his reafoning
amounts to this. God did not give to the
Sons of Noah, the World in common with
their Father, becaufe ’tvvas poffible they
might enjoy it under, or after him,a very
good fort of Argument, againft an exprefi
Text of Scripture But God muff not be
believed, though he fpeaks it himfelf,
when he fays he does any thing, which
will not confift with Sr. Robfs. Hypothe¬
cs.
3 3.For ’tis plain, however he would ex¬
clude them, That part of this Benediction ,
as he would have it in Succeffionywufo needs
be meant to the Sons, and not to Noah
himfelf at all, Be Fruitful and Multiply and
Replenifh
/
( 42 J
Replenifh the Earth , fays God, in this Blefi
fing, this part of the Benedi&ion as ap¬
pears by the fequel concerned not Noah
himfelf at all y for we read not of any
Children he had after the Flood, and in
the following Chapter, where his Pofteri-
ty is reckon’d up, there is no mention of
any, and fo this Benediction in Succejjion,
was not to take place, till 350 Years after,
and to fave our A~-s imaginary Monarchy ,
the Peopleingof the World,muft bedefer’d
350 Years 5 for this part of the Benediction
cannot be underftood with Subordination,
unlefs our A - will fay, that they rauft asl$
leave of their Father Noah, to lye with their
Wives.But in this one point our A- is con-
ftant to himfelf in all his Dilcourfes, he
takes only care there fhould be Monarchs
in the World, but very little that there
fhould be People, and indeed his way of
Government is not the way to People
the World 5 For how much Abfolute
Monarchy helps to fulfil this great and
primary Bleffing of God Almighty , be
Fruitful and Multiply and Replenijh the
Earth, which contains in it the improve¬
ment too of Arts and Sienccs, and the
conveniences of Life, may be feen in thofe
large and rich Countries, which are hap¬
py under the TurkifJj Government, where
are not now to be found ?, nay in many,
\ . t v *
( 43 )
f not tnoft parts of them | 3 , perhaps I
night (ay not of the People, that were
ormerly, as will eafily appear to any one,
■vho will compare the Accounts we have
)f it at this time, with Ancient Hiftory,
3Ur this by the by.
34. The other Parts of this Benediction
)r Grant, are fo expreffed that they muft
aecds be underftjod, to belong to Noahs
lions, not with a Subordination or in Succef-
r ton , but as far forth and equally as to Noah
himftlf. The fear of you, and the dread of you,
lays Gcd, fhall be upon every Bcafi, &c.
Will any Body, but our A- (ay’ that the
Creatures feared and hood in awe of
Noah only, and not of his Sons without
hisleave, or till after his death 5 And the
following words into your hands they are
delivered , are they to be underftood as
our A - (ays,if your Father pleafe, or they
(hall be deliver’d into your hands hereafter,
(fthis be to argue from Scripture, I know
not what may not be proved by it, and I
can (carce fee how much this differs from
that hid ion and Phanfy, or how much
a hirer Foundation it will prove then
the Opinions of Philojbphers and Poets,
which cor A— fo much condemns in his
Preface.
3 5 - But
C 44 )
35. But our A- goes on to prove that if
may. be ft be under flood with a Subordination
or a Benediction in Succejjion , for. favs lie,
it is not probable that the private Dominion
which God gave to Adam, and by his Do- '■
nation , A [fig nation or Cejjlon to his Children ,
was Abrogated , and a Community of all things
inftituted between Noah and his Sons. -•
Noah was left the foie Heir of the fVirld^
why fho’dd it be thought that God would dif-
inherit him of his Birth right, and make
him of all Men in the World the only Tenant
in Common with’his Children, O. 2. II.
36. The Prejudices of our own ill
grounded Opinions, however by us cal¬
led Probable, cannot Authorize us to under-
ftand Scripture contrary to the direct and
plain meaning of the Words $ I grant, ’tis
not probable that Adams private Domini¬
on was here Abrogated-, becaufe it is more
then improbable, for it will ever be
proved that ever Adam had any fuch Pri-
vate Dominion : and fince parallel places
of Scripture are mod probable to make
us know, how they maybe befl under flood,
there needs but the comparing this Blefling
here to Noah and his Sons after the Floud,
with that to Adam after the Creation,
1 Gen. 28 . to aflure any one that God
gave Adam no fuch Private Dominion. ’Tis
Probable, I confefs, that Noah (hould have
•« . C 45 )
:he fame Title, the fame Property and
Dominion after the Floud, that Adam had
before it. But fince Private Dominion
cannot confift with the Bleffing and Grant
God gave to him and his Sons in Common,
’tis a fufficient Reafon to conclude that
Adam had none, efpecially fince in the
Donation made to him, there is no words
that exprefs it, or do in the haft favour iti
And then let my Reader Judge whether
it may beji be underfiood , when in the. one
place there is not one word for it, not to
fay, what has been above proved, that
that Text it feIf proves the contrary, and
in the other, the Words and Senfe are
direftly againft it.
97 .But our A fays ^Noah was the foie Heir
of the World,why fhould it be thought that God
would dijinherit him of his Birtb-right-Heir ,
indeed in England fignifies the Eldeft
Son, who is by the Law of England to
have all his Fathers Land, but where God
ever appointed anyfuch Heir of the Worlds
our A — would have done well to have
fhewed us, and how God difinherited him of
his Birth right , or what harm was done
him if God gave his Sons a Right to make
ufe of a part of the Earth for the fupport
of themfelves and Families, when the
whole was not only more then Noah him-
fclf, but infinitely more then they all
could
C 40 .
could make ufe of, and the PofTeflions of
one could not at all Prejudice,or as to any
ufe (heighten that of the other. **
g 8. Our A - probably forefeeing he might
not be very fuccefsful in perfwading People
out of their Senfes, and fay what he could,
Men would be apt to believe the plaint
words of Scripture,and think as; they fa w,
that the Grant was fpoken to Noah and his
Sons joyntly.He comes, 2o to infinuate as if
this grant to Noth, conveyed no Property,,
no Dominion 5 becaufe Subduing, the Earth
and Domthion over the Creatures are therein
omitted,nor the Earth once named. And there¬
fore, fays he, there is a conftderable difference
between the/e two Texts, the firjl bleffmg gai e
Adam a Dominion over the Earth and all Crea-
tores, the latter allows Noah Liberty to ufe the
Living Creatures for Food , here is no altera¬
tion or diminifying of his Title, to a Proper•
ty of all things, but an Enlargment only of his
Commons f) 2 f 1. fb that in our As Senfe,
all that was faid here to Noah and his Sons,
gave them no Dominion, no Property,
but only Enlarged th e Commons- their Com¬
mons , I fhould fay fince, God fays, to yon
are they given, though our A- fay* his for as
for Noahs Sons,they it feems by Sr. Robps.
appointment during their Fathers Life ]!
time, were to keep Falling days. }
,39.Any one but our ^-would be migh- ' |
tily fufpe£fod,to be blinded with Prejud ice,
• that I
f 47 )
hat in al! this Blefling. to Noah and his
ons, could fee nothing but only an En-
irgment of Commons.For as to Dominion
/hich our A »thinks omitted, the fear of you
nd the dread of you, fays God, fta.ll be upon
very Beafl, which I fuppofe, exprefles the
dominion, or Superiority was defigned
-lan over the living Creatures, as fully as
iay be, for in that fear and dread, feems
heifly to confift what was given to Adam ,
ver the inferior Animals, who as Abfo-
ate a Monarch as he was, could not make
•old with a Lark or a Rabbit to fathfie
is hunger, and had the Herbs but in
ommon with the Beafts, as is plain from
. Gen. 2.9. and go. In the next place, ’tis
nanifeft that in this Blelling to Noah and
is Sons, Property is not only given in
lear words, but in a larger extent then it
/as to sfdam.Intoyour hands they are given,
tys God, to Noah and his Sorts, which
/ords if they give not Property, nay Pro-
erty in Poffetiion, 'twill be hard to find
fords that can, fince there is not a way to:
xprefs a Mans being pofTeffed of any
(ling more Natural,nor more certain then
o fay, it is delivered into his hands. And
erfe g d to fhew that they had then given
aem theutmoft Property Man is capable
f, which is to have a right to deftroy
ny thing by ufing it, every moving thing
'< ■ . , , that
C 4S )
that Livelh, faith God, fhall be Meat fit
/0«,which was not allowed to Adam in hi;
Charter, f his our A- calls a Liberty ofufing
themjor Food, and only an Enlarpment o
Commons, but no alteration of Property, O
211. What other Property Man can have
in the Creatures, but the Liberty of ufing
them , is hard to be underflood. So that
if the firft Biefftng as our 4 -fays, gave Adam
Dominion over the Creatures , and theBief
ling to jyoah and his Sons gave them fitch
a Liberty to ufe them , as Adam had not j ill
muff needs give them fomething that Adam
withal! his Sovereignty, wanted fome-
thing that one would be apt to take for a
greater Property 5 for certainly he has no
Abfblute Dominion over even the Brutal
Part of the Creatures, and the t
he has in them, is very narrow and fcanty,
who cannot make that ufe of them, which
is permitted to another 5 fhould any one,
who is Abfblute Lord of a Country, have
bidden our A-Subdue the Earth, and given
him Dominion over the Creatures in it,
but not have permitted him to have taken
a Kid or a Lamb out of the flock, to fatis-
fie his hunger, I guefs,he would fcarcehave
thought himfelf Lord or Proprietor <
that Land, or the Gattel on it, but wouL
have found the difference between having
Dominion-^ which a Shepherd may have,
anc
(49)
md having full Property as an owner, Co
:hat had it been his own Cafe, Sr. Rob.
; believe would have thought here was an
Alteration, nay an Enlarging of Property,
ind that Noah and his Children had by this
3rant, not only Property given them,
)Ut fiach a Property given them in the
Creatures,as Adam had not,for however in
efpeft of one another,Men may be allow-
d to have Propriety in their diftin make ufe of them.
40.Thus we have examined our^x Ar-
ament for Adams Monarchy , founded on
eBleffing Pronounced,! G*w.28.Where~
I think kisimpoffible for any fober Rea-
;r,to find anyelfebut thefetting of Man- a
i. E kind
- ^
C 5° )
kind above ti e other kinds of Creatures,
in this habitable Earth of ours. ’Tis no¬
thing but* the giving to man, the whole
Species of man, as the chief inhabitant,
who is the Image of his Maker, the Do¬
minion over the other Creatures, This
lies fb obvious in the plain words, that any
one but our would have thought it ne-
ceffary to have {hewn, how thefe words
that feem’d to fay the quite centra ty,
gave Adam Monarchical Ahfolute Power
over other Men, or the Sole Propriety in
all the Creatures, and me thinks in a bufi-
nefs of this moment, and that whereon
he Builds a 1 that follows, he thould have
done fbsrething more then barely cite
words which apparently make againft
him, For, 1 confi-fis 1 cannot fee any thing
in them, tending to Adams Monarchy .
or Private Dominion , but quite the con¬
trary. And I the left deplore the dulnefi
of my apprehehfion herein, Cnee I find
the ApofUe teems to have as little notior
of any fuch Private Dominion of Adam as
I, when he fays, Gcd gives ns all thingi
richly to enjoy , which he could not do.
if it were all given away already, to Mo¬
narch Adam , and the Monarchs his Heirs
and Succtflors. To conclude, this Text
is (o far from proving Adam Sole Proprie¬
tor, that on the contrary , it is a con*
firmatioE
I.fp (51)
firmationof the Original Community of
all things amongft the Sons of Men, which
af pearing from this Donation of Cb as
wellas other places of Scripture, the Sove¬
reignty of /}dam t built upon hi-; Private
Domini on > moft fall, not having any Foun¬
dation to fupport it.
41. But yet if after all, any one will
Meeds have it (b f that by thi> Donation
of God Adam was trade foie Proprietor
of t- e whole Earth, what will this be to
his Sovereignty, and how will it appear
that Propriety in Land gives a Man Power
over the Life of another, of how will the
PofFeffi jn even of the whole Earth give
any one a Sovereign Arbitrary Authority
DVer the Perfons of Men 3 The moft fpe-
:ious thing to be Paid, is$ that he that is
Proprietor of the whole World may deny
ill the reft of Mankind Food, and fo at his
Pleafure ftarve them, if they will not ac¬
knowledge his Sovereignty and obey his
iVill. If this were true, it would be a
?ood Argument to prove that there was
lever any fuch Property , that God never
jave any fuch Private Dominion, (Pice it
s more reafonable to think that God w ho
>id Mankind increafe and rrtultiply,fhou!d
ather himfelf give them all a Right to
flake ufe of i he Food and Raiment and
Hher Conveniences of Life, the Materials
lj E 3 thereof
C 52 )
whereof , he bad fo plentifully provided
for them, tben to make them depend!
upon the W ill of a Man for their Sub¬
fill ance,who fhould have Power to deftroy
them all when he pleafed, and who being
no better then other Men, was in Succeflion
likelyer by want and the dependance of a
fcanty Fortune, to tye them to hard Ser¬
vice then by liberal Allowance of the
Conveniences of Life promote the great
Defign of God, Increafe and Multiply, he
that doubts this, let him look into the Ab-
folute Monarchies of the World, and fee
what becomes ot the Conveniences ol
Life and the Multitudes of People.
42. But we know God hath not left one
Man fo to the Mercy of another, tha|
he may ftarve him if he pleafe, God the
Lord and Father of all has given no one
of his Children fuch a Property in hi
peculiar Portion of the things of this
World, but that he has given his need)
Brother a Pught in the Surpluflage of hi:
Goods, fo that it cannot jullly be denyed
him when his preffing wants call for it
And therefore no Man could ever have £
juft Power over the Life of another bj
Right of Property in Land or Poffefiions
fince’twould always be a Sin in any Mar
of Eftate to let his Brother perilh for wan
of affording him Relief out of his Plenty®!
( 53 )
For as Juflke gives every Man a Title to
the produftof his honeft Induftry, and
the fair Acquifitions of his Anceftors def-
:ended to him, fo Charity gives every
Man a Title to fo much out of anothers
Plenty as will keep him from extream
vant, where he has no means to Hibfjft
Jtherwife, And a Man can no more jutt-
y make ufe of anothers necefTity, to
orce him to become his Vaffal by with-
lolding that Relief, God requires hitn to
ifford to the wants of his Brother, then
le that has more ftrength can feize upon
i weaker, matter him to his Obedience,
md with a Dagger at his Throat offer
iim Death or Slavery.
43. Should any one makefo perverfe an
ife of Gods Blettings powred on him with
liberal Hand, fhould any one be Cruel
nd Uncharitable to that extremity, yet
11 this would not prove that Propriety in
,and, even in this Cafe, gave any Autho-
ity over the Perfons of Men, but only
hat Compact might 5 fince the Authority
»f the Rich Proprietor and the Subje&ion
>f the Needy Beggar began not from the
’ofleffion of the Lord, but the Confent
>f the poor Man who prefer’d being his
ubjeft to ftarving. And the Man he thus
jbmits to, can pretend to no more Power
ver him then he has confented to, upon
E 3 Compaf^
C 54 )
Compafr, upon this ground a Mans having
his Stores filled in a time of Scarcity,
having Money in his Pocket, being in a
Veflel at Sea, being able to Swim, drc.
may as well be the Foundation of Buie
and Dominion, as being PofPlTor of all
the Land in the World, any of thefe
being fufficient to enable me to fave a
Mans Life who would periihif fuch /f-
fiftanee were denyed him ^ And any thing
by this Rule that may be an occafion of
working upon anothers necefiity to fave
his Life cr any thing dear to him, at the
rate of his Freedom may be made a Foun¬
dation of Sovereignty as well as Proper¬
ty ; From all which it is clear that tho
God fhould have given Adam Private Do¬
minion, yet that Private Dominion could
give him no Sovereignty But we have al¬
ready fufficiently proved that God gave
him n o Private Dominion,
CHAP.
.. -
C 55 )
f'l f . ' t > s ' wH ff * /* Ml ' r- \ ; F
' * t » 4 ♦ ' * l X *
1? " M t V - -fcD f V 3 » v i \ ’ t; ..V.
’ • ' ' ’ " V-- " /
'
' ' CHAP. v.
j’V * * Tj f i \i , H ) ' v , «k .'Y f I
0 / Adams Title to Sovereignty by the Sub¬
jection of Eve.
■ *. T . * 4 '
44 *T^ C next place of Scripture we
I find our 4 -Build his Vnmarchy of
Adam on is 3.G en.'iS.And thy clejire jhallbe
to thy Husband, and he Ihall rule over thee.
Here we have (fays he ) the Original Grant
cf Government , from whence he concludes,
in the following patt of the Page 0 . 244.
that the S pream Power is fetled in the Father¬
hood, and limited to one kind of Govern¬
ment, that is to Monarchy 5 For let his
premiles be what they wi'l, this is always
the conclufion, let but Rule in any Text,
be but once named, and prefently Abfolate
Monarchy is by Divine Right F-ftablifn d,
ifany one will but carefully Read our A—s
own realbning from thele Words, O. 244*
and confider among other things, the
Fine and Poflerity of Adam , as he there
brings them in, he will find lome difficul¬
ty, to make Serle of what he fays, But
we will allow this at prelent, to his pecu¬
liar way of Writing, and confider the
E 4 force
1
C 56 )
Force of the Text in hand. The words
are the Curie of God upon the Woman,
for having been the flirt: and forwarded
in the Difobedience, and if we will con-
fider the occaflon of what God fays here
to our firft Parents, that he was Denopns
cing Judgment, and declaring his Wrath
agaioft them both, for their Difobedience,
we cannot fuppofe that this was the time,
wherein God was granting sldam Prero¬
gatives and Pfiviledges , inverting’ him
with Dignity and Authority, Elevating
him to Dominion and Monarchy 5 For
though as a helper in the Temptation,
as well as a Partner in the Tranfgreffion,
Eve was laid below him, and fo he had
accidentally a Superiority over her, for
her greater Punifhmene, yet he too had
his (hare in the fall, as well as the fin, and
was laid lower, as may be feen in the fol¬
lowing Verfes, and’twould be hard to i-
magin that God in the fame Breath, fhould
make him Univerfal Monarch over all
Mankind, and a day labourer for his Life.
Turn him out of Paradiccjo till the Ground
ver. 23. and at the fame time, advance
him to a Throne, and all the Priviledges
and Eafe ofAbfolute Power.
45. This was not a time, when Adam
could expert any Favours, any Grant off
Priviledges from his offended Maker. If
’"*' f * •' ‘this
* <
IT. p£ ■ c 57 )
his be the Original Grant of Government, as
tur A — tells us,and Adam was now made
Monarch, whatever Sr. Rob. would have
rim,’tis plain, God made him but a very
)oor Monarch,fuch an one,as our^-himfelf
.vould have counted it no great Priviledge
o be,God fets him to work for his living,
ind deems rather to give him a Spade int9
\ishand, to Subdue the Earth, then a
Scepter to Rule over its Inhabitants. In the
‘Sweat of thy Face , thon /halt eat thy Bread ,
'ays God to him ver. 19. This was unavoi¬
dable, may it perhaps be anlwered, be-
caufe he was yet without Subjects, and
iad no Body to work for him, but after¬
wards living as he did above 900 Years,
le might have People enough, whom he
night command to work for him 5 no lays
God, not only whijft thou art without o-
cher help, fave thy Wife, but as long as
thou liveft, (halt thou live by thy Labour.
In the Sweat of thy Face, /halt thon eat thy
Dread, till thou return unto the Ground, for
out of it wafl thou taken, for du/l thou art ,
and unto du/l /halt thou return, v. 19. It
will perhaps be anfwered again, in Favour
of our A—, that thele Words are not
fpoken Perlonally to Adam, but in him,
as their Reprefentative to all Mankind, this
being a Curie upon Mankind, becaule of
the fall.
\ * 4 6. God
c 58;
4$.God,T believe.[peaks differently fror
Men , becaufe he fpeaks with more Truth
more Certainty ..but when he vouchfi£s,tr
(peak to Men ; I do not think, he (peak
differently from them, in eroding tht
Rules of Language, in ufe amongft them
this would not be to condelcend to theii
Capacicic-s, when he humbles himf If tc!
fpeak to them, but to loofe his d fign irj
fjpeaking, what thus fpoken, they could
not underhand. And yet thus muft wt
think of God,if the Interpretations ofS rip-
ture,neceffary to maintain our As Doitrin,
muff be received for good 5 For by the
ordinary Rules of Language, it will be
very hard to underhand what God (ays 5
if what he fpeaks here, in the Singular
Number to Adam muft be uoderftood
to be fpoken to all Mankind, and what
he fays in the Plural Number, 1 Gen. 16.
and 28. muft be underftood of Adam
alone, exclufive of all others, and what
he fays to Noah and his Sons Joyntly,
muft be underftood to be meant to Noah
alone, Gen 9.
47. Farther it is to be noted, that thefe
wordshere of 3 Ge«.i6.which our^- calls
the Original Grant of Government were hot
fpoken to Adam , neither indeed was
there any Granc in them made to Adam, j
but a punifhtnent laid upon Eve , and if 1
we
C 59 )
ve will take them as they were direfted
n particular to her, or in her, as a repre*
cnrative to all other Women, they will
it mod: concern the Female Sex only, and
rrport no more but that fubjedfion they
he u!d ordinarily be in to their Husbands,
jut there i« here no more Law to oblige
i Woman to fuch a Subjeftion, if the
Circuuiftances either of her Condition or
Com raft with her Husband fhould exempt
aer from it, then there is that file fhould
bring forth her Children in Sorrow and
Pain, if there could be found a Remedy
for it, which is ah'b a part of the fame
Curfe neon her, for the whole Verfe runs
thus, unto the If ornan he [aid, I will greatly
M Itiply thy /arrow and thy conception 5 In
forrow thou flail bring f rth Children . and thy
defire fhall be to thy Husband, and he Jhall
rule over thee, ’f would I think have been
a hard matter for any Body, but our A —
to have found out a Grant of Monarchical
Government to Adam in thefe Words,
which were neither fpoke tb, nor of him,
neither will any one, I fuppofe, by thefe
Words, think the weaker Sex, as by a Law
ib Subje&ed to the Curfe contained in
them, that ’tis their duty, not to endea¬
vour to avoid it. And will any one (ay
that Et/e,or any other Woman, fin’d, if fhe
were brought to Bed, without thole Mul-
f tiplyed
(«o)
tiplyed Pains, God threatens her here
with, or that either of our Queens Mar)
or Elizabeth , had they Married any of
their Subjects had been by this Text, put
into a Political Subjection to him, or that
he thereby fhould have had Monarchical
Rule over her, Godin this Text,gives not
that I fee any Authority to Adam over Eve ,
or Men over their Wives, but only foretels
what fhould be the Womans Lot, how by
his Providence he would order it fo,
that (be fhould be SubjeCl to her Huf-
band, as we fee that generally the Laws
of Mankind and Cuftoms of Nations, have
ordered it fb, and there is, I grant, a Foun¬
dation in Nature for it. ’* . «j
43 .Thus when God fays of Jacob and E-\
fan that the Elder fhould ferve the Tounger ,
25 Gen, 23. nobody fuppofes that God
hereby made Jacob Ejjaus Sovereign, but
foretold what fhould de faffoco me topafs.
But if thefe words here {poke to Eve
muft needs be underftood as a Law to
bind her and all other Women to Sub¬
jection, it can be no other Subjection
then what every Wife owes her Husband,
and then if this be the Original Grant of
Government and the Foundation of Mo¬
narchal Power , there will be as many Mo-
narchs as there are Husbands : If there¬
fore thefe words give any Power to Adam,
( 61 )
tcan be only a Conjugal Power, not
’olitical, the Power that every Husband
lath to order the things of private Con-
rernment in his Family, as Proprietor of
:he Gcods and Land there, and to have
lis Will take place in all things of their
Common Concernment before that of his
*Vife $ But not a Political Power of Life
md Death over her, much lefs over any
jody elfe.
49. This I am fere.* If our A— will
aave this Text to be a Grant, the Origi¬
nal Grant cf Government, political Go¬
vernment, he ought to have proved it by
fome better Arguments then by barely
Saying, that thy dejtre [hall be unto thy Huf-
band, was a Law whereby Eve and all
that Jhould come of her, were fubjedted to
the Abfblute Monarchical Power of J-
dam and his Heirs. Thy de/re {hall be to
thy Husband, is too doubtful an Expreffion,
of whofe fignification Interpreters are
not agreed,to build (b confidently on, and
in a Matter of fuch moment and fo great
and general Concernment 5 But our A—
according to his way of Writing, having
once named the Text, concludes prefently
without any more ado, that the meaning
is, as he would have it,let the Words Rule
and Subjell be but found in the Text or
Margent, and it immediately fignifies the
* Duty
c «o
Duty of a Subjsft to his Prince, and th
Relation is changed, and though Got
fays Husband , Sr. Robt. will have it King
Adam has prefently Abfolute Monarchia
Power over Eve, and not only Eve bu
all that fliodd come of her, though the Scrip
ture fays not a word of it, nor our A - 5
word to prove it. But Adam muff foi
all that bean Abfolute Monarch, and fc
to the end of the Chapter quite down tc
Ch. i. And here I leave my Reader tc
confider whether ray bare Saying, with¬
out offering any Reaforis to evince it,
that thi Text gave not Adam that Ab-
fohite Monarchal Power, our A - (uppof.s,
be not as fudieient to deftroy that Power
as his bare AfTertion is to Eftablifh it, fince
the Text mentions neither Prince nor
People, fpeaks nothing of Abfolute or Mo¬
narchal Power , but the Subjection of Eve ,
a Wife to her Husband. And he that!
would treat our A- fo,although he wou’d
make a fhort and fufficient anfwer to the
greateft part of the Grounds he proceeds
on,and abundantly confute them by barely
denying 5 It being a fufiicient anfwer to AT
fertions without proof to deny them with¬
out givinga Reafon, and therefore (hould
I have faid nothing but barely deny’d that
by this Text the Supream Power was
filed and founded bj- God himfelfy in II
■ the
C Si )
>e Fatherhood , Limited to Monarchy, and
nit to //dams Per fan and Heirs, all which
ur A — notably concludes from theft
i^ords, as may be fttn in the lame Page
I. 244. and defired any fober Man, to
ave read the Text, and confidered to
/hem and on whatGccafionit wasfpoken,
e would no doubt have wondered how
ur ^-found out Monarchical Abfohte Porx>-
r in it, had he not had an excee ding good
acuity to find it himfelf, where he could
ot fhew it ethers 5 And thus we have
xamined the two places of Scripture, all
hat I remember our A- brings to prove
4dams Sovereignty , that Supremacy, which
£ fa vs, it teas Gods Ordinance Jlsould he
nlimitted in Adam , and as large as all tlse
s of his Will. 0 . 254, viz. I Gen. 28.
nd 3. Gen. 16. one whereof fignifies
nly the Subje&ion of the inferior Ranks
if Creatures to Mankind, and the other
he Subjt&ion that is due from a Wife
o her Husband, both far enough from
hat which Subjetts owe the Governors
>f Political Societies.
CHAP.
L
( <4 )
' * w r 1 ‘ # , % .
chap. vr.
Of Adams Title to Sovereignty by Fathe.
hood.
1 ' '* n * ®j
5 °‘ l^Here is one thing more and the
JL ^ think I have given you all tha
our A— brings for proof of Adams Sovc
reignty, arid that is aSuppofition of a na
tural Right of Dominion over his Chil
dren, by being their Father, and this Titl
of Fatherhood lie is pleated with, that yoi
will find it brought in almoft in ever
Page, particularly, he fays, not. only Adan
but the Jifcceeding Patriarchs had by High
of Fatherhood Royal Authority over thei
Children , p. 12. And in the fame page
This Subjection of Children being the Foun
tain of all Regal Authority , See. This being
as one would think by his fb frequeni
mentioning it the main bafis of all his
Frame, we may well expect clear ana
evident Reafon for it, lince he lays it
down as a pofition neceflary to his pur-
pole, that every Man that is born is Jb far
from being Jrree, that by his very Birth he
becomes a SubjeCt of him that begets him , O.
15 6 . So that Adam being the only Man
Created, and all ever fince being begot¬
ten
o4>
:en, no body has been born free : if wei
isk how Adam comes by this Power over
lis Children* he tells ns here ’tis by be¬
ating them.* And fo again, 0 . 223. This
tataral Dominion of ’ Adam, fays he, may
f, proved out of Grotius himfelf. who teach-
th that generatione jus ncquiritur paren-
ibusia liberos. And indeed the ad of
•egetting being that which makes a Mali
Father, his Right of Father over his
Children can naturally arifefrom nothing
lie.
,51. Grotius tells us not here how far this
is in liberos, this Power of Parents over
leir Children extends, but our A- ah
'ays very clear in the point affures us,
is Supreme Power , and like that of A fa¬
ilure Mona rchs over their . Slaves, Ab-
tlute Power of Life and Death: He
lat (hould demand of him how, or for
hat Reafon, it is, that begetting a Child
ives the Father fuch an Abfblute Power
ver him, will find him anfwer nothing,
e are to take his word for this as well
i feveral other things, and by that the
aws of Nature and the Conftitutions
' Government muft (land and fall 5 Had
- been an Abfolute Monarch, this way
talking might have fuited well enough,
0 ratione voluntas, may there be allow-
l : but ’tis but an ill way of pleading for*
> S Abfolute
( 66 )
Abfolute Monarchy, and Sr. Rdbts. bar>
Sayings will fcarce Eftablifh it, one flave
Opinion without proof is not of weigh
enough to difpofe of the Liberty anc
Fortunes of all Mankind , If all Men an
not as I think they are naturally equal
Fmfureall Slaves are, and then I raaj
without preemption oppofe my fingli
Opinion to his, and be as confident tha
my Saying, that begetting of Childrei
makes them not Slaves to their Fathers
lets all Mankind Free, as his affirmin|
the contrary makes them all Slaves. Bu
that this pofition, which is the Foun
dation of all their Do&rin, who wouk
have Monarchy to be Jure divino , ma;
have all fair play, let us hear what reafon
others give for it, fince our A— offers none
52. The Argument, I have heard 0
thers make ufe of, to prove that Father
by begetting them, come by an Abfolut
Power over their Children is this 5 Tha
Fathers have a Power over the Lives of thei
Children, becanfe they give them Life and Be
ing ,which is the only proof it is capable of
fince there can be no reafon,why naturall]
oneManfhould have any claim or pre
tence of Right over that in another
which was never his, which he beftowee
not, but was received from the bounty o
another, v. 1 anfwer that every on<
wh<
C *7 )
/ho gives an other any thing, has not al¬
ways thereby a Right to take it away a-
ain 3 But 2°. they who Lay the Father
ives Life to his Children, are fo dazled
/ith the thoughts or Monarchy that they
o not, as they ought, remember God
k'ho is the Author and giver of Life , y tis in
im alone roe live , move and have our Being.
low can he be thought to give Life to
nother that knows not wherein his own
,ife confifts, Philefophers are at a lots
bout it after their mod diligent enqui-
ies. And Anatomifts after their whole
Jves and Studies fpent in difledions and
iligent examining the Bodies of Men,
onfefs their Ignorance in the Structure
nd Ule of Many parts of Mans Body,
nd in that Operation wherein Life cou¬
rts in the whole 3 And doth the rude
lough Man or the more Ignorant Volup-
jary Frame or Faihion fuch an admirable
ingine as this is, and then put Life and
enfe into it 3 can any Man fay, he formed
tie parts that are neceflary to the Life
f his Child, or can he fuppofe himfelf
d give the Life, and yet not know what
ubjed is fit to receive it, nor what Adir
ns or Organs are neceflary for itsRecep-
ion or Prefervation ? , >
53. To give Life to that which has yet
o being is to Frame and make a living
F 2 Creature
I
u
'Iff
H
j
i^,
i
( 63 )
Creature, fafhion the parts and mouTc
and fuit them to their ufes, and having
proportion’d and fitted them together t<
put into them a living Soul. He tha
could do this might indeed have fbm
pretence to deftroy his own Workman
fhip. But is there any one Co bold, tha
dares thus far Arrogate to himfelf th<
Incomprehenfible Works of the Almighty
who alone did at firft and continues ftil
to make a live Soul, he alone can breat
in the Breath of Life. If any one think
himfelf an Artift at this, let bi n numbe
up the parts of his Childs Body which h
hath made, tell me their fifes and Opera
tions, and when the living and rations
Soul began to Inhabit, this curiou
Strufture when Senfe began, and hov
this Engine he has framed Thinks an<
Reafbns ^ If he made it, let him when i
is out of order mend it, at leaft tel
wherein the defers lie > (lull he that mad
the Eye not fee, fays the Pfalmifi , Pfalm.y 4
9. See thefe Mens Vanities: The ftruftur
of one part is fuffic.ient to convince us o
an Allwife Contriver, and he has fo vifibl
a claim to us as his Workmanfhip, that on
of the ordinary ApelJations of God ii
Scripture is, God our Maker and the Lon
our Maker. And therefore though ou
1 %-y for the magnifying his Fatherhood b<
pleafe<
( 69 )
leafed to fay, 0 . 159. That even the Power
hich God hiwfelf excrcifith over Mankind
'■ b Right of,\ Fatherhood , yet this Father-
ood is fuch an one as utterly excludes
I pretence of Title in earthly Parents 5
>r he is King beeaufe he is indeed Maker
f ns al, which no Parents can pretend
) be of their Children.
54. But had Men Skill and Power to
ake their Children, ’tis not fb flight a
ece of Wormanfnip, that it can be i-
agined they could make them without
Signing it, what Father of a thoufand
hen he begets a Child thinks farther
en the fatisfying his prefent Appetite,
od in his infinite Wifdom has put ftrong
■fires of Copulation into the Conftituti-
1 of Men, thereby to continue the race
Mankind, which he doth oioft corn-
only without the intention, and often
;ainfk the Confent and Will of the Be¬
tter. And indeed thofe who defire and
:fign Children, are but the occafions of
eir being, and when they defign and
ilh to beget them, do little more to-
irds their making then Deucalion and
s Wife in the Fable did towards the
iking of Mankind, by throwing Pebles
er their Heads.
v.
C 70 )
55. But grant that the Parents mad<
their Children, gave them Life and Be
ing,and that hence there followed an Abfo
lute Power.This would give the Father bu
a joynt Dominion with the Mother ovei
them 3 for no body can deny but that th<
Woman hath an equal (hare, if not th<
greater,as nouri(hing the Child a long tin*
in her own Body out of her own fubfi
france. There it is falhion’d, and from he
it receives the Materials and Principles o
its Conftitution 3 And it is Co hard to i
magin the rational Soul (hould prefenth
Inhabit the yet unformed Embrio, as fooi
as the Father has done his part in thi
A& of Generation, that if it muft be (up
pofed to derive any thingfrom the Parents
it muft certainly owe moft to the Mother
But be that as it will, the Mother canno
be denied an equal (hare in begetting of th
Child, and fo the Abfolute Authority 0
the Father will not a rile from hence, ou
A — indeed is of another mind 3 for hi
lays. We know that God at the Creatio)
gave the Sovereignty to the Man over th
Woman , as being the Nobler and Principa
sdgent in Generation , 0 ; 172. I renlembe
not this in my Bible, and when the placi
is brought where God at the Creatiot
gave the Sovereignty to Man over th*
Woman, and that fox this Realbn, be
.. C 70
;au(e he is the Nobler and Principal /fgent in
Generation, it will be time enough to con-
fid er and anfwer it: But it is no new
:hing for our A- to tell us his own Phancies
br certain and divine Truths, . though
chere be often a great deal of difference
aetween his and divine Revelations , for
Godin the Scripture lays, his Father and
bis Mother that begot him.
5 6 . They who alledge the Practice of
Mankind, for expojing or Jelling their Chil¬
dren,as a Proof of their Power over them,
are with Sr. Robt . happy Arguers and
cannot but recommend their Opinion by
founding it on the mod lhameful Action
and molt unnatural Murder, humane Na¬
ture is capable of. The dens of Lions and
Nurferies of Wolves know no fuch Cruel¬
ty as this, Thele Savage Inhabitants of
the Delart obey God and Nature, in be¬
ing tender and careful of their Off-lpring,
They will Hunt, Watch, Fight and al-
mod Starve for the Prefervation of their
Young, never part with them, never .for?
fake them till they are able to fhift for
themfelves 5 And is it the priviledge of
Man alone to aft more contrary to Na¬
ture then the Wild and rood Untamed
Part of the Creation ? Doth God forbid
fjs under the levered Penalty, that of
peath.to take away the Life of any Man,
m “ " ’ •'* • . f 4 »
a Stranger,ana upon Provocatiom?and doe
lie permit us to defrroy thofe he has giver
us the Charge and Care of, and by the
dictates of Nature and Realon as well as
his reveal’d Command, requires us to
preferve . He has in all the parts of the
Creation taken a peculiar care to propa¬
gate and continue the feveral Species of
Creatures, and makes the Individuals
aft fo rtrongly to this end, that they fome-
times negled their own private good for
it, and leem to forget that general Rule
which Nature teaches all things of felf
Prefervation and the Prefervation of their
Young, as the ftrongeft Principle in them
over rules the Conftitution of their parti¬
cular Natures 5 Thus we fee when their
Young ftand in needof it, the timerous
come Valiant,the Feirce and Savage Kind,
and the Ravenous Tender and Liberal.
57 ‘ But if the Examples of what hath
Been done, be the Rule of what ought to
jbe, Hiftory would have furnifh’d our
A- with inilances of this Jbfolute Father¬
ly Power in its heigth and perfection, and
he might have Ihevv’d us in Peru, People
that begot Children on purpofe to Fatten
and Eat them. The Story is fo remark-
aole, that I cannot but fet it down in
A—s Words. 'In forne Provinces,
fijs he, they were fo liquorifh after Man$
flelh
♦
C 73 )
Flefli, that they would not have the pa¬
tience to ftay ftill the Breath was out of
the Body, but would fuck the Blood as
it ran from the Wounds of the dying
Man* They had public Shambies of
nHsftS Flelh, anu their Madnefs herein
was to that degree that they lpared not
their own Children which they had be¬
got on Strangers, taken in War: For
they made their Captives their Miftrifles
and choilly nourilhed the Children they
had by them, till about thirteen Years
Old they Butcher'd and Eat them, and
they ferved the Mothers after the fame
falhion, when they grew pad: Child-bear¬
ing and ceafed to bring them anymore
•Roafters, Garcilajjo de la vegahijl. des
yncas de Peru, 1. i. c. 12.
58. Thus far can the bufie mind of Man,
rarry him to a Brutality below the level
)f Beafts, when he quits his reafon, which
daces him almoft equal to Angels, nor
:an it be otherwife in a Creature, whofe
houghts are more then the Sands, and
vider then the Ocean, where fancy and
>aflton muft needs run him intoftrange
:ourfes, if reafon, which is the only Star
md Compafs,.- be not that he Steers by }
the imagination is always reftlefs and
uggefts variety of thoughts, and the will,
•eaf^n Being laid a fide, is ready for every
extravagant
* • ,. * lk, ' X % ' mw. ^ * W k* j£§Sr*s
extravagant projeft 5 And in this State
he that goesfartheft out of the way, i<
thought fitteft to lead, and is fure of mof
followers ; And when Falhion hath onc<
Eftablifhed, what Folly or Craft began
Cuftom makes it Sacred, and ’twill be
thought impudence or madhefs, to con
traditt or queftion it. He that will impar¬
tially fiirvey the World, will find lb much
of the Religion, Government and Manner*
of the Nations of the World, brought in.
and continued by thefe means, that he
will have but little Reverence for the
Praftices, which are in Fafhion among!!
Men, and will have reafon to think, that
the Woods and For efts, where the irra¬
tional untaught Inhabitants keep right
by following nature, are fitter to give us
Rules, then Cities and Palaces, where
thole that call themlelves civil and rati¬
onal, go out of their way, by the Autho¬
rity of Example.
5 9 *B e it then as Sr. 2 b?£.lays,that Ancient-
Ij, it was ufnal for Men, to fell and caflrate
their Children, 0 . 15 5 .Let it be,that they ex-
pofe them,add to it, if you pleafe, for this
is ftill greater Power, that they begat them
for their Tables to fat and eat them, if
this proves a right to do lo, we may by
the fame Argument, juftifie Adultery,
Ihceft and Sodomy, for there are examples
* of
( 75 )
)fthe(etoo, both Ancient and Modern 5
5ins,which I fuppofe, have their Principal
Aggravation from this, that they croft
the main intention of nature, which* wil-
leth the increafe of Mankind, and the con¬
tinuation of the Species in the higheft per¬
fection and the diftinftion of Families,
with the lecurity of the Marriage Bed, as
neceflary thereunto. •
60. In confirmation of this Natural
Authority of the Father, our A— brings a
Lame Proof, from the pofitive command
of God in Scripture 3 His Words are, fa
confirm the natural Right of Regal Power, we
find in the Decalogue , that the Law which
injoyns Obedience to Kings,is delivered in the
Term , Honour thy Father , p. 23. where¬
as many confefs, that Government only in
the Abftratf, is the Ordinance of God, they-
are not able to prove any fuch Ordinance in
the Scripture, but only in the Fatherly Power,
and therefore we find the Commandment that
injoyns Obedience, to Superiors, given in the
Terms , Honour thy Father 5 fo that not only
the Power and Right of Government, • but the
Form of the Power Governing, and the Per'
Jon having the Power , are aU the Ordinances
of God. The fir(l Father had not only [imply
Power , but Power Monarchical, as he was
Father immediately from God, 0 . 254 *
i'o the fame purpofe, the fame Law is
cited
C 76 )
cited by our A- in feveral other places,
and juft after the fame Fafhion,that is, and
Mother , as Apocriphal Words, are al¬
ways left out 5 a great Argument of our
As ingenuity, and the goodnefs of his
Caufe, which required in its Defender,
Zeal to a degree of warmth, able to warp
the Sacred Rule of the Word of God,
to make it comply with his prefent occa-
fion, a way of proceeding, net unufual to
thofe, who imbrace not truths, becaufe
Reafon and Revelation offers them, but
efpoufe Tenets and Parties, for ends dif¬
ferent from Truth, and then refolve at
any rate to defend them 5 And fo do with
the Words and Senfe of Authors, they
would fit to their purpofe, juft as Procnfles
did with his guefts, top or ftretch them,
as may beft fit them to the fize of their
Notions, and they always prove like thofe,
fb ferved,deformed and ufelefs.
. 61. For had our A — fet down this
command without Garbling, as God gave
it, and joyned Mother to Father, every
Reader would have feen, that it had made
dire&ly againft him, and that it was fb
far from Eftablilhing the Monarchical
Power of the Father , that it let up the
Mother equal with him, and injoyn’d no¬
thing but what was due in common, to
froth Father and Mother ? for that is the
Fonftans
’ • t t m, r- W->■ *" ■ ~
C 77 )
onftant Tenor of the Scripture, Honour
hy Father and thy Mother, Exod. 20.
Fe that fmiteth his Father or Mother , (hall
itrely be put to death , 21. 15* He that Cur Jet h
its Father or his Mother , (hall furely be put to
ieath,ver. 17. Repeated Lev. 20.9.' and by
3 Ur Saviour, Math. 15.4* ) e (hall fear every
Man his Mother and his Father , Lev. 19. 3 .
If a Alan have a Rebellious Sonyvhich will not
obey the voice of his Father or the voice of his
Mother , then fhall his Father and his Mother
'.ay hold on him^and fay this our Son is Stuborn
and Rebellious , he will not obey our voice^
Dtut. 21. 18, 19, 20, 2i. Cur fed be he
that fetteth light by his Father or his Mo -
ther y 28. 16. my Son , hear the in fir uni¬
ons of thy Father , and forfake not the Law of
thy Mother , are the Words of Solomon a
King, who was not ignorant of what be¬
longed to him, as a Father or a King, and
yet he joyns Father and Mother together,
in all the Inftruftions he gives Children
quite through his Book of Proverbs , woe
unto him , that fayeth unto his Father , what
begettejl thou , or to the fVoman^ what hafl
thou brought forth , I fa. 11. v. 10. In thee
have they fet light by Father or Mother , Ezek.
28. 2. And it (hall come to pafs, that whets
any (hall yet Prophejy , then his Father and
his Mother that begat him , fhall fay unto him,
thou (Italt not Hite, and his Father and his
'i Mother
C 78 X i
Mother that begat him jhall thrujl hm
through when he Prophejieth, Zech. 13. 3.
Here not the Father only, but Father and
Mother joyntly, had Power in this Cafe
of Life and Death. Thus ran the Law of
the Old T eft ament, and in the New they
are likewife joyn’d, in the Obedience of
their Children, Eph, 6. 1. The rule is.
Children obey your Parents , and I do not
remember,that I any where read,Children
obey your Father and no more, the Scrip¬
ture joyns Mother too in that homage,
which is due from Children, and had
there been any Text, where the honour or
obedience of Children, had been dire&ed
to the Father alone, ’tis not likely that
our A —, who pretends to Build all upon
Scripture, would have omitted it, nay
, the Scripture makes the Authority of Fa¬
ther and Mother , in refpeft of thole they
have begot, fo equal that in lome places
it negle&s, even the Priority of Order,
/which is thought due to the Father, and
the Mother is put firft, as Lev. 19 .3. from
which fo conftantly joyning Father and
Mother together,as is found quite through
the Scripture, we may conclude that the
honour they have a Title to from their
Children, is one common tight belong¬
ing fiyeqqally to them both, that neither
can e&iim it wholly, neither can be ex¬
cluded. 62. One
\ C 79 )
62. One would wonder then how our
l— infers from the 5 th Commandment,
hat all Power was Originally in the Father■.
low he finds Monarchical Power of Govern¬
ment , fettled and fixed by the Commandment ,
honour thy Father and thy Mother , If all
he honour due by the Commandments,
>e it what it will, be the only right of the
father, becaule he, as our A . - lays, has the
Sovereignty over the Woman^as being the No-
>ler aad Principal Agent in Generation , why
lid God afterwards all along joyn the
Mother with him, to (hare in this honour,
:an the Father by this Sovereignty of his
lifcharge the Child from Paying this
Honour to his Mother. The Scripture gave
10 fuch Licenfe to the Jews, and yet there
vere often Breaches wide enough betwixt
dusband and Wife, even to divorce and
eperation, and I think no Body will (ay,
1 Child may withhold honour from his
vlother, or as the Scripture Terms it, fit
ight by her , though his Father fhould
:ommand him to do fo, no more then the
Vlother could difpenle with him, for neg-
e&ing to Honour his Father, whereby ’tis
plain, that this command of God, gives
the Father no Sovereignty, no Supre-
macy.M ' !. * i
63. I agree with our that the Ti¬
tle to this Hfinour^ is vefted in the Parents
, by
CSo.)
by nature, and is a right which accrew
J? !* em » b y tbeir having begotten thei
Children, and God by many pofitive Da
durations has confirm’d it to them, I a!f,
allow our A-, Rule, that m Grant, am
jat ' ' )dVe *^ e * r ® r *Z ifJa l from Goi
and Nature , as the Power of the Father , le
me add and Mother , for whom God had
joyned together, let no Man put a fun
der, no inferior Power of Men can limit
nor make any Law of Preemption aeainfi
them, O. 15S, So that the Mother having
by tins Law of God, a fight to Honour
from her Children, which is not Subjeft
* be Sin 0bber Husband, we fee this
Jbjolute Monarchical Power of the Father
can neither be founded on it, nor confift
With-its.And he has a Power very far
focal Monarchical , very for from that
Abfolutenef our sl-~ contends for, when
another has over his Sulye&s the fame
Power he hath,and by the fame Title, and
therefore he cannot forbear faying him-
felf, that he cannot fee how any Mans Chil¬
dren can be free from Subjection to their Pa¬
rents, p. 12. which in common Speech,
I think figniffos Mother as well as Father ,
or if Parents here fignifies only Father ,
tis the firft time I ever yet knew it to do
fo, end oy fuck an ufo of Words, one may
fay any thing.
64. By
(St i
64. By oar / Do&rin, the Father
laving Ablolute jurifdi&ion over his
Children, has alfo the fa me overthtir Iflue,
md the conkquence is good, were it true,
hat the Father had fuch a Power, and
ret labour rf * whether the Grand-fa-
her by his Sovereignty, could dilcharge
he Grani-Child from Paying to hi>
•’ather, the honour due to him by \he 5 th
Commandment } If the Grand-Father,
lat'iby ri^ht of Fatherhood, Sole Sovereign
> ower in him, and by Honour thy Father
>e commanded, that Obedience which is
lue to the Sovereign, ’tis certain the
3 rand Father might difpence with the
3 rand*Sons Honouring his Father, w hich
ince ’tis evident in common Senfe, he
annot ’tis evident Honour thy Father and
Mother , cannot mean an Abfolute Sub-
eftion to a Sovereign Power, but fqme-
hing elle. The right therefore which
5 arthts have by nacure, and which is
:onfirmed to them by the 5 th Command-
nent, cannot be that Political Dominion,'
vhichour A— would derive from it, fo*f
hat being in every civil Society, Supreatn
omewhere, can dilcharge any Suojr,#,
rom any PoliticalObedfc mce, to any one
)f his fellow Subject'. But what Law
ifthe Magiftrate, can giv? a Child liberty?
lot to’ Honour his bather ana, Mfither •$
tis an eternal Law , anmopci j.tu,tly to
€? chtf
I
' (• 8 » )
the relation of Parents and Children, an<
fo contains nothing of the Magiftrate
Power in it, nor is Subje&ed to it.
65. Our A- fays, God hath given to
Fathera right or liberty to Alien his Port*
over his Children to any other , 0 . 155
I doubt whether he can Alien , wholly th
right of Honour that is due from them
But be that as it will, this I am fure, h
cannot Alien, and retain the fame Power
if therefore the Magiftrates Sovereignty
be as our A ~ would have it, nothing bn
the Authority of a Supream Father , p. 23
*tis unavoidable, that if the Magiftrat
hath all this Paternal Right as he mud have
if Fatherhood be the Fountain of all A u
thorny, then the Subje&s though Fa
thers, can have no Power over their Chil
dren. no right to honour from them 5 fo
it cannot be all in anothers hands, an<
a part remain with them, fo that accor
ding to our A-s own Dottrin, Honom
thy Father and Mother , cannot poffibly b<
underftood of Political Subje&ion apd O
hedience, Gnce the Laws both in the Ole
aodNew Teftament,that commandedChil
dr«en to Honour and obey their Parents,
were given to fuch, whofe Fathers were
under fuch Gov ernment, and fellow Sub¬
jects with them in Political Societies,and tc
have bid them Honour and obey their Parents
in our As 5 enfe,had been to bid them be
* Subjects
( 8 ?)',.
ubje&s to thofe, who had no Title to it,
fie right to Obedience from Subjects,,
eing all vetted in another, and inftead
fteaching Obedience, this had been to
ament Sedition, by fetting up Powers
cat were not, If therefore this command,
Jononr thy Father and Mother , concern
olitical Dominion, it dire&ly over¬
crows our As Monarchy, fince it being
a be paid by every Child to his Father,
ven in Society, every Father mutt necefi-
irily have Political Dominion, and there
dll be as many Sovereigns, as there are
athers, befides that the Mother too hath
sr Title, whiyh deftroys the Sovereignty
f one Supream Monarch. But if Honour
y Father and Mother, mean fomethjng
iftind from Political Power, as necef-
rily it mutt, it is befides our As bufi-
;fs, and ferves nothing to his purpofe*
66 . 1 he Law that enjoytts Obedience to
.ings is delivered , fays our A-, in the
zrms. Honour thy Father , as if all Power
we Originally in the Father, 0. 254. And
iat Law is alfb delivered, fay I, in the
erms, Honour thy Mother, as if all Power
ere Originally in the Mother, I appeal
hether the Argument be not as good
1 one fide as the other. Father and Mo~
cr being joyned all along in the Old
id New reftamenr, where Honour or
bedunce is injoyrfd Children, again
G 7 o8f
( 8 4 )
our A-- tells U 9 , 0 . 254. that this com
wand Honour thy Father gives the righ
to govern , and makes the Form of Govern
went Monarchical. To which I anfwet
that, if by Honour thy Father , be mear
Obedience to the Political Power of th
Magiftrate, it concerns not any duty w
owe to our Natural Fathers who ar
Subjects, becaufe they by our A—s Dc
ftiin, are diverted of all that Power,
being placed wholly in the Prince, and 1
being equally Subje&s and Slaves wit
their Children, can have no right by th;
T itle, to any fuch Honour or Obedience ;
contains in it Political Subjection }
Honour thy Father and Mother fignifi
the duty we owe our Natural Parent
as by our Saviours Interpretation, Mat
-15. 4. and all the other mention’d place
’ris plain it does, then it cannot concei
Political Obedience, but a duty that
owing to Perfcns, who have no T itle 1
Sovereignty, nor any Political Authorit
as Magiftrates over Subje&s, for the Pe
ion of a private Father, and a T itle 1
Obedience, due to the Supream Mag
ftrate, are things inconfiltent, and ther
fore this command, which muft necefiai
ly comprehend the Perfons of our Natur
Fathers, muft mean a duty we owe the
diftinft from our Obedience to the M
giftrat
( 8 5 )
iftrate, and from which the moft Abfo-
ite Power of Princes cannot abfolve us,
hat this duty is, we (hall in its due place
xamin.
67. And thus we have at laft got
irough all that in our A— looks like an
rgument for that Abfolute unlimited
mercginty defcribed, Sed.S.which he fup-
ofes in JddamFo that Mankind ever fince
ave all been born jlaves, without any Title
) Freedom 3 But if Creation which gave
othing but a Being, made not Adam
rince of his Pojlerity 3 If Adam, Gen. 1.
3 . was not conftituted Lord of Man.
ind, nor had a Private Dominion given
im exclufive of his Children, but only a
.ight and Power over the Earth, and in?
;riour Creatures in common with the
ihildren of Men 3 If alio Gen. 3. 16. God
ave not any Political Power to Adam over
is Wife and Children, but only Subjected
\ve to Adam, as a punidiment, or foretold
le Subje&ion of the weaker Sex, in the
rdering the common concernments of
leir Families, but gave not thereby to
\dam, as to the Husband Power of
,ife and Death, which necefTarily be-
angs to the Magiftrate 3 If Fathers by
egetting their Children acquire no fuch
ower over them, and if the command
• _ / f f f • /
Ion oh r thj Father and Mother , give it not
G 3 ^ but
1
(8 <5 )
but only enjoyns a duty owing to Pa¬
rents equally, whether Subjefts or not.
and to the Mother as well as the Father ■
If all this be lo as I think, by what has
been faid, is very evident, then Van has
a Natural Freedom , notwithftanding all
our A— confidently fays to the contrary,
imce all that Chare in the fame common
Nature, Faculties and Powers are in Na¬
ture equal, and ought to partake in the!
fame common Rights and Priviledges, till
the manifeft appointment of God, who
is I^ord over all hlejjed for ever , can be
produced to Chew any Particular PerCons
Supremacy, or a Mans own Confent Sub-
^ebts hint to a Superior. This is Co plain
that our A- confefle*, that Sr. John Hey-
ward, Blacwood and Barclay the great vint
die a tor; of the Right of Kings, could not
deny if, but admit with one confent the Na-
im in Liberty and Equality of Mankind, for
a 1 ruth unqueftionable. And our A--.
hath beefido far from producing any thing,
that m ty make good his great Pofition,
tnat .'.dam veas sib folate Monarch, and Co
Men are not Naturally free, that even his
own Proofs make againft him, fo that to
ule is own way of Arguing. This firfl
Ci roneous Principle failing, the whole Fabrick,
of toij vajl engine of Absolute Power and
I yranny, drops down of it Jclf and there
»
| C87)
ieeds no more tobefaid in anfvver to all
hat he builds upon,fo falfe and frail a Foun-
lation.
68. But to fave others the pains, were
here any need, he is not (paring himlelt
:o (hew by his own contradi&ions , the
iveaknefs of his own Doftrins, Adana.
\bfolute and Sole Dominion is that
vhichhe is every where full of, and aiL
along builds on, and yet he tells us, p. 12.
'hat as Adam was Lord of his Children ,
c q his Children under him had a Command
vsd Poner over their own Children. The
unlimited and undivided Sovereginty of
/fdams Fatherhood , by our A—s computa¬
tion, ftood but a little while, only during
the fir ft Generation* but as foon as he had
Grand-Children, Sr. Rob. could give but
a very ill account of it, Adam as Father
of his Children faith he, hath an Ahfohiie ,
Unlimited Royal Power over th m, and by
vert ne thereof over thoje that they uepot, and
fo to all Generations , and yet his Children ,
viz. Cain and Sefh have a Paternal Power
over their Children at toe lame time, lb
that they are at the fame time Anfblute
Lords , and yet Subjects and Slaves 5 Adam
has all the Authority, as Grand-Father of
his People , and they have a part as Fa¬
thers 5 He is Abfolute over them and their
Pofterity, by having begotten them, and
W V ” G 4 ‘ yet
j •
! \ V-.
C 88 )
yet tbev are Absolute over their Chil¬
dren by the fame Title, no (ays our A —,
Adams Children under him , had Power over
ikeir own Children, but ftili with Subordina¬
tion to the the firfl Parent . A good di-
ftinftion that found-, well, and ’tis pitty
ir fignifi s nothing, nor can be reconciled
with our A- s Words, 1 readily grant
tiat fupp >fiog A dams t'bfo'ute Po rer over
his Posterity, any of his Children might
have from him a delegated, and to a
Subordinate Power, over a part or all ihe
relfo But that cannot be the Power our
A— fpeaks ot here, it is not a Power by
Grant and Cominiluon, but the Natural
Paternal Power, he fuppofes a Father to
have over his Children ? for i°, he fays as
Adam was Lord of his Children , fo his
Children under him , had a Power over their
own Children t, They were then Lords over
their own Children after the fame manner,
and by the fame Title that j 4 dam was, i. e.
by right of Generation, by right ot Fa¬
therhood? 2°, his plain he means the Natu¬
ral Power of Fathers, be’caufe he limits it
to be on’y over th ir own Children , a de¬
legated Power, has • no f iJi limitation,
as only over their own Children, ir n ight
be over others, a well as their own Chil¬
dren 5 3°, ’fit - v ere a delegated Power, it
mud appear in Scripture, but mere is no
•* , . * ' •' ground
1 . # ( $0
ground in Scripture to affirm that Atdanfs
Children, had any other Power over
I heirs then what they naturally had as
fathers.
69. But that he means here Paternal
^ovver, and no other, is paft doubt from
:he Inference he makes in thefe words
mmediately following, I fee not then how
‘he Children of Adam or of any Man el/e can
\e free from Subjection to their Parent /,
'hereby it appears that the Power on one
jde and the Subjection on the other, our
rf - here fpeaks of is that Natural Power
and Subjection between Parents and Chil¬
dren $ for that which every Mans Chil¬
dren owed could be no other, and that
our A- always affirms to be abfolute and
unlimited. This natural Power of Pa¬
rents over their Children, sfdam had over
his Pofterity, fays our ^-,and this Power
of Parents over their Children, his Chil¬
dren had over theirs in his Life time, lays
our A— alio 3 lo that Adam by a natural
Right of Father, had an ablolute, un¬
limited Power over all his Pofterity, and
at the lame time his Children had by the
fame Right abfolute unlimited Power over
theirs, here then are two ablolute unli¬
mited Powers exifting together, which I
would have any body reconcile one to a-
nother,or to common Senle-, for the Salvo,
. , _ ( 90 )
be has put in of Subordination , makes it
more abfurd : To have one AbJolute,Z)n-
limited , nay Unlimitable Power in Subordi¬
nation to another, is lo manifeft: a Con¬
tradiction, that nothing can be more, A-
dam is Abfolitte Prince with the ^Unlimited
Authority of Fatherhood over all his Pojleri-
ty 5 All his Pofterity are then ablolutely
his Subje&s, and,as our A - fays,his Slaves ,
Children and Grand Children are equally
in this State of Subje&ion and Slavery,
and yet lays our A—^the Children 0/Adam
have paternal , i. e. Abfolute, Unlimited
Power over their own Children^ which in
/plain Englifh is, they are Slaves and Ab¬
folute Princes at the fame time, and in the
fame Government, and one part of the
Subjects have an Ablolute Unlimited
• Power over the other by the natural
Right of Parentage. 1]
70. If any one will fuppofe in favour
of our At- that he here meant that
Parents who are in Subje&ion themfeives
to the Abfolute Authority of their Far
ther, have yet fome Power over their
Children : I confefs he is fomething near¬
er the truth, but he will not at all here¬
by help our A -- 5 for he no where (peak¬
ing of the Paternal Power, but as an Ab¬
folute Unlimited Authority, cannot be
fuppos’d to . understand any thing elfe
(90
• / f •
iere,' unlels he himfelf had limited it and
hewed how far it reach’d : And that he
neans here paternal Authority in that
arge Extent is plain from the immediate
bllowing word s 3 Tins Subjection of Chil-
Iren being, fays he, the Fountain of all
legal Authority, p.12. The Subjection, then
hat in the former Line, he lays , every Man
f in to his Parents , and confequently what
4 dam?s Grand Children were in to their
Parents, was that which was the Foun-
:ain of all Regal Authority , i. e. According
:o our A-s Abfolute, Unlimitable Authori¬
ty, and thus Adams Children had Regal
Authority over their Children, whilft they
:hemlelvcs were Subje&s to their Father,
and Fellow Subjects with their Children
But let him mean as he pleales, 7 tis plain
ne allows Acjams Children to have Paternal
Power, p. 12. as all other Fathers to have
Paternal Power over their Children, O. 156.
From whence one of thele two things
will necelfarily follow, that, either Adams
Children even in his life time, had, and
fo all other Fathers have, as he Phrales it,
p. 17. By Right of Fatherhood Royal Au¬
thority ■ over their Children , or elfe, that
Adam by Right of Fatherhood had not Royal
Authority: For it mud be that Paternal
Power does, or does not, give Royal Au¬
thority to them that have it: If it does
~ t; f\ not,
C 92 )
not, then Adam could not be Sovereign
by this Title, nor any body elfe,and then
there is an end of all our A ’s Politics at
once •) If it does give Royal Authority ^ then
every one that has Paternal Pomr has
Royal Authority , and then by our A-t Pa¬
triarchal Government, there will be as
many Kings as there are Fathers.
71. And thus what a Monarchy he hath
fet up, let him and his Difciples condder.
Princes certainly will have great Reafon
to thank him for thefe new Politics,which
fet up as many Abfolute Kings in every
Country as there are Fathers of Children,
and yet who can blame our A- for it, it
lying unavoidably in the way of one dif-
courfing upon our A-s Principles * For
having placed an Abfohite Power in Fathers
by Right of Begetting , he could not eafily
rdolve how much of this Power belong’d
to a Son over the Children he had begot¬
ten $ And To it fell out to be a very hard
matter to give all the Power, as he does,to
Adan *, and yet allow a part in his Life
time to his Children, when they were Pa¬
rents, and which he knew not well how
to deny them, this makes him fo doubtful
snhis Expredions, and fo uncertain where
to place tins Abfolute Natural Power,
which he calls Fatherhood 5 fometimes^
Adam alone has it all, as/. 13. O. 244,
2 4 ' Some-
( 93 )
Sometimes Parents have it, which word
carce fignifies the Father alone, p. 12,19.
Sometimes Children during their Fathers
life tirre, asp. 12.
Sometimes Fathers of Families , as p. 78,
and 79. . -d'
Sometimes Fathers indefinitely,©. 155.
Sometimes the Heir to Adam, 0 . 253.
Sometimes the Pofieritj of Adam, 244.
246. ' .. „ t ;
Sometimes prime Fathers , all Sons or
Grand Children of Noah, O. 244.
Sometimes the Eldefl Parents , p. 12.
Sometimes all Kings, p. 19.
Sometimes all that have Supream
1 Power, 0 . 245. • ■
Sometimes Heirs to thofe firjl Progenu
tors.) who were at firjl the natural Parents
of the whole People , p. 19.
Sometimes an Elettive King, p. 23.
Sometimes thole whether a few or a Mul*
titude that govern the Commonwealth ,
p. 23.
Sometimes he that can catch it, an Dfitr-
I per,p. 23.0.155.
72. Thus this new nothing , that is to
carry with it all Power, Authority and Go¬
vernment $ This Fatherhood which is to
jo defign the Perfon and Fftablilh the Throne
of Monarchs, whom the People are to
obey, may,according to Sir Robt. come
c?o
into any hands, any how, and fo by his
Politics give to -Democracy Royal Au-r
thority, and make an Ufurper a lawful
Prince. And if it will do all thefe fine
Feats, much good do our Author and all
his Followers with their omnipotent Fa¬
therhood , which can ferve for nothing but
to unfettle and deftroy all the lawful Go¬
vernments in the World, and to Eftablifhi
in their room Diforder, Tyranny ;
furpation.
CHAP. Vlf
73. T N the foregoing Chapters we have
j| leen what Adams Monarchy was,
in our A—s Opinion, and upon what Titles
he founded it: And the Foundations
which he lays the chief ftrels on, as-thole
from which he thinks he may beft derive
Monarchical Power to future Princes, are
two, viz,. Fatherhood and Property , and
therefore the way he propofes to remove
the Abfurdities and Inconveniences of the
Doctrine
<0 95 )
Doffrwe of Natural Freedom, is, to tnam¬
ain the Natural and Private Dominion of
Adam, 0 . 222. Conformable hereunto
le tells us the Grounds and Principles of
Government, necejfarily depend upon the 0-
iginal of Property, O. 108. 7 he $. if eel ion
f Children to their Parents is the Fountain
f all Regal Authority , p. 12. And all Power
n Earth is either derived or ufurped from
he Fatherly Power , there being no ether 0 -
iginal to be found of any Power whatfoever,
). 158. I will not ftand here to examine
low it can be faid without a contradi&i-
>n, that the firfl Ground and Principles of
Government necejfarily depend upon the Ori-
inal of Property, and yet, that there is no
ther Original of any.Power whatfoever, but
hat of the Father : It being hard to un~
lerftand how there .can be no other Ord¬
inal but f atherhood , and .yet that the
Founds and Principles of Government cle-
tu d upon the Original of Property? Property
nd Fatherhood being as far. different as
,ord of a Manner and Father of Chil-
ren, nor do I fee how they will either of
hem agree with what our. A- fays, 0 .
44. of Gods Sentence again{t Eve, Gen.
11 . l 6.7 hat it is the Original Grant of Go*
'eminent, fb that if that were the Origin¬
al, Government,had not its Orignal by
uvA-s own ConfefTbn, either From Pro -
* - • ' A * • * * 1 4- - f *
rasa . ’ ’ ' ' * ; perty
cm
perty or Fatherhood, and this Text which
he brings as a proof of Adam** Power!
over Eve heeeflarily f'ontradifh what
he fays of the Fatherhood, that it is the Sole
Fountain of all Poorer i for if Adam had
any fuch Fir gal Power over Eve , as our
si - contends for j it rnuft be by fome o»
ther T itle then that of begetting.
. 74. But I leave him to reconcile thefe
Contradiriions as well as many others,
which may plentifully be found in hi n byj
any one, who wilt but read him with a
little Attention, and (hall come now to
confider how thefe two Originals of Go¬
vernment, Adam* s Natural and Private
Dominion will confift and ferve to make
out and Eftablilh the Titles of Succeed¬
ing Monarchs, who, as our^— obliges
them, muft all derive their Power from
thefe Fountains. Let Us then fuppofe A-
dam made by Gods Donation Lord and foie
Proprietor of the whole Earth,, in as large
and ample a manner, as Sir Robt. could
with, let us fuppofe him alfb by Right of
Fatherhood Abfblute Ruler over his Chil-
dren with an unlimited Supremacy, I
ask them upon Adam* s Death what be¬
comes of his Natural and Private Domi¬
nion,^ nd I doubt not, ’cwill be anfwered,
that they defcended to his next Heir, as
our A* tells us in fevefal places, but that
cannot
( 97 ) • _ ,
innot poflibly convey both his Natural
id Private Dominion to the fame Perlon^
>r (hould we allow that all the Propriety,
l the Eftate of the Father ought to
rfcend to the Eldeft Son, which will
:ed fome proof to Eftablifh it, and fo
; have by that Title all the Private
dominion of the Father, yet the Fathers
r atural Dominion , the paternal Power
mnot defcend to him by Inheritance:, for
ring a Right that accrews to a Man only
7 begetting , no Man can have this natural
cminion over any one, he does not
gef, unlels it can be fupposM that a Man
n have a Right to any thing, without
ring that upon which that Right is foie—
-founded. For if a Father by begetting^
id no other Title has Natural Dominion
r er his Children, he that does not beget •
em cannot have this Natural Dominion .
er them, and therefore be it true or
ffe, that our A— fays, 0 . 156. That every
an that is born by his very Birth becomes
nibjecf to him that begets him , this uecef-
ily follows, vi%. .1 hat a Man by his
rth. cannot become a Subject to his Bro-
er who did not beget him, unlels it can
fupposM that a Man by the very fame
tie can come to be under the Natural
d Abjohtie Dominion of two different
sn at once, or it be Senfe to fay, that a
H - , Mart
• ( 98 ) 1
Man by Birth is under the Natural Dam
nibno/t his Father only, becaufe he beg:
him, and a Man by Birth alio is und<
the Natural Dominion of his Eldeft Br<
ther, though he did not beget him.
75. If then ’ the Private Dominion <
Adam , his Property in the Creatures d<
fcended at his Death all entirely to h
Eldeft Son, his Heir 5 (for if it did n<
thefe is prefently an end of all Sir Robi
Monarchy and his Natural Dominion * tl
Dominion a Father has over his Childrc
by begetting them, belong’d equally t
all his Sons who had Children by tl
fame Title their Father had,it immediat
ly upon Adams Deceafe y the Sovereign!
founded upon Prbperty.and the Sovereigi
ty founded upon Fatherhood , come to t
divided, fince Cain as Heir had that 1
Property alone, Seth and the other So;
that of Fatherhood equally with him. Tb
is the beft can be made of our A-s Do&rir
and of the two Titles of Sovereignty b
fets up in Jdam, one of them will eithi
fignifie nothing, or if they both mu
Hand they can ferve only to confound tl
Rights of Princes, and diforder Goven
ment in his Pofterity; for by buildin
upon two Titles to Dominion, whic
cannot defcend together, and which 1
allows may be leparated,for he yields ths
C 99 ) '
f /
{dams Children had their deftindf Territories
y Right of Private Dominion, 0 . 2to. p.
;p. He makes it perpetually a doubt upon
iis Principles where the Sovereignty is,
>r to whom we owe our Obedience,fince
fatherhood and Property are diftinft Titles,
r.d began orefently upon Adams Death
obein diftintt Perfons, And which then
vas to give way to the other?
76. Let us take the account of it, as
le himfelf gives it us. He tells us out cf
drotim , that Adams Children by Donation
dlfignation or jbme kind of CzJj.on before he
vas dead had their diftinci Territories by
dtght of private Dominion , Abel had hie
Flockt and Paflures for them, Cain had
ns Fields for Corn and the Land of Nod
there he Built him a City, 0 . 210. Here
£is obvious to demand which of thefe
:wo af r er Adams Death was Sovereign,
'Cain (ays our A, p . 19. By what Title?
fis Heir for Hens id progenitors , who were
natural Parents of their People , are not only
Lords of their own Children , but aljo of
their Brethren , (ays our p- 19* What
was Cain Heir to? not the entire Poiielii-
ons, not all that which Adam had Private
Dominion in, for our A- allows that Abel
by a Title derived from his Father, had
his difl’nbd Territory for Pafhtrc by Right
bf Private Dominion, what then Abel had
? Private Dominion , . was..exempt from.
tf 2 tains
/
V ( ,100 )
Cains Dominion, for he could not ha?
Private Dominion over that, which wa
under the Private Dominion of anothej
and therefore his Sovereignty over hi
Brother is gone with this Private Domini
on, and fo there are prefently two Sove
reigns and his imaginary Title of Father
hood is out of doors, and Cain is no Prince
over his Brother, or elfe if Cain retail
his Sovereignty over Abel notwhhftand
ing his Private Dominion, it will follow
that the fir[i Grounds and Principles of Go¬
vernment have nothing to do with Pro¬
perty whatever our A- fays to the com
trary$ ’Tis true, Abel did not out-live
his Father Adam , hut that makes nothing
to the Argument which will hold good
againft Sir Robt. in Abels Iffue, or in Sethi
or any of thePofterity of Adam, not de¬
fended from Cain.
77- The fame inconvenience he runs
into about the three Sons of -Voah, who as
he fays, p. 15, had the whole World divided
amongjl them by their Father, 1 a k then in
which of the three Hull we find the Efla-
blifhment of Regal Power after Noahs Death,
If in all three as our A— there feems to
fay : Then it will follow that Regal Power
is founded in Property of Land and fob
lows Pnvate Dominion, and not in pater•
nal Power or natural Dominion , and fo
there is an end of paternal Power as the
Fountain,
( 101 )
■*« > i A . •. •**»*■ u ^ A V« I .4 (V | m 4
oimtain of Regal Authority, and the fo
luch magnified Fatherhood quite vanifhes.
F the Regal Power deicended to Shem as
lldeftand Heir to his Father, then Noahs
'iivifion of the World by Lot to his Sons or
is lo Tears fay ling ahot the mediterranean
o appoint each Son his part , which our A-
ells of, p. 15. was labour loll, his Divifion
i the World to them, was to ill or to no
urpofe, for his Grant to Cham and Japhet
/as little worth if Shem notvvithftanding
his Grant, as foon as Noah was dead,
vas to be Lord over them. Or, if this
}rant of Private Dominion to them over
heir afligned Territories were good, here
«eefet up two diftlnft forts of Power,rot
Jubordinate one to the other with all
ho/e inconveniences which he mufters up
gainft the Power of the People. 0 . 158. and
vbich 1 fhall let down in his own words
inly changing Property for People. All
f 9 ow r on Earth is either derived or ; f rped
rom the Fatherly Power, there being no other
Original to be found of any Power ivhatfo -
ver, for if there fhottld be granted two forts
f Power without any S .bord/nation of one to
he other jhey would be in perpetual (l rip, which
ho aid be Suprcam, for two Snpreams cannot
’gree : If the Fatherly Power be Snpreaw ,
hen the Power grounded on Private Domi-
tion muji be jitbordinatc and depend on it ,
H 3 and
d C 102 )
and if the Power grounded on Proper^
he Supream, then the Fatherly Power mu\
jitbmit to it, and cannot he exercifed wiiho
the Licence of the Proprietors , which muj
quite deflroy the Frame and Courfe of A'<
tu e. This is his own arguing againft twc
dutintt Independent Powers, which Ihav<
fer down in his own words, only putting
Power riling from Property, for Powei
of the People , and when he has anfwerec
what he himfelf has urged here again!
two diftinft Powers, we (hall be bettei
able to fee how with any tolerable Senfe
he can derive all Regal Authority fron.
the natural and Private Dominion of Adam
from Fatherhood and Property together
which are dilfind Titles that do not ai
ways meet in the fame Pcrfon, and ’ti:
plain by his own Confeffion , prefently fe
perated as (bon both as Adams and NoaL
Death made way for Snccei'Iion 5 Though
our A - frequently in his Writings jumble!
them together, and omits ' not to make
pfc of either, where he thinks it will
found beft to his purpole, but the Abfur-
dities of this will more fully appear in the
next Chapter, w here we (hall examine the
ways of conveyance of the Soveriegnty of
Adam, to Princes that were to Reign after
him. ; ' • f
~ . - • * * ; • *- > c T
* a •- ' * * ■' \**
, 4
’# ‘ ; " . * *
A * • > * » -
‘ ' CHAP
. ' > » • .
*
a
( )
CHAP. vnr.
Of the Conveyance of Adams Sovereign Mo¬
narchical Power.
78. OR. Rob. having not been very
Ol happy in any Proofs he brings
for the Sovereignty of /- 4 dam , is not much
more fortunate in conveying it to future
Princes, who if his Politics be true, molt
all derive their Titles from him; The
ways he has afligned, as they lye fcatter d
up and down in his Writings, I will fet
down in his own Words , In his Preface
he tells u , that Adam being Monarch of
the whole World , none of his Pojlerity had
any right to pojfejs any thing, but by t.is
Gra^t or Permijjion , or by Succeffion f ont
him , here he makes two ways of convey¬
ance of any thing ,Adam flood poflefled
and thofe are Grant or Sue cefion. All Kings
either are , or are to be , reputed the next
Heirs to thofe firjl Proginetors , who were
at fir[i the natural Parents of the whole People r
p. 19. There cannot be any multitude cj
Men whatfoever , but that in it, confdtr d by
it felf, there is one Man amongji them , that
in nature hath a right to be the King of all
the rejl , as being the next Heir to Adam ,
0 . 255. Herein thefe places Inheritance
Jr : h 4 t
I
104
is the only way he allows of, conveying
Monarchical Power to Princes , 0. i«
All Power on Eirth is either derived or
fro™ the Fatherly Power, O. 158.
Ad Kings that now are , or ever were , are or
were either Fathers of their People,orthe Heirs
offhch Fathers or Uftrpers of the ri^ht of
peb Fa,hen, 0 . 2 53. And here he makes
Inheritance or Lf/rpation, the only ways
whereby Rings come by this Original
Powers But yet he tells us, this Fatherly Em.
pre, as it was of its felf Hereditary,; f 0 it
ivas amenable by Patent, and finable by an
Ofurper, 0 190. So then here Inheritance,
Grant or Ufu r p at i° n w iU convey it 5 And
lafr of all, which is moft admirable he
he tells us, p ,00. It skjls not which way
Kings come by their Power, whether by Betti-
on Donation, Snccejjion , by any other
means, for it is Hill the manner of the Go¬
vernment by S pream Power , that makes
mem properly Kings, and not the means of
obtaining their Crowns, which I think is a
tull anfwer to all his whole Hypothcfis,
anJ Dilcourfe about Adams Royal Au¬
thority, as the Fountain from which all
Princes were to derive theirs 5 And he
XT ‘ pa [ ed . the trouble of Speaking
Hei™ N a r , he . does » U P an d down of
Heirs and Inheritance, if to make anv
one P, oper/y a King , needs no more but
Governing
' ( io 5 )
joveming by Supream Power , and it mat - /
ers not by what means he came by it.
79. By this notable wav, our A— may
make Oliver as Properly King , as any one
?lfe he could think of 3 And had he had
he Happinef to live under Maffanellos
jovernment, he could not by this his
>wn Rule, have fbrborn to have done
domageto him, with O King live for ever,
ince the manner of his Government by
Supream Power, made him Properly King,
who was but the dav before. Properly a
Fifher-man 5 And if Don Qnixot , had
caught his Squire to govern with SupreatiP
Authority, our A -• no doubt could have
made a moft Loyal Subjedt, in Sancho Pan-
cha s Ijland , and he muff have defeived
fome Preferment in fuch Governments,
fince I think he is the firft Politician, u ho
pretending to fettle Government upon its
true Baits, and to eftablifh the Thrones
of lawful Princes ever tould the World,
that he was Properly a King , whofe man¬
ner of Government was by Sapream Power ,
by what means foever he obtained it, which
in plain Engli/l), is to fay, that Regal and
Snpream Power, is properly and truly
his, who can by any means ftize upon it,
and if this be, to be Properly a Kwg, I
wonder how he came to think of, or
where he will -find, an Z)fir per.
80. This
(to 6 ) •
So. This is fo ftrange a Do&rin, that
the furprize of it, hath made me pais by.
without their due refle&ion, the contra¬
dictions he runs into, by miking fome.
times Inheritance alone, fometimes only
Grant ot Inheritance, fometimes only In¬
ker itance or Ufnrpation , fometimes all
thefe three, and at la ft £ legion or any
other means, added to them, the ways
whereby Aslantt Royal Authority , that is,
his right to Supream Rule, could be
convey’d down to future Kings and Go¬
vernors, fo as to give them a Title to the
Obedience and - Subjection of the Peo«
pie, but theie contradictions lye io open,
that the very reading of our A -s own
words, will difcover them to any ordina¬
ry underftanding'} and though what I
have quoted out of him, with abundance
more of the fame Strain and Coherence
which might be found in him, might well
excufe me from any farther trouble in this
Argument, yet having propofed to my
lelf, to examin the main parts of his
Do&rin, I fhall a little more particularly
confider how Inheritance, Grant, Ufitrpa-
tion, or Election, can any way make out
Government in the World upon his Prin¬
ciples, or derive any lawful Title to any
ones Obedience, from this Regal Authors
ty of Adam, had it been never fo well
N, i Tfe SB
• C }°7 )
proved, that he had been Abfolute Mo¬
narch, and Lord of the whole World.
+ \ t 1 r - A
CHAP. IX.
^ . f i
Of Monarchy, by Inheritance front Adam.
81. nr Hough it be never fo plain, that
J| there ought to be Govern¬
ment in the VV'orld, nay (hould all Men
be of our A- s mind, that divine appoint¬
ment had ordained it to be Monarchical ,
yet fince Men cannot obey any thing, that
cannot command, and Ideas of Govern¬
ment in the Phanfy, though never fo per¬
fect,' never fo right, cannot give Laws,
nor prefcribe Rules to the Affions of
Men $ It would be of no behoof for the
fetling of Order, and Eftablifhment of
Government in its Exercife and Ufe a-
tnongfL Men, unlefs there were a way alio
taught how to know the Perfon, to whom
it belonged to have this Power, and Ex¬
ercife this 1 Dominion ever others. ’Fis
in vain then to talk of Subje&ion and O-
bedience, without telling us whom we
are to obey 5 For were I never fo fully
l perfwaded, that there ought to be Magi¬
stracy and Rule in the World, yet I am
never the lefs at Liberty ftill, till ic ap-
' ’ pears
( 108 ) '
pears who is the Perfon, that hath Right
to my Obedience, fince if there be no
marks to know him by, and diftinguifh
him, that hath Right to Rule from other
Men, it may be my felf, as well as any
other 5 And therefore though Submidion
to Government be every ones duty, yet
fince that dignifies nothing, but fubmitting
to the Dire&ion and Laws of filch Men,!
as have Authority to command, ’tis not
enough to make a Man a Sub'eft.to con¬
vince him that there is Regal Power in
the World, but there mufi: be ways ot
designing, and knowing the Perfon to
whom this Regal Power of Right belongs,
and a Man can never be obliged in com
fiience to fubmit to any Power, unlefi
he can be fatisfied who is the Perfon, who
has a Right to Exercile that Power over
him. If this were not fo, there would
be no difiindion between Pirates and
Lawful Princes, he that has Force is J
without any more ado to be obey’d, and
Crowns and Scepters would become the
Inheritance only of Violence and Rapin,
Men too might as often and as innocently
change their Governors, as they do their
Phyfitians, if the Perfon cannot be known,
who has a right to dire# me, and whofe
Prescriptions, I am bound to follow 3 To
fettle therefore Mens Confidences under
f 109 ) .
m Obligation to Obedience, ’tis neceffary
that they know not only that there is a
Power fomewhere in the World, but the
Perfon who by Right is vetted with this
Power over them.
82. How Succefiful our A— has been
in his attempts, to fet up a Monarchical
Ahfolnte Power in /Adam, the Reader may
fudge by what has been already faid, but
vere that Abfolute Monarchy as clear as
)ur A- would defire it, as I prefume it
s the contrary, yet it could be of no ufe
o the Govrenment of Mankind now in
he World, unlefs he alfo make out thele
:wo things.
Firjh That this Power of /Adam wis
lot to end w ith him, but was upon his
Deceafe conveyed entire to fome other
5 ei fon, and fo on to Pofterity.
. Secondly, That the Princes and Rulers
low on Earth, are poflefted of this Power
f Adam, by a right way of conveyance
ierived to them.
, 83. If the fir ft of the fie fail,, the Power of
Adam, were it never fo great,* never fo
ertain,wiH'fignifie nothing to the prefent
jovernment and Societies in the World,
»ut we mutt feek out fome' other Origi-
tal of Power tor the Government of Pott¬
y’s then this of Adam, or elle there will
>e none at all in the World, if the latter
wi /' ' fail
0 )
fail, it will deftroy the Authority of th<
prelent Governors, and ablblve the Peo¬
ple from Subjection tojihem, fince they
having no better a Claim then others tc
that Power, which is alone the Fountain
of all Authority, can have no Title to
Rule over them. 1
84. Our , 4 - having Phanffed an Ab-
lolute Sovereignty in Adani, mentions
feveral ways of its conveyance to Princes;,
that were to be his SuccefTors, but that
which he cheiffy infills on, is, thaf of /#•
heritance ,which occurs lb often in his feve-
fal Dilcourfes, and I having in the
foregoing Chapter quoted feveral of thels
paflages, I (hall not need here again to
repeat th^m, this Sovereignty be erefts,
ashad been laid upon a double Fo'undat’*
on, viz, that of Property, and that of
Fatherhood one was the right he was fpp-
poled to have in all Creatures, a right ro
poffefs tne Earth with the Bealls,and other
inferior Ranks of things in ir for his Private
tile, exclufive of all other Men. The other
was the Right he was fuppoled to have, td
Rule and Govern Men, all the reft of
Mankind.
^ 85. In both theft* Rights, there being
fuppoled an exclufion of ail other Vlen,
at muft be upon fome realbn peculiar to
Adam, that they muft both be finin'*
ded. , 1 ha
( MI )
That of his Property our A — fuppofes,
to arife from Gods immediate Donation ,
Gen. x. 28. and that of Fatherhood , from
the Aft of Begetting now in all Inheritance*
if the Heir fucceed not to the reafon, upon
which his Fathers Right was founded,
he cannot fucceed to the Right which
followed from it; For Example, S/dam
had a Right of Property in the Creature?,
upon the Donation and Grant of God Al¬
mighty, who was Lord and Proprietor
of them all,let this be fo as our A- tell us,
yet upon his death, his Heir can have no
1 itle to them, no fuch right of Property
in them, unlefs the fame reafon, viz. Gods
Donation , vefted a right in the Heir too,
for if Adam could have had no Property
in, nor ufe of, the Creatures without this
pofitive Donation from God, and this
Donation , were only Perfonally to Adam ,
his Heir could have no right by it, but
upon his death, it muff revert to God
the Lord and Owner again, for pofiiive
[Grants give no Title farther then the ex-
prds words convey it, and by which only
it is held, and thus, if as our A-- himfelf
contends, that Donation, Gen. 1. 28.were
made only to Adam , per for ally his Heir
could not focceed to his Property in the
Creatures, and if it were a Donation to
any but Adam , let it be (hewn, that it
I- was
was to his Heir in our As Senfe, t.e. to on
of his CHil dren exclufive of all the reft.
86.But not to follow our A- too far oui
of the way, the plain of the Cafe is this
God having made Man, and Planted ir
him, as in all other Animals, a ftrong
defire of felf Prefervation , and furnifhed
the World with things fit for Food and
Pvavment, and other neceflaries of Life,
S jbfervient to his defign, that Man fhouldj
hve and abide for fbme time upon the
the Face of the Earth, and not that fo
curious and wonderful a piece of Work-
rnanfhip by its own negligence, or want
of neceffaries,fhould perifh again, prefently
after a few moments continuance : God,
1 fav, having made Man and the World,
thus lpokt? to him, (that is) dire&ed himj
bv his Senfes and Heafon, as he did the
inferi or Animals by their Senfe, and In-
f’ inft which he had placed in them to that
purpose, to the ufe of thofe things, which
were ferviceable for his fubfiftence, and
gave him the means of his Pre/ervation ,
and therefore I doubt not, but before
thefe words were pronounced, t Gen. 2 8 .
If they muft be underftood Litteraliy
to have been fpoken, or without any
fuch Verbal Donation , Mail had a right to
a-life of the Creatures, by the Will and
Gram of God, for the defire, ftrong
^ / - defire
(”?)
lelire of Prelerving his Life and Being,
■ aving been Planted in him, as a Princi¬
ple of /dion by God himfelf, Realon,
: ->htch was the voice of God in him , could
ict but teach him and allure him, that
’Urfning that natural Inclination he had
o grelerve his Being,he followed the Will
\f his Maker, and therefore had a right
o make ufe of thole Creatures, which
y his Rea (bn or Senfes he could dilcover,
v I « /
-muld be ferviceable thereunto, and thus
•ans Property in the Creatures, was
junded upon the right he had, to make
fe of thole things that were neceffary,
r uleful to hi being.
87. This being /the Realbn and Foun-
ation of Adams Property , gave the lame
“itle, on the lame Ground, to all his
Ihildren, not only after his death, but
1 his life time, lo that here was no Privi*
*dge of his Heir above his other Chil-
ren, which could exclude them from
n equal right, to the ule of the inferior
features, for the comfortable Prelerva-
ion of their Beings. Which is all the Pro -
erty Man hath in them, and lo Adams
overeignty built on Property , or as our
/— calls it, Private Dominion comes to
othing. Every Man had a right to the
'features, by the fame Title Adam had,
by the right every one had to take
J .. i care
( H4 )
* \ . • •• r ,
care of, and provide for, their Subfiftance,
and thus Men had a right in common,
yldcw :r Children in common with him.
But if any one had began, and made
himfelf a Property in any particular thing,
(which hew he, or any one die, could do,
(hall be (hewn, in another place) that
thing, that pofleifion, if he difpos’d not
otherwife of it by his positive Grant,
defeended Naturally to his Children, and
they had a right to fucceed to it, and
poflefs it., . j . ;
88. It might reafonably be asked here,
how come Children by this right of pof-
1 tiling, before any other, the Properties
of their Parents upon their Deceafe, for
it being Perfonally the Parents, when they
dye, without actually Transferring their
Right to another, why does it not return
again to the common Stock of Mankind ?
’Twill perhaps be aniwered, that com¬
mon confent hath difpoled o( it to the
Children.Common Prattice, we fee indeed
does fo difpofe of it, but we cannot fay,
that it is the common confent of Man¬
kind 5 for that hath never been asked,nor
AftuaUy given, and if common tacit
Confent had Eftabliih’d it, it would make
but a pofitive and not natural Right of
Children, to Inherit the Goods of their
Parents: But where the Pradice is Uni-
' verfal,
f •( ” 5 )
verlal, ’tis reasonable to think the Caufe
is.natural. The ground then 1 think to
be this f befirft and ftrongeft defire God.
Planted in Men, and wrought into the
yery Principles of their nature, being that
of felf Prefervation, is the Foundation of
a right to the Creatures for their parti¬
cular fupport* and ufe ot each individual
perfon himlelf. But next to this, God
Planted in Men a (hong dtfire alio of
Propagating their Kind, and continuing
themfelves in their pofterity, and this
gives Children a Title, to (hare in the
Property of their Parents, and a Peight to
Inherit their Pofl'eflions, Men are not Pro¬
prietors of what they have rneerly for
themfelves, their Children have a Title
to part of it, and have their Kind of
Right joyn’d with their Parent’s, in the
Poilcffion which comes to be wholly theirs,
when death having put an end to their
Parents ufeofit, hath taken them from
their Poffefiions, and this we call Inheri¬
tance : Men .being by a like Obligation*
bound to preferve w hat they have.' begot¬
ten, as to .prefer ve themfelves, their iflue
come to have a Right in the Goods they
are poflelfed of. And that Children have
fuch a Right is plain from the Laws of God,
and that Men are convinced,, that Chil¬
dren have fuch a Right, is Evident from
I 2 t e
- . (<»«)
the Law of the Land, both which Laws rc
quire Parents to provide for their Childrei
89. For Children being by the courl
of nature, born weak, and unable to prc
vide for themfelves, they have by the z\
pointment of God himfelf, who hath tht
ordered the courfe of nature, a right t
be ncurifh’d and maintained by the
Parents, nay a right not only to a bai
Subfiftance, but to the conveniences at,
comforts of Life, as far as the conditio
of their Parents can afford it 5 And hen<
it comes, that when their Parents lea^
the World, and fo the care due to the
Children ceafes, the effe&s of it are to e
tend as far as poffibly they can, ai
the Provifions they have made in th<
Life time, are underftood to be intend*
as nature requires they (hould, for tht
Child ren, whom after themfelves, th
are bound to provide for, though t
dying Parents, by exprefs Words, decla
nothing about them, natur e appoints t
the defcent of their Property to their Cfc
dren, who thus come to have a Tit
and natural Right of Inheritance toth<
Fathers Goods, which the reft of Ms
kind cannot pretend to.
90. Were it not for this right of bei
nouriftied, and maintained by their I
rents, whfeh God and nature has given
‘ • , Childr*
I|l " (>U7 )
Children and obliged Parents to,as a duty*
it would, be reafbnable, that the Fathejr
Ihould Inherit the Eftate of ljis Son, and
be prefer’d in the Inheritance before his
Grand Child, for to the Grand Father,
there is due a long Score of care and ex-
pences laid out upon the Breeding and
Education of his Son , which one
would think in Juftice ought to be paid,
but that having been done in Obedience
to the fame Law, whereby he received
Nourifhment and Education from hisown
Parents, this Score of Education received
from a Mans Father, is paid by taking
care and providing for his own Children
(is paid I fay, as much as is requir’d of
payment by alteration of Property, un-
lefs prefent necefiity of the Parents re¬
quire a return of Goods for their necef-
wry Support and Subfiftance, for we are
not now (peaking of that reverence, ac¬
knowledgment) refpeft and honour that
is always due from Children to their Pa¬
rents, but of poffeflions and commodi¬
ty ties of Life valuable by Money;) But yet
$his debt to the Children, does not quite
cancel the Score due to the Father, but
only is made by nature preferable to it ^
P for the debt a Man owes his Father, takes
jplace and gives the Father a Right to In¬
herit the Sons Goods, where for want of
i . WTuc
C «8 )• j|l
IfTue, the Right of Children doth not ex¬
clude that 1 itle. And therefore a Man
having a Right to be maintain’d by his
Children where he needs it, and to injoy
alio the comforts of Life from them, when
thenecdiary provision due to them and
their Children will afford it, if his Son
dye without Iffue, the Father has a right
in nature to pofTefs his Goods, and Inherit
his Eftate (whatever the Municipal Laws
of fome Countries may abfurdly direft
other wife,) and fo again his Children and
their Iffue from him, or for want of fuch
his father and his IfTue 5 Eut where no
fuch are to be found, i. e. no Kindred
there we fee the poifeflions of a Private
Man, revert to the community, and fo
in Politic Societies come into the hands
of the public Magiffrate, but in the State
oi nature become again perfe&ly common,
no body having a right to Inherit them,
nor can any one have a Property in them,
otherwife then in other things common
py nature, of which I fhall lpeak in its
due place.
91* 1 have been the larger 3 in fhewing
Upon what ground Children have a Right
to faceted to the Poffeflion oftheir Fathers
Properties, not only becaufe by it, it
will appear, that if Adam had a Property
C a Ti tu - ar infignificant ufelefs Property *
’ .( ii9 )
for it could be no better, for he was
bound to nourifh and maintain his Uui-
dren and Pofterity out of it) in the whole
Earth and its Produft, yet all his Chi
dren coming to have by the Law or na^
turn and Right of Inheritance a joynt .
Title, and Right of Property in it alter
his death, it could convey no right ut
Sovereignty to any one ot his Poltenty
over the reft, lince every •• one having a
right of Inheritance to his portion, they
might enjoy their Inheritance, or any part
of it in common, or (hare' it, or lome
parts of it, by Divifion, as it belt liked
them, but no one could pretend to the
whole Inheritance, or any Sovereignty
fuppofed to accompany it, fince a right
of Inheritance gave every one of the relr,
as well as any one, a I itle to (bare in the
Goods of his Father. Net only upon this
account, I fay, have 1 been fo particular
in examining the reafon of Childrens
Inheriting the Property of their Fathers,
but alfo becaufeit will give us farther Light
in the Inheritance of Rule and Power,
which in Countries where their particu¬
lar Municipal Laws give the whole Pof-
letiion of Land entirely to the firlf Born,
and Defcent of Power has gone lo to Men
by this Cuftom, Ibme have been apt to be
deceived into an Opinion, that there
* . I 4 was
was a Natural or Divine Right of Primo¬
geniture to both Ejlate and Porver 0 and
that the Inheritance of both Rule over
Men and Property in things, fprafig from
the fame Original, and were to defend
by the fame Rules.
92. Property, whole Original is from
the Right a Man has to ufe any of the
inferior Creatures, for the fubfiftance and
comfort of bis Life, is for the benefit and
iole advantage of the Proprietor, lb that
he may even deftroy the thing, that he has
Property in by his ufe of it, where need
requires 3 But Government being for the
Prelervation of every Mans Right and
Property, by Preserving him from
the Violence or Injury of others, is for
the good of the Governed 5 For the Ma-
giftrate Sword, being for a Terror to evil
Deers , and by that Terror to inforce
Men toobferve the pofitive Laws of the
Society, made conformable to the Laws
of Nature, for the Public good, i. e. the
good of every particular Member of that
Society, as far as by common Rules, it
can be provided for •> the Sword is not
given the Magiftrate for his own good
alone. - - . .
93; Children therefore, as has been
fhew’d, by the depend a nee they have on
their Parents for Subfiftance, have a
. .. . ■ 'Right
(el 3 1 )
Right of Inheritance to their Fathers Pro¬
perty, as that which belongs to them for
their Proper good and behoof and there¬
fore are fitly termed Goods, wherein the
I firft Born has not a foie or peculiar
I Right by any Law of God and Nature.
His,and his Brethren#, being equally foun¬
ded on that Right they had to mainte¬
nance, fupport and comfort from their
Parents, and on nothing elle 5 But Go¬
vernment being for the benefit of the
Governed, and not the foie advantage
of the Governors ('but only for theirs
with the reft, as they make a part of that
Politic Body, each of whole Parts and
Members are taken care of, and dire&ed
in their peculiar Fun&ion for the good
of the whole, by the Laws of the Society,)
cannot be Inherited by the lame Title,
that Children have to the Goods of
their Fathers. The Right a Son has to be
maintained and provided with the ne-
ceflaries and conveniences of Life out of
his Fathers Stock, give? him a Right to
fucceed to his Fathers Property for his own
good, but this can give him no Right to
lucceed alfo to the Rule , which his Fa¬
ther had over other Men} all that a Child
has Right to claim from his Fathers is
Nourilhment and Education, and the
things nature furnilhes for the fupport ot
Life?
C 122 )
Life , but he has no Right to demand Rule\
or Dominion from him : He can fubfifi: and
receive from him the Portion of good
things, and advantages of Education na¬
turally due to him, without Empire and
Dominionifthu t(if his Father hath any)was
veiled in him, tor the good and behoof
of others, and therefore the Son cannot
Claim or Inherit it by a Title, which is
founded wholy on his own private good
and advantage.
O.
94. We muff know how the fir ft Ruler,
from whom any one claims came by his
Authority, upon what ground any one,
has Empire , what his Title is to it, before
we can know who has a right to fucceed
him in it, and inherit it from him 3 If
the Agreement and Confent of Men firft
gave a Scepter into any ones hand, or
put a Crown on his Head, that alfo mufl:
direct its defcent and converance 5 for the
fame Authority,that made the firft a Law-
ful/Wrr, muft make the Second too, and
fo give Right of Succeffion 3 And -in this
Cals Inheritance or Primogeniture, can
in its lelf have no Right, no pretence, to
it, any farther then that Confent, which
Eftablifhed the Form of the Government,
hath fo fettled the SucceRion 5 and thus
we lee the SucceiTion of Crowns, in leve-
ral Countries places it on different Heads,
and
()
and he comes by right of Sncceffion, to
be a Prince in one place, who would be
a Subject in another.
95. If God, by his pofitive Grant and
regaled Declaration, firftgave Rule and
Dominion to any Man, he that will
Claim by that Title, muft have the
fame pofitive Grant of God for his
Sncceffion } for if that has not dire&ed
the Courfe of its defcent and convey¬
ance down to others, no body can fucceed
to this Title ofthe firft Ruler, and hereto
Children have no right of Inheritance^and
Primogeniture can lay no Claim, unlefs
God the Author of this Conftitution hath
fo ordained it. Thus we lee the preten-
fions of Sauls Family, who received his
Crown from the immediate Appointment
of God, ended with his Reign 5 And
David by the fame Title that S. Gods appointment, fiicceeded in his
Throne, to the exclufion of Jonathan, and
all pretenfions of Paternal Inheritance.
And if Solomon had a right to fucceed his
Father, it muft be by fome other Title,
then that of Primogeniture. A Cadet
or Sifters Son, muft have the Preference
in Succeffion, if jie has the fame Title the
firft Lawful Prince had. And in Domi¬
nion that has its Foundation only in the
pofitive appointment of God him 1 elf,
T • • mnjamtn
( *24 )
Benjamin the youngeft, muft have the In¬
heritance of the Crown, if God fo direft
as well as one of that Tribe hadthefirft
Poffefiion.
9 6. If Paternal Rights the Aft of Be¬
getting , give a Man Rule and Dominion ,
Inheritance or Primogeniture can give no
Title, for he that cannot fucceed to his
Fathers Title, which was Begetting , cannot
fucceed to that Power over his Brethren,
which his Father had by Paternal Right
over them, but I fhall have more to fay
on this by and by. This is plain in the
tnean time, that any Government whe¬
ther fuppofed to be, at firffc founded in
Paternal Right, Conjent of the People , or the
Pofitive Appointment of God himfelf which
can fuperfede either of the other, and fo
begin a new Government upon a new
Foundation, I fay, any Government began
upon either of thefe, can by Right of Sue-
cefiiari come to thofe only, who have the
Title df him, they fucceed to. Power foun-
ded^em Contraft, candefcend only to him,
wljK) has Right by that Contraft, Power
founded on Begetting, he only can have
Begets, and Power founded on the
ppfitive Grant or Donation of God,
he only can have by Right of Succeflion s
io whom that Grant direfts it.
'V r , , V -•» V , '
■ 97 - A>'
( m) * • .
q 7» From what I have fa id, I think this
a dear, that a Right to the ufe of the
Creatutes,being founded Originally tn the
Rjpht a Man has to lubfift and enjoy th~
conveniences of Lite, and the natural
Right Children have to Inherit the goods
of their Parents, being founded m the
Right they have to the fame Subfiftance
and Commodities of Life, out of the Stock
of their Parents, who are therefore
taught by natural Love and Tendernels
to provide for them, as a part oi tfcem-
felvcs, and all this being only for the
good of the Propr ietor or Heir 5 It can be
no reafon for Childrens Inheriting ot
Rule and Dominion, which has another
Original and a different end, nor can
Primogeniture have any Pretence to a
Right ot folely Inheriting either Proper-
ty or Power, as we (hall in, its due place,
fee more fully. Vis enough to have (hew d
here, that Mam Property or Private
Dominion, could not convey any Sovereign¬
ty or Rule to his Heir, who not having
a Right to Inherit all his Fathers Poflef-
lions, could not thereby come to have any
Sovereignty over his Brethren, and there¬
fore if any Sovereignty, on account of
his Property , had been vefted in Mam,
which in 1 ruth there was not} yet it would
have died with him. * f _ „
. C 126 )
98. As Adam's Sovereignty, if he had
by vertue of being Proprietor of the
? whole World, had any Authority over
Men, could not have been Inherited by
any of his Children over the reft, becaufe
they had all (Title to divide the Inheri¬
tance, and every one had a Right to a
Portion of his Fathers Poffe (lions, fo
neither couldAdant's Sovereignty by Right
of Fatherhood , if. any fuch he had, de¬
fend to any one of his Children 5 for it
being, in our A-s account, a Right ac¬
quired by Begetting to Rule over thofe
he had begotten, it was not a Power
pofbble to be Inherited, becaufe the
Right being confequent to, and built on,
an Aft perteftly Perfonal, made that
Power fo too, and impoflible to be In¬
herited for Paternal Power, being a na¬
tural Right, ariiing only from the rela¬
tion of Father and Son, is as impoflible
to be Inherited as-the relation it ielf,
and a Man may pretend as well to Inherit
the conjugal Power, the Husband, whofe
Heir he is, had over his Wife, as he can
to Inherit t he Paternal Power of a Father
over his Children 5 For the Power of
the Husband being founded on Con¬
tract, and thevPower of the Father on
Begetting, he may as well Inherit the
Power obtained by the conjugal Con¬
trail
C 12 7 )
tratt, which was only Perfonal, as he
may the Power obtained by Begetting,
which could reach no farther then the
Perlon of the Begetter ,unlefs begetting can
be a Title to Power in him, that does
not beget.
. £9. Which makes it a reafcnable que-
fiion to ask, whether Adam dying before
Eve his Heir, Tuppofc Cain or Seth Should
' have had by Blight of Inheriting Adam's
Fatherhood , Sovereign Power over Eve
his Mother 3 for Adams Fatherhood , being
nothing but a'Right he had to Govern
' his Children, becaufe he begot them, he
' that Inherits Adam's Fatherhood , inherits
nothing even in our A— s lenfe, but the
the Right Adam had to Govern his
Children, becaufe he begot them, fo that
the Monarchy of the Heir would not
have taken in Eve , or if it did, it being
nothing ,bnt the Fatherhood of Adam >. de¬
fended by Inheritance, the Heir mud
have Right to Govern Eve , becaufe
Adam begot her 3 For Fatherhood is no¬
thing elfe. r r
ico. Perhaps it will be laid with our
A~, that a Man can alien his Power over
his Child, and what may be transfer’d
by compaft, may be poffefied by Inheri¬
tance, I anfwer, a Father cannot Alien the
Power he has over hisChild,he may perhaps
S . to
C 12 8 ) . - :]
to fbrae degrees forfeit it, but cannoi
transfer it, and if any other Man ar; uirc
it, Ms not by the Fathers Grant,. but
fome Aft of his own j For example, a
Father, unnaturally carelels of his Child,
(ells or gives him to another Man i and he
again expoles him*! third Man finding him,
breeds up cherifhes and provides for him as
his own: I think in this Cafe, no body
will doubt but that the greateft part of
filial Duty and Subjection was here owing,
and to be paid to, this Fofter-Father, and
if any thing could be demanded from
him, by either of the other, it could
be only due to his natural Father, who
perhaps might have forfeited his Right to
much of that Duty comprehended in the
command, Honour your Parents , but could
transfer none of it to another, he that
purchaled, and negle&ed the Child got
by his Purchale and Grant of the Father,
no Title to Duty or Honour from the
Child, but only he a cquired it, who by
his own Authority, performing the Office
and Care of a Father, to the Forlorn
and Perifhing Infant, made himlelf by
Paternal Care, a Title to proportionable
Degrees of Paternal Power. This will be
more eafily admitted upon confideration
of the nature of Paternal Power, for which
I refer iny Reader to the 2 d Book.
101.
C *2 9) ■
101. To return to the Argument in
hand, this is evident , That Paternal
Power arifing only from Begetting, for
in that our A — places it alone, can neither
be transfer 1 d> nor inherited j And he that
does not beget, can no more have Pa¬
ternal Power which ariles from thence,
then he can have a Right to any thing
Who performs not the condition, to which
only it is annexed $ I f one thould ask by
what Law, has a Father Power over his
Children, it will be anfwered ho doubt
by the Law of nature, which gives fuch
a Power over them, to him that begets
them 5 If one fhould ask likewife bywhat
Law docs our As Heir come by a Right
to Inherit, I think it would be anfwer’d
by the Law of nature too, for I find not
that our A — brings one word of Scrip¬
ture to prove the Right of fuch an Heir
he lpeaks o£ why then the Law of na¬
ture, gives Fathers Paternal Power over
their Children, becaufe they did beget
them, and the lame Law of nature gives
the fame Paternal Power to the Heir over
his Brethren, who did not beget them
whence it follows, that either the Fathe**
has not his Paternal Power by begettin
or elfe that the Heir has it not at all
For ’tis hard to underftand how the La
il 1 ‘ K • ' ■ '"‘c
120
of nature which is the Law of reafon,
can'give the Paternal Power to the Pa?
ther over' his Children, for. t 1 e only rea'l
lon of Begetting* and to the fir ft borrij
over his Brethren without this only rea-
fhn, i. e. for no reafon at all, and if the
Ekleft by the Law of nature can inherit
thh Paternal 1 PbW*r, without the only
reafbn that gives a Title to it, Co may the
/oongeit as well as he, and a ftrangeras
wcii as either, for where there is norea-*
fon for any one, as there is nor, hut for
him that begets, ail have an equal Title,
am fure cur A ■ offers no reafon,and when
env body does, we fhall fee whether it
w ill hold or no.
let. In the mean time ’tis as good
Serife to fay, that by the Law of nature,
a Man has Right to inherit the Property
of another, becaufe he is of Kin to him,
and is known to be of his Blood, and
therefore by the fame Law of nature,
an utter Stranger to 1 is Blood, hasRight
to inherit hisEftate; As to fay that by
the Law of nature he that begets them,
h’as Paternal Power over his Children,
and therefore by the Law of nature, the
Hdr that begets them not, has this Pater-
%jl Power over them 5 or fuppofing the
Law of the Land gave Abfolute Power
' 5 V • over
t
C 1 ? 1 )
ver their Children, to fuch only who
urfed them, and fed their Children
lemfelves, could any body pretend, that
iis Law gave any one who did no fitch
ting, Abfbl.ute Power over thofe, who
i‘ere not his Children.
103. When therefore it can be fhew’d,
iat conjugal Power can belong to him
latisnot an Husband, it will aifo I be-
sve be proved, that our A-s Paternal
ower acquired by begetting, may be
iherited b.y a Son, and that a Brother as
(eir to his Fatliers*Power, may have
aternal Power over his Brethren, and
y the fame Rule conjugal Power to, but
11 then, I think we may reft fat is fed, that
le Paternal Power of Adam , this Sove-
:ign Authority of Fatherhood , were there
ay fuch, could not defeend to, nor be
iherited by, his next Heir. Fatherly Power
eafily grant our A- - if it will do him any
ood, can never be loft, becaufe it will
s as long in the World as there are
athers,but none of them will have Adams
aternal Power, or derive theirs from
im, but every one will have his own,
y the fame Title Adam had his, viz. by
egettb/g, but not by Inheritance or Sue-
dTion, no more then Husbands have
leir conjugal Power by Inheritance from
Idam 5 And thus we fee as Adam had no
K 7 fmb
C 132 )
filch Property, no fuch Paternal Power as
gave him Sovereign Jurifdiftion over Man¬
kind , fb likewife his Sovereignty built
upon either of thefe Titles, if he had any
fuch, could not have descended to his
Heir, but rnuft have ended with him,
Adam therefore, as has been proved, be¬
ing neither Monarch, nor his imaginary
Monarchy,hereditable, the Power which is
now in the World, is not that which vvas
Adams , fince all that Adam could have
upon our f Princes, and fettle the Obedience of
heir Subjects, by letting up an Hundred
>r perhaps a Thouland Titles, if there
>elb many Princes in the World, againffc
my King now Reigning upon our A-s
grounds, as good as his own. If this
light of Heir carry any weight with it.
Tit be the Ordinance of God as oujr A—
eems to tell us,Q.244.muft not all be Sub-
eft to it, from the higheft to thgloweft,
;an thofe who wear the name of Princes,
vithout having the Right of being Heirs
0 Adam , demand Obedience from their
iubjefts by this Title, and pot be bound
o pay it by the lame Lavv > either Go-
r ernments in the World are not to be
K 3 claim’
C 134 )
claim’d and held by this Title of Adam.
Heir, and then the ftarting of it is tt
no purpofe, the being or not being A
dams Heir fignifies nothing as to the
fitie of Dominion: Or if"it really be
as our A*, fays, the true Title to Go¬
vernment and Sovereignty, the fit ft thine
to be done, is to find our this true Hen
of Adam, feat him' in his I hrone, and ther
all the Kings and Princes of the World
come and refign up their Crowns anc!
Scepters to hint, as things that belong nc
more to them, then to any of their Sub,
jeft-. r ■ '
( io 5- For either this Right in nature, oi
Aaams Heir, to be King over all- the
Race or Men, (for altogether they make
one Multitude) is a right not neeeffary tc
the making of a Lawful King, and fa
thv.te may be Lawful Kings without if.
ana then Kings I itles and Power depend
not on it, or elfe all the Kings in the
World but one are not Lawful Kings, and
10 have no Right to Obedience, either
tnis Titie of Heir to Adam is that where¬
by Kings hold their Crown?, and have a
Right to Subje&ion from their Subjects,
and then one only can have it, and the
reft being Suhje&s can require, no Obe¬
dience from other Men, who are but
tneir fellow Subje&s, or e fte it is not the
. Title
> *
C 135 )
Title whereby Rings Rule, and hsve a
Right to Obedience frcm their Subjeffs,
and then Kings are Kings without it. And^
this Dream or the natural Sovereignty ot
yJdams Heir is of no trie to Obedience
and Government 5 For if Kings have a
Right to Dominion, and the Obedience
of their Subje&s who are not, nor can
potiibly be, Heir- to /dam, what ufe is
there of Inch a Title, when we are obli¬
ged to obey without it ? It they have not,
we are difcharged oh our Obedience to
them, for he that has no Right to com¬
mand, .I am under no Obligation toob y,
and we are all free till our A— or any
body for him, will fhew us Adams right
Heir 3 If there be but one Heir of Adam t
there can be but one Lawful Ring in the
World, and no body in confcience can
be obliged to Obedience, till it berefolved
who that is; for it may beany one who
is not known to be of a Younger Houle,
and all others have equal Titles. If there
be more then one Heir of Adam, every
one is his Heir* and fo every one has Re¬
gal Power 3 for if two Sons can be Heirs
together, then all the Sons are equally
Heirs, and lb all are Heirs, being all Sons,
or Sons Sons of Adam , betwixt thefe
two the Right of Heir cannct ftand5 for by
it either but one only Man, or all Men
K 4 are
( 13 6 )
are Kings, and take which yeu pleale, it
diffolves the Bonds of Government arid
Obedience, fince if all Men are Heirs,
they can owe Obedience to no body 3 if
only one, no body can be obliged to pav
Obedience to him, till he be known and
his Title made out.
C H A P. XL
s • ' nMH
V i 1 W I
Who Heir }
106. TTHE great queftion which in
JL Ages has difturbed Mari^-
kind, and brought on them the greateft
P art o ^ thole Mifchiefs which have ruin’d
Cities, depopulated Countries, and dilor-
dered the Peace of the World, has been
riot whether there be Power in the World,
nor whence it came, but who fhould
have it; The fettling of this therefore be¬
ing* or no frnalier moment then the fe-
curity of Princes, and the peace and
welfare of their Eftates and Kingd >ms,
a writer of Politics, one would think,
(hould take great care in letling this point,
and be very clear in it 3 For it this remain
difpurable, ali the reft will be to very
little purpole. And by drefling up
Power with ali the Splendor and Temp-
J tation
C 137 )
tation Ab(oIutene(s can add to it, with-
out (hewing who has a right to have it,
is only to give a greater edg to Mans na¬
tural Ambition, which of it (elf, is but too
apt to be intemperate, and to fet Men on
the more eagerly to Scramble, and (o
lay a lure and lading Foundation of end-
lels contention and dilorder inflead of
that Peace and Tranquillity , which is the
bu(ine(s of Government, and the end of
Human Society. .
107. This our A-- is more then ordi¬
narily obliged to do, becaufe he affirm¬
ing that 'the Alignment of , Civil Power , is
by Divine inflitution , hath made tile con¬
veyance as well as the Power it (elf Sacred,
(b that no Power, no confideration can
divert it from that Perlbn, to whom by
this Divine Right, it is afligned, no ne-
ceflity or conn ivance can fubftitute ano¬
ther Perfon in his room. For if the
Ajjignment of Civil Power be by Divine
JnftiUttion and Adams Heir, he to whom
it is thus sfjjigned, as we (ee in the fore¬
going Chapter, our A — tells us, it would
be as much Sacriledge for any one to be
King, who was not Adams Heir, as it
ivould have been amongft the Jews , for
any one to have been Priefl , who had not
been of Aarons pofterity 5 For not only
the Priefthood in general being by Divine
• ‘ ~ Inflitution
C I?8 )
Iitfiitiitton, tut the Ajpgumem of it to th<
Sole Line and Pofteriry of Aaron, mad e it
itnpouiok to be injoyM or excrcj'fed
. y Iratr but - ‘ hofc Perfons » ho are
the Offspring of Jon,,, wh ofe fucceffion
therefore was carefully obferved, and by
that !he Perfons who had a Right ,o the
r ik , ifood certainly known.
ig8 . Let ns fee then what eare our A~
has taken, to make us know who is this
/*«• Who h Divine Inflation, has
a Right to oe Kmg over all Men. The firk
account of him we meet north is , p. 12 . m
thefe words; This Subjection of Children ,,
king the Fountain of all Regal Authority ,,
by the Ordination of God himfelf; it follows ,
that Civil Power not only in general , is
y Divine Injhtution , but even the Adlen-
rnent of it jpecifically to the Eldejl Parents :
Matters of fuch confluence as this is,
mould be m plain words, as little liable
•? Dou?ot or Equivocation,
and I think if Language be capable of
expreffing any thing deftinaiy and clearly,
that of Kindred, and the feveral Degrees
pfnearned cl Blood, is one $ It were there.
fore to be wifh’d, that our A- had uled
a little more intelligible expreffions here,
tnat we might have better known who
it is, to whom the Ajfgnment of Civil Pow¬
er, is made by Divine Jnjiitution, or at
leaft
( 13 9 )
lead: would haye told us what he
meant by ElJeft Parent t a for 1 believe if
Land had been Affigned or Granted to
him,and theEUefiParcnts of his Faniily,he
would havethought it had needed an in¬
terpreter, and ’t would fcarce have been
known to whom next it belong’d.
109. In Propriety of Speech, and cer¬
tainly Propriety of Speech is neceffary
in a difcoiirfe of this nature, Eldcji Pa¬
rents fignifiesxither the Eldeft Men and
Women that have had Children, or thofe
who have longeft had lilue, and then our
A -s aflertion will be, that thole fathers
and Mothers who have been longeft in
the World, or longeft Fruitful, have by
Divine Inftitvtion, a Right to Civil Powers
If there he anv abfurdity in this, our A—
nuift anfwer for it, and if his meaning be
different from my explication he is to be
blam’d, that he would not fpeak it plain¬
ly 3 This I am fure. Parents cannot fig-
nify Heirs Male nor Fddejt Parents , an
Infant Child, who yet may fometimes be
the true Heir s there can be but one.
And we are hereby ftill as much at a
iofs, who Civil Power belongs to, not-
withftanding this S/jfignment by Divine
Inftitntion , as if there had been no fuch
Affignment at all, or our A— had faid
nothing of it. This of Eldefl Parents
' C »40 ) *»■-!
jS’"f. us ' nore “Ae dark, who b yDwim
has a Right to Civil Power, then
.ole who never heard any thing at all of
H*r, or dclcent, of which our Zl~ is fo
- will fave
thcfe the labour who would look for him
among!* the Race of Eruits, if any ftdi
there were: but will very little contri-
bure to the difcovery or one next Heir a- ‘
mongfr Men, though it make a fhort and
eafy determination of the queftion about
, defcent of Adams p v egal Power, by
telling ns, that the Line and Posterity of
jddam is to have it, that is, in plain Em.
L/h, any one may have ir, fince there is no
Perfcn living that hath not the 1 file of
being of the Line and Pojterity of Adam
and while it keeps there/ it keeps within
our A-s limitation by Gods Ordinance.
Indeed,19. he tells' us that fuch Heir ’s
are not only Lords of their own Children,
hut of their Brethren , whereby, and by the
words following, which we fhall confider
anon,be fee ms to insinuate that the Eldeft
Son is Heir , but he no where/that 1 know
fays it in dire# words, but by the in-
ftances of Cain and Jacob that there fol¬
low, we may allow this to befo far hL
Opinion concerning Heirs, that where
’ . there
F ' f 143 )
here are diverfe Children, the Eldeft Son
>as the Right to be Weir ; 7 hat Primo*^
;eniture cannot give any Title to Paternal
J cwer we have already fhew’d , That a
: 2ther may have a natural Right to fbme
;ind of Power over his Children, is eafi-
y granted, but that an Elder Brother has
o over his Brethren remains to be proved,
jpd or Nature has not any w here, that I
mow, placed fuch jurijfdjaiOn in the firft
3orn, nor can Reafbn find any fuch na-
ural Superiority amongft Brethren. The
.aw of Mofe's gave a double Portion of the
3 oods andPcff flions to the Eldeft,but we
ind not any where that, naturally, or by
rods Inttitution, Superiority or Dominion
rdong’d to him, and the inftances there
rrought by our A-, are but Bender Proofs
>f a Right to Civil Power and Domini-
>n in the firft born, and do rather fhew
he contrary.
112. His words are in the forecited
dace : And therefore roe find God told
-ain of his Brother Abel 5 His defire full
e Subject unto thee , and thou [halt Rule
'ver hint. To which I anfwcr i° Thefe
verds of God to Cain, are by many In-
erpreters with great Reafon underftood
n a quite different Senfe then what our
4 -- ufes them in 5 2 0 , Whatever was meant
>y them it could not be, that Cain, as
| Elder,
pider, had a natural Dominion over Abet
for the words are conditional.* If t hoi
doeji well and fo perfonal to G/«, and
whatever was figriified by them, did de-
pend on his Carriage and not follow his
Birth-right, and therefore could by no
means be an Eftablifhment of Dominion
in the fir born in general; for before
M i n ad his * Territories by
^ 7 ^f te dominion, as our A—
hi mi elf confers, 0. 210. which he could
not have had to the prejudice of the Heirs
i toe, if by aivine Infitution , Cain & Heir
^ e f p C t ®. ,n ^ er * t *d! his Fathers Dominion.
thls ^ ere intended by God as the
Charter of Primogeniture, and the Grant
of Dominion to Elder Brothers in general,
as fuch by flight of Inheritance,we might
expect it fhould have included all his
Brethren 5 for we may well fuppofe, Ad an,
from whom the World was to be peopled
iJ w !j r * ,I3e? that thefe were grown up to
£ v.n 5 had more Sons, then thefe two
whereas AM hin.felf is not fo much
as named, and the words in the Origi-
nai, can fcarce with any good conftru&i.
on,be apply’d to him 5 4’Jt is too much to
omld a Doftnn of fo mighty confequence
upon fo doubtful and obfeure a place of
scripture, which may be well, nay better,
nnderftood m a quite d ifferent Senfe, and
C145 )
b can be but an ill Prob£ being as doubt-
ul as the thing to be proved by it, efpe-
ially when there is nothing elle in Scrip-
ure or Reafon, to be found that favours
tr fupportsit. ' ">
115. It follows i p. 19. Accordfngtj
then Jacob bought hit Brothers Birth-right ,
faac Bleffed him thus , be Lord over thy
brethren, and let the Sons of thy Mother
ow before thee , another inftance I take if,
irought by our A— to evince Dominion
lue to Birth-right, and an admirable one
t is ^ for it muft be no ordinary way of
eafoning in a Man, that is pleading for
he natural Power of Kings, and againft
11 compact to bring for Proof of it, an
xample where his own account of it,
bunds all the right upon compafr, and
bttles Empire in the Younger Brother,
■tnlefs buying and felling be no compaft 5
or he tells us, when Jacob bought his Bro¬
kers Birthright 5 But palling by that,
et us confider the Hiftory it Iclf,
vith what ufe our A— makes of it, and
ve (hall find thele following miftakes a-
>out it.
- i°. That our /J - reports this, as if
faac had given Jacob this Blefling, im¬
mediately upon his Purehafing the Birth-
ight 5 for he lays, when Jacob bought, Ijaac
VefTed kint, which is plainly otherwise
k-< ' ' t / trt
. ' ( hO
in the Scripture, for it appears there wa;
a diftance of time between, and if wt
will take the Story in the order it lies
it muft be no fmall diftance 5 All Ifaacs
Sojourning in Gerar , afid Tranfa&ions
with Abmelech , Grn. 2 6. coming be<
tween, Kebefa being then Beautiful and
conlequently young, but Ifaac when he
Blefled Jacob , was old and decrepit $
And Efatt alio complains of Jacob, Gen.
27* 36- that two times he had Supplanted
him, he toof away sny Birth-right , (ays he,
and behold now he hath taken away my Blef
fing a words,that I think, fignifies diftance
of time, and difference of Adion.
2 °. Another miftake of our A—s, is,
that he (uppofts Ifaac gave Jacob the Blef-
fing, and bid him be Lord over his Bre¬
thren, becaufe he had the Birth right, for
our A-- brings this example to prove, that
he that has the Birthright , has thereby
a right to be Lord aver his Brethren 3 But
it is alio manifeft by the Text, that Ifaac
had no confideration of Jacobs having
bought the Birth right, for when he Bleb-
led him, he considered him not as Jacob ,
but took him for Efw, nor did Efau un-
derftand any fuch connexion between
Birth-right and the Blejfing, for he fays,
he hath Supplanted me thefe two times, he took
away my Birth-right, and behold now he
hath
JL (i47)
taken away my Bleffing, whereas had the
lejfing, which was to be Lord over his
rethren , belong’d to the Birth-right ,>
Can could not have complain’d of this
cond as a Cheat, Jacob having got no-
iing» but what Efim had fould him, when
ifould him his Birth-right , fb that it is
ain, Dominion if thefe words fignifie
, was not underftood to belong to the
! rth-right. fi ’ :j,
114. And that in thofe days of the
itriarchs Dominion was not underftood
• be the Right of the Heir, but only a
eater Portion of goods, is plain from
en. 21. 10. for Sarah taking Ifiaac to be
sir, fays, cafi out this Bond woman and
r Son , for the Son of this Bond-woman ,
'll not be Heir with my Son, whereby could
( meant ; nothing, but that he fhould
>t have a pretence to an equal fhare of
j Fathers Eftate after his death, but
)uld have his Portion prefently, and
gone. Accordingly, we read, Gen. 25.
6 . That Abraham gave all that he had
to Ifiaac , but unto the Sons of the Conns-
ies which Abraham had , Abraham gave
fits, and fient them away from Ifiaac his
v, while he yet lived 5 That is, Abraham
ving given Portions to all his other
ns and lent them away, that which He
If rderved, being the greateft part of
L 2- , his
( >48 )
his fubftance, Ifaac as Heir PoffefTed af¬
ter his death, but by being Heir, hehac
no Right to be Lord over his Brethren
For if he had, why fliould Sarah defir<
to rob him of one of his Subjects, hi
Slaves , by defiring to have him fern
away. /f .■ -rV. * j
115. Thus as under the Law, tht
Priviledge of Birth right , was nothing
but a double Portion, fo we fee that be
fore Mofis in the Patriarchs time, fron
whence our A- - pretends to take hi
model, there was no knowledge, nc
thought that Birth-right gave Rule o
Empire, Paternal or Kingly Authority, t(
any one over his Brethren, which if i
be not plain enough in the Story of Ifaa
and Ijhmael , let them look into 1 Qhron
5. 12. and there he may read thefe words
Ruben was the fir(l Born , but for as much a
he defiled his Fathers Bed , his Birth righ
was given unto the Sons of Jofeph, the S01
of Jfrael , and the Geneology is not to b
reckon’d after the Birth-right 3 For Judai
prevailed above his Brethren , and of hit)
came the chef Rsder , but the Birth-right tea
Jofephs , and what this Birth-right was
'Jacob Rltfiing Jofeph-, Gen. 58. 22.telletl
us in theie words, Moreover 1 have give)
thee one Portion above thy Brethren , which.
took\ out of the hand of the A'morite y wit)
w
( 149 )
wy Sword and with my Bow , tvnereby it
as not only plain, that the Birth-right was
nothing but a double Portion, but the
Text in Chron. is exprefs againft our A- s
Dottrin, fhews that Dominion was no
aart of the Birth, right, for it tells us
■hatjojephhad the Birth-right, but Judah
:he Dominion 5 But one would think our
A ~ were very fond of the very name
)f Birth-right, when he brings this in-
fance of yfacob and Eja;/^ to prove that
Dominion belongs to the. Heir over his
brethren.
116. i°. Becaufe it will be but an ill
example to prove, that Dominion by
3 ods Ordination, belonged to the Eldeft
Son, becaufe Jacob the Youngeft here
tad it, let him come by it how he would }
For if it prove any thing, it can only
prove againft our that the Aftign-
mnt of Dominion to the Eldeft, is not by
Divine Inftitution , which would then be
inalterable 5 For if by the Law of God,
Dr Nature, Abfolute Power and Empire
aelongs to the Eldeft Son and his Heirs,
~q that they are Supream Monarchs, and
U 1 the reft of their Brethren Slaves,our A —
gives us reafon to doubt, whether the
Eldeft Son has a Power to part with it,
co the prejudice of his Pofterity, fince he
cells!'u?, 0 . 158. that in Grants and Gifts
t L 3 that
,. v _ c «s°)
that have their Original from God or nature,
v n0 inferior Power of Man can limit, or makt
Wy Law of Prefcription againfl them.
iij. 2°. Becaule this place, Gen. 27.
29. brought by our A-- concerns not at
all, the Dominion of one Brother over
the other, nor the Subjection of Efa-t to
Jacoby for ’tis plain in the Hiftory,that Efaa
was never Subject to "Jacob, but lived a
part in Mount Seir, where he founded a
diftind People and Government, and was
him kit Prince over them, as much as
Jacob was in his ow ? n Family, The
woras if one confider thy Brethren , and
thy Mothers Sons in them, can never be
onderftood literally of Efaa, or the
s enonal Dominion of Jacob over him 5
for the words, Sons and Brethren , could
not be ufed litterally by Ifaac, who knew
Sfacob had only one Brother 3 And thcfe
words are fo far from being true in a
iitteral Senie, or Eftablifhing any Doniis
nion in Jacob over Efau, that in the Story
we find the quite contrary, for Gen. 3 2.
Jacob Several times calls Lord, and
.nrnidf his Servant, and Gen. 33* hebow-
zd himjelffeven times to the ground to Efau,
wnether^ hfau then were a Subjeft and
Tafia I, (nay as cur vf— tells us, all Sub-
jccls are Slaves) to fe'acob, and Jacob his
Sovereign Prince by Birth right 3 I leave
. fr t d the
C *5* )
he Reader to judge and. believe if he
ran, that thefe words of Jfaac be Lord over
hj Brethren , and let thy Mothers Sons
>ow down to thee , confirm’d Jacob in a
Sovereignty over Efait, upon the'ac-
rount of the Birth right he had got from
lim. J • « . . . ■:>
118. He that reads the Story of Jacob
ind EJau , will find there was never
C 164 )
to Tome body after him, without naming
hi* Seed, whereby it might be known,who
that Ibme-body was, it would have been
as good and ufeful an Alignment, to de-
termin the Right to the Land of Canaan,
as it wouid to the determining the Right
of Crowns, to give Empire to Adam and
his SuccelTive Heirs after him, without
telling who his Heir is ; For the word
Heir, without a Rule to know who it is,
fignifies no more thenfomebody, I know
not whom. God making it a Divine Infli¬
ction , that Men Ihould net marry thole
who were near of ICin , thinks it not e-1
nough to lay, none of you {hall approach to
any that is near of Kin to him , to uncover
their Nakednefs , But Moreover, gives Rules
to know who are thole near of Kin , for-
biden by Divine lnflitution , or elfe that
La w would have been of no ule, it being
to no purpole to lay reftrainr, or give Pri-
viledges to Men, in fuchgeneral Terms 9 as I
the Particular Perfon concern’d cannot
be known by 5 But God not having any
where laid, the next Heir {hall Inherit all
his Fathers Eftate or Dominion, we are
not to wonder that he hath no where ap¬
pointed who that Heir Ihould be, for ne¬
ver having intended any fuch thing, never
deligned any Heir in that Senfe,we cannot
expedt he Ihould any where nominate, or
appoint
c 165 y
ippoint any Perfbn to it,as we might,had it
>een other wife,and therefore in Scripture,
hough the word Heir occur, yet there is
10 fuch thing as Heir in our A —s Sence,
one that w r as by Right of Nature to inherit
ill that his Father had,exclufive of his Bre¬
thren, hence Sarah fuppofe^, that if Jflma-
’l Raid in the Houfe, to (hare in Abrahams
Effate after his death, this Son of a Bond-
woman, might be Heir with Ifaac and
therefore fay , fhe cafl out this Bond wo-
man and her Son , for the Son of thi\ Bond -
woman flail not be Heir with my Son } But
this cannot cxcufe our A-, who telling us
there is in every Number cf Men, one who
s Right and next Heir to Adam, ought to
have told us what the Laws ofdefcent are,
but having been fo fparing to inftruft us
by Rules, how to know who is Heir,
let us fee in the next place, what his Hifto-
ry out of Scripture, on which he pretends
wholly to build his Government, gives
us^in this neceflary and Fundamental
point.
1- 29 * Our A— to make good the Title
of his Book, p. 19. begins his Hiftory
of the defcent of Adams Regal Power,
>.15. -In thefe words.- This Lord flip,
which Adam by Command had over the whole
World,and by Right defending from him,the
patriarchs did enjoy was as large fee. How
if - - M3 docs
C )
A *
doss he prove that the Patriarchs by de¬
scent did enjoy it? for Dominion of Iff
and Death, fays he, we find Judah the Fa¬
ther pronounced Sentence of Death againft
Thamer his Daughter-in Law for playing the
Harlot , p. 13.How does this prove that Ju¬
dah had Abfo-ute and Sovereign Au-j
thority, He pronounced Sentence of Death}
The pronouncing of Sentence of Death
is not a certain mark of Sovereignty, but
ufuaSly the Office of Inferior Magiftrates.
The Power of making Laws of Life and
Death is indeed a mark of Sovereignty,
but pronouncing the Sentence accor¬
ding to thofe Laws may be done by
others, and therefore this will but ill
prove that he had Sovereign Authority,
as if one fhould fay. Judge Jefferies , pro¬
nounced Sentence of Death in the late
Times, therefore Judge Jefferies , had So¬
vereign Authority : But it will be faid,
Judah did it not by Commifiion from a-
nother, and therefore did it in his own
Right. Who knows whether he had any
Right at all, heat of Pafllon might carry
him to do that which he had n6 Authori
t v to do. Judah had Dominion of Life ana
, Death , how does that appear ? he exer-
cifed it, he pronounced Sentence of Death
a \ainfi Thamer,our 'A— thinks it very good
Proof that becaufe he did it, therefore ht
«
(167)
had a Right to do it} He lay with her alio :
By the fame way of Proof, he had a Right
to do that too, if the confequence be
good from doing to a Right of doing,
Abfalon too may be reckon’d amongfi our
A -s Sovereigns, for he pronounced luch
1a Sentence of Death againft his Brother
jfmnon, and much upon a like occalion,
and had it executed too} if that be fuk
ficient to prove a Dominion of Life and
1.Death. | , . . y t;! 1
But allowing this all to be clear De-
monUration of Sovereign Power, who
war it that had this f^ordfkip by Right c-.e-
funding to hint from Adam, as large And
ample as the abjoint ef Dominion of .Any -Mo¬
narch/ Judah.fays oor A-, fadah a young¬
er Son of "Jacob, his Father and Elder
Brethren living, fo that if our A—s own
Proof be to be taken, a younger Brother
may in the Life of his Father and Elder
Brothers, by Right ofdefcent , enjoy Adams
Monarchical Power, and if one fo quali¬
fied maybe .Monarch by defeent, i know
not why every Man may not, and if fn~
dab, his Father and Eider Brother living
wete one of Adams Heirs, I know not
who can be excluded from this Inherit
ranee, all Men by Inheritance may bg
Monarchs as well as Judah.
•f • >r '
m 4
130. Touch*
C I £8 )
130. Touching War, we fee that A-
braham Commanded an Army of 218.
Souldiers of his own Family, and Efau
met his Brother Jacob with 400 Men at
Armes 5 For matter of Peaces Abraham
made a League with jdbimelccb, &c. p. 13.
f it poffible for a Man to have 318.
Men in his Family, without being Heir
to Adam? A Planter in the Weft-Indies
has more and might if he pleated (who
doubts)Mufter them up and lead them out
againft the Indians , to teek Reparation
upon any Injury received from them, and
all this without the Abfolute Dominion of
a Monarch , defending to him from Mam.
Would it not be an admirable Argument
to prove, that all Power by Gods Inftitu-
tion ciefcended from jAdam by inheritance,
and that the very Perfbn and Power of
this Planter were the Ordinance of God,
becauft he had Power in his Family over
Servants, born in his Houte, and bought
with his Money 5 For this was Juft jfbra-
hams Cafe : Thote who were Rich in the
Patriarchs Days, as in the ffis'P Indies
now, bought Men and;Maid Servants,
and by their increate as well as purcha*
fmg of new, came to have large and nu¬
merous Families, which though they made
ute of in War or Peace, can it be thought
die Power they had over them was an
' ' " ' / • Inheritance
( i *9 )
Inheritance defcended from Adam, when
’twas the Purchafe of their Money > A
Mans Riding in an expedition againft an
Enemy, his Horfe bought in a Fair would
be as good a Proof that the owner enjoy'd
the Lordjldp which Adam by Command had
over the whole World , by Right depending
to him , as sfl>rahams leading out the
Servants of his Family,is that the Patriarchs
enjoy’d this Lcrafhip by defcent from
Adam fince the Title to the Power, the
Matter had in both Cafes, whether over
Slaves or Horfes, was only from his pur¬
chafe ; and the getting a Dominion over
any thing by Bargain,and Money is a new
way of proving cne had it by Defcent and
Inheritance.
131. But making War and Peace are
marks of Sovereignty , Let it be fo in Poli¬
tic Societies, may not therefore a Man in
the Weft'Indies who hath with him Sons
of hiso vn Friends, or Companions, Soul-
diers under Pay, or Slaves bought with
Money, or perhaps k Bahd made up of all
thefe,make Wat and Peace,if there fhould
be occafion, and rat9fie the Articles too with
an Oath, without being i Sovereign, an Ab¬
solute King over - thofe who Went with
him j he that fays he cannot, mutt then
allow many Matters of Ships, many Pri¬
vate Planters to be Abfolute Monarchs,
for
f
C 170 ) .
for as much as this they have done, Wa)
and Peace cannot be made for Politic So
cieties, but by the Supream Power oj
fuch Societies, becaufe War or Peace
giving a different Motion to the force oi
fuch a Politic Body, none can make War
or Peace, but that which has the directi¬
on of the force of the whole body,and that
in Politic Societie is only the Supream
Power. In voluntary Societies for the
fi ne, he that has fuch a Power by conf.nt,
may make War and Peace, and (0 may a
fingle jVan for himfelf, the State of W m
not confining in the number of Party/*??;,
but the enmity of the Parties where tney
have no Superior to Appeal to.
132. The aCfual making of War or
Peace is no Proof of any other Power,
.but oniypf difpofing thofe to ex rcife or
ceafe Ads of enmity for whom he makes
it, and this Power in many Cafes any one
may have without any Politic Supremacy ;
And therefore the making-of War Or
Peace will not prove that every one that
does fo is a Politic itUiler, much lefs a
King, for then Commonwealths muft be
Kings too, for they do as certainly make
a „b4 ■ ^ t as Monarchical Govern¬
ments. •:
^ «■ » «i j 1 ***
■ i ; V 7 Cl B
c ; Ci i .
*
c
133. But
1
* ( 170
153* But grant this a rnark^ of Sove¬
reignty in Abraham , Is it a Proof of the
defcent to him* of Adams Sovereignty
over the whole World? If it be, it will
furely be as good a Proof of the defcent of
Adams Lordjhip to others too. And then
Common-wealths, as well as Abraham will
be Heirs to Adam , for they make War and
Peace y as well as he , If you fay that the
Lordjhip of Adam, doth not by Right de-
fcend to Common-wealths, though they
make War and Peace, the fame lay I of
Abraham, and then there is an end of your
Argument^ ifyou ftand to your Argument,
and lay thofe that do make War and
Peace, as Common-wealths do without
doubt, do inherit Adams Lordjhip , there
is an end of your Monarchy, unlefsyou
will fay, that Common-wealths by defcent
enjoying Adams Lordjhip are Monarchies,
and that indeed would be a new way, of
making all the Government in the World
Monarchical.
134. To give our A — the Honour of
this new invention, for I confefs it is not I
. . 1 * ‘ i * • #
have firft found it out by tracing his
Principles, and fo charged it on him, ’tis
fit my ' Readers know that ("as abfur’d
as it may feem) he teaches ithimfelf, p. 23.
where he ingenioufly fays, In all King -
do ms and Common-wealths in the •: World ,
c . w t \ ■■ whether
• C i 72 j • !
whether the Prince be the Sup re ant Father oi
tm People , or bat the true Heir to fuch a Fa-
ther or corn to the Crown by Vfurpation or
tmjon, or whether fom few or a Multitude
Kjovern the Common-wealthy yet fill the An -
iTfr^ *£** is i in r? n l one ' or in mm y* or if *
t'jfe ts °*V and natural Authority
cf StreamFather, which Right of Father¬
hood he often tells us , i s R egat md R ,
Monty 5 as particularly, p. 1 3 . the page
immediately preceding this Jnftance of
Mam. Th,s Regal Authority, he fays,
tho.e that govern Common-wealths have,
and if,t be true, that Regal and Royal
Authority be tn thole that govern Com-
inoi wealths it is as true, that Common-
♦vea ehs are govern’d by Kings, for if R e .
gal Authority be m him that Governs, he
that governs mult needs be a King and
fo all Common weal hs are nothfng but
dotvn right Monarchies, and then what
need any more ado about the matter,
the Governments of the World, are as
they Ihould be, there ts nothing but Mo¬
narchy in it. This without doubt, was
tne fureft way our A- could have found,
to turn all other Governments, but Mo-
narchical out of the World.
^ ut a *’ f hi s fcarce proves Abraham,
to have been a King as Heir to Adam ; If
by Inheritance he had been King, Lot, who
-. ' ' was
C *73 )
ivas of the fame Family, mutt needs have
been his Subjed, by that Title before the
Servants in his Fan.ily, but we lee they
lived as Friends and Fquals, and when
their Herd> Men could not agree, there
was no pretence of Jurifdi&ion or Superi¬
ority between them, but they parted by
conlent, Gen. 13. hence he is called both
by Abraham , and by the Text Abrahams
Brother, the Name of Friendlbip and E-
quality, and not of Jurifdnttion and Au¬
thority, though he were really but his
Nephew. And if our A — knows that
Abraham was jLdams Heir, and a King,
*twasmore it leems then Abraham himlelfL
knew, or his Servant whom he fent a wo*
ingfor his Son, for when he lets out the
advantages of the Match, 24. Gen. 35.
thereby to prevail with the Young-wo¬
man and her Friends. He lays, I am Abra¬
hams Servant t and the Lord hath Blejfed my
Mafter greatly, and he is become great , and
he bath given him Flock,s and Herds and Sil¬
ver and Gold,and Men-Servants and Maid-
Servants, and Camels and Ajfes, and Sarah
my Maflers Wife, bare a Son to my Mahler
when fhe was old, and unto him hath he given
all be hath. Can one think that a difcreet
Servant, that was thus particular to fet
out his Matters Greatntls, would have o-
mitted the Crown Ifaac was to have, if
he
, , . , C*74) j
he had known of any fach? Can it be ima-
gm d he ftould have negleded to have
tould them on fuch an occafion as this,
that Abraham was a King, a Name well
known at that time, for he had nine of
them his Neighbours, if he or his Mafter
had thought any fuch thing, the likelieft
matter of all the reft, to make his Errand
Succelsful >
156. But this difcovery it feems was
releived for our A - to make 2 or 3coo
Years after, and let him injoy the Credit
ol it, only he fhould have taRen care that
fome of Adams Land fhould have de¬
fended to this his Heir , as well as all
Adams Lordfhip, for though this Lord-
Ihip which Abraham ,if we may believe our
A as well as the other Patriarchs,^ Right
defending to oim did injoy , teas as lar^e and
ample as the Abfolvtejt Dominion of any
Monarch which hath been fince the Creation.
Yet his Eftate,hi$ 1 erritones, his Domini¬
ons were very narrow and fcanty, for he
had not the Pofleflion of a Foot of Land,
till he bought a Field and a Cave of the
Sons of Heth to bury Sarah in.
^137. 1 he inftance of Rfau joyn’d with
this of Abraham , to prove that the Lord¬
fhip which Adam had over the whole World
by Right defending from him the Patriarchs
did injoy, is yet more plealant then the
former
C >7< ) , ' ,
brirfr: Efdiimct his Brother Jacob rcith
lice Men at Arms He therefore was a
Cing by Right of Heir to y&W, 4^0
^rmM Men then however got together (
ire enough tc prove him that leads them
:o be a K ng and Adams Heir. There have
been Tor ies in 7re/^,(whatever there are
Dther in Ccuntries/who would have thankt
our A- for fo honourable an Opinion of
them, efpecially if there had been no
body near with a better Title of 500
Armed Men, to quefticntheir Royal Au¬
thority of 400: " I is a ftiame for Men to
trifle fo, to fay no worfe of it, in foferious
1 an Argument: Here Efau is brought as a
1 Proof that Adams Lordfhip, Adams Jb-
Jofute Dominion, as large as that of any
Monarch defcended by Right to the Pa~
I triarchs , and in this very Chap. p. 19. Jacob
1 is brought as an inftance of one, that by
Birthright was Lord over his Brethren 5 lb
we have here two Brothers Abfolute Mo-
narchs by the fane Title, and at the lame
time Heirs to Adam •, The Eldeft Heir to
Adam , becaufe he met his Brother with
400 Men, and the youngeft Heir to Adam
by Birthright , Efau injoy*d the Lordfhip
which Adam had over the whole World by
Ri^ht defcending to him, in as large and
ample manner , as the abfolnteji Dominion of
any Monarch , and at the fame time, Jacob
■ ...« ! Lord
C 170
Lord over him , by the Right Heirs have tc
be Lords over their Brethren. Rifam tenea-
tk, 1 never, I confefs, met with any Man
of Parts fo Dexterous as Sir Robt. at this
way of arguing 5 But ’twas his Misfor¬
tune to light upon Principles that could
not be accommodated to the Nature of
things and Human Affairs, ncr could be
made to agree with that Conftitution and
Order which God had fettled in the
World, and therefore muft needs often
clafh with common Senfe and Experi¬
ence.
138. In the next Se&ion, he tells us.*
This Patriarchal Power continued not only
till the Flood , but after it as the name Pa¬
triarchs doth in part prove. The word
Patriarch doth more then in fart prove ,
that Patriarchal Power continued in the
World as long as there were Patriarchs, |
for ’tis neceffary that Patriarchal Power
fhould be whiift there are Patriarchs, as
it is neceffary there fhould .be Paternal of
Conjugal Power whilft there are Fathers
or Husbands 5 but this is but playing with
Names. That which he would falla-
cioufly insinuate is the thing in queftion
to be proved,and that is that the Lordjhip
which Adam had over the World, the flip-
pofed Aofblute Univerfal Dominion of
Adam by Right defending from him , the
Patriarchs
• , / Iff ) ■
3 atriarchs did injoy : If he affirms filch an
tbfolute Monarchy continued to the
lood, in the World, I would be glad to
;novv what Records he has it from ? for I
onftf I cannot find a word of it in my
dbln: If bv Patriarchal Power, he means
ny thing elfe, it is nothing to the matter
a hand : And how the name Patriarch in
mepirt proves, that thofe who are cal-
;d by that name, had Abfolute Monar-
htcal Power, I contef, I do not fee,and
iierefore I think needs no anfwer, till the
irgument from it be made out a little
lea rer.
159. The three Sons of Noah had the
!/ orld, Jays oar A —, divided amongji them
v their Father , for of them was the whole
or Id overfpread, p. 14. The World might
e overfpread by the Off fpring of A oaks
ans, though he never divided the World
nongft them j For the Ea*-th might be
!eplcnijjed without being divided, all our
/Argument here,therefore,proves nofuch
►ivifion. However I allow it to him, and
len a^k, the World ' being divided a-
origit them } which of the three was
'dams Heir-? If rfdanis Z.orcjhip, yd dams
{anarchy, ltf/ flight defcenckd only to
ieE'deft,then the other two could be but
s SuhjeCts , his Staves ; It bv Riehe ft
Tcende l to all three Brothers,by th6fame
N* Right*
t
C 178 )
Right, it will delcend to all Mankind,
and then it will be impoffible what he
favs, p. 19. that Heirs are Lords of theit
Brethren fhould be true, but all Bro¬
thers, and confequently all Men will be
equal and independent, all Heirs tc
Adams Monarchy, and confequently al’
Monarchs too, one as much as another
But ’twill be laid Noah their Father divi¬
ded the World amongft them, fotbat out
si— will allow' more to Noah, then he
will toGod Almighty,forO. 211.he thought
it hard, that God himfelf fhould give
the World to Noah and his Sons, to the
prejudice of Noah's Birth-right, his word*
are, Noah was left Sole Heir to the World,
why fhould it he thought that God would dif-
inherit, him of his Birth-right, and makt
him of all Alenin the World, the only Te¬
nant in Common with his Children, and yet
here he thinks it fit, that Noah fhould dif-
inherif Shem of his Birth-right, and di¬
vide the World betwixt him and his Bre¬
thren, fo that thb Birth-right , when cut
A- pleafes, muff, and when he pleafes
muft not, be lacred and inviolable.
• 140. XiNoah did divide the World be¬
tween his Sons. and his Alignment of Do¬
minions to them were good, there is an
end of Divine Inftkution, and all our
A -s difeourfe of Adams Heir, withwhat-
< loever
\A_ , /r C *79) •
oever he builds on it, is quite out of
joors. The natural Power of Kings falls
:o the ground s and then the form of the
D ower governing, and the Perfon having
hat Power,wilhbe all Ordinances of Man
md not of God, as our/— fays, 0 . 254
For if the Right of the Heir be the Ordi¬
nance of God, a Divine Right, no Man,
Father, or not Father, can alter it .• If it
ae not a Divine Right, it is only Humane
lepending on the Will of Man, and lb
vhere HumaneInftitution gives if not,the
irft Born has no Right at all above his
kethren* and Men may put Government
nto what hands, and under what form,
hey pleafe.
14 1. He goes on ntofl of the civillefl A r a-
Hons of the Earth, labour to fetch their Ori¬
ginal from fomc of the Sons or Nephews of
Soak, p. 14. How many do raoft of the
dvilleft Nations amount to, and who are
hey, I fear the r Nephews. But if the Heralds and An-
N 2 tiquaries
C 180 ) '
tiquaries of all Nations, for’risthefe Men
generally that Labour to find out the Ori- 1
ginals of Nations, or all the Nations them-
felvesfhould Labour to fetch their Origi- !
nal from fome of the Sons or Nephews of
Noah what would this be to prove, that
the Lord/hip which sldam had over the whole
World, by right defended to the Patriarchs
who ever, Nations, or Races of Men, la¬
bour tcfetch their Original from , may be
concluded to be thought by them, Men^j
of renown, famous to Pofterity, for the!
greatnefs of their Vertues and Adions $ but
beyond thefe they look not, nor confider
who they were Heirs to, but look on them
as fuch as railed themfelves by their own
Vertu.e to a Degree, that would give a
Luftre to thofe, who in future Ages, could
pretend to derive themfelves from them.
But if it were Ogygis, Hercules , BramafTam-
berlain , Pharamond , nay Jupiter and Saturn
beNan.es, from whence divers Races of
'■Men, both ancient and modern, have la¬
bour’d to derive their Original, will that
prove, that thofe Men enjoyed the Lord-
Jhip of St dam, by right defending to them 5
if not, this is but a Flourifls of our J-s to
miflead his Reader that in irfelf fignifies
nothing, \
142. Aftd\ therefore to as much pur-
pofe, is, what he tells us, p. 15. concerning
this
( 181 )
iis Divifion of the World, that fame fay
was ky Lot , and others that Noah foil'd
omd the Mediterranean in ten years , and
'tvided the World into Afia, Africfi and
lurope, Portions for his three Sans. Jme~
iea then, it teems, was left to be his that
ould cafeh it, why our A* takes fuch
ainsto prove the Divifion of the World
y Noah to his Sons, and will riot leave
ut an imagination, though nobetterthen
Dream, that he can find any where to
avour it , is hard to guels, fince fuch a •
yivifi.m , if it prove any thing, mu ft ne-
eflarily rake away the Title of Adams
leir, unlels three Brothers can altogether
e Heirs of Adam \ And therefore-the-
allowing words. Howfoever the manner of
ns Dwifion be uncertain , yet it is mo ft rer¬
un the Divifion it ft If was by Families from
$oah and his Children , over which the Pa~
tnts were Heads and Princes , p. 15. If
low’d him to be true, and of any force '
a prove, that all the Power in the World
nothing but the Lordfhip of Adams< de¬
ending by Right , they will only'prove,
lat the Fathers of the Children, are all
leirs to this Lordftiip of Adam 5 for if in
tote days Cham and Japhet , and other
arents befides the Eldeft Son were Heads
nd Princes over their Families, and had-
1 fight to divide the Earth by Families,
Kf ' ’ N 3 > what
# ' ; C 182 ) , 1
what hinders Younger Brothers, being Fa*
th rs of Families from having the feme
Right, how Cham or Japhet were Princes
by Right defending to him, notwith-
ftanding any Tit'e of Heir in his Eldeft
Brother, Younger Brothers by the feme
Right defending to them are Princes now,
and fo all our ^-s natural Power of Kings
will reach no farther then their own Chil¬
dren, and no Kingdom by this natural
right, can be bigger then a Family} For
either this Lord/hip of Adam over therchole
IVor Id Joy right delcendsonly to the Eldeft
Son, and then there can be but one Heir,as
our dhfeys,/\i9.or elfe;it by right defcends
to all the Sons equally, and then every
Father of a Family will have it, as well as
the three Sons of Afoah, take which you
will, it deftroys the prefent Government
and Kingdoms that are now in the World,
flnce whoever has this natural Poorer of a
K,ing, by right defending to him, muft
have it either, as our A- tells us, Cain had
it, , and be Lord over his Brethren, and fo
be alone King of the whole World, orelle
as he tells us here, Shem, Cham and 'japhet
had it,three Brothers,and lb be only Prince
of his own Family, and all Families inde¬
pendent » ne of another 5 All the World
muft be^rn y one Empire by the Right of
the next Heir, or elfe every Family be a
di*
« (?) .
j. r > * , , t ^ ,
lifting Government of it felf, by the
1 toraflnp of /fdants dcfcending to Parents of
Families. And to this only tends all the
"Proofs, he here gives us of the defcent of
Adams Lordfhip •, For continuing his
>tory of this defcent he lays y
143. In the difperfion of Babel, n>e mr-ji
'ertainly find the Ejlablifijment of Royal Pore.
?r, throughout the Kingdoms of the Wiorld y
k 14. If you muft find it,pray do, and you
will help us to a new piece of Hiftoryy
3ut you muft fhew it us before wc (hall
ae bound to believe, that Regal Power
was Eftablifhed in the World upon your
Principles j for, that Regal Power was
Eftablifhed in the Kingdoms of the Worlds
[ think no body will difpute, but that -
there fhould be Kingdoms in the World,
whole feveral Kings enjoy’d their Crowns,
by right defcending to them from Adam , that
we think not only Apocrypha , but alio ut¬
terly impoffible, and if our A - has no
better Foundation, for his Monarchy then
a fuppofition of what was done at the
difperfion of Babel : The Monarchy he
ere&s thereon, whole top is to reach to
Heaven to unite Mankind, will ferve on¬
ly to divide and fcatter them as that
Tower did , wi produce nothing but
confufion.
IK* . ^ / s . * , 1 •%.'
I f 6
%
I •• N 4 ,144. Fo'
. C 184 )
1 M 4 - Eor he tel Is-us, the 'Nations they
were divided into, j rere diftinft Families,
which had Fathers for Rulers over them,
whereby it appears that even in the con-
fufion, God was careful to prejerve the Fa¬
therly Authority , by dtflriLuting ih> Diversity
of Languages^ according to the Divcrfty of
Families^ p. 14. it would have been a hard
matter, ;or any o? e but our A - to have
found out fo plainly in the Text, he here
brings, that all tfie Nations in that rifppr-
lion were governed by hat hers -.and thztGod
wa - canpd to prejerze the l at her iy Authority
i he w01 rIs of the I ext a i e: ' hefe are i-he Sons
Ojfrtxx ape their Faml/e , ader their Tongues
in their Z.ands^ after their Ah*tions. and the
Fm e thing is laid of Chant and jophet. after
ai . Enumeration of their PpOeriti $,in all
there is riot one word faid or their
Covtrncrs, or forms of Oovcinm* nt ;of
Fathers , or Fatherly Authority . But our
who is very quick lighted, to fpye
oin 1 dihuhood^ where no body elfe could
fee any the leaf! glimp/es of it,u 11s us pefi-
tiv^ly tneir Ruler were Fathers , and God
was-car fd to prejerve the Fatherly Authori-
ty,znd why > becaufe thofe of the fame Fa-
mily fpoke the fame Language, and fb of
necefiity in the divilion kept together,
julras if one fhouid argue thus, HanihaJ
sn Ins Army, confiding bf divers Nation-,
■ ‘ ■ • kept
‘ ( l§5 )
tept thofe of the lame Language toge¬
ther, therefore Fathers were ' Captains
jrf each Band, and Hanibal was careful of
the r til her ly Ah ikority, or in Peopling of
CarohttA, the Bngltfh, French; Scotch and
Welch that are there, Plant themfelves to¬
other, and by them, the Country is di-
Tided in their L ands after their Tongues , '
tfter their Families , after their Nations.\
that therefore care was taken of the Fa*
iherly Authority, or becaufe immany parts
?f America, every little Tribe, was a di-
liinft People, with a different Language,
nne fhould infer, that therefore God
vas careful to preferve the Fatherly Authority,
nr that therefore their Rulers enjoy'd
Adams Lordjhip by right depending to them ,
though we know not who were their Go¬
vernors, nor what their Form of Govern--
[Bent, but only that they were divided
into little Independent Societies, (peak¬
ing different Languages.
145. The Scripture fays not a word
of their .Ru’ers or Forms of Government,
but only gives an account, how Mankind
:ame to be divided into diftinft Langua¬
ges and Nations^and therefore ’tisnotto
argue from the Authority of Scripture, to
tell us pofitively, Fathers Were'their Ru¬
lers, when the Scripture fays no fuch
thing, but to fet up Phanfies of ones own
and
C >80
Brain, when we confidently aver Matter
of Fad, where records are utterly filent :
arid therefore the fame ground has the reft
that he fays, that they were not confufid
Multitudes without Heads and Governors ,
and At liberty to choofe what Governors or
Governments they pleafed.
14 6 . For I demand when Mankind
were all yet of one Language, all congre¬
gated in the plain of Shinar , were they
then all under one Monarch, who enjoyed
the Lord/hip of Adam by right defending to
him } If they were not, there was then
no thoughts, ’tis plain, of Adams Heir , no
right to Government known then upon
that Title, no care taken by God or Man,
of Adams Fatherly Authority : If when
Mankind were but one People, dwelt alto¬
gether, and were of one Language, and
were upon Building a City together, and
when ’twas plain, they could not but
know the Right Heir, for Shem lived till
Jjaacs time, a long while after the Divifi-
on at Babel 5 If then, I fay, they were not
under the Monarchical Government of
Adams Fatherhood, by right defcending
to the Heir, ’tis plain there was no regard
had to the Fatherhood , no Monarchy ac¬
knowledg’d due to Adams Heir , no Em¬
pire of Shems in Afe, and confequently
no fuch Divifion of the World by Noah ,
K %
(C i8 7,)
as our .A-- has talked of! And as far as
we can conclude any thing from Scripture
in this matter, it feems from this place,
that if they had any Government, it was
father a Common-wealth, then an Abfo-.
lute Monarchy * For the Scripture tells us,
Gen. ii. they Jaid , ’twas not a Prince
commanded, the Building of this City
and Tower ’twas not by the command of
one Monarch, but by the confultation of
many, a Free People, let ns build us a City 5
They built it for themfelves as Free-men,
not as Slaves for their Lord and Mafter,
that we be not fcattered abroad,and for having
a City once built, fixed Habitations to
fettle their Bodies and Families. This
was the confultation and defign of a Peo¬
ple, that were at liberty to part afunder,
but defired to keep in one Body, and
could not have been either neceffary or
likely in Men tyed together under the
1 Government of one Monarch, who if they
had been, as our A— tells us, all Slaves un¬
der the Abfolute Dominion of a Monarch,
needed jiot have taken fuch care to hin¬
der themfclves, from wandering out of
the reach of his Dominion, I demand
whether this be not plainer in Scripture
then any thing of Adams Heir or Fatherly
Authority.
147*^ But
( iB3 J
147 - But if being, as God fays, Gen. 11.
6 . one People, they had one Ruler, one
King by natural Right, Abfolute and Su-
pfeam over them, what care had God to
preftrve the Paternal Authority of the Su-
pream Fatherhood , if on a fuddain, he fuf-
fcrs72 (for fo many , our .4- talks of,) di-
flwciNaUonfto be erefted out of it, un-
der diftina Governors, and at once to-
withdraw themfelves, from the Obedi-
ciience of their Soveriegn. This “ i s to
entitle Gods care, how, and to what, we
pteafe, can it be Sei fe to Ay, that God
was careiul to preferve Fatherly Authority
in tbofe who had it not ? For if the A were
Subje&s under a Supream Prince, what
Anthomy had they, when at the fame
time he takes away the true Supream Fa¬
therhood of the natural Monarch > can it
be reafon to fay, that God for the Prefer-
vation of Fatherly Authority , lets feveral
new Goverments with their Governors
Ifart up, who could not all have Fatherly
sfuthority, and is it not as much rea/on to
t! ; at God is careful to deftroy Father-
y w £ e n he fuffers one who is
in Pofteffion of it, to have his Govern.
" 1^5 7™. ■“ P ie ces, and (hared by feveral
of his Suoje&s > And would it not be an
Argument juft like this, for Monarchical
government to fay, when any Monarchy
was
i
I , .. r 189)
was (batter’d to pieces, and divided a-
mongft revolted Subjects, that God was
careful to preferve Monarchical Power,
by rending a fettled Empire into a multi¬
tude of little Governments? If any one
will lay that what happens in providence
i to be preferved God is careful to pre/erve
as a thing, therefore to be efteemed by
Men as neceflary or ufeful, ’tis a peculiar
Propriety of Speech, which every one
will net think fit to imitate 5 but this I
am fore is impoffible to be either proper,
or true (peaking, that Shem for example
(for he was then alive,) fhould have Fa¬
therly Authority , or Sovereignty by right
of Fatherhood over that one People at Ba -
hel , and that the next moment Shem yet
living, 72 others fhould have Fatherly
Authority , or Sovereignty by right of Fa¬
therhood over the fame People, divided
into fo many diftinft Governments; either
thefe 72 Fathers a&ually were Rulers,
juft before the confufion, and then they
were not one People, but that God bim-
felf fays, they were a Commonwealth,
and then where was Monarchy ? or
elfo thefe 72 Fathers, had Fatherly Au¬
thority but knew it not. Strange ! that Fa¬
therly Authority fhould be the only Origi*
nal of Government amongft Men, and*
yet all Mankind not know it, and Stran^
I ger
€ Ipo )
get yet, that the confufion of Tongue^
ftiould reveal it to them all of a fuddain,
that in an inftant thefe 72 (hould know,
that they had Fatherly Power , and all o-
thers know that they were to obey it in
them, and every one know that particu-i
lar Fatherly Authority to which he was a Sub-
Jeft 1 , he that can think this Arguing from
Scripture,may from thence make out what
Model of an Entopia will beft fuit with
his Phanfy or Intereft, and this Fatherhood
thus difpofed of, will juftifie both a Prince
who claims an Universal Monarchy, and
his Suhjeds, who being Fathers of Families,
lball quit all Subjection to him and Canton
his Empire into lels Governments for
themfelves 5 for it will always remain a
doubt in which of thefe, the Fatherly Au¬
thority refided, till, our A - refolvcs us,
whether S/b^who was then alive, or thefe
72 new Princes, beginning Co many new
Empires in his Dominions, and over his
Suojed, had right to govern, fince our
tells us, that both one an tother had
Fatherly, which is Supream, Authority,
and are brought in by him as Inftances of
thofe, who did enjoy the Lordfhips of Mara
by right defending to them , which was as
large and ample as the rfbfolutejl Dominion
of any Monarch. This atleaft is unavoi¬
dable, that if God was. careful to preferve
- >H - . the
( i9* )
the Fatherly Authority r, in the 72 new eretfed
Nations , it neceffarily follows, that he was
as careful to deftroy all pretences of A-
dams Heir, fince he took care, and there¬
fore did preferve the Fatherly Authority
infomany, at leaft 71, that could not
poffibly be Adams Heirs, when the right
Heir (if God had ever ordained any fuch
Inheritance) could not but be known,
Shem then living, and they being all one
I People.
148. Nimrod is his next inftance of en¬
joying this Patriarchal Power, p> 16.
but I know not for what Reafon our A--
feems a little unkind to him, and fays, that
he again# Right enlarged his Empire , by
Jeizing violently on the Rights of other Lords
of Families 5 Thefe Lords of Families here
were called Fathers of Families , in his ac¬
count of the difperfion at Babel, but it
matters not how they are call’d, fb we
know who they are, for this Fatherly
Authority muft be in them,either as Heirs
to Adam, and fo there could not be 72,
nor above one at once, or elfe as natural
Parents over their Children, and fb every
Father will have Paternal Authority over
his Children by the fame Right, and in
as large extent as thofe 72 had, and fb
be Independent Princes over their own
-OfF-fpring, and his Lords of Families , thus
■A*. • ' underflood
C '90
tlriderlfood 5 he gives its a very pretty ac¬
count of the Original of Monarchy, in
the following words 5 And in this Senfi
he may befaid to be the Author and Founder
of Monarchy , viz. As againft Right Siz¬
ing violently on the Rights of Fathers
over their Children, which Paternal Au¬
thority, if it be in them, by Right of Na¬
ture 5 (for elle how could thole 72 come
by it) no body can take from them whh-
out their own confents, and then I defire
our A— and his Friends to confider how
far this will concern other Princes, and
whether it will not according to his con-
clufion of that Paragraph, relblve all Re¬
gal Power of thofe, whole Dominions ex¬
tend beyond their Fatnilies, either into
Tyranny and Usurpation, or Ele&ion and
Conlent of Fathers of Families, which
will differ veiy little from Conlent of the
People.
149. All his (nffcances, in the next
Sett7 on, p. 17. Of the 12 Dukes of Edom,
the 9 Rings in a little corner of Afia in
Abrahams days, the 31 Kings in Canaan
deftroyed by Jofkua, and the care he
takes to prove that thele Were all Sove¬
reign Princes, and that every Town in
thole days had a King, are lo many dj-
re& Proofs againfir him, that it was not
the Lo'rdjhip of Adam by Right dejeertding
■ - to'
a
C *93 )
> them that made Kings:, for if they had
eld their Royalties by that Title, either
lere muft have been but one Sovereign
ver them all, or elfe every Father of a
amily had been as good a Prince; and
ad as good a claim to Royalty as thele $
nr if all the Sons of Ejau^ had each of
tiem, the Younger as well as the Eldeft,
tie right of Fatherhood , and fo were So-
ereign Princes after their Fathers Death,
tie fame Right had their Sons a Per them,
nd fo on to all Pofterity, which will li¬
nt all the natural Power of Fatherhood,'
inly to be over the Iflue of their own
od ies, and their defend ants which Pow-
rof Fatherhood dies with the head of
ach Family, and makes way tor the like
fower of Fatherhood to take place, 1 irr
ach of his Sons over their refpeQive
oheriaes, whereby the Power of Father-
mod will be prefrv’d indeed, and is in¬
eligible, but will not be at all to our
4 -i purpofe, nor are any of the inttances
le brings Proofs of any Power they had
>y Title of Fatherhood as Heirs of A-
lam's Paternal Authority, nor by Vertue
>f their own : For Adams Fatherhood be-
ng over all Mankind, it could defend
>ut to one at once, and from him to his -
‘ight Heir only, and fo there could by
hat Title be but one King in the World.
" O' . $6
C *94 ) 'I
at a time $ And by Kightof Fatherhood
not ddcending from £dam> it muft bi
only as they themfelves were Fathers, art
fo could be over none but their own Po
fterity-,5 fo that if thole 12 Dukes of £
dom , of Abraham \ and 9 Kings his Neigh
hours* If Jacob and Efitn and 31 King!
in Canaan , the 72 Kings mutilated by A-
donibejeck^ the 32 Kings that came to Be-
naded, the 70 Kings of Greece matting
War at Troy, were as our A- contends all
of them Sovereign Princes. 7 f is evident
that Kings derived their Power from
foixie other Original then Fatherhood , fince
fome of thefe had Power, over more then
their own Pofterity, and ’tis Demonftra-
tion, they could not be all Heirs to 4 -
dam : For I challenge any Man to make
any pretence to Power by Right of Fa -
therkood , either intelligible or polfible in
any one, otherwise, then either as Adams
Heir, or as Progenitor over his own de¬
scendants, naturally fprung from him.
And if our /i- could fhew that any one
of thefe Princes, of which he gives us
here fo large a Catalogue, had his Au¬
thority by either of thde Titles, I think
I might yield him the Caufe, though ’tis
manifeft they at e all impertinent and di¬
rectly contrary to what he brines them to
prove, viz. That the hordftnp which Adam
had
C 195 ) .
bad over the World by Right defended to the
Patriarchs.
15c. Having told us, p.16. That the
Patriarchal Government continued in Abras
ham, lfaa cand Jacob, until the Egyptian
Bondage , p. 17. he tells us, By manifefl
Footfleps we may trace this Paternal Govern -
ment unto the ifraelites coming into Egypt,
where the exeretje of S pream Patriarchal
Government was intermitted , beciuje they
were in Suhjc&ton to a jlronger Prince , what
thefe Footfteps are of paternal Govern¬
ment, in our A- Stnfe, i. e. of Abloluce
Monarchical Powtr defending from A -
dam , and exercifed by Right of Father*
hood we have feen, that is for 2 290
Years no Footfteps at all, fincein all that
time he cannot produce any one Example
of any Perfbn who Claim’d or Exercifed
Regal Authority by flight of Fatherhood ,
or (hew any one who being a King was
Adams Heir 5 All that his Proofs amount
to, is only this, that there were Fathers,-
Patriarchs and Kings in that Age of the
World, but that the Fathers and Pa*
triarchs had any Afolute Arbitrary Pow¬
er, or by what Titles thole Kings had
theirs, and of what extent it was, the
Scripture is wholly filent, Vis maniteft by
Right of Fatherhood they neither did, n„r
O 2 eeuld
C 196 5
*
could claim any Title to Dominion and'
Empire.
151. To fay, that the Exercife of Supream
Patriarchal Government was intermitted ,
becaufe they were in Subjection to a jlronger
Prince , proves nothing but what l before
fufpe&ed, viz. That Patriarchal Jurif-
diClion or Government was a fallacious ex-
preflion, and does not in our A- fignifie
what he would yet infinuate by it, Pater¬
nal and Regal Power , fuch an Abfolute
Sovereignty as he fuppofes was in A'¬
dam.
152. For how can he fay that Pa-
triarchical furifdiUion was intermitted in
Egypt, where there was a King, under
whofe Pvtgal Government the Ifraelitet
were ? If Patriarchal were Abfolute Mo¬
narchical juriJdiSfion, and if it were not,
but fomething elfe, why does he make
fuch ado about a Power not in cjueftion,
and nothing to the purpofe ? The Exer¬
cife of Patriarchal Jurifdiftion, if Pa¬
triarchal be Regal, was not intermitted
whilft the Israelites were in Egypt. ’Tis
true, the Exercife of Regal Power was
not then in the hands of any of the pro-
mifed Seed of Abraham, nor before nei¬
ther that I know, but what is that to the
intermiffion of Regal Authority , as defen¬
ding
j ( * 97 )
ding from Adam, unfds oar //- will have
ic, that this chofen Line of Abraham, had
the Right ot Inheritance to Adams Lord-
fhip, and then to what purpofe are his
inftances of the 72 Rulers, in whom the
Fatherly Authority was preferved in the
confufion at Babel of£i/8)
Tear? after they were a People, and no!
mention of their being Heirs to Adam, or
Rings by Patt rnal Authority when they
h?d them$ I expeded, talking fo much as!
Re does of Scripture, that he would have
produced thence a Series of Monarchs,
whcfe Titles were clear to Adams Father -
hood , and who, as M- iss to him,own’d and
exerciled Paternal Jurifdiaion over their
Subjeds, and that this was the true Pa-
triarchical Government, whereas he nei¬
ther proves that the Patriarchs were King?,
nor that either Rings or Patriarchs were
Heirs to Adam, or ib much as pretended
t° it S And one may as well prove, that
the Patriarchs were all Ablolute Monarchs,
that the Power both of Patriarchs, and
Kings was only Paternal, and that this
Power delcended to them from Adam,
1 lay all thefe Propofitions may be as well
proved by a confuted account of a mul¬
titude of little Kings in the fVeft- Indies,
out of Ferdinando Soto , or any of our late
Hiftories or the Northern America , or by
our A—s 70 Kings of Greece , out of Ho¬
mer, as by any thing he brings out of
Scripture, in that Multitude of Kings he
has reckon’d up. : |
154* And methinks he fhould have let
Homer and his Wars of Troy alone, fince
his great Zeal to Truth or Monarchy car-
l ' • '/ ' - - ’ • ;; iJ 1 ' . ried
/
C 199)
ed him, to fucha pitch of transport a-
lintt Philofophers and Poets , that he tells
i in his Preface, that there are too many in
eje dayt, who pleafi them (elves in rming af-
r the Opinions of Phibfiphers and Poet c,
• find out fitch an Original of Government ,
r mi^ht promifi them fomeditle to Liberty^
> the great Scandal ofChrijli unity,and hring-
ig in of Atheifin, Ard yet thefe Heathen
hilofophers, Arifiotle and Poet Homer ,
re not rejected by our zealous Christian
•olitician when ever they offer any thing,
hat teems to terve his turn.
But to return to his Scripture Hiftory,
ear A- farther tells us, p. 18.that after the
'turn of the 'fraelites out of Bondage, God
at of a fpecial care of them , chofe Mofes and
ofhua Succeffively to Govern as Princes in
be place and fiead of the Supreatn Fathers*
fit be true, that they returned out of
bondage St muff be into a State of Freedom
i.nd muff imply, that both before and
fter this Bondage they were Free, unlefs
>ur A — will fay, that changing ot Matters,
s returning out of Bondage, or that a Slave
'eturns out of Bondage , when he is removed
rom one Gaily to another : If then they
'etumed out of Bondage , *tis plain that in
rhote days, whatever our A- in his Preface
ays to the contrary, there was difference
between a Son. a SAjecd and a Slave , and
I " ; ’ O 4 that
C 200 .)
that neither the Patriarchs before, nor
their Rulers after this Egyptian Bondage,
numbered their Sons or Subjelds amongjl
their Poffejflons , and di (poled of them
with as Abfolute a Dominion, as they
did their other Goods. '
155. This is evident in Jacob, to whom
Reuben offered his two Sons as Pledges,
and Judah was at la ft furety for Benjamins
fafe return out of Egypt , which all had
been vain, fuperfluous, and but a fort of
mockery 5 If Jacob had had the fame Power
oyer every one of his Family as he had over
hisOx or his Afs, as an Owner over hi$t$«£«
fiance , and the offers that Reuben or Judah
made, had been fuch a Security for re¬
turning of Benjamin, as if a Man ftnuld
take two Lambs out of his Lords flock,
and offer one as fecurity, that he will
(afely reftore the other.
' 15 6. When they were out of this Bon -
dage,- what then, God out of a Special care
of them,the Israelites. Tis well that once
in his Book, ■ he will allow God to have
any care of the People, for in other places
he fpeaks of Mankind, as if God had no
care of any part of them, but only of their
Monarchs, and that the reft of the People,
the Societies of Men, were made as lb
many Herds of Cattle, only for the Ser¬
vice, Ufe and Pleafure of their Princes.
• ' ; - r • , 157. Chofe
( 201 )
157 * Chole Mofes. and Jofhuah Suceef-
i.Svely to Govern as Princes, a (tire ud Ar¬
gument our A — has found out to prove
(Gods care of the Fatherly Authority, and
Adams Heirs, that here as an expreffion
tof his care of his own People, he choofes
t thofe for Princes over them, that had not
tthe lea ft pretence to either Mofes of the
Tribe of Zealand Jofhuah of the Tribe of •
lEphrain f, neither of which had any l itle
ipf fatherhood; But lays our A- they were
i in the place and ftead of the Supream
iFathers: If God had any where, as plainly
i declared his choife cf fuch Fathers to be
Rulers, as he did of Mofes and Jofeuab, we
i might believe Mofes and Jofhuah were in
i their place and jlead , but that being the
i quKlionin debate, till that be better pro¬
ved, Mofes being chofen by God to be
Ruler ofhis People, will no more prove
that Government belong’d to Adams Heir
or to the Fatherhood , then Gods choofing
Aaron of the 1 ribe of Levy to be Prieft,will
prove that the Priefthood belonged to A-
danss Heir or the Prime-fathers? fince God
could choofe Aaron to be Prieft, and Mofe.r
Ruler in Ifrael, though neither of thole
Offices, were let led on Adams Heir or
. the Fatherhood.
158. Our
c 2 02 y ' mimi
158, Oar A- goes on, and after them 1
hUm>L- for a time he railed up Judges, to I
defend his People in time , of peril , p, 1
1 his proves Fatherly Authority to be the
Original of Government, and that it de¬
fended from Mam to his Heirs,juft aswell
as w 'bat went before, only here our j 4 -
ftems to confefs that thefe Judges, who
were all the Governors they then had, ,
were only Men of valour, whom they made
ti.eir Gererals to defend them in time of
F^ttl, and cannot God rails up fueh Men
urlefs Fatnerhood have a Title to Govern¬
ment >
• • t > *
f J 59 * But ft vs our A-, when God gave
foe Israelites Kings, he re-eftaWifhed the
ancient and prime Right of Lineal Succef-
fion to Paternal Government, p. 18.
160. How did Go 1 re-etiabliih it by a
Law,a pofitive command > we find nofuch
thing. Our /4 means then,that when God
gave them a King, in giving rhem a King,
he re ejtablifted the Rt^ht, &c. To re-
eftablifh de facfo the B ight of Lineal Sues
ceflfon to Paternal Government, is to put
a Man in Poffeffion of that Government
which his Fathers did enjoy, and he by
Lineal Succeffion had a Right to} for firft,
if it were another Government then what
his Anceftors had, it was not focceediog
to an Ancient Right , but beginning a
1
(. 203 ,) -
ew one , for if a Prince fhould give a
4 an,befides his Ancient Patrimony, which
or fbmeAges hisFamilyhad beendif-feired
> L , an additional Fftate, never before in
he Pofieffion of his Anceftors, he could
lot be fa id tore-ejhibhfh the Right of Lineal
Succeffion , to any more then what had
oeen torrnerly enjoy’d by his A aceftors ,
f therefore the Power the Kings cf / frael
aad, were any thing more then Ifaac or
facob had. it was not the re ejlabliflring in
:hem the Right of Succeffion to a Power,
?out giving them a new Power, however
you pleale to call it Paternal or not, and
whether Jfaac and Jacob had the fame
Power, that the Kings of Ifrael had, I
defire any one, by what has been above
laid, to confider, and Ido not think they
will find that either Abraham, Ifiac or Ja¬
cob, had any Regal Power at all.
161. Next, there can be no Re efiablifh-
ment of the Prime and Ancient Right of Li¬
neal S: ccejjion to any thing, unlefs he that
iis put in Poffifiion cf it, has the right to
llfucceed, and be the true and next Heir
to him he fucceeda to, can that be a Re-
eftabliffiment, which begins in a new
[Family, or that the Re-eflablifhment of an
\. Ancient Right of Lienal Succeffion , when a
• Crown is given to one, who has no Right
i of Succeffion to it, and who if the Lineal
L . I •’ ^ ' Succeffion
r 204 )
Succefi*on bad gone on, had been out o
all pombility of pretence to it? Saul the
fiiuKmg, God gave the Ifraelites , was ol
t he I" me of Benjamin^wais the Ancient and
Prime Right of lined Succe.flon 'Re-cjiabli-
P'ed ’m him.*? the next was David the
Y.-'ungej} Son of j tejfe, of the Posterity of
f'dab, Jacobs gd Son, was the Ancient and
Prime Right of Lineal SucceJJion to Paternal]
government Re*eJlablif?d in him? or in
Solomon his Younger Son and Sue refi'or
-in the Throne ? or in fcroboham over the
ten Tribes ? or in Athaliah ? who Reigned
fix Years an utter Stranger to the Royal
Blood. If the Ancient and Prime Right of
Lineal SucceJJion to Paternal Government ,
were Re-ejlablijh'd in any of thefe or their
Posterity, The Ancient and Prime Right
of Lineal SucceJJion to Paternal Government ,
belongs to Younger Brothers, as well a$
Eider, and may be Re*eftabli(h\J in any
Man living, for whatever Younger Bro¬
thers by Ancient and Prime Right of Lineal
SucceJJion , may have as well as the Fldcr,
that every Man living may have a Right
to, by Lineal Succeffion, and Sr. Robt. as
well as any other. And fo what a brave.
Right of Lineal Succeflion to his Paternal
or Regal Government, our A-- has Re-
eftablilh’d, for the fecuring the Rights
and Inheritance of Crowns, where every
■ qn$
C 205 )
ne may have it, let the World con-
er.
162. But fays our A- however, p. 19.
ihenfocvtr . God made choice oj any Jpecial
\rfon to he King y be intended that the ijjite
dfo jhould have benefit thereof as being com¬
prehended fiijficiently in the Perfon of the
Fathet\ although the Father was only named
n the Grant. This yet will not help out
>ucceflkm, for if as our A- fays, ‘the btne-
it of the Grant be intended to the Iflue of
die Grantee, this will not dirett the Suc¬
ceflion, fince, if God give any thing to a
Man and his Ijfiue in general, the t laim
cannot be to any one of that lffue in par¬
ticular, every one that is of his race, will
have an equal Right , If it be laid our A—
meant Heir. I believe our A- was as wil-
™ #
ling as any Body to have uled that word,
if it would have lerved his turn, but So¬
lomon who fucccded David in the Throne,
being no more his Heir then Jeroboam ,
t who fucceeded him in the Government of
1 the ten Tribes was his iflue, our A- had
1 realon to avoid faying, that God inten-
i ded it to the Heirs , when that would not
I hold in a Succeflion, which our A- could
mot except a gainft, and lo he has left his
Succeflion as undetermin’d, as if he had
faid nothing about it, for if the Regal
Power be given by God to a Man and his
lffue,
C 2C5 )
TiTue, as the Land of Canaan was to A bra
ham and his Seed, muft they not all havJ
a Title to it, all (hare in it > And one
niav as well fay, that by Gods Grant tc
J'r ham and his Seed, the Land of Ca¬
naan was to belong only to one of hi*
Seed exclufive of all others, as by Godj
Grant of Dominion to a Man and his
Ifpse^ this Dominion was to belong all
to one of his Iflue exclufive of all o-
thers.
But how will our A- prove that
whenibever God made choice of any fpe-
cial Pedon to be a King, he intended that
the (I fuppofe he means his) IfTue, alfo
fhould have benefit thereof: Has he fa
Coon forgot Mojes and JoJhua whom in
this very Self/on, he fays, God out of a
/pedal care choje to govern as Princes, and
the Judges that God raifed up. Had not
thefe Princes, having the Authority of the
Sttpream Fatherhood, the (ame Power that
the Kings had, and being (pecially chofen
by God him/elf, (hould not their Iflue
have the benefit of tHat choice as well as
David or Solomon / If ihefe hacfthe Pater¬
nal Authority put into their hands imme¬
diately by God, why had not their Ijfae
the ben fit of this Grant in a Snccefoon
to thrs Power . Or if they had it as A-
dams Heirs, why did not their- Heirs en-
- toy
f 307 )
joy it after them by Right delcending to
them, for they could not be Heirs to one
another? was the Power the fame, and
from the fame Original in M>fes,Jofhua and
the Judges, as it was in David and the
Kings, and was it inheritable in one and
not in the other ? If it was not Paternal
Authority, then Gods own People were
{govern’d by thole that had not Paternal
Authority , and thole Governours did well
enough without,it: If it were Paternal
Authority and God chole the Perfons that
were to exercife it, our A-s Rule fails,
that i vhenfoever God makes choice of any
Perfon to he Snpreant Ruler (for I luppole
the name King has no Spell in it ’tis not
tthe Title, but the Power makes the diffe¬
rence) he intends that the Ijfite alfo fisould
l have the benefit of it, lince from their com#
ling out of Egypt to Davids time 400
Years, the Ifiue was never fo fujficiently
1 comprended in the Perfon of the Father, as
1 that any Son after the Death ot his Fa#
ither, focceeded to the Government a-
imongft all thcfe Judges that judged If
rael $ If to avoid this, it be faid, God al-
1 ways chofe the Perfon of the SuccelTor,
1 and fo transferring the Fatherly Authority
' to him, excluded his Iflue from fucceed-
1 ing to it, that is maniteftly, not fo in the
! Story of Jephtha, where he Articled with
■:•••* • the
( 208 )
the People, and they made him Judge o'
ver them, as is plain, Judg. u.
,J X S \ n va ’ n then .to fay, that
whensoever God choofes any Special Per fin to
have tte exerdfc of p jrnd AulhorH,
C tor it that be not to be King, I defire
to know the difference between a Kina
and one haying the exercife of Paternal
Monty} he intends the Iffue alfi (bould
have the benefit of it, fince we find the
Authority, the Judges had, ended with
not to, their Iffue,
and it the Judges had not Paternal M-
thonty, I, fear it will trouble our A- ot*
any of the Friends to his Principles,’ to
tell who had then the Paternal Monty
that is, the Government, and Supream
Power amongft the Ifrdelites , and I fuf-
peft they mufl: confefs that the chofen
People of. God continued a People fede¬
ral hundreds of Years, without any
Knowledge or Thought of this Paternal
Authority , or any appearance of Monar¬
chical Government at all. %
j I ^ 5 * To be Satisfied of this, he need
but read the Story of the Levite , and the
War, thereupon with the Benjamites , in
the 3. la ft Chap, of Jud. and when he
finds that the Levite appeals to the People
for Juftice, that it was the Tiibes and
the Congregation that debated, refolved
and 5
( 309 ) . ,
tid dire&ed all that was done on that oc-
ifion : he muft conclude either that God
'as not careful to preferve the Fatherly Au-
Mrity amongft his own chofen People,
r el fe that the Fatherly Authority may be
referved where there is no Monarchical
iovernment •, If the latter, then it will
)llow that though Fatherly Authority be
ever fb well proved, yet it will not in-
;r a neceflity of Monarchical Govern-
ient$ If the former, it will feem very
range and improbable that God fhould
rdain Fatherly Authority to be fo Sacred
mongft the Sons of Men, that there could
e no Power nor Government without it,
nd yet that amongft his own People, e-
en whilft he is providing a Government
Dr them, and therein prefcribes Rules to
ae leveral States and Relations of Men,
bis Great and Fundamental one, this
loft material and neceffary of all the reft
lould be concealed, and lye neglected
400 If ears after.
\ f ^ 1 k
166. Before I leave this,I muft ask how
nr A- knows that vphtnfoeverGodmak.es
boice of any fpecial Ptrfdn to be K-ing, he
i ttends that the. Jff*e fJjould have the benefit
hereof does God by the Law of Nature
i Revelation' fay fo ? By the fame Law
[ h' 'P j»V(o
(*t°
alfo he muft fay,which of his T^emuft en-j
joy the Crown in Succeffion, and fo point
out the Heir, or elfe leave his Tjjue to di¬
vide or fcramble for the Government:
both alike abfurd, and fuch as will de-
ftroy the benefit of fuch Grant to the
Jjfue. When any fuch Declaration of Gods
Intention is produced, it will be our Duty
to believe God intends it fo, but till that
be done, our A ~ muft fhew us fbme bet¬
ter Warrant before we fhall be obliged to
receive him as the Authentic Reveler of
Gods Intentions.
167. The Ijfue, fays our A—, is comprt*
bended fufficiently in the Perfon of the Fa¬
ther, although the Father only was named in
the Grant : And yet God when he gave
the Land of Canaan to Abraham , Gen. 13.
15. thought fit to put his Seed into the
Grant too, fo the Priefthood was given
to Aaron and bis Seed * And the Crown
God gave not only to David , but his
Seed alfo: And however our A- affures
us that God intends , that the Jjjite fhould
have the benefit of it , when he ehoofes any
Perfon to be King , yet we fee that the
iingdom he gave to Saul, without men¬
tioning his Seed after him never came to
any of his IJfue , and why when God
chofe
thole a Perfon to be King, he fhouid
intend that his Jjpte fhouid have the bene¬
fit of it, more then when he chofe one t6
be Judg in Ijraet } I would fain know a
realon $ or why does a Grant of Fatherly
Authority to a King more comprehend
the I flue, then when a like Grant is made
to a Judge ? Is Paternal /4 greater me afore of love to me , then they
have jy me, fyewed unto them'., my defire there¬
fore to be loved of my equals in nature , is
much as pojfthle may be, impofeth upon me a
natural Duty of bearing to themward , fully
the like affection 3 From which relation of
equality between our felves and them , that
are as our felves, what feveral Rules and Ca¬
nons, natural reafon hath drawn for direction
°f n0 Man is ignorant. Eccl. Pol.
Li. r*
It ■ ;
6 . But though this be a State of Liber¬
ty* yet it is not a State of Licence, though
Man in that State have an uncontroleable
Liberty, to difpofe of his Perfon or Pof-
feffions, yet he has not Liberty to de-
ftroy himfelfy or fb much as any Cfeature
in his Poffeflion, but where fome nobler
ufe, then its bare Prefervation calls for it.
The State of Nature, has a Law of Na¬
ture to govern it, which obliges every one,
and reafon, which isthat Law, teaches ah
Mankind, who will but confult it y That
being all equal and independent, no onfe
ought to harm another in his Life, Health,
Liberty or Poffefiions 3 for Men being all
the Workmanlhip of one Omnipotent,’
(* 325 )
3 and infinitely wife maker : All the Ser¬
vants of one Sovereign Matter, lent in¬
to the World by his order and about
his bufineft. They are his Property,
\ whole Workmarfhip they are made to
I laft during his, not one anothers Pleafure^
< And being Furnifhed with like Facul¬
ties, (haring all in one Community of
Nature, there cannot be fuppofed any
fuch Subordination among us, that may
Authorize us to deftroy one another,
as if we were made for one anothers
ules, as the inferior ranks of Creatures
are for ours, every one as he is bound
to preferve himlelf, and not to quit his
Station willfully, lo by the like realbn
when his own Prelervation comes not in
competition, ought he as much as he
can to preferve the reft of Mankind,
and not unlcls it be to do Juftice on
an offender, take a way, or impair the
i the life, or what tends to the Preferva-
!' tibn of the Life, the Liberty, Health,
I Limb or Goods of another.
7. And that all Men may be reftrained
from invading others Rights, and from
(doing hurt to one another, and the
Law of Nature be obferved, which wil-
leth the Peace and Prefervation of all
Man-
( 224 )
Mankind, the Execution of the Kw of
Nature is in that State, put into every
Mans hands, whereby every one has at
Right to punifh the rranigreffors of that
Law to fich a Degree, as may hinder
Its Vitiation. For the LaW of Na¬
ture would, as all other Laws that con¬
cern Men in this World, be in vain,
if ti.; e were ho body that in the State
or Nature, had a Power to Execute that
Law, and thereby preferve the innocent
and refiftin offenders, and if any one Inf
the State of Nature may punifh another, :
for any evil he has done, every one
may do fo. For in that State of perfect E-
quality, where naturally there is no fu-
periorityor jurifdi&ion of one over ano¬
ther, what any may do in Proportion
of that Law, every one mufl: needs
have a Right to do.
8 . And thus in the State of Nature, r
one Man comes by a Power over ano¬
ther * but yet no Abfolute or Arbitrary
Pdwer, to ufe a Criminal wheri he has
got him in his hands, according to the
pjffionate heats, or boundlefs extrava¬
gancy v of his own Will, but only to re-
tribute to him, fb far as calm reafoil
and confcience di&ates, what is proi
portionate
C 225 )
portionate to his Tran/greflion, which is
lb much as may ft rye for Reparation and
Reftraint. For thefe two are the only
reafons, why one Man- may lawfully'do
harm to another, which is thatPwci’caH
punifbment. In trangteffing theXiw'of
Nature, the Offender declares' himfelf
to live by another Rule, then that of
reafon and common equity^ which is
that mealure God haa & To the ietl
ons of Men, for their* rfiutual fecurity,
and f) he becomes dangerous to 1 Man¬
kind, the tye, Which*is to fecure them
from injury and violence, being flighted
and broken by him , . which being a
:refpafs againft the whole Species, and
he Peace and Safety of it, provided for by
he Law of Nature, every Man upon the
core, by the Right he hath to prefcrve
Mankind in general, may reftrain, or
vhere it is neceffary, deftroy things’
toxious to them, and fa may bring fjch
ivil on any one, who hath tranfgrefled
hat Law, as may make him repent the
loingofit, and thereby ’ deter him, 1 and
>y his < Example others, from doitt£ i; the
ike mifchief. And in this cafe, r M bp-
»n this ground, every Man hath' a Right’
o punifh the Offender, and be Exccdti-
«jer of the Law of Nature.
i' Q- o.i
hath not a Fowei
igjinft it* as he fo¬
ie to require, I ie<
:rates of any Cora-
(r y *6 ).
vdoubt not but this. >wM
rancre Dhftfin tO iblDC M
Tore .they ' _
^e%|^^oiy^ tjiesjhy ,
jRr^nce t or. State - cap , put tp., peath, Qj
I
any,V
jhe com-
certain
i$qr laws; by venue of^y.^anctioj
to hP* nor
is ;^i?pund to ;hear^n to them. The
e .-Jfc'ho^, have the, .Suprea^p
kihaiiaw^in England* JFrana
, are ,tp, an India** but like
g& 7 £ 3 f $ the ' withoui
* * * 1 1 Tore if .by t.he Law*
W» Agft
■ any
munity,;ean punilivj.aA Alien of another
(Country, fiace. in referenqe\,$o him.
Ym$ have ;UQ r ,raoro ftSU
svhijt^eyefy Mantmhrally may .have ov#
4 a
10 ,
Befidei
4
( 227)
' io. Befits the Crime which con-.,
ifts in violating the Laws, £nd vary-'
ng from the right Rule of reafori^
thereby a Man fo far becomes de-
enerate, and declares birnfplf to quitr*
jp Principles of Human Nature, and. ;
iff^be a noxious Creatuir£ f r there is
ommonly injury done, arid fame Per-
pn or other, fame other Man, receive?
^image by his tranfgrdTion, in which
^aj[e he who hath received any da-
nage, has befides the ftigfyt of punjfhr
cent common t,o' h,infV.With other
$en, a particular Right, to leek Ref
>aration from him that has done it.
Vnd any other Pcrfaq who finds it
uft, mayalfo joyn with him that 'is
njur’d, and afiift him iff. recoverinj
rom the Offender, lb m.uch as m.
nake fatisfa&ion for the harm he has
jffer’d. *
A «.* 4
ii. Fromthefe two diftinft Rights,
he one of Punifaing the Crime for
eftraint , and preventing the like
)ffencc, which right of punifhing fe in
very body j the other.of taking re¬
paration, which belongs only to the
ijured party, conies it to pafs that the
lagiftrate, who by being Magistrate,
Q 2 haifh
■in 8 ) ,
i / • • » - i m * *■ * 4% ^ • -j ^ • • ,•
hath the common right of punifhing
put into his hands, can often where
the public good demands not the Ex¬
ecution of the Law, remit the punifh-
ment of Criminal Offences by his own
Authority, but yet cannot remit the
fatisfa&ion due to any Private Man,
for the damage he has received. That,
he who has fuffcred the damage has a
Right to demand in his own name,
and he alone can remit , The damni¬
fied Perfon has this Power of appro¬
priating to himfelf, the Good? or Ser¬
vice of the Offender, by Right ol
ffclf Prefervation, as every M«< n has a
power to punifh the Crime, to prevent
its being committed again , by the
Right he has of Preferving all Man¬
kind, and doing all reafbnable things,
he can in order to that end: And thus
it is, that every Man in the State ol
Nature, has a Power to kill a mude-
rer, both to deter others from doio£
the like injury, which no reparation
can compenfate, by the Example of the
punifhment that attends it from ever)
body, . and alfo to fecure Men h on
the attempts of a Criminal, whe
having renounced reafbn, the commor
i Rule and Meafure God hath given tc
J - * Mankind
\ V • r
( 229 )
Mankind, hath by the unjuft violence
ind flaughter, he hath committed up*
)n one, declared War againft all
Mankind, and therefore may be de->
Vroyed as a Lion or a Tiger , one oft
hofe wild Savage Beafts, with whom
Men can have no Society nor Security:
\nd upon this is grounded that great
^a w of Nature, who Jo Jheddtth Mans
3 lood, by Man Jball his Blood be Jhed*
\nd Cain was fo fully convinced, that
;very one had a Right to deftroy
uch a Criminal, that after the MuiV
her of his Brother^ he cries our, ez/ery
me that findeth me, jhall Jlay me, lb
>lain was it writ in the Hearts of
ill Mankind. . ;
t . \ 4 . - , . •
1 2! By the fame reafon, may a
Man in the State of Nature punifti the
efier breaches of that Law $ It will
>erhaps be demanded with death? I
nnfwer each tranfgreflion, may be
wn'tfhed to that Degree, and with
o much Severity as will fuffice to
nake it an ill bargain to the Offender,
kive him Canle to repent, and terri*
ie others from doing the like : Every
Offence that can be committed in the
itate of Nature, may in the State of
tuantM Q. 3 Nature
. 1 230).
feature, be alfo punifhed, equally, and
as far 'forthr'as it may, in a Common¬
wealth 5 for though it would be be-
K % V*' -* -** y a > 1 ^ *
fides my prefer# purpofe, to enter here
ujjf ^ui. ^uiv.4 IU v.illl.1 liwlw
into the particulars of the Law of
Mature, or its meafures qF punifhment ^
yet, it is eeftaih there is fuch a Law
and that too, as intelligible and plain
to a rational Creature, and a Studier
dfthat Law, as the pbfitive Laws of
Common-wealths, hay poffibly plai¬
ner, 9 As much as reafon is eafier to be
lioderftood, then the Phanfies and in¬
tricate Contrivances of Men, follow¬
ing contrary arid hidden interefts pUt
into Words 5 For truly, fo are a gre^t
part of the municipal LaWsOf Coun¬
tries, which are only fo far Right, as
■■are founded on the Law of Na¬
ture, by which they are to be regula¬
ted arid interpreted.
13. To this ftrange Dofrrine, viz.
That in the State of Nature, every
one has the Executive Power of the
Law of Nature, I doubt not but it will
be objected 5 That it is unreasonable
for Men to be Judges in their own
Cafes, that felf love will make Men
partial to themfelves and their Friends.
" And
Inconveniences of the State of Nature*
vvjiich muft certainly be Great, f where
an Injury, will fearce be 10 jult as to
condemn himfelf for it: But I (hall de¬
fire tnofe 'who make this Obje&ion,
£o remember that Ab(olute Monarchs
5te btit Men, and if Government is to
be the Remedy of thofe Evils, which
necefi'arily follow from Mens being
Judges in their own Cafes, and the
State of Nature is therefore not to be
enduted, I defire to know what kind
of Government that i?, and how
much better it is then the State of Na¬
ture, where one Man commanding a
multitude, has the Liberty to be
Judge in his own Cafe, and ma^ do
to all his Subjeds whatever he' pleafes.
Q 4
with-
;< J23.2 0
without the -leaft queftion? or controfe
of thofe, who Execute his Pleafurc ?
in whatfbeyer he doth, whether
, reafbn,'jmifi:ake or pa {lion, muft
be fubmitted to? Which Men in the
State pf Nature are not bound to do
one to. another. And if he that Judges,
Judges amifs in his own, or any other
Cafe, he is anfwerable for it, to the
reft of Mankind.
J
H* ’Tis often asked as a mighty
Objection, where are, or ever were,
there any Men in fuch a State of Na¬
ture? To which it may fuffice as an
anfwer at prefent s That fince all
Princes and Rulers of Independant Go¬
vernments all through the World, arc
in^a State of Nature, ’tis plain the
World never was, nor never will be.
Without numbers of Men in that State, I
have named all Governors of Indepen*
dent Communities whether they are,
or are not, in League with others j For
’tis not every compatt, that puts an
end to the State of Nature between
Men, but only this one of agreeing to¬
gether mutually to enter . into one
Community, and make one body Po¬
litic, other promifes and compa&s, Men
► t
may
Cm)
DtHay make one with another,and yet flill
be in the State of Nature. The protnifes
t and bargains for Truck , &c. Between
the two Men, in Soldaniayn or between,
i a Swifs and an Indian , in the Woods of
, America are binding to them, though
i they are perfe&ly in a State of Nature,
i in reference to one another for Truth,
and keeping of Faith belongs to Men,
as Men, and not as Members of So.
ciety.
i•
1 w O'
15. To thofe that fay, there were
I never any Men in the State of Nature*
II will not only oppofe the Authority
1 of the Judicious Hoohyr, Eccl. Pol. Li.
i 1 Sefr. 10. where he fays ; The Lares
1 which have been hithert0 mentioned , i. e.
1 the Laws of Nature, do bind Men Ab-
fiolutely , even as they are Men , although
1 they have never any ' fettled feUow(hip y
1 never any Solemn Agreement amongfl them-
j Jelves what to do or not to dofiutfor as much
1 as we are not by our felves fiujficient tofitrnijh
1 our Jelves with competent flore of things ,
ji needful for fitch a Life , as our Nature
< doth defire ; a Lije, fit for the dignity of
Man , therefore to fitpply thofi defeffs and
1 imperfe&ions which are in us , as living
1 jingle and folely by our felves , we are’
naturally
( 2 34 )
*
Fellowfhip with other s t this was the Cattje
of Mens uniting thensfelljes , at firfi in
Politic Societies. But I Moreover af¬
firm, that all Men are naturally in that
State, and remain To. till by theft bvim
confers, they make themfelves Mem¬
bers of fome Politic Society, arid t
doubt not in the Sequel of this Di£
eburfe, to make it very clear. * '
r ; ’ O # '*
- . —,
i ti • i "?j
*•? 1> t A 1
KV £ p>
J
f
t • *4 *
» :4
f 4 . r
Jt 1 4'
y «Vj
1 ti
—
_
—
— rvi
» 4
Ol
\ '
rtf
V*
4 - c •; l «' s<
it-
• < .
i.
v *i
V.
41
31 ^ •
i
** 1
\
'
tf>V d \'tXM
■
V * i-
4*1
ITi
c * •
.: % h
jU
*# -a
x
(^ 35 )
CHAP. III.
'X • • 4 ' - JL* f';\, r 9 ' * ; 4 ‘ • r ^
• % \ ; f* ^ * ' 1 ) .
0 / the State oj War.
. . * «. * * 1
16. TTHE State of War is a
JL State of Enmity and
Deftrudtion y And therefore de¬
claring by Word or Adtion, not
a paflionate and hafty, but fedate
fetled Defign, upon another Mans
Life, puts him in a State of War
with him againft whom he has
declared luch an Intention, and
fo has expofed his Life to the o«
thers Power to be taken away by
him, or any one that joyns with
him in his Defence, and efpoufes
his Quarrel, it being reafonable
and juft i fhould have a Right to
deftroy that which threatens me
with Deftru&ion 5 For by tire
* • * ; Fun-
1
T' •.
C230 y , ^
tal Law of Nature,
to be preferved,as much
, when all cannot be
preferved, thefafety of the Inno¬
cent is to be preferred : And one
may deftroy a Man who makes
War upon him, or has difcovered
an Enmity to his being for the
fame Reafon, that he may kill a
Wolf ora Lion, becaufe they are
not under the ties of the Common
Law of Reafon, have no other
Rule, but that of Force and Vio¬
lence, and fo may be treated as a
Beaft of Prey, thofe dangerous
and noxious Creatures that will
be fare to deftroy him, whenever
he falls into their Power.
17. And hence it is that he who
—. ‘ f 1 * ' » t
attempts to get an other Man into
his Ablolute Power, does there¬
by put himfelf into a State of
War with him; It being to be
underftood as a Declaration of a
’ Defign
C 237vX >
Defign upon his Life. For I havg
r'eafon to conclude, that he who
would get me into his Power
without my Confent, would ule
me as he pleafed when he had go t
me there,and deftroy me too when
lie had a phanly to it } for no bcif
dy can defire to have me in his
Abfolute Power, unlefs it be to
compel me by force to that which is
againft the Right of my Freedom,
i. e. make me a Slave; To be
free from fuch force, is the only
fecurity of my Prefervation, and
reafon bids me 16 ok on him,
as an Enemy to my Prelervation,
who would take away that Freer
dom, which is the Fence to it,
fo that he who makes an attempt
to enflave. me, thereby. } puts him-
felf into a State of War with; me r
He that in the State of Nature^
would take away the Freedom
that belongs to any one in that
State,
1
( * 3 * ) )
State, mu ft neceffarily be fappofed to'
have a defign to take away every
thing elfe, that Freedom being the
Foundation of all the reft : As he that
in the State of Society, would take a-
way the Freedom belonging to thole pf
that Society or Common-wealth, muft
be fuppoled to defign to take away
from them every thing elfe, and fo be
looked on as in a State of War. v *
18. This makes it Lawful fora Man
to kill a Theif, who has not in the
leaft hurt him, nor declared any de¬
fign upon his Life, any farther then by
the ule of Force, lb to get him in his
Power, as to take away his Money, or
What he pleafes from him, becaule
ufing force, where he has no Right to
get me into his Power, let his pretence
be what it will, I have no realon to
fuppole, that he, who would take
away my Liberty, would not when he
had me in fyis. Power, take away every
thing elle. And therefore it is Law¬
ful for me to treat him, as one who has
put himfdf into a State of War with me,
r. e. kill him if I can 5 For to that
hazard does he juftly expole him lei f,
whoever introduces a State of War,
and is aggrefier in it.
v> r * ’ 19. And
) * »
' e(
20. But when the a&ual force is over,
the State of War ceafes between thofe
that are in Society, and are equally on
bothfidesSubjed to the Judge.* And
therefore infuch controverlies, where
the queftion is put, whoflail be Judge > It
cannot be meant, who (hall decide the'
controverfie : every one knows what
Jephtha here tells us, that the Lord the
Judge , (hall Judge. Where there is no
J udge on Earth, the Appeal lies to God
in Heaven. That queftion then cannot
mean who (hall Judge, whether ano¬
ther hath put himfelf in a State of War
with me, and whether I may as Jephtha
did appeal to Heaven in it > Of that I
my felf can only be Judge in my own
Confeience, as I will anfwer it at the
great day, to the Supream Judge of all
Men. .. . ' \ ; ~‘ip ’ • : • s
CHAP.
» i
( 2 4i )
CHAP, IV.
I Of SLAVERY.
0
22.'HE natural Liberty of Man
J is to be free from any Superi¬
or Power on Earth, and not to be under
:he Will or Legiflative Authority of Man,
>ut to have only the Law of Nature for
lis Rule. The Liberty of Man, in So-
:iety, is to be under no other Legiflative
J ower, but that eftablifhed, by confent,
n the Commonwealth; nor under the
dominion of any Will, or Reftraint of a-
ly Law, but what that Legiflative fball
na£t, according to the Truft put in it.
•reedom then is not what Sr. R. F. tells
is, 0 . A. 55. A Liberty for every one to do
'hat he lifts , to live as he pleafes , and not
■> be tyed by any Lam : but Freedom of
den, under Government, is, to have a
randing Rule to live by, common to ere-
y one ot that Society, and made by the
.egiflative Power ere&ed in it. A Liber-
7 to follow my own Will in all things,-
'here that Rule prelcribes not; not to
e fubjeft to the inconftant, uncertain,-
nknown, Arbitrary Will of another Man,
-s Freedom of Nature is to be under no ;
:her reftraint but the Law of Nature,-
R 23. Thu;
( 2 4 2 )
23. This Freedom from Abfolute, Ai
bitrary Power, is fo neceffary to, an
clofely joyned with a Man’s Prefervatioi
that he cannot part with it, but by whc
forfeits his Prefervation and Life togethe
For a Man, not having the Power of h
own Life, cannot, by Compact, or his ow
Content, enflave himfelf to any one, nc
put himfelf under the Abfolute, Arbitrar
Power of another, to take away his Lii<
when he pleafes. No body can give moi
Power than he has himfelf; and he tht
•cannot take away his own Life, cannc
give another Power over it. Indeed h?
ving, by his fault, forfeited his own Lift
by fome Acl that deferves Death ; he, t
whom he has forfeited it, may (when b
has him in his Power) delay to take ii
and make ufo of him to his own forvice
and he does him no injury by it. F01
when-ever he finds the hardfhip of hi
Slavery out-weigh the value of his Lift
’tiS in" his Power , by refilling the Wi
of his Matter, to draw on himfelf th
Death he defires.
24. This is the perfect condition of Sla
very, which is nothing cite, but the Stat
of War continued, between a Iawft
Conquerour, and a Captive. For, if one
Compact enter between them,and make ai
agreement for a limited Power on the on
»
( 243 )
!ide, and Obedience, on the other; the
State of War and Slavery ceales, as long
is the Compact endures. For, as has
>een laid, no Man can, by agreement,
>afs over to another that which he hath
lot in himlelf, a Power over his own
Jfe.
I confefs, we find among the Jews, as
veil as other Nations, that Men did fell
hemfelves; but, ’tis plain, this was only
o Drudgery, not to Slavery. For, it is
vident, the Perfon fold was not under an
ibfolute, Arbitrary , Delpotical Power.
r or the Mafter could not have Power to
ill him, at any time, whom, at a cer-
lin time, he was obliged to let go free
ut of his lervice: And the Mafter of
jch a Servant was fo far from having
n Arbitrary Power over his Life, that he
ould not, at pleafure, fo much as maim
im, but the Lois of an Eye, or Tooth,
it him free, Exod. XXI.
CHAP. V.
Of PROPERTY.
T 71 THether we confider natural
'■ VV Realon, which tells us, that
fen, being once born, have a right to
! R 2 their
( 244 >
their Prefervation, and conlequently t
Meat and Drink, and fuch other thing:
as Nature affords for their Subfiftence
Or Revelation , which gives us an accoun
of thofe Grants God made of the Worl
to Adam y and to Noah , and his Sons; ’ti
very clear, that God, as K. David fay:
Pfal. CXV. xvj. has given the earth to th
Children of men , given it to Mankind i
common. But this being fuppofed, i
feems to dome a very great difficulty ho\
any one fhouid ever come to have a Prc
perty in any thing ; I will not content m
lelf to anfwer, That if it be difficult t
make out Property , upon a fuppofitior
That God gave the World to ^Adam an
his Pofterity in common ; it is impoffibl
that any Man, but one univerfal Monarch
fhouid have any Property upon a fuppofi
tion, That God gave the World to Adani
and his Heirs in Succeffion, exclufive c
all the reft of his Pofterity. But I fhai
endeavour to fhevv, how Men migh
come to have a Property in feveral parts o
that which God gave to Mankind in com
mon, and that without any exprels Com
pa£t of all the Commoners.
26. God , who hath given the Worl<
to Men in common, hath alfo given then
reafon to make ufe of it to the beft advan
tageof life,and convenience,TheEarth,anc
al
( 245 )
ill that is therein, is given to Men for
the Support and Comfort of their being.
And though all the Fruits it naturally
produces, and Beafts it feeds, belong to
Mankind in common, as they are produ¬
ced by the fpontaneous hand of Nature;
and no body has originally a private Do¬
minion, exclufive of the reft of Mankind^
in any of them, as they are thus in their
natural ftate: yet being given for the ule
of Men, there muft, of neceffity, be a
means to appropriate them iome way or
other before they can be of any ule, or at
all beneficial to any particular Men. The
Fruit, or Yenilon which nourifhes the
wild Indian, who knows no Inclofure,'and
is ftill a Tenant in common, muft be his,
and lo his, i.e. a part of him, that another
can no longer have any right to it, before
it can do him any good for the fupport of
his Life.
27. Though the Earth, and all inferior
Creatures,be common to all Men, yet
every Man has a Property in his own Per-
fon. This no Body has any Right to blit
himfelf. The Labour of his Body, and
the Work of his Hands, we may lay, are
properly his. Whatloever then he re¬
moves out of the State that Nature hath
provided, and left it in, he hath mixed
his Labour with it, and joined to it lonie-
* R $ thing
y ( 246 )
thing that is his own, and thereby make
it his Property. It being by him remove)
from the common ftate Nature placed i
in, it hath by this labour fbmething an
nexed to it, that excludes the commoi
right of other Men. For this labour beint
the unqueftionable Property of the La
bourer, no Mian but he can have a righi
to what that is once joined to, at leaf
where there is enough, and as good left ir
common for others. T oJyi?j
28. He that is nourifhed by the Acorn?
lie pickt up under an Oak, or the Apple;
he gathered from the Trees in the Wood;
has certainly appropriated them to him-
.lelf. No Body can deny but the nourifh-
ment is his. I ask then, when did they
begin to be his ? When he digefted ? or
when he eat ? Or when he boiled ? Or
when he brought them home ? Or when
he pickt them up ? And 'tis plain, if the
iirll gathering made them not his, nothing
elfe could. That labour put a diftindion
between them and common. That added
lomething to them more than Nature, the
common Mother of all, had done ; and fo
tliey became his private right. And will
any one fay he had no right to thofe Acorns
or Apples he thus appropriated, becaufe
ue had not the confent of all Mankind to
make them his ? Was it a Robbery thus
to
( 247 )
o affumc to himfelf what belonged to all
[ja Common ? If fuch a confent as that
^as necelfary, Man had ftarved, not with-
landing the Plenty God had given him.
We lee in Commons, which remain lo by
Com pad, that ’tis the taking any part of
what is common, and removing it out
afthe ftate Natur^leaves it in, which be¬
gins the Property'; without which the
Common is of no ule. And the taking ol
this or that part, does not depend on the
exprefs content of all the Commoners.
Thus the Grafs my Horie has bit; the
Turfs my Servant has cut; and the Ore I
have dig’d in any place where I have a
right to them in common with others,
become my Property, without the affig-
nation or confent of any body. Ihe la¬
bour that was mine, removing them out
of that common ftate they were in, hath
fixed my Property in them.
29. By making an explicit confent of
every Commoner, neceifary to any ones
appropriating to himlelf any part or what
is given in common. Children or Ser¬
vants could not cut the Meat which
Father or Mailer had provided for them
in common, without aligning to every
one his peculiar part. Though the Water
i running in the Fountain be every ones;
r vet who can doubt but that in the Pitcher
R 4 is
( 248 ) '!
; s h/ s °, nI y who drew it out ? His labour
nata taken it out of the hands of Nature
where it was common, and belong’d e-
qually to all her Children, and hath there¬
by appropriated it to himfelf.
3 °‘ Thus this Law of realbn makes the
Deer, that Indians who hath killed it; ’tis
allowed to be his goods who hath bellow¬
ed his labour upon it,: though before, it
was the common right of every one. And
amongll thole who are counted the Civi-
Iizd part of Mankind, who have made
and multiplied pofitiveLaws to determine
lopertj,, this original Law of Nature for
the beginning of Property, in what was
before common, Hill takes place ; and by
vertue thereof, what Fifh any one catches
! n ^ Ocean, that great and‘Hill remain-
xiig Common of Mankind \ or what Am-
bergriefe any one takes up hqre, is by the
labour that removes it out of that com-
nion Hate Nature left it in, made his Pro¬
pel ty who takes that pains about it. And
even amongll us the Hare that any one is
iintingj is thought his who purlues her
? u J[!"S, th e Chafe. For being a Bead that
JS ftih looked upon as common , and no
Man s private FolfelTion ; who-ever has
imployd lb much labour about any of that
j nc h as to find and purliie her, has there¬
by removed her from the Hate of Nature
wherein
/
( 2 49 )
• > *
wherein fhe was common , and hath be¬
gan a Property.
31. It will perhaps be objected to this,
That if gathering the Acorns , or other
Fruits of the Earth, &c. makes a right to
them, then any one may ingrofs as much
as he will. To which I Anlwer, Not fo.
The lame Law of Nature that does by this
means give us Property , does alio bound
that Property too. God has given us all
things richly , i Tim. vi. 12. Is the Voice
of Realon confirmed by Infpiration. But
how far has he given it us , to enjoy ? As
much as any one can make ule of to any
advantage of life before it Ipoils; fo much
he may by his labour fix a Property in.
Whatever is beyond this, is more than his
fhare, and belongs to others. Nothing
was made by God for Man to fpoil or de¬
ft roy. And thus confidering the plenty
of natural Provifions there was a long time
in the World, and the few fpenders, and
to how fmall a part of that provifion the
induftry of one Man could extend it lelf,
and ingrofs it to the prejudice of others;
efpecialiy keeping within the bounds fee
by realon of what might lerve for his ule ;
there could be then little room for quar¬
rels or contentions about Property fo efta-
blifh’d. ' A V :
t j
1 * :>-*•
But
( 3t >°)
52. But the chief matter of Property
being now not the Fruits of the Earth,and
the Beafts that fubfift on it, but the Earth
it felf 5 as that which takes in and carries
with it all the reft : I think it is plain,
that Property in that too is acquired as the
former. As much Land as a Man Tills,
Plants, Improves , Cultivates, and can
ufe the Product of; fo much is his Pro¬
perty. He by his labour does as it were
indole it from the Common. Nor will it
invalidate his right to fay, Every body
elle has an equal title to it; and therefore
he cannot appropriate, he cannot inclole,
without the confentof all his Fellow-Com¬
moners, ail Mankind. God when he gave
the World in common to all Mankind,
commanded Man alfo to labour, and the
penury of hisCondition required it of him.
God and his Reafon commanded him to
fubdue the Earth, i. e, improve it for the
benefit of Life, and therein lay out fbme-
thing upon it that was his own, his labour.
He that in obedience to this Command of
God, fubdued, tilled and lowed any part
of it, thereby annexed to it fomething that
was his Property, which another had no
-Title to, nor could without injury take
from him. - *?...• i
33 - Nor was this appropriation of any
parcel of Land, by improving it, any pre¬
judice
( 2 50
/
judice to any other Man, fince there was
ftill enough, and as good left; and more
than the yet unprovided could ufe. So
that in dfe&, there was never the lefs left
for others becaufe of his inclofure for him-
felf. For he that leaves as much as ano¬
ther can make ule of, does as good as take
nothing at all. No Body could think
himfelf injur’d by the drinking of another
Man, though he took a good draught,
who had a whole River of the fame Water
left him to quench his thirft. And the
Cafe of Land and Water, where there is
enough of both, is perfectly the fame.
$4. God gave the World to Men in
Common, but fince he gave it them for
their benefit, and the greatefi: Convenien-
cies of Life they were capable to draw
from it; it cannot be luppoled he meant
it ftiould always remain common and un¬
cultivated. He gave it to the ule ot the
indufirious and rational, (and labour was
to be his title to it ;) not to the phancy or
covetoulnels of the quarrellome and con¬
tentious. He that had as good left for his
improvement, as was already taken up,
needed not complain, ought not to med¬
dle with what was already improved by
another’s labour: if he did, ’tis plain lie
defired the benefit ot anothers pains which
he had no right to, and not the ground
w hich
• ( 252 )
which God had given him in common
with others to labour on , and whereof
there was as good left as that already po f-
feued j and more than he knew what
to do with, or his induftry could reach
to.
? 5 * Tis true* in Land that is common
in England, or any other Country, where
there is plenty of people under Govern¬
ment, who have Money and commerce,
no one can inclofe or appropriate any part
without the confent of all his Fellow-Com¬
moners i Becauie this is left common by
Compaft, i.e. by the Law of the Land,
which is not to be violated. And though
it oe Common, in relpedt of Ibme Men,
it is not fo to all Mankind; but is the joint
propriety of this Country, or this Parifh.
Befides, the remainder, after fuch inclo¬
se, would not be as good to the reft of
the Commoners as the whole was, when
they could all make ufe of the whole •
whereas in the beginning and firft peo¬
pling oi tne great Common of the World
it was quite otherwife. The Law Man’
was under was rather for appropriating.
(rod Commanded , and his wants forced
him to labour. That was his Property
which could not be taken from him where-
ever he had fixed it. And hence fubduing '
or cultivating the Earth, and having Do¬
minion,
minion, we fee, are join’d together. The
one gave Title to the other. So that God,
by commanding to fubdue, gave Autho¬
rity fo far to appropriate. And the Con¬
dition of humane Life, which requires la¬
bour and materials to work on, necelfa-
rily introduce private Poffeffions.
36. The meafure of Property, Nature
well let, by the Extent of Mens Labour,
and the Conveniency of Life : no Man’s
Labour could fubdue, or appropriate all;
nor could his Enjoyment conlume more
than a Imall part; lb that it was impolli-
ble for any Man, this way, to intrench
upon the Right of another, or acquire, to
himfelf, a Property, to the Prejudice of
his Neighbour, who would ftill have
room, for as good, and as large a Poflefti-
on (after the other had taken out hisj as
before it was appropriated ; which mea¬
fure did confine every Man’s Pol-
lefiion, to a very moderate Proportion,
and fuch as he might appropriate to him¬
felf, without Injury to any Body, in the
firft Ages of the World, when Men were
more in danger to be loft, by wandering
from their Company, in the then vait
Wildernefs of the Earth , than to be
ftriatned for w'ant of room to plant in.
And the fame meafure may be allowed
ftill, without prejudice to any Bgdy J; as
• (a?4)
^u!l as the World feems. For fuppofing
a or Family, in the Hate they were
at firft, peopling of the World by the Chil¬
dren or Adam y or Noah ; let him plant in
ionic in-land, vacant places of America.
we fhall find that the Poffeffions, he could
make himfelf, upon the meafures we have
given, would not be very large, nor, even
to this day, prejudice the reft of Man¬
kind, or give them reafbn to complain,
or think themfelves injured by this Man’s
Incroachment, though the Race of Men
have now fpread themfelves to all the cor¬
ners of the World, and do infinitely ex¬
ceed the ftnall number was at the begin¬
ning. Nay the extent of Ground is of fo
little value, without Labour, that I have
heard it affirmed, that, in Spain it felf, a
Man may be permitted to plough, fow,
and reap, without being difturbed, upon
Land he has no other Title to, but only
his making uie of it. But, on the contra¬
ry, the Inhabitants think themfelvs be¬
holden to him, who, by his Induftry, on
flegle£ted, and confequently wafteLand,
has increafed the ftock of Corn, which
they wanted. But be this as it will, which
I lay no ftrefs on ; this I dare boldly af¬
firm, I hat the fame Rule of Propriety,
{.•viz,, ) that every Man fhould have as
much as he could make ule of, would
~ hold
( 255 )
hold ftill in the World , without ftrait-
ning any body, fince there is Land enough
in the World, to fuffice double the Inha¬
bitants, had not the Invention of Money,
and the tacit Agreement of Men, to put
a value on it, introduced ( by Content )
larger PoffefTions, and a Right to them ;
which, how it has done, I fhall, by and
by, fhew more at large.
37. This is certain, That in the begin¬
ning, before the defire of having more
than Men needed, had altered the intrin-
fick value of things, which depends only
on their utefulnefs to the Life of Man; or
had agreed, that a little piece of yellow
Metal, which would keep without waft¬
ing or decay, fhould be worth a great piece
of Flefh, or a whole heap of Corn; though
Men had a Right to appropriate, by their
Labour, each one to himfelf, as much of
the things of Nature, as he could ufe: yet
this could not be much, nor to the Pre¬
judice of others, where the fame plenty
was ftill left, to thole who would ute the
fame Induftry.
Before the Appropriation of Land, he
who gathered as much of the wild Fruit,
killed, caught, or tamed as many of the
Beafts as he could ; he that lb employed
his Pains about any of the fpontaneous
Products of Nature, as any way .to alter
them,
(*SO
them, from the Bate Nature put them in
by placing any of his Labour on them"
did thereby acquire a Propriety in them •
but if they perifhed, in his PolTeffion,
Witnout their due ule ; if thePruits rotted,
or the Venifon putrified, before he could
i pend it^ he offended again ft the common
Law of Nature, and was liable to be pu^
mflied; he invaded his Neighbour’s Share
for he had no Right, farther than
Uie called for any of them, and they
might ferve to afford him Conveniences
of Life.
58. The lame meafures governed the
PolTeffion of Land too: Whatfoever he
tilled and reaped, laid up and made ufe
before it f aoiled, that was his peculiar
Right; whatfoever he enclofed, and could
feed, and make ufe of, the Cattle and Pro-
dud was alto his. But if either the Grafs
of his Inclofure rotted on the Ground, or
the Fruit of his planting perifhed without
gathering, and laying up, this part of the
Earth, notwithstanding his Inclofure, was
Ifiil to be rooKed on as Waffe, and mi^ht
be the PolTeffion of any other. Thus , & at
the beginning, Cam might take as much
Ground as he could till, and make it his
own Land, and yet leave enough to Abel's
Sheep to feed on; a few Acres would
ferve fpr froth their Poifeffions. But as
% • > *■ w f ^
. - • , Families'
FamilieV increaled, and induftry inlarged
their ftocks,‘their Pofleflions inlarged with
the- need of-them f btrtyet {it was. com¬
monly without any fixed property, in the
ground they made ufe of, till they incor¬
porated-^ fetled themfelv.es. together ,' and
built Cities 1 , and then, nby con lent; they
came iti -time, -* to fet lout the bounds , of
their difWnft Territories., ind agree oh
limits between»them v and their.;;Neigh¬
bours ;< and by/ Laws within thepifelveS,
fetled the Properties of chofe! of 'th e-da me
Society. For we feb^thatin that.pah>df
therefore like to be beft peopled > even, as
low down as Abraham\ume\ they: waft>*
dered with their Flocks, and their Herds,
which was their fiibftance, freely up and
down; and this ^sibrdham did, in a Coun¬
try where he was a ftranger. Whence ir
is plain, that, at leafty a great part .of the
Land lay in Common. That the;inha¬
bitants valued it not, nor claimed-Pro¬
perty in any more than they made ufe of.
But when there was not room enough in
the fame place , for their Herds to feed
together, they, by confent, as Abraham
md Lot did , Gen. xiii: 5. feparated and
enlarged their Pafture,' where it beft liked
S them.
< $$)
thetnL: Arid for :the fame R^aio n'Efa
went; from- his. Father) 9 3dd bis Bro
ther,; and planted in Mount <$>*>, Qgr
xxxvi. 6. ~ fc. i,v .
»• < ■ » Jk. i. V. * >
* I t I ' *V ' \ . «I
“ n f ' I • * ”* 'f.' c • r r ,v , f- . i‘. / t d - , • ■
' J .*.<•! If J - *V *’U '/ J V-'ii* JJ2D : J
59; And thus, without fyppofing am
private Dominion, ^nd property in
over all the World, .exclufive of all othe
Men,:which can no. way be proved, no
any-ones Property be made out from it
but.fijppofing the World given as it wa
to; the Children of Men in common, w<
fee-hojw-labour could; make Men diftinf
ttrtks Itaieveral parcels of it, for their pri
vatevufes ; wherein there could be nc
-doubt of right, no room for quarrel.
i 4 ** • ' k .\‘. r * * f ' r * ; !
1 *AJ * A I * t *- • *•, f G /lt j • J . • ' * • ♦ ■ ' v ' I
40^ Nor is it fo grange as perhaps be¬
fore confideration it may appear, that the
Property of labour fhould be able to over¬
balance the Community of Land. For tii
labour indeed that puts the difference ol
value on every thing; and let any one
confider, what the difference is between
an. Acre of: Land planted with Tabaeo 3
or Sugar , fbwn with Wheat or Barley ;
and an Acre of the fame Land lying in
common, without any Husbandry upon
it; and he will find, that the improve-
: ; ment
If ( 2^9)
ment of labour makes the far greater part
of the value, I think it will be but a very
mod eft Computation to fay, that of the
Products of the Earth uleful to the Life
of Man ■ <% are the effe&s of labour : nay*
if we will rightly eftimate things as they .
come to our ufe , and caft up the feveraf
expences about them , what in them is
purely owing to Nature, and what to la¬
bour, we fhall find, that in moftofthem
uo are wholly to be put on the account of
abour.
» ' •' f ^ B j v |V* l#-* ^ \j
i 4 1 - There cannot be a clearer demon-
fration of any thing, than feveral Nations
of the Americans are of this, who are
rich in Land , and poor in all the Cont¬
orts of Life ; whom Nature having fur-
lifhed as liberally as any other people,'
.vith the materials of Plenty, i. e. a fhlit-
ul Soil, apt to produce in abundance,'
vhat might ferve for food, ray ment, and
delight; yet for want of improving^ by
abour, have not ^ part of the Conveni-
:ncies we enjoy. And a King of a large
ind fruitful Territory there, feeds, lodges,
nd is clad worle than a day Labourer in
ingland. - .
S 2
42. To
( 260 )
42. To make this a little clearer, let
us but trace fome of the ordinary provi-
fions of Life , through their feveral pro*
greffesj before they come to our ufe, and
lee how much they receive of their value
from human induftry. Bread, Wine and
Cloth are things of daily ufe and great
plenty, yet notwithftanding Acorns, Wa¬
ter, and Leaves, or Skins, muff be our
Bread, Drink and Cloathing , did not la¬
bour furnifh us with thefe more ufeful
Commodities. For whatever Bread is
more worth than Acorns, Wine than
Water, and Cloth or Silk than Leaves,
Skins or Mofs, that is wholly owing to la¬
bour ^-arid induftry. The one of thefe be¬
ing the food and rayment which unah
fifted Nature furnifhes us with; the
other Provifions which our induftry and
pains prepare for us, which how much
they exceed the other in value, when any
one hath computed,, he will then fee how
much labour makes the far greateft part
of the value of things we enjoy in this
World-: and the ground which produces
the materials, is fcarce to be reckon’d in as
any, or at moft, but a very final! part ol
it: fo little, that even amongft us, Land
that
( 26 i )
that is left wholly to Nature, that hath no
improvement of Pafturage, Tillage, or
Planting, is called, as indeed it is, waft ;
and we (hall find the benefit of it amount
to little more than nothing.
43. An Acre of Land that bears here
Twenty Bufhels of Wheat, and another in
America, which, with the lame Husban¬
dry, would do the like, are, without
doubt, of the lame natural, intrinlick
Value. But yet the Benefit Mankind re¬
ceives from one in a Year is worth 5/. and
the other poftibly not worth a Penny ; if
all the Profit an Indian received from it
were to be valued,and Ibid here j at leaft, I
may truly lay, not T =«. ’Tis Labour then
which puts the greateft part of Value
upon Land, without which it would
Icarcely be worth any thing; ’tis to that
we owe the greateft part of all its uleful
Produ&s; for all that the Straw, Bran,
Bread, of that Acre of Wheat, is more
worth than the Product of an Acre of
as good Land, which lies wafte, is all
the Effeft of Labour. For ’tis not
barely the Plough-man’s Pains, the Reap¬
er’s and Threlher’s Toil, and the Baker’s
.. S 3 Sweat,
9 * P - m? *
(262)
Sweat, is to be counted into the Bread
we eat; the Labour of thole who broke
the Oxen, who digged and wrought the
Iron and Stones, who felled and framed
the Timber imployed about the Plough,
Mill, Oven, or any other Utenfils, which
are a vaft Number, requifite to this Corn,
from its (owing to its being made Bread,
muft all be charged on the account of La¬
bour, and received as aneffed of that: Na¬
ture and the Earth furnifhed only the al-
moft worthlefs Materials, as in themlelves.
?Twould be a ftrange Catalogue of things,
that Induftry provided and made ufe of"
about every Loaf of Bread before it came’
to our ufe, if we could trace them; Iron
Wood, Leather, Bark, Timber, Stone,
Bricks, Coals, Lime , Cloth, Dying-
Drugs, Pitch, Tar, Marts, Ropes, and
all the Materials made ufe of in the Ship,
that brought any of the Commodities,
made ufe of by any of the Work-men,
to any part of the Work, all which,
twould be almoft importible, at leaft too
long, to reckon up.
44 * from all which it is evident, that
th°‘ the things of Nature are given in
common:
V
/
common: Man (by beiog.Maftef.og Mm-
felf, and Proprietor of. his Own Perton,
and the Adionstfr Labour of it) had fell
in himfelf the great'Foundation of : Pro¬
perty pand that which made up the great
part of what he applyed to the Support
or Comfort of his being, t when Invention
and Arts had improved the conveniences
of Life, was perfectly his own, and did
not belong in common to others. •> i. .
45. Thus Labour, in the beginning,
gave a Right of Property, wherfi:ever
any one was pleafed to imploy it, upon
what was common, which remained, a
long while, the far greater part, and is
yet more than Mankind makes uie of.
Men, at firft, for the moft part, content¬
ed themfelves with what un-afftfted Na¬
ture offered to • their NccefTities, and
though afterwards, in fome parts of the-
World, where the Increafe of Peo¬
ple and Stock, with the Ufe of Money,
had made Land fcarce , and fo of
fome Value , the feveral Communities
fetled the Bounds of their diftind Ter¬
ritories , and, by Laws, within them
ifeives, regulated the Properties of the
j S 4 private
private Men of their Society, and fo, by
Com pad'and Agreement ,ifetled the Pro-
perty which Labour and ladufry beganJ
And the • Leagues, that have been' made
between -- feveral iStates and Kingdoms,
either exprefly or tacitly dif-owning aii
Claim and Right to the Land in the o-
thers PofTeflion, have, by common Con -1
fenV given up their Pretences tp their
natural common Right, which original¬
ly they had to thole Countries: and fo
have, by pofitive Agreement, fettled a I
Property amongft themfelves, in diftina
Parts of. the Worlds yet there are if ill
great XtaRs of Ground to be found,
which the Inhabitants thereof, not ha¬
ving joyned with the reft of Mankind,
in the confent of the Ufe of their com¬
mon Money, lye wafte,-and are more than
the People, who dwell on it, do, or can
make ufe of, and fo frill iye in common.
•Though this can fcarce happen amongft
that part of Mankind that have confent-
ed to the Ufe Of Money,
’■ rtf' | -.ftp « - ;
46. The greateft part of things really
ufefbl to the Life of Man, and fuch as
the neceflity pf fubfifting made the firft
' J 'f i 4 Com-
#
<*50
Commoners of the World look after, as
it doth the Americans now, are generally
things of fhort duration, fuch as, if they
are $ot conliimed by ule, will decay and
periHi ; OJf themlelves. Gold, Silver, and
Diamonds, are things, that Phancy, or
Agreement hath put the, jyalue on , more
than real Ule, and the necelfary Support
of Life : Now of thole good things which
Nature hath provided in common , every
one hath a Right ( as hath been laid ) to
as much as he could ule, and had a Pro¬
perty in all he could efifed with his La¬
bour : all that,his Induftry could extend
to, to alter from the State Nature had
put it in, was his. He that gathered a
Hundred Bulhels of Acorns or Apples,
had thereby a Property in them ; they
were his Goods, as loon as gathered.
He was only to look that he uiled them
before they Ipoiled; elle he took more than
hislhare, and robb’d others. And indeed
it was a foolifh thing, as well as difhoneft,
to hoard up more than he could make ufe
of. If he gave away a part to any body elle,
lo that it perifhed not ufelefly, in his
Poifellion, thele he alio made ule of.
! And if he alio bartered away Plumbs,
i that would have rotted in a Week ,
I* t 4, ; i » J S m « f »' .
(266 y
for Nuts that would laft good for fife bat¬
ing a whole Year, he did no injury; he
wafted not the common Stock; deftroyed
no part of the portion of Goods that be¬
longed to others, fo long as nothing pe-
rifhed ulelefly in his hands. Again, If
he would give his Nuts for a piece of
Metal, pleated with its colour 5 or ex¬
change his Sheep for Shells, or Wooll for
a fparkling Pebble or a Diamond , and
keep thole by him all his Life, he inva¬
ded not the Right of others; he might
heap up as much of thele durable things
as he pleafed: the exceeding of the bounds
of his juft Property not lying in the large-
nels of his Poflelhon, but the perifhing
of any thing ulelefly in it.
• d. - v -%+H - - j ^ 1. & ‘ M ; j ] J 1. r 4
47. And thus came in the ule of Mo¬
ney , lome Iafting thing that Men might
keep without fpoiling, and that, by mu¬
tual conlent, Men would take in exchange
for the truly uleful, but perilhable Sup*
ports of Life.
48. And as different degrees of Indu-
ftry were apt to give Men PoflefTions in
different
- 4 • *
/ 06 7 )
different Proportions, io this Invention of
Money gave them the opportunity to
continue and enlarge them. For fup-
pofing an Illand, feparate from all polfi-
ble Commerce with the reft of the World,
wherein there were but a Hundred Fa¬
milies , but there were Sheep, Horles
and Cowes, with other ufeful Animals,
wholelome Fruits, and Land enough for
Corn,' for a Hundred thouland times as
many, but nothing in the Ifland, either
becaule of its Commonnefs, or perifh-
ablenefs, ftt to fupply the Place of Mo¬
ney : What realon could any one have
there to enlarge his Poffeflions, beyond
the ufe of his Family, and a plentiful
fupply to its Confumption, either in what
their own Induftry produced , or they
could barter for like perifhable, uleful
'Commodities, with others? Where there
is not fomething both lafting and fcarce,
and fo valuable to be hoarded up, there
Men will not be apt to enlarge their
IPoffelftonS of Land, were it never lo rich,
never fo free for them to take. For I
ask, What would a Man value Ten thou-
fand, or an Hundred thoufand Acres of
excellent Land , ready cultivated , and
well ftocked too with Cattle, in the
-i ?r l ' middle
'('268)
middle of the in-land Parts of America
where he had no hopes of Commera
with other parts of the World, to draw
Money to him, by the Sale of the Pro-
dud. It would not be worth the inclo-
ling, and we Ihould fee him give up a*
gain to the wild Common of Nature
what-ever was-more than would fup-
plv the Conveniencies of Life, to be
had there, for him and his Family.
'/•> f ■- - .. « _ . • -Vj .-'.-.l
.
49. Thus in the beginning all the
World was ^America, and more fo than
that is now; for no fuch thing as Mo¬
ney was any where known. Find out
fomething that hath the Ufe and Value
of Money amongft his Neighbours, you
fhall fee the fame Man will begin pre¬
sently to enlarge his Poffeflions.
$0. But fince Gold and Silver, being
little ufeful to the Life of Man, in pro¬
portion to Food , Rayment, and Carri¬
es its value only from the confent
ot Men , whereof labour yet makes in
great part the meafure, It is plain, that
E-ie confent of Men have agreed to a dif-
. > \ propor°
( 269)
proportionate and unequal PoiTeffion of
the Earth; I mean out of the bounds of
Society and Compact : for in Govern¬
ments the Laws regulate it, they ha¬
ving by content, found oat and agreed
in a way' how a Man may rightfully,
and without injury , poiTefs more than
he himfelf can make ule of . by recei¬
ving Gold and Silver, which may con¬
tinue long in a Mans PoiTeffion , with¬
out decaying for the overplus, and
agreeing thole Metals Ihould have a
value.
<51. And thus, I think, it is very
ealy to conceive, without any difficulty,
how labour could at firft begin a ti¬
tle of Property in the common things
of nature , and how the fpending it
upon our ules bounded it. So that
there could then be no reafon of quar'*
relling about title, nor any doubt about
the largenefs of PoiTeffion it gave.
Right and Conveniency went together.
For as a Man had a right to all he could
imploy his labour upon, fo he had no
temptation to labour for more than he
could make ufe of. This left no room
ii , - for
... about the title, nor foi
incroachrrient: on the right of others:
what Pprftoi^ft jVJan carved to himfelf
was eafily fqen; and it was ufelefs as
well as difhoneft, to carve himfelf too
much, or take more than he needed.
■ •» if**' J ) 1 4 tl
; • 3
\r
» I i
* *- ■* A4i i l i,4 V
* • fr
:-J b'i
-#> I
\
V • • 7
" 4
v~/ : n
£ *
r% -V -V.^
*. * *
3i , I4f
* T
5 ;*> ‘ • r r»
• f
• 4 '14
4 i * 1 W
r «
T
i.*
*5 4 ' r • >
ttjJt.';
> .. *+1
*»
♦»* JU&
• - • * V i J O
*/ ,>j ;
*•
V V
k J
*
< ' J -r-»- ,
iii ,• - :
*
* *
m r r* - .
1 y. . .
■»
•; - *> •
A
; t \ ,
* »
f
" r
\ Ca 1
V
A ^ ?
‘ * j4
•O i. *.
J
' * -4 w * <
9
♦v ■ i»f >
' notxj'r
ill*
*w/ > -
J * J .
^ s
^« i < -• ^ .
*>
•Vi-rn? T7-
^ ^ ~ k ^ v •
* ^ 1 .V
"*9 4
b • • •■ .A
CA f r
j m** i 4 - \
•A
't-
f r 70 f v '
• i J
1 w *!*' •
. V
s'
•
|- i • / ( :
‘ *r i „ \ ^ v
4
J » - . •,
< * < ■
, j .
*\
J * -J l
■ n»4V • JL
j 1 . i w
u£'i ;
u . i
i
. A
f
4 - (/ ft •.’
L>x
» •
•f r ' . v !
iljtj* ]
^ . r*
* V # i i .
* . J
‘4ji4 ;*J V -
'
cWi! •*• •
,1 p.n.-if
til
JU'J
M [
• 0 A# *1
4 J. J
l / x «
. ? j t fi -
^ J • . -i-j
CHAP.
: Of Paternal Power.
. -J J ,
.ffi yyjtfc : ' • f. •!. Os . ; ' : • •;■
5*. | T may perhaps be cenfured an im-
1 pertinent j Criticifm in a difcourfe
of thfs nature, to find fault with words
and names that have obtained in the World:
And yet poflibly it may not be amifs to of¬
fer ne^v ones whet) the old are apt to lead
Men into miftakes,as this of PaternalPower
probably has done,which feems lo to place
the Power of Parents over their Children
wholly in the Father, as if the Mother had
no fhare in it; whereas if we confultRea-
lon or Revelation, we (hall find flie hath
an equal title ; which may give one rea-
fon to ask, Whether this might not be
more properly called Parental Power?
For whatever obligation Nature and the
right of Generation lays on Children; it
muft certainly bind them equal to both
the concurrent Caules of it. And accord¬
ingly we fee the Positive Law of God
every where joins them together, without
diftinction, when it commands the Obe¬
dience of Children, Honour thy Father and
thy Mother , Exod. 20. 12. Whofoever cur-
feth his Father or his Mother , Lev. 20. 9.
Te fhall fear every Man his Mother and his
. ( ^72 5
father , Lev. 19. Children obey your Pa.
rents, &c, tph/ 6. 1^ is the ftile of the
Old and New Teftament.
5?- Had biit this one- thing been well
confider’d, without looking any deeper in-
•t-o the matter, ir might perhaps havp kept
men from running into thole grofs miftakes
they have made about this Power of Pa*-
: tents, which however-it might, without
any great liarfhnds, bear the n&m'e of
Abfolute. Dominion, and Regal Autho¬
rity , when Under the 1 title -of Paternal
Power,-it deem’d appropriated to tile Fa¬
ther ; would yet have founded but odly,
and in the very name (hewn the' abfur-
dity, if this fupppfed Abfolute Power over
Children had been called Parental, and
thereby difcover'd that it belong’d to the
Mother too : For it will but very ill ferve
the turn of thofe Men who contend fo
much for the Abfolute Power and Autho¬
rity of the Fatherhood, as they call it,
that the Mother fhould have any fhare in
it. And it would have but ill fupported
the Monarchy they contend for, when by
the very name it appeared, that that Fun¬
damental Authority from whence they
would derive their Government of a Tin¬
gle Perfon only-, was not plac’d in one,
but two Perfons jointly 4 But to let this
of names pals. • * ' j
•. - 54. Though
( 2 7 ? )
54.Though I have faid above (2.) That
all Men by Nature are equal ; I cannot be fup-
pofed to underftand all forts of Equality :
Age or Virtue may give Men a juft Prece¬
dency : Excellency of Parts and Merit
nmay place others above the Common Le¬
vel: Birth may fubjeft (bme, and Alliance
or Benefits others to pay an Obfervance
to thofe, to whom Nature, Gratitude or
other Relpe&s may have made it due; and
yet all this confifts with the Equality
which all Men are in, in refpeft of Jurif-
diction or Dominion one over another:
which was the Equality I there fpoke of'
is proper to the Bufinefs in hand, being
that equal Right that every Man hath to
his Natural Freedom, without being fiib-
e&ed to the Will or Authority of any 0-
:her Man, .. , • “ , ;
5 5. Children, I confefs ,are not born in
:his full ftate of Equality, though they are
)orn to it. Their Parents have a fort of
Rule and Jurifdi&ion over them when they
■omeinto the World, and for fome time
ifter, but ’tis but a temporary one. The
ionds of this Subje&ion are like the Swad¬
ing Cloths they are wrapt up in, and fup-
>orted by,in the weaknefsof their Infancy.
Vgeand Realon as they grow up, loolen
hem till atlength they drop quite oft', and
save a Man at his own free Dilpofal.
} T 56. Adam
( 274 )
* 6 . Adam was created a perfed Man
his Body and Mind in full poffeflion o:l
their Strength and Reafon, and lb wa$
capable, from the firft Inffance of his be¬
ing, to provide for his own Support anc
Prefervation, and govern his Adions ac
cording to the Didates of the Law o:
Reafon God had implanted in him. Frorr
him the World is peopled with his De
fcendants, who are all born Infants, weal
and helplefs, without Knowledge or Un¬
demanding. But to fupply the Defeds o
-this impeded State, till the improvemen
of Growth and Age had removed them,A
dam and Eve , and after them all Parent:
were, by the Law of Nature, under ai
Obligation to preferve, nourifh, and edu
cate the Children they had begotten, no
as their own Workmanfhip, but tht
Workmanfhip of their own Maker, th<
Almighty, to whom they were to be ac
countable for them. -
57. The Law that was to govern Adam
was the lame that was to govern all hi:
Pofterity, the Law of Reafon. But hi:
Off-fpring having another way of entrant
into the World, different from him, by 1
natural Birth, that produced them igno
rant, and without the Ule of Reafon
they were not prefently under that Law
For 00 Body can be under a Law that i:
' noi
< 275 ) «
< not promulgated to him; and this Law
being promulgated or made known by
Realon only, he that is not come to the
Ule of his Reafon, cannot be faid to be
under this Law : and Adam's Children be¬
ing not prefently as loon as born,under this
Law of Reafon, were not prefently free.
I Lor Law, in its true Notion, is not fo
much the Limitation as the dire&ion of a
free and intelligent Agent to his proper
Intereft, and prefcribes no farther, than is
for the general Good of thofe under that
Law. Could they be happier without it,
the Law, as an. ufelefs thing, would of it
felf vanifh; and that ill deferves the Name
of Confinement, which hedges us in on¬
ly from Bogs and Precipices. So that how¬
ever it may be miftaken, the end of Law,
is not to abolifh or restrain, but to pre¬
fers and enlarge Freedom. For in all the
Rates of created Beings, capable of Laws,
where there is no Law there is no Free¬
dom. For, Liberty is, to be free from Re-
ftraint and Violence from others, which can¬
not be where there is no Law, and is not, as
*ve are told, A Liberty for every Man to do
vhat he lifts : For who could be free,when
every otherMan’sHumour might domineer
>ver him ?But a Liberty to dilpofe and or¬
der freely as he lifts his Perfon, A&ions,
ofTeflions, and his whole Property with-
*»'• T a .in
( 276 )
in tlie Allowance of thofe Laws, under
which he is, and therein not to be fubjeft
to the the arbitrary Will of another; but
freely follow his own.
58. The Power, then, that Parents
have over their Children, arifes from that
Duty which is incumbent on them, to take
care of their Off-fpring, during the im-
perfeQ: {late of Childhood. To inform
the Mind ,■ and govern the Actions of
their yet ignorant Nonage, till Realon
fhall take its place, and eafe them of that
Trouble, is what the Children want, and
the Parents are bound to. For God ha-
ing given Man an Underftanding to diredl
his Aftions, has allowed him a freedom of
Will, and liberty of A&ing, as proper¬
ly belonging thereunto, within the bounds
of that Law he is under. But whilft he
is in an Eftate, wherein he has no Under¬
ftanding of his own to direfl his Will, he
is not to have any Will of his own to fol¬
low: He that underftands for him, muft
will for him too ; he muft prefcribe to his
Will, and regulate his Aftions; but when
he comes to the eftate that made his Father
a Free-man, the Son is a Free-man too.
.59. This holds in all the Laws a Man is
under, whether natural or civil. Isa man
\inder the Law of Nature ? what made
him free of that Law ? what gave him a
.. - ' free
C 277)
ree difpofing of his Property, according
to his own Will, within the compafs of
that Law ? I anfwer, an Eftate wherein
he might be fuppos’d capable to know that
Law, that fo he might keep his Aftions
within theEounds of it. When he has acqui¬
red that date, he is prefumed to know how
far that Law is to be his Guide, and how
far he may make ufe of his Freedom, and
fo comes to have it; till then, fbme body
elfe muft guide him, who is prelumed to
know how far the Law allows a Liberty.
If fiich a date of Reafon, fuch an Age of
Difcretion made him free, the lame fhall
make his Son free too. Is a Man under
the Law of England? what made him free
of that Law ? that is, to have the Liber¬
ty to difpofe of his Aflions and Pollefli-
011s, according to his own Will, within
the Permiflion of that Law ? A capacity of
knowing that Law. Which isfuppofed,
by that Law, at the Age of Twenty one,
and in fbme cafes fooner. If this made
the Father free, it fhall make the Son free
too. Till then, we fee, the Law allows
the Son to have no Will, but he is to be
guided by the Will of his Father or Guar¬
dian, who is to under (land for him. And
if the Father die, and fail to fubftitute a
13 cputy in this Trulf, if he hath not pro¬
vided a Tutor to govern his Son. during
k T ? his
(278))
his Minority, during his Want of Under¬
ftanding , the Law takes care to do it;
iome other muft govern him, and be a
Will to him, till he hath attained to a ftate
of Freedom, and his Underftanding be fit
to take the Government of his Will. But
after that, the Father and Son are equally
free, as much as Tutor and Pupil, after
Nonage; equally Subje&s of the fame
Law together, without any Dominion left
in the Father, over the Life, Liberty, or
Eftate of his Son, whether they be only
in the State, and under the Law of Na¬
ture, or under the pofitive Laws of an
Eftablifh’d Government.
60. But if, through defeats, that may
happen, out of the ordinary Courfe of
Nature, any one comes not to fuch a de¬
gree of Reafon, wherein he might be lup-
pofed capable of knowing the Law, and
10 living within the Rules of it, he is ne¬
ver capable of being a Free Man; he is
never let loole to the difpofure of his own
Will, becaufe he knows no bounds to it,
has not Underftanding, its proper Guide;
but is continued under the Tuition and
Government of others, all the time his
own Underftanding is uncapable of that
Charge. And io Lunaticks and Ideots
are never let free from the Government
of their Parents; Children, who are not as
ytt
( 279 )
yet come unto thofeyears ITh6TC.it they may have ,
and Innocents , which uve excluded^ . by ^ a
natural defect , from ever having. Thirdly
Madmen , which , for the prefent , <^*0/ pof-
fibly have the ufe of right Reafon to guide
themfelvesj have , for their Guide , the Rc a-
fon that guideth other Men , which are Tutors
over them , feck and procure their good for
them , fays Hooker Eccl. Pol. lib.i. $*!• All
which feems no more than that Duty
which God and Nature has laid on Man,
as well as other Creatures, to prefer ve
their Off-fpring till they can be able to
fhift for themfelves,and will fcarce amount
to an indance or proof of Parents Regal
Authority.
61. Thus we are born free, as we are
born rational j not that we have actually
the Exercife of either : Age that brings
one, brings with it the other too. And
thus we foe how natural Freedom and
Subjection to Parents may confift toge¬
ther, and are both founded on / the fame
Principle. A Child is free by his Father s
Title, by his Father’s Undemanding,
which is to govern him, till he hath it of
his own. The Freedom of a man, at years
of diferetion, and the SubieClion of a
Child to his Parents, wliilft yet fliort of
it, are fo confident, and fo didinguifhabie,
that the mod blinded Contenders for Mo-
: X 4 narchy
(280 )
narchy, by Right of Fatherhood, cannot
mifs of it; the moil obilinate cannot but
allow of it. For were their Do&rine all
truw, were the right Heir of ^idam now
known, and, by that Title, fetled a Mo¬
narch in his Throne; inverted with all the
Abfolute, Unlimited Power Sr. R. F. talks
of; If he fhould dye as foon as his Heir
were born, mart not the Child, notwith-
ftanding he were never lb free, never fo
much fovereign , be in iubjeciion to his
Mother and Nurfe, to Tutors and Go-
nouis, till Age and Education brought
him Reafon and Ability to govern him-
feh, and others ? I he Neceilities of his
Life, the Health of his Body, and the In-
iormaiion of his Mind would require him
to be direfted by the Will of others and
not his own: ana vet will any onethink.that
this Reftraint and Subjedion were mcon
fiftent with, or fpoiled him of that Libertv
or Sovereignty he had a Right to ; or gave
away his Empire to thole who had the Go¬
vernment of his Nonage ? This Govern¬
ment over him only prepared him the bet¬
ter, and looner for it. If any body fhould
ask me. When my Son is of Age to be
free; I {hall anfwer. Juft when his Mo¬
narch is of Age to govern. But at what
tme y lays the judicious Hooker , Reel. Pol
1 1 . if. 6. a man may be [aid to have attain'd
- ■ fo
(q8i)
fo far forth the ufe of Reafon , as fufficeth
to make him capable of thofe Laws whereby he
is then bound to guide his Actions : this is a
treat deal more eafie for fenje to difcern y than
c or any onefy Skill andLearningJo determine.
6 2. Commonwealths themfelves take
aotice of, and allow, that there is a time
when Men are to begin to a£f like Free
Men, and therefore, till that time, re¬
quire not Oaths of Fealty or Allegiance,
)r other publick owning of, or Submiflion
:o the Government of their Countreys.
63. The Freedom then of Man , and
Liberty of acting, according to his own
Will, is grounded on his having Reafon,
which is able to inftru£t him in that Law
le is to govern himlelf by, and make him
mow how far he is left to the freedom of
lisown will. To turn him loole to an unre¬
frain’d Liberty, before he has Realon to
*uide him, is not the allowing him the
oriviledge of his Nature, to be free; but
:o thrulf him out amongft Brutes, and
ibandon him to a ftate as wretched, and
is much beneath that of a Man, as theirs.
This is that which puts the Authority into
:he Parents hands to govern the Minority
A their Children. God hath made it their
bulinels to imploy this Care on their Off-
Ipring, and hath placed in them luitable
Inclinations of Tendernefs and Concern
!h' i-.: ' to
( 282 ) * * ; I
to temper this power, to apply it as h
Wildom defigned it,to theChildrens goo
as long as they fhould need to be under it.
64. Blit what reafon can hence advani
this Care, of the Parents, due to their Of
fpring, into an Abfblute, Arbitrary Dorn
nion of the Father, whole power reachc
no farther, than by fuch a Difcipline, £
he finds moft effectual,to give fuch ft rengt
and health to their Bodies, fuch vigor
and re&itude to their Minds, as may beJ
fit his Children to be moft ufeful to them
{elves and others ; and, if it be neceffar
to his Condition, to make them work
when they are able, for their own Subfi
{fence. But, in this power, the Mothe
too has her fhare with the Father.
6$. Nay this power fo little belongs t<
the Father, by any peculiar right of Na
ture, but only as he is Guardian of hi
Children, that when he quits his Care o
them, he lofes his power over them, whicl
goes along with their Nourifhment anc
Education, to which it is infeparably an
nexed, and belongs as much to the Fofter
Father of an expoledChild/astotheNa
tural Father of another. So little powei
does the bare a£f of begetting give a Mar
over his IlTue: if all his Care ends there ;
and this be all the Title he hath to the
Name and Authority of a Father : anc
v _ what
®J ' • (28s)
;hat will become of this Paternal Power
1 that part ©f the World where one Wo-
ian hath more than one Husband at a
me ? Or in thole parts of America , where,
idien the Husband and Wife part, which
appens frequently,theChildren are all left
)the Mother, follow her, and are whol-
' under her Care and Provision ? And
the Father die whilft the Children are
Dung, do they not naturally every where
we the lame Obedience to their Mother,
uring their Minority, as to their Father,
ere he alive ? And will any one lay, that
le Mother hath a legislative Power over
sr Children; that flae can make Handing
.ules, which fhall be of perpetual Obli-
ition, by which they ought to regulate
1 the Concerns of their Property, and
aund their Liberty all the courle of their
ives, and inforce the observation of them
ith Capital Punilhments ? For this is
le proper power of the Magistrate, of
hich the Father hath not lb much as the
ladow. His Command over his Children,
but temporary, and reaches not their
ife or Property. It is but a help to the
eaknels and imperfe&ion of their Non¬
lie ; a Dilcipline necelfary to their Edu¬
ction : and though a Father may dilpofe
:his own Polfelfions, as he pleales, when
s Children are out of danger of perilh-
(28 4 > .
mg for want; yet his power extends nc
£Q' the lives or goods , which either thei
own induftry , or anothers bounty , ha
made theirs ; nor to their liberty neithei
when tiiey are once arrived to the infran
diilement of the years of diforetion. Th
Father’s Empire then ceafes, and he cal
from thence forwards no more difpofe o
the liberty of his Son than that of any o
ther Man. And it muft be far from an ab
foiute , or perpetual Jurifdiftion , fron
which a Man may withdraw himfelf, ha
ving Licence from Divine Authority, tc
kave- Father and Mother > and cleave to hi:
Wife . • ;
66 . But though tliere be a time when i
Child comes to be as free from fubje&ior
to the. will and Command of his Father
as he himfelf is free from fiibje&ion to the
will of any body elfe, and they are both
under no other reftraint, but that which
is common to them both, whether it be the
Law of Nature, or mumcipalLaw of their
Country yet this freedom exempts not
a Son from that honour which he ought,
by the Law of God and Nature, to pay
his Parents. God having made the Parents
Ittftruments in his great defign of conti¬
nuing. the Race of Mankind , and the
occalions of Life to their Children, as he
hath laid ca them an obligation to non-
rifle,
. ' . (28^;
ifli, preferve , and bring up their Off-
pring : fo he has laid on the Children a
lerpetuai obligation of honouring their
Barents, which containing in it an inward
:fteem and reverence to be {hewn by all
nitward expreflions , ties up the Child
rom any thing that may ever injure or
iffront, difturb, or endanger the happi-
ie(s, or life of thole from whom he recei¬
ved his : and engages him in allaQionsof
defence, relief, afliftance and comfort of
:hofe by whole means he entred into be-
ng , and has been made capable of any
jnjoyments of life. From this obligation
no State, no freedom, can abfolve Chil¬
dren. But this is very far from giving Pa¬
rents a power of command over their Chil¬
dren, or an Authority to make Laws,and
difpofe as they pleale of their Lives or Li¬
berties. ’Tis one thing to owe honour, re-
fpeft,gratitude and affiftance ; another to
require anabfolute obedience and fubmiffi-
on. The honour due to Parents, a Mo¬
narch in his Throne owes his Mother, and
yet this leffens not his Authority, nor lub-
jeffcs him to her Government.
67. The fubje&ion of a minor places in
the Father a temporary Government,
which terminates with the minority of the
Child. And the honour due from a Child,
places in the Parents a perpetual right to
(286)
refpeft, reverence, fupport and compl
ance to more, or lefs, as the Father's car
coft and kindnefs, in his Education, h;
been more or left. And this ends not wit
minority, but holds in all parts and cor
ditions of a Man s Life. The want of d
ftinguifhing thefe two powers which th
Father hath in the right of tuition, durin
minority, and the right of honour all hi
Life, may perhaps have caufed a grea
part of the miftakes about this matte]
For to fpeak properly of them, the firft c
thefe is rather the priviledge of Children
and duty of Parents, than any Prerogativi
of Paternal Power. The nourifhment anc
Education of their Children, is a Charg<
fo incumbent on Parents for their Chil¬
drens good, that nothing can abfolve them
from taking care of it. And though the
/ power of commanding and chaftifing them
go along with it, yet God hath woven in¬
to the principles of humane nature, fuch
a tenderneft for their Off-fpring,that there
is little fear that Parents fhould ufe their
power with too much rigour; the excels
is feldom on the Jfevere fide, the ftrong bi-
afs of nature drawing the other way. And
therefore God Almighty, when he would
exprefs his gentle dealing with the Ifrae-
Htes , he tells them, that though he chaft-
en d them, he chaften'd them as a man chaft -
ens
-4
(287)
ns his Son, Dent. 8. 5. /. e. with tendor-
left and aife&ion , and kept them under
10 feverer difcipline than what W'as ab-
olutely beft for them ; and had been lefs
dndneft to have flacken’d. This is that
xjwer to which Children are commanded
)bedience, that the pains and care of their
Barents may not be increafed , or ill re¬
garded.
68. On the other fide, honour and fup-
)ort all that which gratitude requires to
eturn ; for the benefits received by and
rom them is the indifpenfible duty of the
Child, and the proper priviledge of the
3 arents. This is intended for the Parents
idvantage, as the other is for the Childs ;
hough Education, the Parents duty, fee ms
0 have mofl: power, becaule the ignorance
md infirmities of Childhood , ftand in
teed of reftraint and corre&ion; which is
1 vifible exercife of Rule , and a kind of
dominion. And that duty which is com-
jrehended in the word honour, requires
eft obedience, though the obligation be
Wronger on grown than younger Chil-
Iren. For who can think the Command,
Children obey your Parents , requires in a
Vlan that has Children of his own, the
ame fubmifiion to his Father,as it does in
lis yet young * Children to him; and that
>y this Precept, he were bound to obey
(288)
all his Fathers Commands, if out of
conceit of authority he Ihould have the ir
dilcretion to treat him ftill as a Boy.
69. The firffc part then of Paterm
Power, or rather Duty, which is Educa
tion, belongs fo to the Father, that it ter
minates at a certain leafon; when the bu
finds of Education is over it ceafes of i
felf; and is alio alienable before. For;
Man may put the tuition of his Son ii
other hands; and he that has made his S01
an Apprentice to another, has difcharge<
him, during that time, of a great part 0
his Obedience, both to himfelf and to hi:
Mother. But all the duty of honour, th<
other part,remains never the Ids entire t(
them; nothing can cancel that. It is fo in
feparable from them both, that the Fa
ther’sAuthority cannot difpoflefs the Mo¬
ther of this right, nor can any Man dif-
charge his Son from honouring her that
bore him. But both thele are very far
from a power to make Laws, and inforce-
ing them with Penalties, that may reach
. Eftate, Liberty, Limbs and Life. The
power of Commanding vends with Non¬
age ; and though after that, honour and
refpecl, fupport and defence, and what¬
soever gratitude can oblige a Man to, for
the higheft benefits he is naturally capable
of, be always due from a Son to his Parents;
' yet
(a»9)
f yet all this puts no Scepter into the Fa*
ther’s hand, no Soveraign Power of Com¬
manding. He has no Dominion over his
Sons property or actions, nor any right
that hisWill Ihould prelcribe to his Sons in
all things ; however it may become hisSon
in many things, not very inconvenient to
him and his Family, to pay a Deference
to it.
7 0. A Man may owe honour and re-
fpe< 3 t to an ancient or wile Man; defence
to his Child or Friend; relief and lupport
to the diftreffed ; and gratitude to a bene-
faftor ; to fuch a degree, that all lie has,
ill he can do, cannot fufficiently pay it.
But all- thele give no Authority, no right
Df making Laws to any one over him
from whom they are owing. And tis
olain, all this is due, not to the bare title
if Father; not only becaufe, as has been
aid, it is owing to the Mother too: but
lecaufe thefe obligations to Parents, and
he degrees of what is required of Chil-
Iren, may be varied by the different care
and kindnefs, trouble and expence, is often
m ployed upon one Child more than ano-
her.
71. This fliews the reafon how it comes
0 pa(s,thatParents in Societies,where they
hemfelves are Subjects, retain a power 0-
er their Children, and have as much
* -\ V , right
( 290 )
right to their Subje&ion, as thofe who art
in the date of Nature, which could not pof-
fibly be, if all political Power were only
paternal, and that, in truth, they wert
one .and tne fame thing : for then, all pa¬
ternal Power being in the Prince, the Sub-
je£t could naturally have none of it; but
thele two Powers, political and paternal,
are fb perfectly diftinft and leparate, and
built upon fo different Foundations, and
given to fo different Ends, that every Sub¬
ject, that is a Father, has as much a pater¬
nal Power over his Children, as the Prince
has over his. And every Prince that has
Parents, owes them as much filial Duty and
Obedience, as the meaneft of his Subjects
do to theirs; and can therefore contain, not
any part or degree of that kind of Domi¬
nion^ which a Prince , or Magiftrate has
over his Sub; eft. • ■ -
72. Though the Obligation on the Pa¬
rents to bring up their Children, and the
Obligation on Children to honour their
Parents, contain all the Power on the one
hand, and Submiffion on the other, which
are proper to this Relation; yet there is
another Power, ordinarily, in the Father,
whereby he has a tye on-the Obedience of
his Children, which, though it be com¬
mon to him with other men, yet the Qc-
cafions of fhewing it, almoft conftantly
happening
( 2 9*)
happening to Fathers in their private Fa¬
milies, and in Inftances of it elle-where
Being rare, and lefs taken notice of, it paf-
fes in the World for a part of paternal Jit-
rtfdiction. And this is the Power Men Ge¬
nerally have, to beftow their Eftates On
thole who pleale them beft. The Poflefli-
- >n of the Father, being the Expectation
ind Inheritance of the Children ordinari¬
ly, in certain proportions, according to
:he Law and Cuftom of each Country;
pet it is commonly in the Father’s Power
o beftow it with a more fparing or liberal
land, according as the Behaviour of this
>r that Child hath comported with his
A/ill and Humour.
75. This is no (mail Tye to the Obedi-
nce of Children! and there being always
nnexed to the Enjoyment of Land , a
\ibmiflion to the Government of the
Country, of which that Land is a part. It
as been commonly fuppos’d, That, aFa-
her could oblige his Pofterity to that Go-
ernment, of which he himfelfwasaSub-
that his Compact held them, where-
s, it being only a neceflary Condition--
nnex’d to the Land, wliich is under that
government, reaches only thole who will
ike it on that Condition, and lo isnona-
iralTye or Engagement, but a volunta-
' Submilfton.- Fbr every Man’s Children
V 2 . , being,
( 292 )
being, by Nature, as free as himfelf, or
any of his Anceftours ever were, may,
whilft they are in that Freedom, choofe
what Society they will join themielves to,
what Commonwealth they will put them-
felves under. But if they will enjoy the
Inheritance of their Anceftours, they
muft take it on the fame terms their Ance¬
ftours had it, and fubmit to all the Con¬
ditions, annex’d to fuch a Poffeftion. By
this Power indeed, Fathers oblige their
Children to Obedience to themielves, e-
ven when they are paft Minority , and
mo ft commonly too, fubje£t them to this
or that political Powder. ' But neither of
thefeby any peculiar right of Father-hood,
but by the Reward they have in their
hands to inforce and recompence fuch a
Compliance ; and is no more Power than
w'hataFrew^-manhas over an.Engh(b-ma.n,
who by the hopes of an Eftate he will
leave him, will certainly havea ftrongtye
on his Obedience : and if when it is left
him, he will enjoy it, he muft certainly
take it upon the Conditions annex’d to the
Folteflion of Land, in that Country where
it lies, whether it be France dr England.
74. To conclude then, though the Fa¬
ther’s Power of commanding, extends no
farther than the Minority of his Children,
and to a degree only fit for the Dilcipline,
and
i
( 293 )
and Government of that Age. And
though that Honour and Refped, and
all that which the Latins called Piety,
which they indifpenfibly owe to their Pa¬
rents all their Life times, and in all eftates,
with all that Support and Defence, is due
to them, gives the Father no Power of
governing, i. e. making Laws and exa£l-
ing Penalties on his Children. Though by
this he has no Dominion over the Property
or Affions of his Son ; yet ’tis obvious to
conceive,how eafie it was, in the firflAges
of the World, and in places ftill where the
thinnefs of People gives Families leave to
feparate into unpofle’Jed Quarters,and they
have room to remove and plant themlelves
in yet vacant habitations,
for the Father of the Fa¬
mily to become the
Prince of it; he had been
It is no improbable
Opinion, therefore,which
the Arch-Philofopher
was of. That the chief
Ferfon in every HouJJjo Id,
was always, as it were, a King ; Jo when Numbers of HoufJoolds
joyn d themfelves in civil Societies together. Kings were thefirjl
kind of Governours amongft them', which is alfo, as it feemeth,
the reafon why the name of Fathers continued fill in them, who
of Fathers, were made Rulers ♦, as alfo the ancient Cujlom of
Governours to do as Melchizcdcc, and being Kings , to exercife
the Office of Friejls, which Fathers did, at thefirjl grew, per¬
haps, by the fame Occafion. Howbeit, this is not the only find of
Regiment that has beenreceived in the World.The Inconveniences of
one kind have caufcdfundry other to be devifed, fothat, in a word,
all publique Regiment, of what kind fever, feemeth evidently to
have vifen from the deliberate Advice,Confutation and Compofrtion
between Men,judging it convenient, and behove fad, there being no
i mpofibility in Nature,confrder ed by it felf,but that Man might have
Lived without any publique Regiment. HookerV EccU. i.§. 10.
V ? a Ruler
< ( 2 94 )
a Ruler from the Beginning of the infan¬
cy of. his Children, and when they were
grown up : fince. without fome Govern¬
ment it would be hard for them to live to¬
gether, it was likelyeft it fhould, by the
exprefs or tacit Confent of the Children,
be in the Father, where it feemed, with- i
out any change, barely to continue. And
when indeed nothing more was required '
to it, than the permitting the Father to-
exercife alone, in his Family, that execu¬
tive Power of the Law of Nature, which
every Free-man naturally hath, and by H
that Permiffion refigning up to him a Mo¬
narchical Power, whilft they remained in
it. But that this was not by any paternal 1
Right, but only by the Confent of his
Children, is evident from hence, That no
Body doubts but if a Stranger, whom
Chance or Bufinefs had brought to his Fa- 1
mily, had there kill’d any of his Children,
or committed any other Faft, he might
condemn and put him to Death, or other-
wife have pun idled him as well as any of
his Children, which was impofhble he
fhould do by virtue of any paternal Au¬
thority, over one who was not his Child;
but by virtue of that executive Power of
the Law of Nature, which, as a Man, he
had a right to: and he alone could punifh
him in his Family, where the Relpeft of
( 2 90 > *
!iis Children had laid by the Exercifeof
"uch a Power, to give way to the Dignity
indAuthority they were willing fhould re¬
main in him above the reft of his Family.
75. Thus ’twas eafie and almoft natu¬
ral for Children-by a tacit and almoft na¬
tural confent, to make way for the Fa¬
ther’s Authority and Government. They
had been accuftomed in their Child-hood,
to follow his Direction, and to refer thdir
little differences to him, and when they
were Men, who titter to rule them ? Their
little Properties, and lets Covetoufnefs,
[eldom afforded greater Controverties; -
and when any fhould arite, where could
they have a fitter Umpire, than he, by
whofe Care they had every one been fu-
ftain’d and brought up, and who had a
tendernefs for them all ? ’Tis no wonder
that they made no diftinction betwixt
Minority and full Age, nor looked after
one and Twenty, or any other Age, that
might make them the free Dilpolers of
themlelvesand Fortunes, when they could
have no defire to be out of their Pupilage.
The Government they had been under,
during it, continued ftill to be more their
Protection than Reftraint: and they could
no where find a greater fecurity to their
Peace, Liberties, and Fortunes, than in the
Rule of a Father.
’ V 4 76. Thus
4
• (29 6/' '
16. Thus the natural Fathers of Fami¬
lies, by an infenfible change, became the
politick Monarchs of them too; and as
they chanced to live long, and leave able
and worthy Heirs, for feveral Succeflions,
or otherwife: fothey laid the Foundations
of Hereditary, or Eledive Kingdoms un¬
der feveral Conftitutions, and Manors,
according as Chance, Contrivance, or Oc-
cafions happen’d to mould them. But if
Princes have their Titles in the Fathers
Right, and it be a fufficient proof of the
natural Right of Fathers to political Au¬
thority j becaufe, they commonly were
thofe, in whole hands, we find, defacto,
the Exercife of Government: I lay, if
this Argument be good, it will as ftrongly
prove that all Princes, nay Princes only,
ought to be Priefts, fince ’tis as certain
that in the Beginning, The Father of
the Family was Priejl , as that he was Ruler
in his own Houjhold.
K . *' CHAP.
f t
f
( 2 97 )
CHAP. YIL
fw
Of Political or Civil Society.
I 9 \ C|
7 OD having madeMan fuch a crea-
y T ture, that, in h is own Jud gment,
t was not good for him to be alone, put
lim under ftrong Obligations of Neceflity,
Convenience, and Inclination, to drive
iim into Society, as well as fitted him with
Jnderftanding and Language to continue
.nd enjoy it. The firft Society was be-
wen Man and Wife, which gave begui¬
ling to that betweenParentsand Children;
o which, in time, that between Mafter
tnd Servant came to be added: and though
ill thefo might, and commonly did meet
rogether, and make up but one Family,
therein, the Mafter or Miftrils of it had
[bme fort of Rule, proper to a Family ;
;ach of thefo, or all together came fhort
af Political Society , as we fhall foe if we
confider the different Ends, Ties, and
Bounds of each of thefo.
78. Conjugal Society is made by a vo¬
luntary compact between Man and Wo¬
man, and though it confift chiefly in fuch
a Communion and Right in one anothers
Bodies, as is neceffary to its chief End,
Procreation; yet it draws with it mutual
t , Support
I ' ( 298 )
Support and Affiftance; and a Communi¬
on of Interefts too, as neceffary, not only
to unite their Care and Affeftion, but aff
fb neceiTary to their common Off-lpring,
who have a Right to be nourilhed and
maintained by them, till they are able to
provide for themfelves.
79. For the end of conjunction between
Male and Female, being not barely Pro¬
creation, but the continuation of the Spe¬
cies. This conjunction betwixt Male and
Female ought to lait, even after Procreati¬
on, So long as is neceffary to the nourish¬
ment and lupport of the young Ones, who
are to be luftained by thole that got them,
till thfey are able to. Shift and provide for
themfelves. This Rule, which the Infi¬
nite wife Maker hath fet to the Works of
his hands, we find, the inferiour Creatures
Readily obey. In thole viviparous Animals,
which feed on Grab - , the conjunction be¬
tween Male and Female lafts no longer than
the very Aft of Copulation; becaule the
Teat of the Dam being Sufficient to nou¬
rish the Young, till it be able to feed on
Grafs: the Male only begets, but con¬
cerns not himfelffor the Female or Young,
to whole Sultenance he can contribute no¬
thing. But in Bealts of Prey the conjun¬
ction lafts longer; becaule the Dam not
being able well to Sublift her {$!£, and nou-
' : ••• . ;» ’ riSh
I ■ • (299)1 I
jfh her numerous Offfpring, by her own
'rey alone,a more laborious s as well as more
angerous way of living, than by feeding
in Grafs: the Afliftance of the Male is ne-
elTary to the Maintenance of their com-
lon Family, which cannot fubli(f,tiil they
re able to prey for themielves, but by the
)int Care of Male and Female. The lame
i to be obferved in all Birds (except leme
iomeftick ones, where plenty of food excu¬
bs the Cock from feeding, and taking care
if the young Brood) whole Young needing
•'ood in the Neft, the Cock and Hen conti-
lue Mates till the Young are able to ule
heir wing, and provide for themielves.
80. And herein, I think, lies the chief,
f not the only realon, why the Male and
remale, in Mankind, are tyed to a longer
:onjunftion, than other Creatures; viz,
>ecaufe the Female is capable of concei¬
ving, and de facto is commonly with Child
igain, and brings forth too a new Birth,
ong before the former is out of a
lependency for lupport on his Parents
lelp, and able to Ihift for himielf, and has
ill the alliftance is due to him from his
parents, whereby the Father, who is bound
:o take care for thole he hath begot, isun~
ler an obligation to continue in Conjugal
society, with the lame Woman, longer
chan other Creatures, whofe Young being
(
able to fubfift of themfelves, before tl
time of Procreation returns again,the Co
jugal Bond dilfolves of it felf, and they a;
at liberty; till Hymen, at his ufual ann
verfary Sealbn, liimmons them again t
chule new Mates. Wherein one canru
but admire the Wifdom of the great Crt
ator, who, having given to Man an Abil
ty, to lay up for the future, as weii i
fupply the prefent neceflity, hath made
neceflary, that Society of Man and Wil
fhould be more lafting, than of Male an
Female amongft other Creatures : that f
their Induftry might be encouraged , an<
their Intereft better united, to make pro
vifion, and lay up Goods for their commoi
Iffue; which uncertain mixture, or eafie
and frequent folutions of Conjugal Society
would mightily difturb.
81. But though thefe are Ties upor
Mankind,which make the Conjugal Bond;
more firm and lafting, in a Man, than th<
other fpecies of Animals; yet it would
give one reafon to enquire, why this com¬
pact , where Procreation and Education
are lecured, and Inheritance taken care
ior, may not be made determinable, either
by content, or at. a certain time, or upon
certain conditions, as well as any other
voluntary compads; there being no necef-
fity, in the nature of the thing, nor to the
> . ' - ends
(?oi; \
:nds of it, that it fhould always be for
ife ; I mean, to fiich as are under no Re-
fraintof any pofitive Law,which ordains
ill fiich contra&s to be perpetual.
8.2. But the Husband and Wife, though
:hey have but one common Concern, yet
laving different Underffandings, will, un-
lvoidably fometimes, have different wills
:oo: it therefore being neceffary, that the
,laft Determination, i. e. the Rule, fhould
be placed fomewhere ; it naturally falls to
the Man’s fhare,as the abler and theftrong-
er. But this, reaching but to the things
of their common Intereft and Property,
leaves the Wife in the full and true poL
fefiion of what* by contract, is her pecu¬
liar Right; and at lead gives the Husband
no more Power over her than fhe has over
his Life. The Power of the Husband be¬
ing fo far from that of an abfblute Mo¬
narch, that the Wife has, in many cafes,
a liberty to feparate from him ; where na¬
tural Right, or their Contra£f allows it \
whether that Contract be made by them-
felves, in the Bate of Nature, or by the
Cuftoms or Laws of the countrey they live
in,and theChildren, upon fuch Separation,
fall to the Father or Mother’s Lot, as f uch
Contract does determine.
8 For all the ends of Marriage being
to be obtained, under politick Govern-
,. v ; _ raent,
/ ( 3°2 )
ment, as well as in the date of Natur
the civil Magiftrate doth not abridge ti
Right or Power of either, naturally nece
lary to thole ends, viz. Procreation, an
mutual Support, and Afliftance, whil
they are together ; but only decides an
Controverfie that may arile, between Ma
and Wife, about them. If it were otherwifl
and that abiolute Soveraignty and Powe
of life and death naturally belong’d to th
Husband,and were neceflary to the Socier
between Man and Wife, there could be ni
Matrimony in any of thefe Countries,when
the Husband is allowed no fuch abfbluti
Authority; but the ends of Matrimonj
requiring no fuch Power in the Husband
it was not at all neceflary to it i the con*
dition of Conjugal Society put it not in
him, but whatloever might confift with
Procreation and Support of the Children,
till they could fhift for themfelves: mu¬
tual Afliftance, Comfort, and Maintenance
might be varied, and regulated, by that
contrast which firft united them in that
Society; nothing being neceflary to any
Society, that is not neceflary to the ends
for which it is made.
84. The Society betwixt Parents and
Children, and the diftind Rights and
Powers, belonging reipedively to them,
I have treated of fo largely, in the
fore-
\i ' < pd$) \
oregoing Chapter, that I fliall. not here
need to lay any thing of it. And I think
;t is plain, that it is far different from a po¬
litick Society.
8 $. Mafter and Servant are Names as
Did as Hiftory, but given to thofe of far
Afferent condition; for a Free-man makes
limfelf a Servant to another, by felling
lim, for a certain time, the Service,he un-
iertakes to do, in exchange, for Wages he
s to receive : and though this commonly
DUts him into the Family of his Mafter,
md under the ordinary difcipline thereof;
/et it gives the Mafter but a Temporary
Power over him, and no greater than
vhat is contained in the Contract between
:hem., But there is another fort of Ser-
/ants, which, by a peculiar Name, we
:all Slaves, who, being Captives, taken in
i juft War, are, by the Right of Nature,
ubje&ed to the Abfolute Dominion, and
Arbitrary Power of their Mafters. Thefe
Wen having, as I fay, forfeited their Lives,
md, with it, their Liberties, and loft their
Sftates ; and being in the ftateof Slavery,
lot capable of any Property, cannot, in
that ftate, be confidered as any part of ci-
/il Society ; the chief end whereof is the
order vat ion of Property. ■<
8 b. Let us therefore confider a Mafter
of a Family with all thefe lubordinate- Re¬
lations
(304)
’ -lations of Wife, Children, Servants an
Slaves, united under the domeftick rule 0
a Family ; which what refemblance fc
ever it may have in its order, offices, an.
number too, with a little Commonwealth
yet is very far from it, both in its confti
■ tution, power and end : or if it mult b.:
thought a Monarchy, and the Pater fa
milias y the abiblute Monarch in it, ablo
lute Monarchy will have but a very lhat
tered and fhort Power, when ’tis plain,b}
what has been laid before,That the Maftei
of the Family has a very diftind and dif¬
ferently limited Power, both as to time
and extent, over thofefeveral perfons that
are in it ; for excepting the Slave (and
the Family is as much a Family, and his
Power as Paterfamilias as great, whether
there be any Slaves in Ins Family or no)
he has no Legiflative power of Life
and Death over any of them, and none
too but what a Miftrefs of a Family may
have as well as he. And he certainly can
have no abiblute power over the whole
Family, who has but a very limited one
over every individual in it. But how a
Family, or any other Society of Men dif¬
fer from that which is properly political
Society , we lhall belt lee , by conlider*
ing wherein political Society it lelf con-
fifts'. |
*■ 87. Man
( 305 )
87. Man being born, as has been pro-
ed, w ith a title to perfect freedom, and
n uncontrouled enjoyment of all the
lights and Priviledges of the Law of Na-
-ire, equally with any other Man, or
umber of Men in the World , hath by
ature a power, not only to prefervehis
roperty , that is, his Life, Liberty and
ftate, againft the injuries and attempt's of
:her men; but to judg£ of and punifh the
•eaches of that Law in others, as he is
;rfwaded the offence deferves, even with
eath it felf, in Crimes where the hein-
ilhefs of the fa£t, in his opinion, requires
But becaufe no political Society can
nor fubfift without having in it felf
e power to preferve the property, and
order thereunto, punifh the offences of
t thole of that Society; There, and there
Uy is political Society,; where every one
the Members hath quitted this natural
•wer, refign’d it up into the hands of
2 Community in all cafes that exclude
m not from appealing for protection to
; law eftablifhed by it. And thus all pri-
fe judgment of every particular Member
:ng excluded, the Community comes to
Umpire ; and by underftanding indif-
ent rules and men authorifed by the
nmunity for their execution, decides all
: differences that may happen between
(| ’ X any
(So 6 ) 1 1
any Members of that Society, concerning
any matter of right, and punifhes thofe of¬
fences which any member hath commit¬
ted againft the Society with fuch penaltie:
as the law has eftablilhed; whereby it if
eafy to dilcern who are, and are not, it
political Society together. Thofe who art
united into one Body, and have a commor
eftablifli'd Law and Judicature to appea
to, with Authority to decide Controver
lies between them, and punilh Offenders
are in civil Society one with another \ bu
thole who have no fuch common Appeal
I mean on Earth, are ftill in the ft ate o
Nature, each being where there is no o
ther, Judge for himfelf, and Executioner
which is, as I have before fhew’d it, th<
perfect ftate of Nature.
88 . And thus the CommonwealtI
comes by a power to let down what pu
nifhment lhall belong to the feveral tranl
greffions they think worthy of it, com
tnitted amongft the Members of that So
ciety(which is the power ofmakingLaws'
as well as it has the power to punifh anj
injury done unto any of its Members, bj
any one that is not of it, (which is th<
power of War and Peace;) and all this foi
the prelervation of the property of all th<
Members of that Society, as far as is pol
frble. But though every Man enter’d in
II F;.. ( *°7 )
3 Society, has quitted his power to pu-
ifh offences againft the Law of Nature,in
rolecution of his own private Judgment;
2t with the Judgment of offences which
2 has given up to the Legiflative, in all
ales where he can appeal to the Magi-
rate , he has given up a right to the
ommonwealth, to imploy his Force for
e Execution of the Judgments of the
ommonwealth , 'whenever he (hall be
lied to it,which indeed are his own Judg-
ents, they being made by himfelf or his
prefentative. And herein we have the
iginal of the Legiflative and Executive
)wer of Civil Society, which is to judge
r ftanding Laws how far offences are to
punifhed when committed within the
ommonwealth; and alfo by occafional
dgments founded on theprefent circum-
tnces of the fa£t, how far injuries from
ithout are to be vindicated, and in both
efe to imploy all the force of all the
embers when there fhall be need.
89. Whereever therefore any number of
m fo unite into one Society, as to quit
-ry one his Executive Power of the Law
Nature, and to refign it to the publick,
sre and there only is a political, or civil
ciety. And this is done whereever any
mber ot Men, in the State of Nature,
:er into Society to make one People, one
X 2 Body
(;o8)
Body Politick under one Supream Govern¬
ment ; or elie when any one joins himfelf
to, and incorporates with any Government
already made. For hereby he authorizes
the Society, or which is all one, the Le-
giflative thereof to make Laws for him as
tiie publick good of the Society fhall re¬
quire ; to the Execution whereof, his own
adiftance (as to his own decrees) is dueJ
And this puts men out of a Bate of nature
into that of a Commonwealth, by lotting
up a Judge on Earth, with Authority tc
determine all the Controverfies , and re-
drefs the injuries that may happen to any
Member of the Commonwealth ; which
Judge is the Legiflative or Magiftrates ap¬
pointed by it. And whereever there are any
number of Men, however alfociated, thai
have no fuch decifive power to appeal to
there they are Bill in the Bate of Nature
90. And hence it is evident, that Ab-
lolute Monarchy which by Ibme Men i:
counted for the only Government in the
World, is indeed inconfiftent with civil So
ciety,andlb can be noForm ofcivilGovern
ment at all: For the end of civil Society
being to avoid and remedy thof<
inconveniencies of the hate of Natun
which necelfarily follow from every Man 1 :
being Judge in his own Cafe , by fetting
up a known Authority , to which every
on<
( 3°9 )
ane of that Society may appeal upon any
njury received, or Controverfy that may
irile, and which every one of the Society
ought to obey. When¬
ever any per Ions are
who have not fuch an
authority to appeal to,
and decide any difference
between them there,
thole perlons are hill in
the hate of nature. And
lo is every abiolute
Prince in refpedt of thofe
who are under his Do¬
minion.
The public ^ Power of
all Society is above every
Soul contained in the
fame Society \ and the
principal ufe of that pow¬
er if to give Laws unto
all that are under it y
which Laws in fuch Ca¬
fes we mult obey , unleft
there be reafm flaw'd
which may necejfarily in-
force , that the Law of
Reafon , or of God , doth
injoin the contrary, Hook.
Eccl. Pol. i. §. i<5.
91. For he being fuppos’d to have all,
ooth Legiflative and Executive Power in
limlelf alone , there is no Judge to be
bund, no appeal lies open to any one,
who may fairly and indifferently, and
with authority decide, and from whence
relief and redrels may be expedited of any
injury or inconveniency that may be liif-
ered from him, or by his order. So that
bch a Man, however intitled Cz.ar> or
stand Signior , or how you pleale, is as
much in the hate of nature, with all un¬
der his Dominion, as he is with the reft
}f Mankind. For wherever any two Men
X 1 are
/
($ 1 °) ' ]
are, who have no {landing Rule, and ccm-
mon Judge to appeal to onEarth,for the de¬
termination of Controverfies of Right, be¬
twixt them, there theyare ftill in the Rate
of Nature and under
all the inconveniences
of it, with only this*
woful difference to the
Subject, or rather Slave
of an abfolute Prince ;
That whereas, in the or- :
dinary Rate of Nature,
he has a liberty to judge
of his Right, and ac¬
cording to the beftof his
power, to maintain it:
but whenever his Pro-
pertyjs invaded by the
Will and Order of his
Monarch; he has not
only no Appeal, as thofe
in Society ought to have,
but, as if he were degra-
vmdiiy\yet if this were done with Injury unto others, it was not
" j be fuffered,' but by all Men, and a'l good means to bewith-
jioea. Finally , they lyiew that no Man might, inreafon, take
upon mm to determine his own Right, and according to his own
Determination proceed in maintenance thereof, in as much as
every man is towards himfelf, and them whom he greatly affefis,
partial", and therefore, that Strifes and Troubles would be end-
if’ j, except they gave their common Confent, all to be ordered by
jeme, whom they flmld agree upon, without which Confent, there
would be noreafm that one man jhould take upon him to be Lord
tr Judge over another . Hooker’/ Eccl, Pol. 1, i. §. i o.
ded
To tale away all fuch
mutual Grievances , Inju¬
ries and 14 rongs , i. e.
fuch as attend Men in
the (late of Nature,
There was no way but
only by growing into
Compofition and Agree¬
ment amongft themfelves
by ordaining feme Ifind
of Government public £,
and by yielding them¬
felves fubjelt thereunto ,
that unto whom they
granted Authority to rule
and govern: by them the
Peace , Tranquillity ,and
happy Eft ate of the reft
might be procured. Men
always hnew that where
Force and Injury was
offered, they might be
Defenders of them¬
felves , they fyiew
that however Menmay
fcel^ their own Com -
I ;• (3*0
id from the common (late of rational
reatures, is denied a liberty to judge of,
• defend his Right, and fo is expofed to
1 the Mifery and Inconveniencies that a
Ian can fear from one, who being in the
ireftrained ftate of Nature, is yet cor- -
upted with Flattery, and armed with
lower.
92. For he that thinks abfolute Power
arifies Mens Bloods, and corre&s the
ifenefs of humane Nature, need read but
le Hiftory of this, or any other Age, to
; convinced of the contrary. He that
ould have been infolent and injurious in
le Woods of America ., would not proba-
y be much better in a Throne, where
irhaps Learning and Religion fhall be
iund out to juftifie all that he fhall do to
is Subje&s; and the Sword prefently fi-
nce all thofe that dare queftion it. For
hat the Proteftion of Abfolute Monar-
ty is; what kind of Fathers of their
iountries it makes Princes to be; and to
hat a degree of Happinefs, and Security
carries civil Society, where this fort of
overnment is grown to perfe&ion, he
tat will look into the late Relation of
tylon may eafily fee.
93. In Abfolute Monarchies indeed, as
'ell as other Governments of the World,
le Subje&s have an Appeal to the Law,
X 4 and
(312 | * ; - Sao
and Judges to decide any Controverfies,and
reftrain any violence that may happen be¬
twixt the Subjects themfelves,one amongfl
another. This every one thinks neceffary.
and believes,he deferves to be thought a de¬
clared Enemy to Society and Mankind, whc
fhould go about to take it away.But whethei
this be from a true Love of Mankind and
Society, &: luch a Charity as we ow r e all one
to another, there is reafbnto doubt.For this
is no more than what every Man, whc
loves his own Power, Profit, or Greatnels ;
may, and naturally rauft do ; keep thole
Animals from hurting, or defiroying one
another, who labour and drudge only for
his Pleafure and Advantage; and lo are
taken care of, not out of any Love the
Mafter has for them, but Love of himlelf.
and the Profit they bring him. For if it
be asked what Security, what Fence is
there, in fuch a State, againft the Violence
and Oppreffion of this Ablolute Ruler?
The very Queftion can fcarce be born.
They are ready to tell you, that it delerves
Death only to ask after Safety. Betwixt
Subject and Subject, they will grant, there
mult be Meafures, Laws, and Judges for
their mutual Peace and Security. But as
for the Ruler, he ought to be Ablolute,
and is above all.fuch Circumftances; be-
caule he has a Power to do more hurt and
wrong,
f (3*J>
wrong, ’tis right when lie does it. To ask
how you may be guarded from harm, or
injury, on that fide, where the hrongeh
hand is to do it, is prefently the Voice of
Faction and Rebellion. As if when Men,
quitting the Rate of Nature, entered into
Society, they agreed that all of them, but
one,fhould be under the reftraint of Laws ;
but that he fliould hill retain all the Liber¬
ty of the hate of Nature, increaled with
Power, and made licentious by Impunity.
This is to think that Men are lb foolilh,
that they take care to avoid what Mil-
chiefs may be done them by Pole-Cats , or
Foxes , but are content, nay think it Safe¬
ty, to be devoured by Lions.
94. But, whatever Flatterers may talk,
to amuze Peoples Underhandings, it never
hinders Men from feeling; and when they
perceive that any Man, in what Station lo-
ever, is out of the Bounds of the civil Soci¬
ety they are of, and that they have no Ap¬
peal, on Earth, again ft any harm they may
receive from him, they are apt to think
themlelves in the hate of Nature, in re-
fpect of him, whom they find to be lb ;
and to take care, as loon as they can, to
have that Safety and Security, in civil So¬
ciety, for which it was firh inltituted, and
for which only they entered into it. And
therefore, though perhaps at firh, as fhall
(m)
be fhewed more at large hereafter, in the
following part of this Difcourfe, fome
one good and excellent Man having got a
Preheminency, amongft the reft, had this
Deference paid to his Goodnefs and Ver-
tue, as to a kind of Natural Authority,
that the chief Rule, with Arbitration of
their differences, by a tacit Content, de¬
volved into his hands, without any other
caution, but the affurance they had of his
Uprightnefs and Wildom ; yet when time
giving Authority, and, as fome Men would
perfwadeus,Sacrednefs to Cuftoms, which
the negligent, and unforeteeing Innocence
of the firft Ages began, had brought in
Succeffors of another ftamp, the People
finding their Properties not tecure under
the Government as then it was. (Whereas
Government has no o-
ther end but the preter-
vation of Property 'could
never befafe, nor at reft,
nor think themfelves in
civil Society, till the Le-
Wifdom and Difcretion , which were to Rule, till, by experience >
zh%y found this for all parts very inconvenient, fo as the
thing, which they had devifed for a Remedy, did indeed but
increafe the Sore, which it ftmld have cured. They faw, that
colive by oneMan’sWill,became die caufe of allMens mifery.
This conjirained them to come unto Laws wherein all Men might
■ ee ! ^ eir D‘ lt y beforehand, and know the Penalties of tranfgrejjing
them. HookerV Eccl. Pol. J. i. §. iq.
At the firft , when
fome certain kind of Re¬
giment was once appoint¬
ed, it may be that no¬
thing was then farther
thought upon for the man-
ner of governing, but all
permitted unto their
gi dative
*
j •- (?*o
giflative was fo placed in collective Bodies
of Men, call them Senate, Parliament, or
what you pleale, by whicli means every
fingle perfon became fubjeCt equally, with
other the meaneft Men, to thofe Laws,
which he himlelf, as part of the Legifla-
tlve, had eftablilhed; nor could any one,
by his own Authority, avoid the force of
the Law, when once made, nor by any
pretence of Superiority plead exemption,
thereby to licenle his own, or the Milcar-
riages of any of his Dependants: No Man
in civil Society can be exempted from the
Laws of it. For if any
Man may do what he
thinks fit and there be no
appeal on Earth, for Re-
drels or Security againft
any harm he fhall do ; I
ask, whether he be not perfe&ly ftill in
the Rate of Nature, and fo can be no
Part or Member of that civil Society, un-
lels any one will lay, the lfate of Nature
and civil Society, are one and the lame
thing, which I have never yet found any
one fo great a Patron of Anarchy as to
affirm.
Civil Law, being the
All of the whole Body
Politick L, doth therefore
over-rule each feveral
fart of the fame Body .
Hooker ibid.
• CHAP.
(
I
% • / A i * V # #
1 ' > A ^
CHAP, VIII.
Of the Beginning of Political Societies.
9 A yf E N being, as has been faid, by
JLy JL Nature, all free, equal and in¬
dependent ; no one can be put out of this
Eftate, and fubjeQed to the Political Pow¬
er of another, without his own Confent,
which is done by agreeing,with other Men,
to join and unite into a Community, for
their comfortable, fafe, and peaceable li¬
ving, one amongft another, in a fecure En¬
joyment of their Properties, and a greater
Security againft any that are not of it.
, This any number of Men may do, becaufe
it injures not the Freedom of the reft;
they are left, as they were, in the Liberty
of the ftate of Nature. When any num¬
ber of Men have lo contented to make one
Community or Governmentjthey are there¬
by pretently incorporated, and make one
Body Politick, wherein the Majority have
a Right, to a£t and conclude the reft.
96. For when any number of Men,
have by the confent of every individual,
made a Community, they have thereby
made that Community one Body, with a
power to aft as one Body, which is only
by the will and determination of the ma¬
jority.
( 3*7 )
iority. For that which ads any Com mu -
nity, being only the confent of the indi¬
viduals of it, and it being one Body muft
move one way; it is necelfary the Body
fhould move that way whither the great¬
er force carries it, which is the conlent of
the majority : or elfe it is impolfible it
fhould ad or continue one Body , one
(Community, which the confent of every
individual that united into it, agreed that
it fhould ; and lb every one is bound by
t that confent to be concluded by the ma¬
jority. And therefore we lee, that in Ai-
Ifemblies impowred to act by pofitive
Laws where no number is fet, by that po-
i fitiveLaw which impowers them,i the act
of the majority palfes for the ad of the
i whole , and of courfe determines, as ha¬
ving by the Law of Nature and Reafon,
the power of the whole.
. '97. And thus every Man by confenting
with others to make one Body Politick,
under one Government, puts himfelt un¬
der an obligation to every one of that So¬
ciety, to fubmit to the determination ot
the majority, and to be concluded by it;
or elfethisoriginalCompad, whereby he
with others incorporates into one Society,
would fignifie nothing , and be no Corn-
pad if he be left free, and under no
other ties than he was in before in the
Rate
( )
ftate of Nature. For what appearance
would there be of any Com pad ? What
new engagement, if he were no farther
tit u by any Decrees of the Society,than he
himfelf thought fit, and did adually con-
fen* to ? This would be ftill as great a li¬
berty as he himfelf had before his Corn-
pad , or any one elfe in the ftate of Na¬
ture , who may fubmit himfelf and con-
lent to a.ny ads of it if he thinks fit.
98. for if the content of the majority
fhall not in realon be received as the ad
of the whole, and conclude every indivi¬
dual ; nothing but the content of every in¬
dividual can make any thing to be the ad
of the w hole, which, confidering the in¬
firmities of health, and avocations of bu-
finefs, which in a number, though much
lefs than that of a Commonwealth, will
neceifarily keep many away from the
publick A (Terribly; and the variety of O-
pinions and contrariety of interefts which
unavoidably happen in all Colledions of
Men, ’tis next impolfible ever to be had.
And therefore if coming into Society be
upon fuch terms, it will be only like Ca¬
to’s coming into the Theatre, txntum tit
extrer. Such a Conftitution as this would
make the mighty Leviathan of a ftiorter
duration.than the feebleft Creatures; and
not let it outlalt the day it was born in,
. which
I (319)
which cannot be {oppos'd till we can
tthink that rational Creatures fhould de¬
fire and conftitute Societies only to be dift
folved. For where the majority cannot con¬
clude the reft, there they cannot aft as
one Body ; and confequently, will be im¬
mediately diffolved again.
99. Whofbever therefore, outofaftate
i of Nature, unite into a Community, muft
be underftood to give up all the power
neceffary to the ends for which they unite
into Society , to the majority of the
(Community, unlels they exprefly agreed
in any number greater than the majority.
And this is done by barely agreeing to
unite into one political Society, which is
all the Compaft that is, or needs be, be¬
tween the individuals that enter into or
1 make up a Commonwealth. And thus
tthat which begins and aftually conftitutes
any Political Society , is nothing but the
(confent of any number of Freemen capa¬
ble of majority, to unite and incorporate
linto fuch a Society. And this is that, and
1 that only, which did or could give begin-
ming to any lawful Government in the
World.
100. To this I find two Objeftions
1 made. t. That there are no inftances
1 to be found in ftory, of a Company of
Men independant and equal one amongft
another,
*
\
( $20 )
another, that met together, and in this
way began and fet up a Government.
2. ’Tis impoffible of right that Men
fhould do fo; becaule all Men being born
under Government, they are to fubmit to
that, and are not at liberty to begin a
new one. r
ioi. Tothefirft, there is this to An¬
swer, That it is not at all to be wonder’d
that Hiftory gives us but a very little ac¬
count of Men that lived together in the
ftate of Nature. The inconveniencies of
that condition, and the love and want of
Society, no fboner brought any number of I
them together, but they prefently united
and incorporated, if they defigned to con¬
tinue together. And if we may not fup-
pole Men ever to have been in the ftate of
Nature, becaule we hear not much of
them in fuch a ftate; we may as well fup- I
pole the Armies of SalmanaJJer, or Xerxes ,
were never Children,becaule w r c hear lit¬
tle of them till they were Men, and imbo-
died in Armies. Government is every '
where antecedent to Records, and Letters
feldom come in amongft a People till a
long continuation of Civil Society , has
by other more necellary arts, provided for A
their Safety, Eale and Plenty. And then *
they begin to look after the Hiftory of
their Founders, and fearch into their ori- s
ginal
Ci2i)
:;inal when they have outlived the memo¬
ry of it. For 'tis with Commonwealths
is with particular Perfons, they are com-
nonly ignorant of their own Births and
infancies: and if they know any thing of
t, they are beholding for it to the acci-
lental Records that others have kept of
t. And thole that we have of the begin*
ling of any Polities in the World, except-
ng that of the Jews, where God himfelf
mmediately interpos’d, and which favours
iot at all Paternal Dominion; are all ei-
her plain instances of fuch a beginning as
have mentioned, or at leaft have mani-
-11 footfteps of it.
102. He muft Ihew ’a ftrange inclina-
ion to deny evident matter of fa<£t when
: agrees not with his Hypothefis; who
vill not allow, that the beginning of
iome and Venice were by the uniting
Dgether of leveral Men free and indepen-
ent one of another, amongft whom there
^as no natural Superiority of Subjection.
°d if Jofephus Ac oft o's word may be ta-
en, he tells us, that.in many parts of
America there was no Government at all.
here are great and apparent Conjectures, lays
e, that thefe men , fpeaking of thole of
eru, for a long time had neither I\jngs nor
omnromvealths\ but lived in Troops , as they
7 this day in Florida , the Cheriquana*,-
^ V tltofef
( 322)
thoje. of Brefil , and many other Nations
which have no certain KJngs, hut as occafiot
is offered in Peace or War , they choofe thei.
Captains as they pleafe. 1. i. C. 25. If it b<
laid, that every Man there was born fob
je£t to his Father, or the head of his Fa
mily. That the fubje&ion due from «
Child to a Father, took not away his free
dom of uniting into what political Society
he thought fit, has been already proved
But be that as it will, thele Men, ’tis cvi
dent, were actually free; and whateve.
fuperiority fome Politicians now wouk
place in any of them, they themfelvei
claimed it not; but by content were al
equal, till by the fame confent they fei
Rulers over themfeives. So that their po
litick Societies all began from a voluntary
Union, and the mutual agreement 0
Men freely a£ting in the choice of theii
Governours, and forms of Government. ,
iog. And I hope thofe who went awaj
from Sparta , with Palantus , mentioned b;>
Jufiin l. will be allowed to have beer.
Freemen independent one of another, and
to have let up a Government over them;
felves, by their own content. Thus I have
given leveral Examples out of Hiftory, ol
people free and in the ftate of Nature, that
being met together incorporated and be¬
gan a Commonwealth. And if the want
(? 2 $)
Pfuch inftances be an argument to prove,
lat Government were not, nor could not
J lo begun, I fuppofe the Contenders
ir Paternal Empire were better let it a-
ne, than urge it againft natural Liberty:
or if they can give fb many inftances out
THiftory,of Governments began upon pa-
rnal Right, I think (though at leaft an
rgument from what has been , to what
ould of right, be of no great force) one
ight, without any great danger, yield
em the caufe. But if I might advife
em in the Cafe, they would do well not
I fearch too much into the original of
wernmcnts, as they have begun defatfo,
l they fhould find at the foundation of
oft of them , lomething very little fa-
urable to the defign they promote, and
:h a power as they contend for.
1104. But, to conclude, Realbn being
tin on our fide, that Men are naturally
e; and the Examples of Hiftory fhew-
l that the Governments of the World,
it were begun in Peace, had their be-
ining laid on thnt foundation, and were?
tde by? 1 ; the Confent of the People:
lere can be little room for doubt, either
lere the Right is, or what has been the
union, or Practice of Mankind about
: firft ereding of Governments.
Y 3 ,05. I
($24) 'I
, . 105.I will not deny, that if we lool
back, as far as Hiftory will dire£t us, to
wards the Original of Commonwealths
we fhall generally find them under the Go
vernment and Adminiftration of on<
Man. And I am alio apt to believe, tha
where a Family was numerous enough tl
fubfift by it felf, and continued entire to
gether, without mixing with others, as i
often happens ; where there is mueh Land
and few People, the Government common
ly began in the Father. For the Fathe-
having, by the Law of Nature, the fam<
Power, with every Man elfe, to punifh, a
he thought fit, any Offences againft tha
Law, might thereby punifh his tranfgref
ling Children, even when they wereMen
and out of their Pupilage; ana they wer<
very likely to fubmit to his punifhment
and all join with him againft the Offende
in their turns, giving him thereby powei
to Execute his Sentence againft any tranf
greffion, and fo in effect make him th<
Law-maker and Governour over all tha !
remained in Conjun&ion with his Family
Be was fitteft to betrufted; Paternal af
fection fecured their Property and Interef
under his Care, and the Culfom of obey
ing him in their Childhood, made it ea
Tier to fubmit to him rather than any 0
ther. If therefore they muft have one t<
• rul<
V
I ,1 0*0 rrJ
ule them, as Government is hardly to b e
voided amongft Men that live together ;
'ho fo likely to be the Man as he that
'as their common Father, unleft Negli-
snce, Cruelty , or any other defe£t of
lind or Body, made him unfit for it. But
r hen either the Father died, and left his
ext Heir for want of Age, Wifdom,
Courage, or any other qualities lels fit for
.ule, or where feveral Families met and
mlented to continue together: There,’tis
at to be doubted, but they uled their na-
lral freedom to let up him whom they
>idged the ableft and moft likely to Rule
r ell over them. Conformable hereunto we
nd the People of America. , who living out
if the reach of the Conquering Swords
id fpreading domination of the two
reat Empires of Peru and Mexico, enjoy’d
;ieir own natural freedom; though, caterii
\ribm y they commonly prefer the Heir of
leir decealed King; yet if they find him
ay way weak or uncapable, they paft
im by, and let up the ftouteft and bra-
eft Man for their Ruler.
io6. Thus, though looking back as
tr as Records give us any account of
eopling the World, and the Hiftory of
Nations, we commonly find the Govern¬
ment , to be in one hand, ; yet it deftroys
iot that which I affirm (viz.) That the
L Y 5 beginning
(?*«)
beginning of Politick Society depends up
on the conlent of the Individuals to joir
into and make one Society ; who wher
they are thus incorporated, might fet Uf
what form of Government they thoughi
fit. But this having given occafion tc
Men to miftake and think, that by Nature
Government was Monarchical, and be¬
long’d to the Father, it may not be amifs
here to confider, why People, in the be¬
ginning, generally pitch’d upon this form,
which though perhaps the Father’s Pre
heminency might, in the firft inftitutior
of Ibme Commonwealths, give a rile to.
and place in the beginning, the Power in
one hand: yet it is plain that the reafbn
that continued the Form of Government
in a fingle Perfbn, was not any Regard oi
RefpeCt to Paternal Authority; fince all
petty Monarchies, that is, almoft all Mo¬
narchies , near their Original, have been
commonly, at leaf!: upon occafion, ele¬
ctive.
107. Firft then, in the beginning of
things, the Father’s Government of the
Childhood of thole Iprung from him, ha¬
ving accuftomed them to the Rule of one
Man, and taught them, that where it was
exercited with Care and Skill, with Affe¬
ction and Love to thole under it, it was
fufficieht to procure and prelerve Men (ail
the
( ? 2 7 )
he political Happinefs they fought for, in
society.) It was no wonder that they
hould pitch upon, and naturally run into
bat Form of Government, which, from
heir Infancy, they had been all accufto-
ned to; and which, by experience, they
lad found both eafie and fafe.', Jo which,
f we add, that Monarchy being fimple,
nd moft obvious to Men , whom neither
xperience.had inft rucled in Forms of Go¬
vernment, nor the Ambition-or Infolence ;
)f Empire had. taught to beware of the
incroachments of Prerogative, or the In-
:onveniencies of Abfolute Power; which
Monarchy, in Succeilion, was <^pt? to lay
:laim to, and bring upon them. It was
lot at all ftrange, that they fhould not
nuch trouble themfelves to think of me-
:hods of reftraining any Exorbitances of
:hofe, to whom they had given the Autho¬
rity over them; and of ballancing the
Power of Government, by placing feveral
parts of it in different hands. They had
neither felt the Oppreffion 6f Tyrannical
Dominion, nor did the Fafhion of the
Age, nor their Poffeffions, or way of li¬
ving, which afforded little matter for Co-
vetoufnefs or Ambition , give them any
reafon to apprehend or provide againft it;
and therefore ’tis no wonder they put
themfelves into fuch a Frame of Govern-
Y 4 ment,
< 3 2 ? ) \
went, as was, not only, as I faid, moft
obvious and Ample, but alfo beft fuited to
their prefent State and Condition; which
flood more in need of defence againft fo¬
reign Invafions and Injuries, than of mul¬
tiplicity of Laws, where there was but
very little Property : and wanted not va¬
riety of Eulers and abundance of Offi¬
cers to difeOt and look after their Execu*
tjon, where there were but few Trefpafl
fes, and few Offenders. Since then, thofe
who liked one another fo well as to join
into Society, cannot but be fiippofed to
have fbme Acquaintance and Friendfhip
together, and fome.Truft one in another.
They could not but have greater Appre-
henfions of others, than of one another ;
and therefore their firft care and thought
cannot but be fiippofed to be how to fecure
themfelves againft foreign Force. ’Twas
natural for them to put themfelves under
a Frame of Government, which might
heft ferve to that end ; and chufe the wi-
feft ar 4 d braveft Man to conduct them in
their Wars , and lead them out againft
their Enemies, and in this chiefly be their
Euler,
■ t oo. Thus we fee that the Kings of the
Indians, in i^slmerica, which is ft ill a Pat¬
tern of the firft Ages in and Europe,
whilft the Inhabitants were too few for
the
% % * >
• ; C'3^9)
the Countrey, and want of People and
Money gave Men no temptation to en¬
large their Poffelfions of Land, or conteft
for wider extent of Ground ; are little
more than Generals of their Armies: and
though they command abfolutely in War,
yet at home, and in time of Peace, they ex-
ercile very little Dominion, and have but
a very moderate Sovereignty ; the Refo-
lutions of Peace and War, being ordinari¬
ly either in the People, or in a Council.
Though the War it lelf, which admits
not of Pluralities of Governours, natural¬
ly devolves the Command into the King’s
foie Authority.
109. And thus in Jfrael it lelf, the chief
Bufinefs of their Judges, and firft Kings,
feems to have been to beCaptains in War,
and Leaders of their Armies; which,
(befides what is fignified by, going out and
in before the People , which was, to march
forth to War, and home again in the
Heads of their Forces) appears plainly in
the ftory of 'Jephtha. The Ammonites ma¬
king War upon Ifrael , the Gileadites , in
fear, fend to Jephtha , a Baftard of theij;
Family, whom they had caft off, and arti¬
cle with him, if he will afTift them a-
gainft the AmmoniteSy to make him their
Ruler; which they do in thefe Words,
And the People made him head and captain
over
(h°)
over them, Judg. 11. 11. which was, as it
feems, all one as to be Judge. And be judg¬
ed Ifrael, Judg. 12. 7. that is, was their
Captain-general, fix Tears. So when Jo-
tham upbraids the Shechemites with the
Obligation they had to Gideon, who had
been their Judge and Ruler, he tellsthem,
He fought for you, and adventured bis life far,
and delivered you out of the hands'of Midi an,
Judg.q.ij .Nothing mentioned of him, but
what he did as a General,and indeed,that is
all is found in his Hiftory, or in any of the
reft of the Judges. And Abimelech parti¬
cularly is called King, though at moft he
was but their General. And when, be¬
ing weary of the ill Conduct of Samuel’s
Sons, the Children of Ifrael defired a
King, like all the nations to judge them, and
to go out before them, and to fight their bat¬
tels , 1 Sam . 8. 20. God granting their
Defire, fays to Samuel, I will fend thee a
man, and thou fib alt anoint him to be captain '
over rny people Ifrael that he may fave my peo-
le out of the hands of the Philifiines, c. 9.
v. 1 6. As if the only bufinefs of a King
had been to lead out their Armies, and
fight in their Defence ; and, accordingly,
at. his Inauguration, pouring a Vial of
Oyl upon him, declares to Saul, that, the
Lord had anointed him to be Captain over
his inheritance, c.io.v. i. And therefore
thofe
A
(??*)
i thole, who after Saul's being lolemnly
icholen, andlaluted King by the Tribes, at
. Mifpah, were unwilling to have him their'
1 King, make no other Objection but this.
How Jhall this man fave its? v. 27. as if
1 they fhould have laid, litis Man is unfit
1 to be our King, not having Skill and Con-
1 du£t enough in War, to be able to defend
1 us. And when God refolved to transfer
1 the Government to David, it is in thefe
Words, But now thy Kjngdom jhall not con-
\ time : the Lord hath (ought him a man after
bis own heart, and the Lord hath commanded
him to be captain over his people, c. 1 j. v. 14.
As il the whole Kingly Authority were
nothing elle but to be their General: and
1 therefore the Tribes who had ftuck to Saul's
Family, and oppoled David's Reign,
when they came to Hebron with terms of
Submilfion to him, they tell him, amonglt
other Arguments they had to fubmit to
him as to theirKing,That he was, in effeQ:,
their King in Saul's time, and. therefore,
they had no realbn but to receive him as
their King now. o 4 lfo (lay they) in
tifne pall, when Saul was Kjng over its, thou
wajl he that ledde(l out and broughtefi in Ifrael,
and the Lord faid unto thee , thou Jhalt feed
my People Ifrael, and thou (halt be a Captain
over Ifrael.
no. Thus
-<* '■’*
iJtiv .: u «
■ 4 } t ,. 1 I J , j i I * ' * ’ \ * i t ^
no. Thus, whether a Family, by de¬
grees, grew up into a Commonwealth,
and the Fatherly Authority being conti¬
nued on to the elder Son, every one in his
turn growingup under it, tacitly lubmit-
ted to it, and theeafinels and equality of it
not offending any one, every one acqui¬
red, till time teemed to have confirmed
it,and tetled a right of Succeffion,by Pre-
fcription: or whether teveral Families, or
theDeteendants of teveral Families, whom
Chance, Neighbourhood, or Bufinels
brought together, united into Society;
the need of a General, whole Conduct
might defend them againft their Enemies
in War, and the great confidence the Inno¬
cence and Sincerity of that poor but ver-
tuous Age, fuch as are almoft all thote
which begin Governments that ever come
to laft in the World, gave Men one of a -
nother, made the firft Beginners of Com¬
monwealths generally put the Rule info
one Man’s hand, without any other ex-
prels Limitation or Reftraint, but what
the Nature of the thing, and the End of
Government required. It was given them
for the publick Good and Safety, and to
thole Ends in the Infancies of Common¬
wealths, they commonly uted it, and un-
lels they had done fo, young Societies
could not have fubfifted; without fuch
nurfing
4 til*
nurfing Fathers: without this care of the
Governours, all Governments would have
funk under the Weaknefs and Infirmities
of their Infancy, the Prince and the Peo¬
ple had loon perifhed together.
111.But the goldenAge(tho’ before vain
Ambition, and amor feeler atm habendt , evil
Concupilcence had corrupted Mens minds
into a Miftake of true Power and Ho¬
nour) had more Virtue, and confequently,
better Governours, as well as lefs vicious
Subje&s; and there was then no ftretching
Prerogative on the one fide to opprefs the
People; nor, confequently, on the other,
any Dilute about Priviledge, to leffen or
retrain the Power of the Magiftrate: and
fo no conteft betwixt Rulers and People,
about Governours or Government. Yet,
when Ambition, and A ft a wbln f, m
Luxury, m future Ages, certa - tn of R ei i-
would retain, and in- ment was once approved,
creafe the Power, with- ? h ™% r th'er lloughtZp-
OUt doing the Bufinefs, on, for the manner of go-
for which it was given,
Difcretion, which were to Rule, till, by experience, they found
this for all parts very inconvenient , jo as the thing, which they
bad devifed for a Remedy, did indeed but increafe the Sore f
which it (Jmld have cured . They faw, that to live by one
Man’s Will, became the caufe of all Mens mifery. 7*j*
conjhained them to come unto Laws wherein all Men might
fee their Duty beforehand, and know the Penalties of tranjgrcjjir.g
them. Hooker** Eccl. Poi. 1.1. §. io»
, d and
(m)
and aided by Flattery, taught Princes to
have diftinft and feparate Interefts, from
their People j Men found it neceffary to
examine, more carefully, the Original and
Rights of Government; and to find out
ways to reftrain the Exorbitances, and
prevent the Abufes of that Power, which
they having intrufted in another’s hands,
only for their own good, they found, was
made ufe of to hurt them.
1 12. Thus we may fee how probable it
is, that People, that were naturally free,
and, by their own content, either fubmit-
ted to the Government of their Father,
or united together, out of different Fami¬
lies, to make a Government; fhould ge¬
nerally put the Rule into one Man’s hands,
and chute to be under the Conduct of a
fingle Perfon ; without fo much, as by ex-
prefs Conditions, limiting or regulating
his Power, which they thought fafe e-
nough in his Honefty and Prudence.
Though they never dream’d of Monar¬
chy being Jure Divino , which we never
heard of among Mankind, till it was re¬
vealed to us by the Divinity of this laft
Age; nor ever allowed Paternal Power to
have a right to Dominion, or to be the
Foundation of all Government. And thus
much may fuffice to fhew, that, as far as
we have any light from Hifiory, we have
■ reafon
< 345 )
reafbn to conclude, that all peaceful be¬
ginnings of Government have been laid
in the Conlent of the People. I fay peaceful,
becaufe I fball have occafion, in another
[place, to fpeak of Conqueft, which fbme
efteem a way of beginning of Govern¬
ments. f!,
17 he other Objection , 1 find, urged againfl the
beginning of Polities , in the way I have
mentioned , is this , viz.
il?. That all Men being born under
Government , fome or other , it is impofjible any
!( of them (hould ever be free , and at liberty , to
unite together , and begin a new one , or ever be
table to ereff a lawful Government. If this
(Argument be good; I ask, how came fo
1 many lawful Monarchies into the World ?
for if any body, upon this fuppofition,
can fhew me any one Man, in any Age
of the World, free to begin a lawful Mo-
1, narchy; I will be bound to fhew him Ten
(Other free Men at liberty, at the fame
(time, to unite and begin a new Govern-
iment under a Regal, or any other Form.
It being demonftration, that if any one,
born under the Dominion of another, may
be fo free, as to have a right to command
1 others, in a new and diftin£t Empire; eve*
i ry one that is born under the Dominion
of
of another may be fo free too, and may
become a Ruler, or Subjetf, of a diftinffc
leparate Government. And fo by this their
own Principle , either all Men however
born are free, or elfe there is but one law¬
ful Prince, one lawful Government in the
World. And then they have nothing to
do but barely to fhew us which that is.
Which when they have done, I doubt not
but all Mankind will eafily agree to pay
obedience to him.
114. Though it be a fufficient Anfwer
to their Objection to fhew, that it involves
them in the fame difficulties that it doth
thole they ufe it againft; yet I fhall en¬
deavour to difcover the weaknefs of this
Argument a little farther.
All men, fay they, are born under Go¬
vernment, and therefore they cannot be at li¬
berty to begin a new one. Every one is born a
Subject to his Father, or his Prince, and is
therefore under the perpetual tie of Subjection
and allegiance. Tis plain, Mankind ne¬
ver owned nor confidered any fiich natu¬
ral fubje&ion that they were born in, to
one or to the other, that tied them, with¬
out their own contents, to a fubje£fion to
them and their Heirs. J
_ % a * m?
- 11 5. For there are no Examples fo fre¬
quent in Hiftory, both facred and prO-
phane, as thole of Men withdrawing
1J themtelves,'
( 557 )
themfelves, and their Obedience, from,
the Jurifdi&ion they were born under,
and the Family or Community they were
bred up in , and letting up new Govern¬
ments in other places, from whence Iprang
all that number of petty Commonwealths
in the beginning of Ages, and which ab-
ways multiplied as long as there was room
enough, till the ftronger, or more fortu¬
nate fwallow’d the weaker ; and thole
great ones again breaking to pieces, dilTol*
ved into lelfer Dominions. All which are
lb many teftimonies againft paternal So-
veraignty, and plainly prove, That it was
not the natural right of theFather defend¬
ing to his Heirs, that made Governments
in the beginning; fince it was impoffible,
upon that ground, there Ihould have been
lo many little Kingdoms , but only one
univerlal Monarchy, if Men had not been
at liberty to leparate themfelves from
their Families and their Government, be
it what it will that was let up in it, and
go and make diftinft Commonwealths
and other Governments as they thought
fit.
11 6. This has been the pra&ice of the
World from its firft beginning to this day:
aor is it now any more hindrance to the
freedom of Mankind, that they are born
ander conftituted and ancient Polities?
I - Z * that
' . (^8) ; 'J l i
.that have eftablifhed Laws and fet Forms
of Government, than if they were born
in the Woods , amongft the unconfined
Inhabitants that run loofe in them. For
thofe whowould perfwade us,that by being
born under any Government, we are na¬
turally Subjects to it, and have no more
any title or pretence to the freedom of the
ftste of Nature, have no other reafon (ba¬
ting that of Paternal Power, which we
have already anfwer’d) to produce for it,
but only becaufe our Fathers or Progeni¬
tors palfed away their natural Liberty,
and thereby bound up themlelves and their
Pofterity to a perpetual fubjeftion to the
Government, which they themlelves fub-
mittedto. Tis true, that whatever En¬
gagements or Promiles any one made for
himfelf, he is under the obligation of
them, but cannot by any Compact what-
loever, bind his Children or Pofterity.
For his Son, when a Man, being altoge¬
ther as free as the Father, any aft of the
Father can no more give away the liberty
of the Son, than it can of any body elle.
He may indeed annex fuch Conditions to i
the Land he enjoyed , as a Subject of any i
Commonwealth, as may oblige his Son to
be of that Community , if he will enjoy
thole Polfellions which were his Fathers;
becaule that Eftate being his Fathers Pro-
. • petty,
I .( 339 )
jfperty, he may difpofe or fettle it as he
pleales.
117. And this has generally given the
occafion to the miftake in this matter; be-
caufe Commonwealths not permitting any
part of their Dominions to be dilmembred,
nor to be enjoyed by any but thole of their
Community , the Son cannot ordinarily
enjoy the PofTeflions of his Father, but
under the lame Terms his Father did; by
becoming a Member of the Society;
whereby he puts himlelf prelently under
:he Government, he finds there efiablilh-
;d, as much as any other Subjeft of that
Commonweal. And thus the Con lent of
?ree-men, born under Government, which
Dnly makes them Members of it, being
given leparately in their turns, as each
x>mes to be of Age, and not in a muiti-
:ude together; People take no notice of
t, and thinking it not done at ali, or not
leceflary, conclude they are naturally Sub-
efts as they are Men.
118. But, *tis plain,Governments them-
elves underftand it otherwile; they claim
10 Power over the Son,becaule of that they
lad over the Father; nor look on Chih
Wren as being their Subjefts, by their Fa-
hers being lo. If a Subjeft of England
lave a Child, by an Englijb Woman, in
France, whole Subjeft is he? Not the
Z 2 King
f
( 34 °)
King of Englands\ for he muft have
leave to be admitted to the Priviledges
of it. Nor the King of Frame s ; for
how then has his Father a liberty to
bring him away, and breed him as he
pfeafes: and who ever was judged as a
Tray tor or Deferter, if he left, or warr’d
agakft a Countrey, for being barely born
in it of Parents that were Aliens there ?
*Tis plain then, by the Pra&iee of Go¬
vernments ifeemfelves, as well as by the
Law of right Reaion, that a Child is born
a Subjefb of no Country nor Government.
He is under his Father’s Tuition and Au¬
thority, till he come to Age of Difcreti-
©ri; and then he is a Free-man, at liberty
what Government he will put himfelf un¬
der 5 what Body Politick he will unite
himfelf to. For if an Englifh-Man's Son,
horn in Frame, be at liberty, and may do
ib, Tis evident there is no Tye upon him,
by Iris Father s being a Subjefl: of that
Kingdom; nor is he bound up, by any
Ccrapaff of his Anceftors: and why then
hath not his Son, by the fame reafon, the
fame liberty, though he be born any where
etfe! Since the Power that a Father hath
naturally, over his Children, is the fame,
where-ever they be born; and the Tics
of natural Obligations, are not bounded
the pofitive Limits of Kingdoms and
mon wealths. , 119. Every
■' , C?4*)
119. Every Man being, as has been
fhewed, naturally free, and nothing be¬
ing able to put him into fubje&ion to any
earthly Power, but only his own Conlent:
It is to be confidered, what fliall be under-
itood to be a lufficient Declaration of a
Man’s Conlent, to make him fubjeft to
the Laws of any Government. There is
a common diftin&ion of an exprefs, and
a tacit Conlent; which will concern our
prelent Cale. No body doubts but an ex-
prels Conlent, of any Man, entering into
any Society, makes him a perfe£l Mem¬
ber of that Society, a Subject of that Go¬
vernment. The difficulty is, what ought
to be look’d upon as a tacit Conlent, and
how far it binds, i. e. how far any one
ihall be looked on to have contented, and
thereby fubmitted to any Government,
where he has made no Expreffions of it
at all. And to this I lay, that every Man,
that hath any Poffelfion, or Enjoyment,
of any part of the Dominions of any Go¬
vernment, doth thereby give his tacit
iConlent, and is as far forth obliged to
[Obedience to the Laws of that Govern¬
ment, during luch Enjoyment, as any one
under it ; whether this his Poflelfion be of
Land, to him and his Heirs for ever, or
a Lodging only for a Week; or whether
it be barely travelling freely on the High-
Z 3 way;
I
(?4 2 )
way; and, in Effect, it reaches as far as
the very being of any one within the Ter¬
ritories of that Government.
120. To underftand this the better,
it is fit to confider, that every Man, when
he, at firlf, incorporates himfelf into any
Commonwealth, he, by his uniting him¬
felf thereunto, annexed alfo, and fubmits
to the Community thofe PofTeflions, which
5 he has, or fhall acquire, that do not al¬
ready belong to any other Government.
For it would be a direCt Contradiction, for
any one, to enter into Society \fcith others
for the fecuring and regulating of Pro¬
perty: and yet to fuppofe his Land, whofe
Property is to be regulated by the Laws
of the Society, fhould be exempt from the
JurifdiCtion of that Government, to which
he himfelf, and the Property of the Land,
is a SubjeCt. By the fame ACt therefore,
whereby any one unites his Perfbn, which
was before free, to any Commonwealth;
by the fame he unites hisPofTeffions, which
were before free, to it alfo ; and they be¬
come, both of them, Perfbn and Poffeffi-
on, fubjeCt to the Government and Domi¬
nion of that Commonwealth, as long as
it hath a being. Whc-ever therefore, from
thenceforth, by Inheritance,purchafes Per-
miffion, or otherwife enjoys any part of
the Land, fo annext to, and under the
A • ■. ‘ ’.; -. , . Govern^
•J ' (3-4?)
Government of that Commonweal, muft
take it with the Condition it is under; that
!, is, offubmitting to the Government of the
(Commonwealth, under whofeJurifdiftion
i it is, as far forth, as any Subject of it.
121. But fince the Government has a •
dire£t Jurifdi&ion only over the Land,
and reaches- the PofTeffor of it, ['before he
lhas aftually incorporated himfelf in the
‘ Society) only as he dwells upon, and en¬
joys that: the Obligation any one is un-
i der, by Virtue of fiich Enjoyment, to fub-
i mit to the Government, begins and ends
i with the Enjoyment; fo that when-ever
the Owner, who has given nothing but
t fiich a tacit Confent, to the Governt-
iment, will, by Donation, Sale, or other*
i wife, quit the laid PofTefTion : He is at Ut
! berty to go and incorporate himfelf into
any other Commonwealth, or agree with
< others to begin a new one, in vachU locis ,
in any part of the World they can find
Ifree and unpofTeffed : whereas he that has
once, by actual Agreement, and any ex-
prefs Declaration, given his Confent to
1 be of any Commonweal, is perpetually and
indifpenfably obliged to be, and remain
unalterably a Subject to it, and can never be
again in the liberty of the ftate of Nature;
unlefs, by any Calamity, the Government,
he was under, comes to be diffolved.
Z 4 ,122. But
C 344 )
122. But fubmitting to the Laws of
any Countrey; living quietly, and enjoy¬
ing Priviledges and Prote&ion under them,
makes not a Man a Member of that Soci¬
ety ; ’tis only a local Protection and Ho¬
mage due to, and from all thole, who, not
being in a Bate of War, come within the
Territories belonging to any Government,
to all parts whereof the force of its Law
extends. But this no more makes a Man
a Member of that Society , a perpetual
Subject of that Commonwealth ; than it
would make a Man a Subject to another
in whole Family he found it convenient to
abide for Ibme time; though, whilft he
continued in it, he were obliged to comply
with the Laws, and fubmit to the Go¬
vernment he found there. And thus we
fee, that Foreigners, by living all their
Lives under another Government, and en¬
joying the Priviledges and Protection of
it, though they are bound, even in Con¬
fidence, to lubmit to its Adminift ration,
as far forth as any Denilbn; yet do not
thereby come to be Subjects or Members
of that Commonwealth. Nothing can
make any Man lo, but his a&ually enter¬
ing into it by pofitive Engagement, and
exprels Promife and Compaft. This is
that, which I think, concerning the begin¬
ning of Political Societies, and that Con¬
tent
(340
lent which makes any one a Member of
any Commonwealth.
CHAP. IX. -
Of the Ends of Political Society
and Government.
ii 25. TF Man in the ftate of Nature be lo
free as has been (aid; If he be ab-
ifolute Lord of his own Perlon and PoiTef-
I lions, equal to the greateft, and fubjetf
to no Body , why will he part with his
Freedom, this Empire, and fubjefl: him*
llelf to the Dominion and Controul of any
other Power? To which tis obvious to
(Anlwer, that though in the ftate of Na¬
ture he hath fuch a right, yet the Enjoy-
1 ment of it is very uncertain, and conftant-
ly expofed to the Invaiion of others; for
all being Kings as much as he, every Man
his Equal, and the greater part no ftrift
Oblervers of Equity and Juilice; the en¬
joyment of the property he has in this ftate
is veryunlafe, very unfecure. This makes
him willing to quit this Condition, which
however free, is full of fears and continual
dangers: and’tis not without reafon, that
he leeks out, and is willing to join in So¬
ciety with others who are already united,
Ji*. ' or
( 34 6 )
or have a mind to unite for the mutual
pretervation of their Lives, Liberties and
Eftates, which I call by the general name,
Property.
124. The great and chief end therefore,
of Mens uniting into Commonwealths,
and putting tnemtelves under Govern¬
ment,^ the pretervation of their Property.
To which in the ftate of Nature there are
many things wanting.
Firfi , There wants an eftablifh’d, tet-
led, known Law, received and allowed
by common content to be the Standard of
Right and Wrong, and the common mea-
fure to decide ail Controverfies between
them. For though the Law of Nature be
plain and intelligible to all rational Crea¬
tures; yet Men being biaffed by their in-
tereft , as well as ignorant for want of
ftudy of it, are not apt to allow of it as a
Law binding to them in the application of
it to their particular Cates.
12 Secondly , In the State of Nature
there wants a known and indifferent
judge , with Authority to determine all
differences according to the eftablifhed
Law. For every one in that ftate being
both Judge and Executioner of the Law
of Nature, Men being partial to them-
telves, Paffion and Revenge is very apt to
carry them too far , and with too much
( 347 )
heat in their own Cafes, as well as negli¬
gence and unconcernednefs, make them
too remils in other Mens.
126. Thirdly , In the ftate of Nature
there often wants Power to back and fup-
port the Sentence when right, and to give
it due Execution. They who by any
injuftice offended, will feldom fail, where
they are able, by force to make good their
Injuftice ; fitch refiftance many times
makes the punifhment dangerous, and fre¬
quently deftru&ive to thole who at¬
tempt it.
127. Thus Mankind, notwithftanding
all the Priviledges of the ftate of Nature,
being but in an ill condition while they
remain in it, are quickly driven into So¬
ciety. Hence it comes to pafs, that we
feldom find any number of Men live any
time together in this State. The incon-
veniencies that they are therein expofed
to, by the irregular and uncertain exercife
of the Power every Man has of punifhing
the tranfgreftions of others, make them
take Sanctuary under the eftabliflfd Laws
of Government, and therein feek the pre-
fervation of their Property. ’Tis this
i makes them fo willingly give up every
(one his fingle power of punifhing to be
exercifed by fitch alone as fhall be appoin¬
ted to it amongft them; and by fuch Rules
. - as
; (
as the Community, or thofe authorifed by
them, to that purpofe fhall agree on. And
in this we have the original right and rife
of both the Legifiative and Executive
Power, as well as of the Governments
and Societies themfelves.
128. For in the ftate of Nature, to omit
the liberty he has of innocent delights, a
Man has two Powers. The fir ft is to do
whatfbever he thinks fit for the preferva-
tion or hitnfelf and others within the per-
million of the Law of Nature; by which
Law, common to them all, he and all the
reft of Mankind, are one Community,
make up one Society diftinft from all o-
ther Creatures , and were it not for the
corruption and vitioufnefs of degenerate
Men, there would be no need of any et¬
cher, no neceflity that Men fhould fepa-
rate from this great and natural Commu¬
nity, and alfociate into lelfer Combinati¬
ons. The other power a Man has in the
ftate of Nature, is the power to punifh
the Crimes committed againft that Law.
Both thefe he gives up when he joins in
a private, if I may fo call it, or particular
Political Society, and incorporates into
any Commonwealth, feparate from the
reft of Mankind.
129. The fir ft power, viz. of doing
what fee ver he thought fit for the prefer^
. . \ . vation
I f?49 : )
nation of himfelf, and the reft of Mankind,
he gives up to be regulated by Laws made
by the Society, fo far forth as the prefer-
vation of himfelf and the reft of that So¬
ciety fhall require ; which Laws of the
Society in many things confine the liberty
he had by the Law of Nature.
£ 150. Secondly, The power of punching
‘he wholly gives up, and engages his natu¬
ral force, which he might before imploy
in the Execution of the Law of Nature,
by his own fingle Authority, as he thought
fit, to a (Tift theExecutive Power of the So¬
ciety-, as the Law thereof fhall require.
For being now in a new State, wherein he
is to enjoy many Conveniencies from the
labour, affiftance and fociety of others in
the fame Community, as well as protecti¬
on from its whole ftrength ; he is to part
alfo with as much of his natural liberty,
in providing for himfelf, as the good,
profperity and fafety-of the Society fhall
require; which is not only neceffary but
juft, fince the other Members of the So¬
ciety do the like.
151. But though Men when they enter
i into Society, give up the Equality, Liber-
■ ty, and Executive Power they had in the
ftate of Nature, into the hands of the So¬
ciety, to be fb far difpofed of by the Legi-
flative, as the good of the Society fhall re¬
quire ;
I
. ( ^ o)
quire; yet it being only with an intenti¬
on in every one, the better to prelerve
himlelf, his Liberty and Property. (For
no rational Creature can be fuppoled to
change his condition with an intention to
be worfe) the power of the Society, or
Legillative, conftituted by them, can ne¬
ver be fuppos’d to extend farther than the
common good; but is obliged to lecure
every ones Property by providing againft
thole three defeats above-mentioned, that
made the ft ate of Nature lo unlafe and urb*
ealy. And fo whoever has the Legillative
or fupream Power of any Common¬
wealth, is bound to govern by eftablifh’d
ftanding Laws, promulgated and known
to the People , and not by Extemporary
Decrees; By indifferent and uprightjudg-
es, who are to decide Controverfies by
thole Laws. And to imploy the force of
the Community at home, only in the Ex¬
ecution of liich Laws , or abroad to pre¬
vent or redrels Foreign Injuries, and le¬
cure the Community from Inroads and
Invafion. And all this to be direQed to
no other end, but the Peace, Safety, and
publick good of the People.
CHAP.
: (HO- ' - '
/ • * * i , i ji,• - * •
;> • i i . rf X j « | , V, * 4t • -a ^
■ v. i * * t , » 0 *
•k * ** > " Tt ' ^ % ' • . *, ^
& ‘ C H A P, X.
Of the Forms of a Commonwealth.
132. *"1 'H E Majority having, as has
M been fhew’d, upon Mens firft
uniting into Society, the whole power of
the Community, naturally in them, may
imploy all that power in making Laws
for the Community from time to time,
and Executing thole Laws by Officers of
their own appointing; and then the Form
of the Government is a perfe£l Democracy:
Or elfe may put the power of making
Laws into the hands of a few lele£i Men,
and their Heirs or Succeffors ; and then
it is an Oligarchy : Or elle into the hands
of one Man, and then it is a Monarchy: If
to him and his Heirs, it is an Hereditary
Monarchy : If to him only for Life, but
upon > his Death the Power only of nomi¬
nating a Succeffor, to return to them; an
Elective Monarchy. And fo accordingly
of thele make compounded and mixed
Forms of Government, as they think good.
And if the Legiflative Power be at firft
given by the Majority to one or more Per- *
Ions only for their Lives, or any limited
time, and then the Supream Power to re¬
vert to them again; when it is lo reverted,
» ' > 1■ • ’ • the
. , ( *50
the Community may difpole of it again a-
new into what hands they pleafe, and fo
conftitute a new Form of Government.
For the Form of Government depending
upon the placing the Supream Power,
which is the Legiflative, it being impoflk
ble to conceive , that an inferiour Power
fhould prefcribe to a Superiour, or any
but the Supream make Laws, According
as the Power of making Laws is placed,
fuch is the Form of the Commonwealth.
in- B y Commonwealth , I muft be
underftood all along to mean, not a De¬
mocracy, or any Form of Government,
but any Independent Community which
the Latins fignified by the word Civitas ,
to which the word which belt anfwers in
our Language, is Commonwealth, and
moft properly expreffes fuch a Society of
Men, which Community does not, For
there may be fubordinate Communities
in a Government; and City much lels ;
and therefore to avoid ambiguity, I crave
leave to ule the word Commonwealth in
that fence; in which lenfe I find the word
ufed by K. James himlelf, which I think
to be its genuine fignification ; which, if
any Body diflike , I content with ,him to
change it for a better. . -
' V '*.1 CHAP.I
( 353 )
f ? CHAP. XI.
[i> • a m * : j ** m, -
Of the Extent of the Legiflative Power.
134. TTH E great end of Mens enter-
1 in g into Society, being the en-
joyment of their Properties in Peace and
Safety , and die great inftrument and
means of that being the Laws eftablifh’d
in that Society : The firft and fundamen¬
tal pofitive Law of all Commonwealths,
is the eftablilhing of the Legiflative Power,
is the firft and fundamental natural Law
which is to govern even the Legiflative:
t felf is the preservation of the Society,
ind (as far as will confift with the publick
jood) of every perfoninit. This Legifla-
:iye is not only the liipream power of the
Homraon wealth, but lacred and unalter-
ible in the hands where the Community
lave once placed it; nor can any Edict
)t any Body elfe, in what form foever
conceived, or by what Power foever
lacked, have the force and obligation of
i’Law, which has not its Sanction from
hat Legiflative which the publick has
holen and appointed : for without this
he Law could not have that which is ab- '
blutely necellary to its being a Law, the
onlent of the Society, over whom no ’
T ; A a ‘ Body
(M4> f ]
The lawful Power of Body can have a power
SSSJ to make Laws but by
men, belonging fo properly their own conient, and
by Authority received
from them; and there¬
fore all the Obedience,
which by the moft fb-
lemn ties any one can
be obliged to pay, ulti¬
mately , terminates in
this Supream Power,!
and is directed by thofe
Laws which it enaQs;
nor can any Oaths to
any Foreign Power
whatfoever, or any Do-
meftick fubordinate
Power, dilcharge any
to command whole politic^ of the Society
multitudes of Men, there- r , . i • _ v*
fore utterly without our from hlS ObCulCIlCC tO
the Legi dative , a£ting
purfuant to their truft,
nor oblige him to any
Obedience contrary to
the Laws fo enafted, or
farther than they do al¬
low ; it being ridiculous
to imagine one can be ti¬
ed ultimately to obey a-
ny Power in the Society
which is not the Supream. , h
135. Though
unto the fame intire Socie¬
ties, that for any Prince
or Potentate of what kind
fever upon Earth, to ex-
ercife the fame of himfelf,
and not by exprefs Commif-
fun, immediately andper-
finally. received from God,
or elfe by authority derived
at the firft from their con-
fent, upon whofe perf ns
they impofe Laws, it is no
better than meer Tyranny .
Laws they are not there¬
fore which publicly appro¬
bation hath not made fo •
HookerV Eccl. Pol. 1. 1 .
§. 1 o. Of this point there¬
fore we are to note, that
fttb Men naturally have
m fuU and perfeZi Power
Confent, we could in fuch
fort be at no Mans Com¬
mandment living . And to
be commanded we do con¬
fent when that Society,
whereof we be a part,hath
at any time before confen-
ted, without revoking the
fame after by the like uni-
verfal agreement .
Laws therefore human,
of what kind foever, are
available by confent . Ibid,
4
( )
f 135. Though the Legiflative, whether
placed in one or more, whether it be al¬
ways in being, or only by intervals,though
it be the Supream Power in every Com¬
monwealth ; yet, it is not, nor can
polfibly be abiolutely Arbitrary, over the
Lives and Fortunes of the People. For it
being but the joint power of every Mem¬
ber of the Society given up to that perfon,
or Affembly, which is Legiflator; it can
be no more than thole perlons had in a
(fate of Nature before they enter’d into
Society, and gave it up to the Communi¬
ty. For no Body can transfer to another
more power than he has in himlelf; and
no Body has an ablolute Arbitrary Power
Dver himlelf, or over any other, to de-
(froy his own Life, or take away the Life
ar Property of another. A Man, as has -
aeen proved, cannot lubjeft himfelf to the
Arbitrary Power of another ; and having
n the Bate of Nature no Arbitrary Power
)ver the Life, Liberty, or PolTeffion of
mother, but only fo much as the Law of
Slature gave him for the prelervation of
limlelf, and the reft of Mankind ; this is -
ill he doth, or can give up to the Com-
nonwealth , and by it to the Legiflative
?owen, fo that the Legitlative can have
to more than this. Their Power in the ut-
noft bounds of it, is limited to the pub-
s] ■. ■■ . ° [ A a 2 lick
()
lick good of the Society. It is a Power
that hath no other end but prelervation,
therefore can never
have a right to deftroy,
enfiave, or defignedly
to impoverifh the Sub¬
jects; the obligations of
the Law of Nature ceale
not in Society, but on-
. 7 .. ly in many Gales are
which we call the Law of a d rawn elder, and have
Coinmonwealjhe'ierySoHl . ,• T .
of a poiitki^Body,the parts by humanLaws.known
Penalties annexed to
Two Foundations there
tcre which bear up public ^
Societies , the one a natural
inclinationhereby all Aten
defire Jociable Life and
Fellow(Jnp\ the other anOr-
der , exprefly orfecretly a-
geeeduponjouchingtbeman-
ner of their union in In ing
together * 5 the latter is that
whereof are by Law ant
mated , held together , and
fet on wo>\ in fuch actions
at the common good requi¬
red). Laws politicor¬
dain d for external order
and regiment amongfl Men 9
are never framed as they
ftmldbe , unlefs prefuming
the will of Man to be in¬
wardly obftinate , rebelli¬
ons , and aveife from all
obedience to the Caered
0
Laws of his nature *, in a
word , unlefs pre fuming
Man to be in regard of his
depraved Mind , little bet¬
ter than a wild Be aft ,t hey
do accordingly provide not-
withjianding , fo to frame
his outward aft mis^ that
they be no hindrance unto
the common good for which
Societies are tnftituted,
Vniefs they do this they are
not perfett . HookerV Ec»
Pol.l, l t §v lO.
them, to inforce their
obfervation. Thus the
Law of Nature Hands
as an Eternal Rule to all
Men, Legifiators as well
as others. The Rules
that they make for o-
ther Mens a£lions,muft
as well as their own,
and other Mens addons,
be conformable to the
Law of Nature, e. to
the will of God, of
which that is a Declara¬
tion, and the fundamen¬
tal Law of Nature be¬
ing the prelervation of
Mankind, no humane
. Sanction
( 357 )
Sanftion can be good or valid againll it.
i $6. Secondly , The Legiflative, or Su-
oream Authority, cannot aflume to its
; elf a power to Rule by extemporary Ar¬
bitrary Decrees, but is ■■■■
bound to difpenle Ju-
ftice , and decide the
Rights of the Subject
by promulgated Rand-
ing Laws, and known
Authoris'd Judges. For
the Law of Nature be¬
ing unwritten , and fo
no where to be found
but in the minds, of
Men,they who through
Paflionor Interefffhall
mil-cite,or milapply it,
cannot lo eafily be con¬
vinced of their miftake
where there is no eftablillfd Judge: and
jfo it lerves not as it ought, to determine
the Rights, and fence the Properties of
thole that live under it, efpecially where
every one is Judge, Interpreter, and Exe¬
cutioner of it too,and that in his ownCafe:
and he that has right on his fide,having or*
dinarily but his own fingle ftrength, hath
not force enough to defend himlelf from
Injuries, or puniflh Delinquents. To avoid
thele Inconveniencies which -dilorder
v A a 5 Mens
Humane I. aws are mea-
fures in rejpeft of Men
rvhofe a$ions they mud di-
reft, bow be it fuck mea-
jures they are as have alfi
their higher Rules to be
meafwed by , which Rules
are two, the Law of God ,
and the Law of Nature j
fo that Laws humane mud
be made according to the
general Laws of Nature>
and without contradiction
to any pofttive Law of Seri-
pture , otherwife they are
ill made. Ibid . 1 .3. § 9.
To conftrain Men to any
thing inconvenient doth
feem wire a finable. Ibid,
1 . 1. 1 o.
( 558 )
Mens Properties in the Hate of Nature,
Men unite into Societies, that they may
have the united Hrength of the whole So¬
ciety to Secure and defend their Properties,
and may have Handing Rules to bound it,
by u’hich every one may know w'hat is
his. To this end it is trat Men give up
all their natural power to the Society they
enter into, and the Community put the
Legislative Power into Such hands as they
think fit, with this truR, that they fhall
be govern’d by declared Law's, or elle their
Peace, Quiet and Property, will Rill be at
the lame uncertainty as it w r as in the Hate
of Nature. • :
13 7. Abfolute Arbitrary Pow 7 er, or Go¬
verning without fetled Handing Law's,can
neither of them confiR with the ends of
Society and Government , which Men
would not quit the freedom of the Hate of
Nature for, and tie themfelves up under, '
were it not to preferve their Lives, Liber¬
ties and Fortunes; and by Hated Rules of
Right and Property to Secure their Peafce
i^nd Quiet. It cannot be Suppos’d, that
they Should intend, had they a power So
to do, to give any one or more an abso¬
lute Arbitrary Power over their Perfons
and EHates, and put a force into the Ma-
gifirates hand to execute his unlimited
Will arbitrarily upon them: this were to
put
I V. - (?59>
jut themfelves into a worfe condition maa
:he ftate of Nature, wherein they had a
Liberty to defend their Right againft the
Injuries of others, and were upon equal
terms of force to maintain it, whether h>
yaded by a fingle Man, or many in Com¬
bination. Whereas by fuppofingthey have
given up themfelves to the ablblute Arbi¬
trary Power and Will of a Ltgifiator, they
have difarmed themfelves, and armed him
to make a prey of them when he pleafesi
He being in a much worfe condition, that
is expofed to the Arbitrary Power of one
Man who has the Command of ioogoc.
than he that is expos’d to the Arbitrary
Power of iooooo. fingle Men, no Boay
being fecure, that his Will, who has fuch
a Command, is better than that of other
Men, though his Force be i oooco. times
ftronger. And therefore whatever Form
the Commonwealth is under, the Ruling
Power ought to govern by declared and
received Laws, and not by extempory di¬
lates and undetermin’d Refblutions. For
then Mankind will be in a far worfe con¬
dition than in the ftate of Nature, it they
fhail have armed one or a few Men with
the joint power of a multitude, to force
them to obey at pleafure the exorbitant
and unlimited decrees of their hidden
thoughts , or u^rertrain’d , and till that
A a 4 moment
( l&°)
moment unknown Wills without having j
any meafures Let down which may guide \
and juftifie their actions.For all the power
the Government has,- being only for the
good of the Society, as it ought not to be
Arbitrary and at Fleafure: fo it ought to
be exercifed by eftablifhed and promulga¬
ted Laws j that both the People may
know their Duty, and be fafe and fecure
within the limits of the Law, and the Ru¬
lers too kept within their due bounds, and
not be tempted by the power they have in
their hands to imploy it to purpofes, and
by fuch meafures as they would not have
known, and own not willingly.
138. Thirdly , The SupreamPower can¬
not take from any Man any part of his
Property without his own content. For
the pretervation of Property being the end
of Government, and that for which Men
enter into Society, it necelfarily fuppotes
and requires, that the People fhould have
Property, without which they muft be
jfuppos d to lote that by entering into So¬
ciety, which was the end for which they
entered into it. Too grols an abfurdity for
any Man to own. Men therefore in Society
having Property , they have fuch a r;ght
to the goods, which by the Law of the
Community are theirs, that no Bod v hath
a right to take them, or ^iy part of them,
' f i
( )
from them, without? their own confent;
without this they have no Property at all.
For I have truly no Property in that which
another can by right take from me when
he pleafes, againft my confent. Bence it
is a miftake to think, that the Supream or
Legiflative Power of any Commonwealth,
can do what it will, and difpofe of the
Elfates of the Subjebf arbitrarily, or take
any part of them at pleafure. This is not
much to be fear’d in Governments where
the Legiflative confifts wholly or in part
in AlTemblies which are variable , whole
Members upon the diffolution of the Af-
fembly , are Subjebts under the common
Laws of their Country, equally with the
reft. But in Governments, where the Le¬
giflative is in one lafting Alfembly, always
in being, or in one Man , as in abfolute
Monarchies , there is danger ftill, that
they will think themfelves to have a di-
ftinQ: intereft from the reft of the Com¬
munity , and lb will be apt to increafe
their own Riches and Power by taking
what they think fit from the People. For
a MansProperty is not at all fecure,though
there be good and equitable Laws to let the
bounds of it between him and his f ellow
Subje&s, if he who commands thole Sub-
je£ts, have power to take from any pri¬
vate Man what part he pleales of his Pro-
., . perty.
C )
perty, and ufe and difpofe of it as he
thinks good. ; ,
159. But Government into whofefeever
hands it is put, being as I have before
fhew’d, intrufted with this condition,
and for this end , that Men might have
and fecure their Properties, the Prince or
Senate, however it may have power to
make Laws for the regulating of Property
between the Subje&s one amongft another,
yet can never have a Power to take to
themfelves the whole, or any part of the
Subjects Property , without their own
confent. For this would be in effect to
leave them no Property at all. And to let
us fee, that even abfolute Power, where
it is neceflary, is not arbitrary by being
abfelute, but is ftill limited by that reafen,
and confined to thofe ends which requi¬
red it in iome Cafes to be abfolute, we
need look no farther than the common
practice of Martial Difeipline. For the
prefer vn tion of the Army, and in it of the
whole Commonwealth, requires an ablo*
lute Obedience to the Command of every j
fuperiour Officer, and it is juftly Death to
difobey or difpute the moft dangerous or
unreafonable of them ; but yet we fee,
that neither the Serjeant that could com¬
mand a Souldier to march up to the mouth
of a Cannon, or ftand in a Breach where
he
(?« 3 )
ie is almoft fure to perifh ; can command
hat Souldier to give him one penny of his
noney •• nor the General that can con-
lemn him to Death for delerting his Poll,
>r not obeying the moll: defperateOrders,
:annot yet with all his abfolute Power of
Jfe and Death, dilpofe of one Farthing
)f that Souldiers Eftate, or feize one jot
}f his Goods; whom yet he can command
my thing , and hang for the lead: difobe-
lience. Becaufe liich a blind Obedience is
\ _
tecelfary to that end for which the Com¬
mander has his Power , viz,, the prefer-
/ation of the reft, but the difpofing of his
Toods has nothing to do with it.
140. ’Tis true* Governments cannot be
imported without great Charge, and ’tis
it every one who enjoys his fhare of the
Protection, fhould pay, out of hisEftate,
lis proportion for the maintenance of it.
3 ut ftilfit muftbe with his own Confent,
e. the Confent of the Majority, giving
t either by themfelves , or their Repres¬
entatives chofen by them ; for if any one
Fall claim a Power to lay and levy Taxes
Dn the People, by his own Authority, and '
without Rich confent of the People, he
:hereby invades the Fundamental Law of
Property, and fubverts the end of Govern¬
ment. For what property have I in that
Which another may by rigl!t take when lie
pleafes to himfelf. 141.
✓
transfer the Power of making Laws to
any other hands, for it being but a dele¬
gated Power from the People, they who
have it cannot pals it over to others. The
People alone can appoint the Form of the
Commonwealth, which is by Conftuuting'
the Legiflative, and appointing in whole
hands that fhall be. And when the People'
have laid, We will fubmit,andbe govern’d
by Laws made by fuch Men, and in fuch
Forms; no Body elle can fay other Men
fhall make Laws for them : nor can they
be bound by any Laws but fuch as are
Enafted by thofe whom they have Cho-
len, and Authorifed to make Laws lor
them. ' jV'
142. Thele are the Bounds which the
truft that is put in them by the Society,
and the Law of God and Nature, have let
to the Legiflative Power of every Com¬
monwealth, in all Forms of Government:
Firflr, They are to govern by^promulga-
ted eftablifh’d Laws, not to be varied in
particular Cafes, but to have one Rule
for Rich and Poor , for the Favourite at
Cniirf-. and fhe rinunfrw Man nr Plnnrrh
( 3 ^ 5 )
he People , without the Conlent of the
>eople, given by themlelves, or their De¬
ities. And this properly concerns only
uch Governments where the Legiflative
5 always in being, or at leaft where the
>eople have not relerv'd any part of the
xgiflative to Deputies, to be from time
o time cholen by themlelves. Fourthly,
^egiflative neither muft nor can transfer
he Power of making Laws to any Body
•He, or place it any where but where the
J eople have.
CHAP. XII.
If the Legiflative , Executive , and Federa¬
tive Power of the Commonwealth.
143. E Legiflative Power is that
f w'hich has a right to direct
how the Force of the Commonwealth
fhall be imploy’d for prelervingthe Com¬
munity and the Members of it. Becaule
thole Laws which are conftantly to be
Executed, and whole Force is always to
continue, may be made in a little time;
therefore there is no need that the Legifla¬
tive fhould be always in being, not ha¬
ving always bulinels to do. And becaule
it may be too great temptation to humane
frailty,
. ( )
^ frailty, apt to grafp at Power, for the
fame Perfons who have the Power of ma¬
king Laws., to have alfo in their hands
the power to execute them, whereby
they may exempt themfelves from Obedi¬
ence to the Laws they make, and lint the
Law, both in its making and execution,
to their own private advantage, and there¬
by come to have a diftinQ: intereft from
the reft of the Community, contrary to
the end of Society and Government.
Therefore in well Order’d Common¬
wealths, where the good of the whole is
fo confidered as it ought, the Legiflative
Power is put into the hands of divers Per-
fons, who duly Aflembled, have by them¬
felves, or jointly with others, a Power to
make Laws, which when they have done,
being feparated again, they are themfelves
fubjeft to the Laws they have made ;
which is a new and near tie upon them to
take care that they make them for the
publick good.
144. But becaufe the Laws that are at
once, and in a fhort time made, have a
conftant and lafting force, and need a per¬
petual Execution, or an attendance there¬
unto: Therefore ’tis neceffary there fhould
be a Power always in being, which fhould
fee to the Execution of the Laws that are
made, and remain in force. And thus
.< ; u 1 , . the
r
C 3«7 )
:he Legiflative and Executive Power come
jften to be leparated.
145. There is another Power in every
Commonwealth, which one may call na¬
tural, becauft it is that which anfwers to
the Power every Man naturally had before
be entered into Society. For though in a
Commonwealth the Members of it are di-
ftin£t Perlons ftill in reference to one ano¬
ther , and as 1'uch are governed by the
Laws of the Society ; yet in reference to
the reft of Mankind, they make one Body,
which is, as every Member of it before
was, ftill in the ftate of Nature with the
reft of Mankind : lo that the Controver-
fies that happen between any Man of the
Society with thole that are out of it, are
managed by the publick; and an injury
done to a Member of their Body, engages
the whole in the reparation of it. So that
under this confideration, the whole Com¬
munity is one Body in the ftate of Nature,
in refpeft of all other States or Perlons out
of its Community.
146. This therefore contains the Power
of War and Peace, Leagues and Alliances,
and all the Tranla£tions, with all Perlons
and Communities without the Common¬
wealth, and may be called Federative, if
any one pleales. So the thing be under-
ftood, I am indifferent as to the name. 4
147. Theft
0*8 >
147- Thefe two Powers, Bxecutiveand
Federative, though they be really diftinft
in themfelves, yet one comprehending the
Execution of the Municipal Laws of the
Society within its felf, upon all that are
parts of it; the other the management of
thelecurity and intereftof the publick with¬
out, with all thole, that it may receive be¬
nefit or damage from, yet they are always
almoft united. And though this Federa¬
tive Power in the well or ill management
of it be of great moment to the Common¬
wealth, yet it is much lels capable to be
directed by antecedent, Handing, pofitive
Laws, than the Executive; and lo mull
necelfarily be left to the Prudence and
Wildom of thole whole hands it is in, to
be managed for the publick good. For the
Laws that concern Subjects one amongft
another, being to direct their a&ions,
may well enough precede them. But what
is to be done in reference to Foreigners,
depending much upon their actions, and
the variation of defigns and interefts mult
be left in great part to the Prudence of
thole who have this Power committed to
them, to be managed by the beft of their
Skill for the advantage of the Common¬
wealth. ra i
148. Though, as I laid, the Executive
and Federative Power of every Commu¬
nity
]£ : (' 3 ^ 9 )
nity be really diftinft in themfelves, yet
they are hardly to be feparated and placed
at the lame time in the hands of diftinft
PerfonSi For both of them requiring the
force of the Society for their exercife, it
is almoft impracticable to place the Force
of the Commonwealth in diftinft, and not
fubordinate hands; or that the Executive
and Federative Power fbould be placed in
Perlons that might aft feparately, where¬
by the Force of the publick would be un¬
der different Commands, which would be
apt fometime or other to caufe difbrder
and ruin.
CHAP. XIII.
i • * *"* t ’ / * * * • * * * *. S •
* • *1 . "
Of the Subordination of the Powers of
the Commonwealth .
• •
149- ^1 'Hough in a Conftituted Com-
1 monwealth, Handing upon its
own Baiis,and afting according to its own
nature, that is, afting for the prefervati-
on of the Community , there can be but
one Supream Power, which is the Legilla-
tive, to which all the reft are and mult
be fubordinate, yet the Legiflative being
only a Fiduciary Power to aft for certain
snds, there remains ftill in the People a
v •> * B b Supream
($ 7 °)
Supream Power to remove or alter theLe-
giflative, when they find the Legiflative
aft contrary to the truft repoled in them.
For all Power given with truft for the at¬
taining an end, being limited by that end,
whenever that endismanifeftly neglected,
or oppofed, the truft muft neceftarily be
forfeited, and the Power devolve into the
hands of thole that gave it , who may
place it a-new where they fhall think belt
for their fafety and fecurity. And thus
the Community perpetually retains a Su¬
pream Power of having themfelves from
the attempts and defigns of any Body,eyeni
of their Legiflators, whenever they fhall
be fo foolifh, or fo wicked, as to lay and!
carry on defigns againft the Liberties and
Properties of the Subjed. For no Man or
4 * . Society of Men, having a Power to deli¬
ver up their Prefervation, or conlecjuent-
ly the means of it; to the abfolute Will,
and arbitrary Dominion of another; when
ever any one fhall go about to bring them
into fuch a Slavifh Condition, they wilij
always have aright to preferve what they
have not a Power to part with; and to
rid themfelves of thole who invade this
Fundamental , Sacred , and unalterable
Law of Self-Prefervation, for which they
enter’d into Society. And thus the Com¬
munity may be laid in this relped, to be
- always
,
d
r
(m)
always the Supream Power, but not as
confidered under any Form of Govern-,
ment, becaule this Power of the People
can never take place till the Government
be dilFolv'd.
150. In all Cafes, whilft the Govern¬
ment fublifts , the Legiflative is the lu-
pream Power. For what can give Law^
to another muft needs be. fuperiour to
him ; and fince the Legiflative is no other-
wile Legiflative of the Society, but by the
right it has to make Laws for all the parts,
and every Member of the Society prelcri-
bing Rules to their actions , and giving
aower of Execution where they aretranF
^refled, the Legiflative muft needs be the
Supream , and all other Powers in any
Members or parts of the Society, derived
from and fubordinate to it. ;
1 ; V J. • or
( 17 s )
of fome, who being prefent, and acquain- i
ted with the date of. publick affairs,
might make ufe of this Prerogative for
the publick good ? And where elfe could
this be fb well placed as in his hands who
was intruded with the Execution of the
Laws for the fame end ? Thus fuppofmg
the regulation of times for the Affemblingj
and Sitting of the Legiflative, not fetled
by the original Conftitution, it naturally
fell into the hands of the Executive; not
as an Arbitrary Power depending on his
good pleafure, but with this truft always
to have it exerciled only for the publick
Weal, as the Occurrences of times and
change of affairs might require. Whether
letled periods of their Convening, or a
liberty left to the Prince for Convoking
the Legiflative, or perhaps a mixture of
both, hath the lead inconvenience attend¬
ing it, S tis not my bufinefs here to inquire,
but only to Ihew, that though the Execu¬
tive Power may have the Prerogative of
Convoking and dilfolving fuch Conventi¬
ons of the Legiflative, yet it is not there¬
by fuperiour to it.
157. Things of this World are in fo
conftant a Flux, that nothing remains
long in the lame State. Thus People,
Riches, Trade, Power, change their Sta¬
tions ; flourifhing mighty Cities come to
• ' ' ■ ; •" ruine.
j ' (?79)
uine, and prove in time neglefted defo-
ate Corners, whilft other unfrequented
places grow into populous Countries,fill’d
vith Wealth and Inhabitants. • But things
lot always changing equally, and private
ntereft often keeping up Cuftoms and Pri-
Pledges when the realons of them are cea¬
sed, it often comes to paks* thatinGovern-
nents, where part of the Legiflative con-
fifts of Reprefentatives cholen by the Peo¬
ple, that in traft of time, this Reprelen-
:ation becomes very unequal and dilpro-
aortionate to the realons it was at firft
iftablilh’d upon. To what grols abfur-
dities the following of Cuftom when Rea-
fon has left it may lead, we may be latif-
5ed when we lee the bare name of a Town,
if which there remains not lo much as the
•uins, where Icarce lo much Houfing as
i Sheepcoat, or more Inhabitants than a
shepherd is to be found , lend as many
Reprefentatives to the grand Alfembly of
Law-makers, as a whole County nume¬
rous in People,and powerful in riches. This
Strangers ftand amazed at, and every one
muft confels needs a remedy. Though mod
think it hard to find one, becaule the Con-
ftitution of the Legiflative being the ori¬
ginal and fupream aft of the Society, an¬
tecedent to all pofitive Laws in it, and de¬
pending wholly on the People, no inferi-
our
(j8o)
our Power can alter it. And therefore the
People, when theLegiflative isonceCon-
ftituted,having in fiich aGovernment as we
have been fpeabing of, no Power to ad as
long as the Government ftands; this in¬
convenience is thought incapable of a re*
medy.
158 . Sains Populi Supremo. Lex , is cer*
tainly fo juft and fundamental a Rule, that
he who fincerely follows it cannot dan*
geroufly err. If therefore the Executive,
who has the Power of Convoking the Le-
giflative, obferving rather the true propor¬
tion than fafhion of Reprelentation, regu¬
lates not by old cuftom, but true reafbn,
the number of Members, in all places, that
have a right to be diftindly reprefented,
which no part of the People, however in¬
corporated , can pretend to ; but in pro¬
portion to the a ill ft a nee which it affords
to the publick, it cannot be judg’d to have
let up a new Legiflative, but to have re-
ftored the old and true one, and to have
re&ified the diforders which lucceflidn of
time had . inienfibly as well as inevitably
introduced ; for it being the intereft as
well as intention of the People to have a
fair and equal Reprelentative ; whoever
brings it neareft to that, is an undoubted
Friend to, and Eftablifher of the Govern¬
ment, and cannot mils the Content and
Approbation
( 3 g O)
Approbation of the Community. Preroga-
ive being nothing butaPower in the hands
)f thePrince to provide for the publick good,
n filch Cafes, which depending upon un-
orefeen and uncertain Occurrences, cer-
ain and unalterable Laws could not fafely
lireCt. Whatfbever fhall be done mani-
eftly for the good of the People, and efta*
difhing the Government upon its true
foundations, is, and always will be, juft
derogative. The Power of Erebling new
Corporations, and therewith new Repre¬
sentatives , carries with it a fuppofition,
:hat in time, the mealiires of reprefenta-
:ion might vary , and thofe have a juft
right to be reprefented which before had
none; and by the fame reafon, thole ceafe
;o have a right, and be too inconfiderable
for fuch a priviledge which before had it.
Tis not a Change from the prefent State
which perhapsCorruptionor decay has in¬
troduced, that makes an Inroad upon the
Government,but the tendency of it to injure
or opprefs the People, and to fet up one
part or Party with a diftincfion from, and
an unequal lubjebtion of the reft. What¬
fbever cannot but be acknowledged to be
of advantage to the Society and People i^
general, upon juft and lafting meafures,
will always, when done, juftify it felf;
and whenever the People fhall chufe their
* . ' Reprefentatives
082 )
Reprefentatives upon juft and undeniably
equal meafures , fuitable to the originals
Frame of the Government, it cannot be
doubted to be the will and a£t of the So¬
ciety , whoever permitted or propos’d to
them fo to do. v ;
* • i f
■ i ----—_ ■
? ’.’y/iJ' w . . * e % . f
CHAP. XIV.
. , ' ,*
<~i l v_ ' ) * -. , v | | j
Of Prerogative.
'■'pjt ' .* • l •
w * 'vr t •* fi * =• •»«" * J »• rl* /fv 9 i
159. \ 71 7 Here the Legiflative and Ex-
y V ecutive Power are.in diftin£t
hands,asthey are in all moderatedMonar-
chies and well-framed Governments, there
the good of the Society requires, that le-
veral things fhould be left to the difcre-
tion of him that has the Executive Power.
For the Legiflators not being able to fore¬
fee and provide, by Laws, for all that
may be ufeful to the Community, the Ex¬
ecutor of the Laws having the power in
his hands, has by the common Law of
Nature, a right to make ufe of it for the
good of the Society, in many Cafes where
the municipal Law has given no directi¬
on, till the. Legiflative can conveniently
be Affembled to provide for it; nay many
things there are which the Law can by no
means provide for, and thofe muft neceL
' farily i
()
arily be left to the dilcretion of him that
ias the Executive Power in his hands, to
De ordered by him as the publick good and
idvantage fhall require ; nay, ’tis fit that
:he Laws themlelves, fhould in Ibme Ca-
es, give way to the Executive Power, or
:ather to this Fundamental Law of Nature
ind Government, viz. That as much as
may be, all the Members of the Society
ire to be preferved. For fince many acci-
lents may happen wherein a ftridl and ri-
?id obiervation of the Laws may do harm,
is not to pull down an innocent Mans
Houle to Itop the Fire when the next to
t is burning; and a Man may come Ibme-
rimes within the reach of the Law, which
makes no diftin&ion of Perlons , by an
iftion that may deferve reward and par¬
don. ’Tis fit theRuler fhould have aPower
in many Cafes to mitigate the leverity of
the Law, and pardon lome Offenders, li nee
:he end of Government, being the preler-
vation of all as much as may be, even the
guilty are to be Ipared where it can prove
no prejudice to the innocent,
i ■ 160. This Power to a ft according to
dilcretion for the publick good , without
the prelcription of theLaw, and lometimes
even againft it, is that which is called Pre¬
rogative ; for fince in lome Governments
the Law-making Power is not always in
jr ' ' being,
( I 8 4 )
being, and is ufually too numerous, and
fo too flow for the difpatch requifite to
Execution; and becaufe alfo it is impoffi-
ble to forefee, and fo by Laws to provide
for all accidents and neceflities that may
concern the publick, or make fuch Laws
as will do no harm, if they are Executed
with an inflexible rigour on all occafions,]
and upon aiiPerlbnsthat may come in their
way , therefore there is a latitude left to
the Executive Power, to do many things
of choice which the Laws do not pre-
Icribe. i
i < 5 1. This Power whilft imployed for
the benefit of the Community, and fuit-
ably to the truft and ends of the Govern*
ment, is undoubted Prerogative, and ne¬
ver is queftioned. For the People are very
leldom, or never fcrupulous or nice in the
point,or queftioning of Prerogative,whilft
it is in any tolerable degree imploy’d for
the ule it was meant, that is, the good of
the People, and not manifeftly againft it.
But if there comes to be a queftion between
the Executive Power and the People,about
a thing claimed as a Prerogative ; the ten¬
dency of the exercife of fuch Prerogative,
to the good or hurt of the People, will
eafily decide that queftion.
162. It is eafy to conceive, that in the
Infancy of Governments, whenCommon-
* wealths I
(385)
■» •
wealths differed little from Families in
number ofPeople, they differ’d from them
too,but little in number of Laws : and the
Sovernours being as the Fathers of them,
watching over them for their good, the
Government was almoft all Prerogative.
A few eftablifh’d Laws ferved the turn,
ind the dilcretion and care of the Ruler
iipply’d the reft. But when miftake or
lattery prevailed with weak Princes, to
nake ufe of this Power for private ends-of
heir own, and not for the publick good,
:he people were fain by exprefs Laws, to
;et Prerogative determin’d in thofe points
vherein they found difadvantage from it.*
Ind declared limitations of Prerogative
n thofe Cafes which they and their An-
eftors had left in the utmoft latitude, to
he Wifdom of thofe Princes who made no
ther but a right ufe of it, that is, for the
;ood of their People.
163. And therefore they have a very
vrong notion of Government, who fay,'
hat the People have incroach’d upon the
derogative when they have got any part
if it to be defined by pofitive Laws. For
1 fo doing they have not pulled from the
dince any thing that of right belong’d to
im, but only declared, that that Power
vhich they indefinitely left in him, or his
inceftors hands, to be exercifed for their
: ' C c . good.
I
(3S6)
good, was not a thing they intended him,
rwhgu he ufed if otherwise. For. the End
of Government being the good of the
Community, whatfbever alterations are
made in it, tending to that end, cannot
be an incroachment upon any body; finoe
no body, in Government, can have a right
tending to any otlier end. And thofe qnfyj
are incroachments which prejudice or hin¬
der the pib.'ick good. Thofe who fay
other wile, (peak as if the Prince had a di-
ifinei and feparate Interefi: from the good
Of the ColS^unity, and was not made
for it. Xhe Root and Source from which
fpring slmoft all thofe Evils and Difbr-
ders, which happen in Kingly Govern¬
ments.. And indeed, if that be fo, the
People, under his Government, are not a
Society of Rational. Creatures, entered in¬
to a Cooimunity, for their mutual good,
filch as have let Rulers over themfelves,
to guard and promote that good; but are
to be looked on as an Herd of inferiour
Creatures, under the Dominion of a Ma¬
iler, who keeps them, and works them,
for his own Pleafure or Profit. If Men
were fo void t of Reafon, and brucifh, as
to enter into Society upon fuch Terms,
Prerogative might indjeed be, what fome
Men would have it, an Arbitrary Power
to do things hurtful to tfie People.
■j 164. But
( )
164. But fince a Rational Creature can-
ot be fuppoled, when free, to put him-
df into Subje&ion to another, for his
wn harm: (though where he finds a good
nda wife Ruler, he may not, perhaps,
link it either necefiary or ufeful to fet
recile Bounds to his Power in all things)
’rerogative can be nothing but the Peo-
les permitting their Rulejrs to do feveral
lings of their own free choice, where
le Law was filent, and lometimes too
gainft the direct Letter of the Law, for
>e publiek good, and their acquielcing in
when lo done. For as a good Prince,
'ho is mindful of the truft put into his
inds, and careful of the good of his Peo-
!e, cannot have too much Prerogative,
latis, Power to do good: So a weak
id ill Prince, who would claim that
ower his Predeceffors exerciled, without
le direction of the Law, as a Prerogative
donging to him by Right of his Of*
:e, which he may exercife at his plealure,
► make or promote an Intereft diftincd
om that of the publiek, gives the Peo-
e an occafion to claim their Right, and
nit that Power, which, whiilt it was
[ercifrd for their good,, they were cou¬
nt fhould be tacitly allowed.
165. And therefore he that will look
to til? Hifiory of England will find that
C c 2 Prero-
088 }
Prerogative was always largeft in the
hands of our wifeft and beft Princes: Be-
caufe the People oblerving the whole ten¬
dency of their Aftions to be the publick
, good, or if any humane frailty or miftake
( for Princes are but Men, made as others)
appear’d in fbme fmall declinations from
that end; yet 7 twas vifible, the main of
their Conduct tended to nothing but the
care of the publick. The People there¬
fore finding reafon to be fatisfied with
thefe Princes, whenever they afted with¬
out, or contrary to the Letter of the Law,
acquiefced in what they did, and without
the leaft complaint, let them inlarge their
Prerogative as they pleafed,judging rightly
that they did nothing herein to the preju¬
dice ofthcirLaws/incethey a£ted conform-!
able to the Foundation and End of all!
Laws, the publick good. i! ' J
166. Such God-like Princes indeed had
fbme Title to Arbitrary Power, by that
Argument that would prove Abfolute Mo¬
narchy the bell Government,as that which
God himfelf governs the Univerfeby, be-
caufe fuch Kings partake of his Wifdom
and Goodnefs. Upon this is founded that
faying, That the Reigns of good Princes
have been always mod: dangerous to the
Liberties of their People. For when their
SucceiTors, managing the Government
: . : i ; '. * with
< ? 89 0
with different Thoughts, would draw the
Aftions of thole good Rulers into Prece¬
dent, and make them the Standard of
their Prerogative; as if what had been
done only for the good of the People,
was a right in them to do for the harm of
the People, if they lo plealed : It has
often occafioned Conteft, and lometimes
publick Dilorders, before the People could
recover their original Right, and get that
:o be declared not to be Prerogative
which truly was never lb: fince it is im-
ooflible any body, in the Society, fhould
2ver have a right to do the People harm,
diough it be very poflible and re-alonable
:hat the People fhould not go about to
et any Bounds to the Prerogative of thole
Kings or Rulers, who themlelves tranf-
5reffed not the Bounds of the publick
*ocd. For Prerogative is nothing but the
Power of doing -publick good, without u
Rule.
167. The Power of calling Parliaments
n England , as to precile time, place, and
Juration, is certainly a Prerogative of the
King, but ftill with this truft, that it fhall
:>e made ule of for the good of the Nation,
is the exigencies of the Times, and vari¬
ety of Occafion fhall require. For it be-
ng impoffible to forelee which fhould al¬
ways be the fitteft place for them to al-
* V Cc j femble
090 )
lemble in,and what the beftfeafbn;thechoice
of thefewas left with theExecuti vePower,as
might be beft fubfer.vient tothepublick
good,and beft iuit the ends of Parliaments.
168. The 6ld Queftion will be asked
in this matter of Prerogative, But who
fhall be Judge when this PowetR made a
right ufe of? I anfwef: Between an Exe¬
cutive Power irt*being, with fuch a Prero¬
gative, and a Legiflative that depends
upon his will for their convening, there
can be no Judge on Earth. As there caW
be none between the Legiflative and the!
People, fhould either the executive, or the
Legiflative, when they have got the Pow¬
er in their hands, defign, or go about to
enflave or deftroy them. The People have
no other remedy in this, as in all other!
cafes, where they have no Judge on earth,
but to appeal to Heaven. For the Ru¬
lers, in fuch atternpts, exerciflng a Pow¬
er the people never put into their hands,
who can never be Juppofed to content that
any body fhould rule over them for their
harm, do that which they have not a right
to do. And where the Body of the People,
or any Angle Man, are deprived of their
Right, or are under the Exercite of a
power without right, having no Appeal
on earth, they have a liberty to appeal to
Heaven, wheii-ever they judge the Caufej
(m >
>f fufRcient moment. And therefore,
hough the People cannotbs Judge, fo as
o have, by the Conftitution of that So-
iety, any Superiour poweh, to determine
nd give effedfive Sentence in the cafe; yet
:hey have referv’d that ultimate Deter¬
mination to themlelves, which belongs to
dl Mankind, where there lies no Appeal .
>n Earth; by a Law antecedent, and-pa-
•amount to ail pofitive Laws of. Meiiy
vhether they have juft Caufe to make
heir Appeal to Heaven. And this Judg¬
ment they cannot part with, it being out
>f a Man’s power fo to fubmit himltif to
mother, as to give him a liberty to de*
droy him ; God and Nature never aliow-
cg a Man fo to abandon himfeif, as td
tegleft his own prefervation. And fince
ae cannot take away his own Life, ^ neir
;her can he give another power to take it.
Nor let any one think this lays a perpe*
:ual foundation for Difbrdef ; for this oper¬
ates not till the Inconvenience is fo great,
that the Majority feel it, and are weary of
it, and find a necefiity to have it amend¬
ed. And this the Executive Power, or
wife Princes never need come in the dan¬
ger of. And ’cis the thing, of all others,
they have moft need to avoid, as, of all
others, the moft perilous.
C c 4
CHAP.
( 392 ) :
A I* —
-i 4 J & J
CHAP. XV.
- • ' V
of Paternal, Political , W Defptical Power,
conjidered together,
m*‘ % 1 f \ \ 4- > • J
^ ■ u ^ . j J ^ * J i I j r h ■
169.'Though I have had occafion.to
.1 fpeak of thefe feparately be¬
fore, yet the great miftakes, of late, about
Government, having, as I fuppole, arilen
from confounding thefe diftindt Powers
one with another, it may not, perhaps, be
amifs', to confider them here together.
170. Firjl then, Paternal or Parental
Power, is nothing but that which Parents
have over their Children, to govern them,
for the Childrens good, till they come to
the ule of Reafon ,,ora Rate of Know^
ledge, wherein they may be fuppofed ca¬
pable to underhand that Rule, whether it
be the Law of Nature, or the municipal
Law of their Countrey, they are to go¬
vern themielves by: Capable, I fay, to
know it, as well as feverai others, who
live as Free-men under that Law. The
Affedtionand Tendernefs God hath plant¬
ed in the breads of Parents, towards their
Children, makes it evident, that this is
not intended to be a fevere, Arbitrary Go¬
vernment; but only for the Help, Inftru-
£tion, and Prefervation of their Oif-fpring.
'h - - '*•' > ' ' ' But
( m )
3ut, happen it as it will, there is, as I
lave proved, no reafon why it fhould be
Fought to extend to Life and Death, at
iny time, over their Children, more than
Dver any body elfe, or keep the Child in
ubjeftion to the Will of his Parents, when
^rown to a Man, and the perfedfc life of
Reafon, any farther, than as having re¬
vived Life and Education from his Pa¬
rents, obliges him to RefpeH, Honour,
Gratitude, AffiFance, and Support, all his
Life, to both Father and Mother. And
thus, ’tis true, the Paternal is a natural
Government; but not at all extending it felf
to the Ends and Jurifdi&ions of that
which is Political. The Power of the
Father doth not reach at all to the Pro¬
perty of the Child, which is only in his
own difpofing. ......
171. Secondly, Political Power is that
'Power, which every Man, having in the
Fate of Nature, has given up into the
hands of the Society, and therein to the
Governours, whom the Society hath let
over it lelf, with this exprefs, or tacit
Truft, That it fhall be imployed for
their good, and the prefervation of their
Property : Now this Power, which every
Man has in the Fate of Nature, and which
Lhe parts with to the Society , in all fuch
cafes where the Society can fecure him,
( 394 )
is to ufe fuch meins for the preferving of
his own Property, as he thinks good, and
Nature allows him; and to punifh the
Breach of the Law of Nature in others ;
fb as (according to the belt of his Rca-
fbn) may moft conduce to the prelerva-
tion of himfelf, and the reft of Mankind;
lo that the end and meafiire of this Pow¬
er, when in every Man’s hands, in the
ftate of Nature, being the prefervatiori
of ail of his Society,that is,all Mankind in
general. It can have no other end or mea¬
sure, when in the hands of the Magiftrate,
but to prelerve the Members of that So¬
ciety , in their Lives, Liberties, and Pof-
feffions; and fo cannot be an Abfolute, Ar¬
bitrary Power over their Lives and For¬
tunes, which areas much as poffible to be
preferved; But a Power to make Laws,
and annex fuch Penalties to them, as may
tend to the prefervatiori of the whole, by
cutting off thole Parts, arid thole only,
which are lo corrupt, that they threaten
the found and healthy, without which no j
ieverity is, lawful. And this Power has
its Original only from Compact and A-
greement, and the mutual Confent of
fhofe who make up tire Community.
1 ij2. Thirdly , Defpotical Power is an
Abfolute, Arbitrary Power, one Man has
over another, to take away his Life when-
* ' - ever
; (? 95 !)
ever lie pleafes; and this is a Power,
which neitherNature gives, for it has madfe
no fuch diftindioft between on? Man ahd
another, nor Compad can cOilvey. /Pbir
Man, not having fuch an Arbitrary P6W--
er over his own Life, cannot give a tint! let
Man fetch a Power over it, but it-is the
effed only of forfeiture, which*the Ag-
greffor makes of his owii Life, when he
puts himielf into the ftate of Wat with
another. For having quitted Realbit,
which God hath given to be the P.ule be¬
twixt Man and Min, and the peacedblt
ways which thattCache?, and made ufe 6f
Force to compafs his uiijuft ends upon
another, where he has no right, he ren¬
ders himielf liable to be deftrpy6d by his
rAdverlary, wheri-ever he can , as any
other noxious and brutifh Ctedhire that
iis deftrudive to his Being. And thus Ca¬
ptives , taken in a juft and lawful War,
and fuch only, are lubjedto a Delpotical
Power, which as it ariles not from Com-
• pad, lo neither is it capable of any, but
is the ftate of War continued. For what
Compad Can be made with a Man that is
not Mafter of his own Life? What Con¬
dition can he perform ? And if he be once
allowed to be Mafter of his own Life, the
Defpoticai, Arbitrary Power of his Ma¬
fter ceales. He that is Mafter of himielf,
and
( 19 6 )
and his own Life, has a right too to the
means of preferving it; fo that as loon as
Compaft enters, Slavery ceafes, and he lo
far quits his Abfolute Power, and puts
an end to the ftate of War, who enters in¬
to Conditions with his Captive.
173. Nature gives the firft of thefo,
•viz. Paternal Power, to Parents, for
.the Benefit of their Children, during their
Minority, to fupply their want of Abili¬
ty , and underftanding how to manage
their Property. (By Property I mult be
underftood here , as in other places, to
mean that Property which Men have in
their Perlons as well as Goods.,) Volunta¬
ry Agreement gives the fecond, viz. Po¬
litical Power, to Governours, for the Bene¬
fit of their Subjects, to lecure them in the
PofTeflion and Ule of their Properties,
And Forfeiture gives the third, Delpoti-
cal Power, to Lords, for their own Be¬
nefit over,thole who are ftripp’d of all
Property.
174. He that Ihall confider the diftinfl:
rile and extent, and the different ends of
thele leveral Powers, will plainly lee that
Paternal Power comes as far fhort of that
of the Magiftrate, as Defpotical exceeds
it; and that Abfolute Dominion, how¬
ever placed, is lb far from being one kind
of civil Society, that it is as inconliftent
with
097 )
with it as Slavery is with Property. Pa*
ternal Power is only where Minority
makes the Child incapable to manage his
Property* Political where Men have Pro¬
perty in their own difpolal; and Delpo-
eical over fuch as have no Property at
all.
CHAP. XVI.
Of CONQVEST.
175. npHough Governments can origi-
1 nally have no other Rile, than
that before mentioned, nor Polities be
founded on any thing but the Conlent of
the People; yet fuch has been the Disor¬
ders, Ambition has fill’d the World with,
that in the noile of War, which makes
lo great a part of the Hiftory of Mankind,
this Conlent is little taken notice of: and
therefore many have niiftaken the force of
Arms for the Conlent of the People, and
reckon Conqueft as one of the Originals
of Government. But Conqueft is as far
from letting up any Government, as de¬
molishing an Houle is from building a
! new one in the place. Indeed it dften
t makes way for a new Frame of a Com¬
monwealth, by deftroying the former;
0 . 98 )'. •
hvt, without the Content of the People;'
can q^yer eye& a new one. . *" , .»
;'i.i«74iiA^^|e Aggreffar, who puts
hiriiielf intQithe itate of War with another,
and uqjujily invades another Man’s right,
by %h an unjuft \Var, never come
to have a right over the Conquered, will
be eafily agreed by all Men, who will not
fhink that Robbers and Pyrates have a
Right of Empire over whomfoever they
have Force enough to mafter, or. that
Men are bound by promiles, which un¬
lawful Force extorts from them. Should
a Robber bfeak into my Houle, and with
a Dagger at my Throat, make me leal
Deeds to convey my Eftate to him, would
this give him any Tide? juft luch a Ti¬
tle by his Sword, has an unjuft Conque-
rour, who forces me into Submillion.
The Injury and the Crime is equal, whe¬
ther committed by the wearer of a Crown,
or lome petty Villain. The Tide of the
Offender , and the Number of his Fol¬
lowers make no difference in the Offence,
unlels it be to aggravate it. The only
difference is, Great Robbers punilh little
ones to keep them in their Obedience; but
the great ones are rewarded with Lau-
yeisand Triumphs, becaule they are too
big for the weak hands of Juftice, in this
World, and have the Power in their own
polfellion
( 399 ) . 1
poffeffion which fhould punifh Offenders.
What is my Remedy againft a Robber that
lo broke into my Houle ? Appeal to the
Law for Juftice. But perhaps Juftice is
deny’d, or I am crippled and cannot ftir;
IRobbed and have not the means to do it.
Ilf God has taken away all means of leek-
ing remedy, there is nothing left but Pa¬
tience- But my Son, when able, may
ileek the Relief of the Law, which I am
denyed : he or his Son may renew his Ap¬
peal, till he recover his Right. But the
Conquered, or their Children, have no
Court, no Arbitrator on Earth to appeal
to. Then they may appeal, as 'Jephtba, did,
to Heaven, and repeat their Appeal, till
they have recovered the native Right of
their Anceftours, which was, to have fuch
a Legifiative oyer them, as the Majority
iliould approve, and freely acquielce in.
If it be objected, this would caule endlels
trouble; I anfwer, No more than Juftice
does, where Ihe lies open to. all that appeal
to her. He that troubles his Neighbour,
without a Caule, is punilhed for it, by
the Juftice of the Court he appeals to.
And he that appeals to Heaven, muft be
Ture he has Right on his fide; and ajljght
too tfiat is worth the Trouble and Colt of
i the. Appeal , as he will anfwer at a
Tribunal , that . cannot be deceived, and
( 4 °° )
Will be fure to retribute to every one ac- 1
cording to the Mifchiefs he hath created to
his Fellow-Subjefts; that is, any part
of Mankind. From whence ’tis plain,
that he that conquers, in an unjuft War,
can thereby have no Title to the Subjecti¬
on and Obedience of the Conquered.
177. But# fuppofmg Victory favours
the right fide, let us eonfider a Conque-
rour in a lawful War, and lee what Power
he gets, and over whom..
Firfi , ’Tis plain he gets no Power by t
his Conqueft over thole that Conquered
with him. They that fought on his fide
cannot fuffer by the Conqueft, but muft,
at leaft, be as much Free-men as they were .
before. And moft commonly they lerve
upon Terms, and on Condition to fhare
with their Leader, and enjoy a part of the .
Spoil, and other Advantages that attend
the conquering Sword : Or, at leaft, have
a part or the fubdued Countrey beftowed
upon them. And the conquering People,
are not, I hope, to be Slaves by Conqueft, I
and wear their Laurels only to ftiew they 1
are Sacrifices to their Leader’s Triumph.
They that found Abfolute Monarchy up¬
on the Title of the Sword, make their He*
roes, who are the Founders of fuch Mo- i
narchies , arrant Draw- can-Sirs , and
forget they had any Officers and Souldiers :
that
I ' k • ( 401 )
that fought on their fide, in the Battles
they won, or a {lifted, them in the fubdu-
ing, or fhared in poflefting the Countries
they Matter’d. We are told by fome, that
the Englilh Monarchy is founded in the
Norman Conqueft , and that our Princes
iave thereby a Title to ablolute Domini-
in : which if it were true, (as by the Hi-
fory it appears other wile) -and that WU-
'iam had a right to make War on -this
Band; yet his Dominion by Conqueft,
:ould reach no farther than to the Saxons
md Britans , that were then Inhabitants
of this Country. The Normans that came
vith him, and helped to Conquer, and
ill defended from them are Freemen, and
10 Subjects by Conqueft > let that give
vhat Dominion it will. And if I, or any
tody elle, (hall claim freedom, as derived
rom them, it will be very hard to prove
he contrary : And 5 cis plain , the Law
hat has made no diftindtion between the
»ne and the other , intends not there
hould be any difference in their Freedom
r Priviledges.
178. But fuppofing, which feldom
lappens , that the Conquerers and Con¬
ner’d never incorporate into one People,
inder the fame Laws and Freedom. Let
s lee next, what Power a lawful Con-
[uerer has over the fubdued, and that I
D d fay
( 4° 2 y
0y ] s purely Defpotical. He has an Ab-
folute Power over the Lives of thofe, who,
by an unjuft War,, have forfeited them;
but not over the Lives or Fortunes of
thole, who ingaged not in the War, nor
ever the Poflefiions even of thofe who
were a&ually engaged in it.
179. SetomUf, I fay then the Conque-
rour gets no Power but only over thofe
who have a&ually aflifted, concurred, on
confented to that unjuft force that is ufed
againft him. For the People having gi
ven to their Governours no Power to d<
an unjuft thing,fuch as is to make an un
juft War/for they never had fuch a Pow¬
er in themfelves:) They ought not to bej
charged, as guilty of the violence and in-
juftice that is committed in an unjuftjj
War, any farther than they actually abe
it, no more than they are to be though
guilty of any Violence or Oppreffton their
Governours IJiould ufe upon the People
themfelves, or any part of their Fellow-
Subje&sthey having impowered them
no more to the one than to the other.
Conquerours, *tis true, feldom trouble
themfelves to make the diftin&ion , but j
they willingly permit the confufion of
War to fweep all together; but yet this
alters not the Right: for the Conquerour’s
Power over the Lives of the Conquered,
- . . i. being
( 4 °$)
* ■
being only becaufe they have uled force to
do or maintain an injuftice, he can have
that power only over thole who have cen¬
tr’d in that force , all the reft are inno-
:ent; and he has no more title over the
people of that Country, who have done
lim no injury, and lo have made no for-
eiture of their Lives, than he has over
my other, who without any injuries or
provocations , have lived upon fair terms
vithhim.
180. Thirdly, The Power aConquerer
$ets over thole he overcomes in a juft War,
s perfe&ly delpotical; he has an ablolute
tower over the Lives of thole, who by
putting themlelves in a ftate of War, have
orfeited them; but he has not thereby a
ight and title to their Polfellions. This I
loubt not, but at firft fight, will leem a
trange Do&rine, it being lo quite con-
rary to the pra&ice of the World. There
•eing nothing more familiar in Ipeaking
»f the dominion of Countries, than to lay
iich an one Conquer’d it. As if Conqueft,
vithout any more ado, convey d a right
f PolTeflion. But when we confider, that
he pra&ice of the ftrong and powerful,
low univerlal loever it may be, is leldom
he rule of Right, however it be one part
f the lubjeftion of the Conquer’d not to
rgue againft the Conditions cut out to
- Dd 2 . them
(404)
them by the Conquering Swords. -A |
1 8 1. Though in all War there be Ufa-
ally a complication of force and damage*
and the Aggreffor leldom fails to harm
the Eftate, when he ules force againft the
perlons of thole he makes War upon \ yet
J tis the ufe of force only that puts a Man
into the State of War. For whether by
force he begins the injury; or elfe having
quietly, and by fraud, done the injury,he
refufes to make reparation, and by force
maintains it, which is the lame thing as
at fir ft to have done it by force; ’tis the
unjuft ufe of force that makes the War.
For he that breaks open my Houfe, and I
violently turns me out of Doors; or ha- 1
ving peaceably got in, by force keeps me
out, does in effedt the lame thing ; lup-
poling we are in fuch a ftate, that we
have no common Judge on Earth, whom
I may appeal to, and to whom we are
both obliged to lubmit: for of fuch I am
now fpeaking. 7 Tis the unjuft ule of force
then that puts a Man into the ftate of War
with another, and thereby he that is guil¬
ty of it makes a forfeiture of his Life. For
quitting realbn, which is the rule given
between Man and Man, and ufing force
the way of Beafts, he becomes liable to be
deftroy’d by him he ufes force againft, as
any favage ravenous Beaft, that is danger¬
ous to his being. But
( 4 °$ )
18 2. But becauie tfie milcarriages of the
Father are no faults of the Children, and
they may be rational and peaceable, not-
withftanding the brutifhnefs and injuftice
of the Father ; the Father, by his mifcar-
riagesand violence, can forfeit but his own
Life, but involves not his Childten in his
guilt or deftruftion. His goods which
nature, that willeth the prefervation of all
Mankind as much as is poftible,hath made
to belong to the Children to keep them
from perifbing, do ftill continue to belong
to his Children. For fuppofiog them not
to have join’d in the War, either through
infancy or choice, they have done nothing
to forfeit them , nor has the Conquerour
any right to take them away, by the bare
right of having fubdued him that by force
attempted his deftru&ion, though perhaps
he may have fome right to them to repair
the dammages he has fuftained by^ the
War, and the defence of his own right,
which how far it reaches to the poffeftions
of the Conquer’d, w e fhall lee by and by ;
lo that he that by Conqueft has a right
over a Mans Perfon, to deftroy him if he
pleafes,'has not thereby a right over his
Eftate to polTefs and enjoy it. For it is the
brutal force the Aggrehor has uled, that
gives his Adverlary a right to take away
his Life, and deftroy him, if he pleale?,
D d i as
( 4 °* )
as a noxious Creative ; but ’tis damage
fuftain’d that alone gives him title to ano¬
ther Mans Goods: For though I may kill
a Thief that fets oil me in the Highway,
yet I may not (which feems lels ) take
away his money, and let him go ; this
would be Robbery on my fide. His force,
and the ftate of War he put himfelf in,
made him forfeit his Life, but gave me no
title to his Goods. The right thenofCon-
queft extends only to the Lives of thole
who join’d in the War, but not to their
Eftates, but only in order to make repa¬
ration for the damages received , and
the Charges of the War, and that too
with refervation of the right of the inno¬
cent Wife and Children. ' •
185. Let the Conquerer have as much
Juftice on his fide as could be luppos’d, he
has no right to feize more than the van-
quifb’d could forfeit; his Life is at the Vi¬
ctors Mercy, and his lervice and goods he
may appropriate to make himfelf repara¬
tion ; but he cannot take the goods of his
Wife and Children , they too had a title
to the goods he enjoy’d , and their fhares
in the eftate he poildfed. For Example,
I in the Hate of nature (and all Common¬
wealths are in the ftate of nature one with
another) have injured another Man. and
refilling to give latisfaflion, ins come to
a ftate
( 4°7 )
i ftate of War, wherein my defending
by force, what I had gotten unjuftly,
makes me the Aggreffour; I am con¬
quered r my Life, tis true, as foifeit, Ij.
at mercy, but not my Wives and Chil¬
drens. They made not the War, nor af¬
fixed in it. I could not forfeit their Lives,
they were not mine to forfeit.? My Wife
had a Ihare in my Eftate, that neither
could I forfeit. And my Children allp,
being born of me, had a right to be main¬
tain'd out of my Labour or Subftance.
Here then is the Cafe; The Conquerour
has a Title to Reparation for Dama¬
ges received, and the Children have a Ti¬
tle to their Father’s Eftate for their Sub-
fiftence. For as to the Wifes ihare,whe¬
ther her own Labour or Compact gave
her a Title to it, tis plain, her Husband
i could not forfeit what was hers. What
muft be done in the cafe ? I anfwer; The
Fundamental Law of Nature being, that
all, as much as may be, fhould be prefer-
ved, it follows, that if there be notvenough
fully to fatisfie both, viz. for theConque-
rour’s Loffes, and Childrens Maintenance,
he that hath, and to fpare, muft remit
lomething of his full Satisfaction, «md
gi've way to the preding and preferible
Title of thofe, who are in danger to pe-
rifh without it. _ _
Dd 4
f 40S ), I
184. Butfuppofing the Charge and Da- j
mages of the War are to be made up to
the Conquerour, to the utmoft Farthing,
and that the Children of the vanquished,
foiled of all their Father’s Goods, are
to be left to Starve, and periSh, ye t the fa-
tisfying of what Shall, on this fcore, be
due to the Conquerour, will fcarce give
him a Title to any Countrey he fhall con- . 1
quer. For the Damages of War can
fearce amount to the value of any confide- -
rable Tra£t of Land, in any part of the f
World, where all the Land is pofleffed, i|
and none lies wafte. And if I have not
taken away the Conquerour’s Land, >
which, being vanquished, it is impolfible, ,
I Should; Scarce any other fpoil I have done j
him can amount to the value of mine, fup- J
pofing it of an extent any way coming -1
near what I had over-run of his, and
equally cultivated too. The destruction
of a Years Product or two, /for it Seldom
reaches four or lived is the utmoft fpoil j
that ufually can be done. For as to Mo¬
ney, and Such Riches and TreaSure taken
av^ay, thefe are none of Natures Goods,
they have but a phantaftical imaginary
va ] ue ) Nature has put no Such upon them.
They ,are of no more account by her
Standard, than the Wampompeke of the
Amr leans to an European Prince, or the
Silver
(409)
Silver Money of Europe would have been
ormerly to an American. And five years
Product is not worth the perpetual Inhe¬
ritance of Land, where all is polfelfed, and
none remains wafte,to be taken up by him
hat is diffeiz’d: which will be eafily grant¬
'd, il one do but take away the imaginary
/alue of Money, the difproportion being
nore than between five , and five thou-
and. Though, at the fame time, half a
fears produft is more worth than the In-
leritance, where there being more Land
han the Inhabitants poflefs and make ufe
>f, any one has liberty to make ufe of the
vafte : But there Conquerours take little
are to polfeis themfelves of the Lands of
he vanquished. No damage therefore,
hat Men, in the Rate of Nature (as all
Winces and Governments are in reference
0 one another) Suffer from one another,
an give a Conquerour Power todifpoflels
he Posterity of the vanquished, and turn
hem out ot that Inheritance which ought
0 be the Poffeffion of them, and their
Defcendants to all Generations. The Con-
juerour indeed will be apt to think him-
elf Matter. And ’tis the very condition
>f the lubdued not to be able to difpute
heir Right: But, if that be all, it gives
10 other 1 itle, than what bare Force
jives to the Stronger over the weaker.
( 4 ig ) ; ■ jPi
And, by this reafbn, he that is ftrongeftj
will have a right to whatever he pleafes
to feize on.
18$. Over thofe then that joined with
him in the War, and over thofe of the
fubdued Countrey that oppofed him not, |
and the Pofterity even of thofe that did,
the Conquerour, even in a juft War, hath,
by his Conqueft, no right of Dominion.
They are free from any fubjeOfon to him, i
and if their former Government be dif-
folved, they are at liberty to begin and
ereft another to themfelves.
186. The Conquerour, ’tis true, ufuab
ly, by the Force he has over them, com-1
pels them, with a Sword at their Breafts ,\
to ftoop to his Conditions, and fubmit to
fuch a Government as he pleafes to afford
them ; but the enquiry is, What right he
has to do fo ? If it be faid, they fubmit
by their own con fen t; then this allows
their own confent to be neceffary to givej
the Conquerour a Title to rule over them.j
It remains only to be confidered, whether
Promifes, extorted by • Force, without
Right, can be thought Confent, and how
far they bind. To which I fhall fay, they
bind not at all, becaufe whatfoever another
gets from me by force, I ftill retain the
Right of, and he is obliged prefently to
reft ore. He that forces my. Horfe from
me.
< 4*0
ne, ought prefently to reftore him, and I
lave ftill a right to retake him. By the
ame reafon, he that forced a Promile from
ne ought prefently to reftore it, i. e. quit
ne, of the Obligation of it; or I may re¬
time it my felf, i. e. chufe whether I will
lerform it. For the Law of Nature lay-
ng an obligation on me, only by the Rules
he prefcribes, cannot oblige me by the
isolation of her Rules: fuch is the extort-
ig any thing from me by force. Nor
oes it at all alter-the cafe, to fay I gave
ay Promife, no more than it cxcufes the
Dree, and paffes the right, when I put
ly hand in my Pocket, and deliver my
1'urfe my felf to a Thief, who demands it
/ith a Piftol at niy Breaft.
187. From all which it follows, that
le Government of a Conquerour, impo-
(ofed, by force, on the fubdued, againft
/horn he had no right of War, or who
>ined not in the War againft him, where
e had right, has no obligation upon
nem. m ! f
188. But let us fuppofe that all the
/len of that Community being all Mem-
ers of the fame Body Politick, may be
aken to have join d in that unjuft War,
/herein they are fubdued, and fo their
ives are at the Mercy of the Conque-
Dur.
♦ * 4 t *
189. I fay.
( 4*0
i?9* I fay, this concerns not their Chil¬
dren, who are in their Minority. For
fince a Father hath not, in himlelf, a Pow¬
er over the Life or Liberty of his Child ;
no a£t of his can poflibly forfeit it: fo that
the Children, whatever may have hap¬
pened to the Fathers, are Free men, and:
the Abfolute Power of the Ccnquerour
reaches no farther than the Perfcns of the
Men, that were fubdued by him, and
dies with them; and fhould he govern
them as Slaves, fubjected to his Abfolute,
Arbitrary Power, he has no fuch Right
of Dominion over their Children. Hs
can have no Power over them, but by
their own content, whatever he may drive
them to fay or do; and he has no lawful
Authority, whilft Force, and not Choice,
compels them to fubmiffion.
190. Every Man is born with a dou¬
ble Right, Fir si , A Right of Freedom to
his Perfon, which no other Man has a
Power over, but the free Dilpofal of it
lies in himtelf. Secondly , A Right, before
any other Man, to inherit, with his Bre¬
thren, his Father’s Goods.
191. By the firft of thete, a Man is na¬
turally free from lubjedtion to any Go¬
vernment, though he be born in a place
- under its Jurifditf ion. But if he ditelaim
the lawful Government of the Countrey
-nsbiqsvi'" he
le was born in, he muft alio quit the
[light, that belong’d to him, by the Laws
>f it, and the Pofleffions there defending
:o him, from his Anceftors, if it were a
aovernment made by their conlent.
192. By the feond, the Inhabitants of
my Countrey, who are defended, and
derive a Title to their Eftates from thole
who are litbdued, and had a Government
■breed upon them, againfl: their free con¬
sents, retain a Right to the PofTeffion of
:heir Anceftours, though they conlent not
freely to the Government, whole hard
Conditions were, by force, impoled on the
Polfelfors of that Countrey. For the firft
(Conqueror never having had a Title to the
Land of that Country, the People, who are
the Defendants of, or claim under thofe,
who were forced to lubmit to the Yoke of
a Government by conftraint, have always
a Right to lhake it off, and free them-
lelves from the Ulurpation, or Tyranny
tthe Sword hath brought in upon them;
till their Rulers put them under luch a
Frame of Government, as they willingly,
and of choice conlent to (which they can
never be fuppoled to do, till either they
are put in a full ftate of Liberty to chule
nheir Government and Governours, or at
leaft till they have fucli Handing Laws, to
which they have, by themfelves, or their
v;rr Reprelen-
(414) - •* ! 's ;
Representatives, given their free content*!
and alfo till they are allowed their due
Property, which is fb to be Proprietors;
of what they have, that no body can take
away any part of it without their own
content, without which, Men under any
Government are not in the ftate of Free¬
men, but are direct Slaves, under the
force of War.,) And who doubts but
the Grecian Chriftians, Deicendants of the
antient PoffelTors of that Countrey, may
juftly caft off the Turkijh Yoke they have
fb long groaned under, when-ever they
have a Power to do it ?
193. But granting that the Conquerour,
in a juft War, has a Right to the Eftates,
as well as Power over the Perfbns of the
Conquered; which, ’tis plain, he hath
not: nothing of Abfblute Power will
follow from hence, in the continuance of
the Government* Becaute the Deteen-
dants of thete being all Free-men, if he
grants them Eftates, and Polfeffions to
inhabit his Countrey, without which it
would be worth nothing, whatfbever he
grants them, they have fo far as it is
granted, Property in. The nature where¬
of is, that, without a Mans own content,
it cannot be taken from him.
194. Their Perfbns are free, by a na¬
tive Right, and their Properties, be they
• -
ain’d by force, have intervened. For
cis very probable, to any one that reads
Ee the
(41S )
the Story of tzAhnz and Hezekiab y attend
tively, that the Ajfyrians fubdued ^Ahaz.
and depofed him, and made Hezekid
King in his Fathers life time; and that
Hezekiah , by agreement, had done him 1
Homage, and paid him Tribute till this
time. . i
CHAP. XVII.
Of USURPATION. : .4
,l 't ■ ■ r ' * * ‘ ’ 1 I
/ ' 1 ‘ w 1
197. A S Conquefl: may be called a fo-
A \ reign Ufurpation ; fo Ufurpa-
tion is a kind of domeftick Conqueft,
with this difference, that an Ufurper can
never have Right on his fide ; it being
no Ufurpation but where one is got into
the Poffefiion of what another has Right
to. This, fo far as it is Ufurpation, is
a change c nly of Perlons, but not of the
Forms and Rules of the Government: for
if the Ufurper extend his Power beyond
what, of Right, belonged to the lawful
Princes, or Governours of the Common¬
wealth, ’tis Tyranny, added to Ufurpa¬
tion.
\ • f . P 'iff
198. In all lawful Governments the de-
fignation of thePerfons, who are to bear
Rule, being as natural and neceffary a
part
( 4i9 >
iart as the Form of the Government it
slf, and that which had its Eftablifhment
riginally from the People. The Anar-
hy being much alike, to have no Form of
Government at all, or to agree that it fbali
e Monarchical; but to appoint no way,
d defign the Perfon that lhall have tne
ower, and be the Monarch. All Com-
lonwealths therefore, with the Form of
rovernment eftablifbed, have Rules alio
f appointing and conveying the Right
d thofe, who are to have any ftnre in
!ie publick Authority. And who-ever gets
ito the exereife of any part of the Pow*
r, by other ways, than what the Laws
f the Community have preferibed, hath
o Right to be obeyed, though the Form
f the Commonwealth be Fill prelerved;
nee he is not the Perfbn the Laws have
ppointed, and confequently not the Per-
3n the People have contented to. Nor
an fiich an Ufiirper, or any, deriving
:om him, ever have a Title, till the Peo-
leare both at liberty toconfent, and have
ctually confented to allow, and confirm
i him the Power he hath, till then,
Jfurped.
Ee 2
CHAP.
( 42 °)
* 4 v k*' * € .
*•* » •4«fcl r •»< *'- \ *■' /A•«- i *'t X ' X i ’ i
CHAP. XVIII.
K&A V t % 4* > . . ’ | (k^
Of tyranny.
l 99 ‘ A ^ Ufurpation is the exercife of
Power, which another hath a :
Right to; fo Tyranny is the exercife of
Power beyond Right, which no Body can
have a Right to. And this is making ufe
of the Power any one has in his hands;
not for the good of thole who are under
it, but for his own private, feparate Ad¬
vantage. When the Governour, however
entituled,makes not the Law, but his Will,
the Rule, and his Commands, and A£ti*
ons are not directed to the prefervation of
the Properties of his People, but the latis-
fa£tion of his own Ambition, Revenge,
Covetoufnels, or any other irregular Paf-
fion.
206. If one can doubt this to be Truth,
or Reafon, becaufe it comes from the
oblcure Hand of a Subject; I hope the Au¬
thority of a King will make it pafs with
him. King James, in his Speech to the
Parliament, 1605. tells them thus; I will
ever prefer the Weale of the pub lick , and of the
whole Commonwealth , in making of good
Laws , and Confutations , to any particular , and
private Ends of mine. Thinking ever the
Wealth
I
(42i)
Wealth and Weak of the Commonwealth , to
?e my greatest Weak, and worldly Felicity ;
t Point, wherein a lawful KJng doth directly
lifer from a Tyrant. For I do acknowledge
Fat the fpecial and greatefl point of Diffe -
-ence, that is between a rightful Kjng, and an
furping Tyrant, is this,That, whereas the proud
ind ambitious Tyrant doth think, his Kjngdom
tnd People are only ordained for fatisfaction
f his Defires, and nnreafonable Appetites’,
'■he righteous and juft Kjng doth, by the con¬
trary, acknowledge himfelf to be ordained for
■he procuring of the wealth and Property of
'm People. And again, in his Speech to the
Parliament, 1609. he hath thefe Words ;
The J\,I NG binds himfelf , by a double
lath, to the obfervation of the fundamental
Laws of his Kjngdom. Tacitly, as by being a
Kjng, and fo bound to protect, as well the
People, as the Laws of his Kjngdom; and
ixprefly by his Oath at his Coronation: fo an
every juft Kjng, in a jet led Kjngdom , is
bound to obferve that Paction made to his
People , by his Laws, in framing his Govern¬
ment agreeable thereunto, according to that
Paction which God made with Noah, after
the Deluge. Hereafter, Seed-time, and Har-
vefl, and Cold, and Fkat, and Summer, and
Winter , and Day, and Night, fall not ceafe ,
while the Earth remaineth. And therefore a
\Kjng, governing in a fetled Kjngdom, leaves
Ec $ to
( 4 22 )
to be a Kjng , and degenerates into a Ty¬
rant > as foon as be leaves off to rule ac¬
cording to his Lam. And a little after :
Theref ore all Kjngs, that are not Tyrants, or
perjured , will he glad to bound; themfelves
within the Limits of their Laws .And they that
perfwade them the contrary, are Vipers, Pefts
both againjl them and theCemmonwealth.Thus
that learned King, who well underftood
the Notions of things, makes the diffe¬
rence, betwixt a King and a Tyrant, to
confift only in this, That one makes the
Laws the Bounds of his Power, and the
Good of the publick the End of his Go¬
vernment; The other makes all give way
to his own Will and Appetite.
201. ’Tis a Miftake, to think this
Fault is proper only to Monarchies, other
Forms of Government are liable to it, as
well as that: for where-ever the Power,
that is put in any hands, for the Govern¬
ment of the People, and the Prelervation
of their Properties, is applied to other ends,
and made ufe of to impoverish, harals,
or fubdue them to the Arbitrary, and Irre¬
gular Commands of thole that have it:
There it prefently becomes Tyranny,
whether thole, that thus ule it, are one,
or many. Thus we read of the Thirty
Tyrants at Athens , as well as one at Sy-
racufs ; and the intolerable Dominion of
./ v : - .
« ^ V . \\* * h —-• + .• . ... i
/
(42$) ' X
le Decemviri , at Rome , was nothing
o ttCr .
* 202. Where-ever Law ends, Tyranny
egins* if the Law be tranfgreffed to ano-
ier’s harm. And whofoever, in Autho-
ity, exceeds the Power given him by the
..aw, and makes ufe ot the Force, he has
inder his Command, to compafs that up-
, n the Subject which the Law allows not;
eales.in that,to be a Magistrate,and acting
vithout Authority, may be oppofed , as
ny other Man, who by force invades the
Light ot another. This is acknowledg-
:d in fubordinate Magistrates. He that
lath Authority to feiz.e my Perfon in the
freet, may be oppoled as a Thief, and a
Jobber, if he indeavours to break into
-ny Houle to execute a Writ, not with-
(landing that 1 know he has fuch a War¬
rant, and fuch a legal Authority as will
impower him to arrelt me abroad.. And
why this Should not hold in the higheit,
ss well as in the moft inferiour Magiitrate,
I would gladly be informed. Is it reafon-
able that the eldeft Brother, becaufe he
lias the greateft part of his Father’s fi¬
liate, Should thereby have a Right to take
away any of his younger Brothers 1 or-
tions ? Or that a rich Man, who pollelled
a whole Countrey , Should from thence
have a Right to feize, when he plealed,
E e 4 the
. ' ( 4 2 4 ) ~ *
tl-ie Cottage and Garden of his poor
Neighbour ? The being rightfully poi-
Med of great Power and Riches, exceed¬
ingly beyond the greateft part of the
Sons of Jdam f is id far from being an
excufe, much lefs a reafbn for Rapine
and Oppieffion, which the endamaging
another, without Authority, is; that it is
a great Aggravation of it. For the ex¬
ceeding the Bounds of Authority, is no
iT-oie a Right, in a great, than a petty
Officer: no more juftifiable in a Kin^,
tiian a Conftable. But fo much the worfe
in him, as that he has more truftput in
liijj, is fuppofed, from the advantage of
Education, and Counfellours to have bet¬
ter Knowledge, and lefs reafon to do it,
having already a greater fhare than the
Xf(t of his Brethren. '
003. May the Commands then of a
Prince.be oppofed ? May he be refilled, as
often, a.s any one fhall find himfelf aggrie¬
ved, and but imagine he has not Right-
done him ? This will unhinge and over-
t.diii ai! Poiities, and, inftead of Govern¬
ment and Order, leave nothing but Anar¬
chy and Confufion. ' ' j|
• 204. To this l anfwer: That Force is
to be oppofed to nothing but to unjuft and
h.pctwful Force ; who ever makes any
oppofiuon, in any otner Cafe, draws on
* ' __ j ' him-
• / y • * ; V
/
( 42 $)
limfelf a juft Condemation, both from
liod and Man; and fb no fuch Danger or
Confufion will follow, as is often fug-
gefted. For, • &. t
205. Fir ft. As, in fome Countries, the
Perfon of the Prince, by the Law, is Sa-
:red, and lb, what-ever he commands, or
Joes,his Perfon is ftill free from all Quefti -1
Dn or Violence; not liable to Force, or any
judicial Cenfure or Condemnation. But yet
oppofition may be made to the illegalAcis'
of any inferiour Officer, or other commif-
fioned by him; unlefs he will, by a&ually
putting himfelf into a State of War with
his People, diffolve the Government,
and leave them to that defence, which
belongs to every one in the ftate of Nature.
IFor of iuch things who can tell what the
end will be ? And a Neighbour Kingdom
I'has (liewed the W 7 orld an odd Example.
In all other Cafes the Sacrednefs of the
Perlon exempts him from all Inconveni-
encies, whereby he is fecure, whilft the
Government ftands, from all violence and
harm whatfoever. 7'han which, there
cannot be a wifer Conftitution. For the
harm he can do, in his o'wn Perfon, not
1 being likely to happen often, nor to ex¬
tend it felf far; nor being able, by his
fingle ftrength, to fubvert the Laws, nor
opprefs the Body of the People, fhould
1 any
( 426 ) \ ;
any Prince have fo much Weaknels, and
ill Nature as to be willing to do it, The
Inconveniency of Some particular mif-
chiefs that may happen , Sometimes,
when a heady Prince comes to. theThrone,
are well recompenced by the peace of the
Publick, and Security of the Government,
in the Per ion of the chief Magistrate,
thus let out of the reach of danger. It
being fafer for the Body, that Some few
private Men Should be fometimes in dan¬
ger to Suffer, than that the Head of the
Republick Should be eaSily, and upon
Slight occafions expoSed.
206. Secondly , But this Priviledge be¬
longing only to the King’s PerSon, hinders
pot but they may be questioned, oppoSed,
and refitted, who ufe unjuft force, though
they pretend a Commission from him,
. which the Law authorizes not. As is
plain, in the Cafe of him. that has the
King’s Writ to arreft a Man, which is a
full CommilTion from the King; and yet
he that has it cannot break open a Mans
Houfe to do it, nor execute this Com¬
mand of the King upon certain days, nor
in certain places, though this CommiSIi-
011 have no Such exception in it; but they
are the Limitations of the Law, which,
if any one tranfgrels, the King’s Commif
lion excufes him - not. For the King’s Au¬
thority
v V V (w)
thority being given him cnly by the Law,
he cannot impower any one to aft againft
the Law, or juftifie him, by his Commit
fion, in lb doing. The Commiflion, or
Command of any Magiftrate, where he
has no Authority, being as void and infig-
nificant as that of any private Man. The
difference, between the one and the other,
being, that the Magiftrate has fome Au¬
thority, fo far, and to liich ends, and the
private Man has none at all. For ’tis not
the Commiftion, but the Authority, that
gives the Right of afting ; and againft:
the Laws there can be no Authority.
But, notwithftanding liich Refiftance, the
King’s Perlon and Authority are ftill both
lecured , and lo no danger to Governour
or Government. -is-
207. Thirdly , Suppofing a Government,
wherein the Perlon of the chief Magiftrate
is not thus Sacred; yet thisDoftrine,of the
la vvfulnefs.ofrefiftingall unlawful exerciles
of his Power, will not, upon every flight
occalion, indanger him, or imbroil the Go¬
vernment. For, where the injured Party
may be relieved, and his damages re¬
paired, by Appeal to the Law, there can
be no pretence for Force ; which is only
to be tiled, where a Man is intercepted
from appealing to the Law. For nothing
is to be accounted Hoftile Force, but
where
i < 4*8 y ■ '
where it leaves not the remedy of fuch
an Appeal. And tis fuch Force alone,
11 that puts him that ufes it, into a ftate of
if War, and makes it lawful to relift him.
|| A Man, with a Sword in his hand, de¬
li mandsmy Purfe, in the High-way, when,
■ perhaps, I have not 1 2d. in my Pocket;
|! This Man I may lawfully kill. To ano-
| ther I deliver ico/. to hold,only whilft I
ff| alight; which he refufes to reftore me, when
$j I am got up again, but draw's his Sword to
i | defend the poifeftionof it, by force: I en-
I deavour to retake it. The milchief, this
»! Man does me, is a hundred, or poflibly a
\l thouland times more than the other per¬
il haps intended me , (whom I kill’d, before
H he really did me any ) and yet I might
I! lawfully kill the one, and cannot fo much
as hurt the other lawfully. The Realon
whereof is plain; becaule the one ufing
force, which threatned my Life, I could
If not have time to appeal to the Law r to fe-
1 . cure it : And when it was gone, ’twas
i, too late to appeal. The Law could not
H reftore Life to my dead Carcals. The
I Lois was irreparable ; which, to prevent,
■ the Law of Nature gave me a Right to
I deftroy him, who had put himfelf into a
ftate of War with me, and threatned my
|. deftruCtioa. But; in the other cafe, my
It Life not being in danger, I might have
■ / the
■
( 4 2 9 )
the benefit of appealing to the Law, and
have Reparation, for;my ioo/. that
way.
208. Fourthly , But if the unlawful a£ls,
[idone by the Magiftrate, be maintained,
( by the Power he has gotj and the reme¬
dy," which is due by Law, be, by the fame
Power,obflru£ted; yet the Right of refill¬
ing, even in fuch manifell A£ls of Tyran¬
ny, will not fuddenly, or on flight occafions,
diflurb theGovernment.Forif it reach no
farther than fome private Mens Cafes,
though they have a right to defend them-
felves, and to recover, by force, what,
by unlawful force, is taken from them;
vyet the Right to do fo, will not eafily in-
s gage them in a Conteft, wherein they are
lure to perifh : It being as impoflible, for
< one or a few opprefled Men, to diflurb
1 the Government, where the Body of the
People do not think themfelves concerned
i in it, as for a raving mad Man, or heady
Male-content to overturn a well fetled
State; the People being as little apt to
follow the one, as the other.
209. But if either thele illegal A£ts,
have extended to the Majority of the
People; or if the Milchief and Opprefli-
on has light only on fome few, but in fuch
Cafes as the Precedent and Coniequences
Item to threaten all; and they are perfwa-
t 'ir. ‘ded
( 43 °)
ded in their Confidences that their Laws,
and with them, their Eftates, Liberties,
and Lives are in danger, and perhaps
their Religion too; how they will be
hindred from refilling illegal Force, ufed
againfl them, I cannot tell. This is an
Inconvenience, I confefs, that attends all
Governments whatloever, when the Go¬
vernors have brought it to thispafs, to
be generally fufpeded of their People, the
moft dangerous Rate they can poflibly
put themlelves in; wherein they are the
lefs to be pityedbecaule it is lo eafie to
be avoided. It being as impohible, for a
Governour, if he really means the good of
his People, and the preservation ol them,
and their Laws together, not to make
them fee and feel it; as it is for the Fa¬
ther of a Family not to let his Children
fee he loves, and takes care of them.
210. But if all the World fhall ob»
ferve Pretences of one kind, and Actions
of another ; Arts ufed to elude the Law,
and the Truft of Prerogative (which is
an Arbitrary Power in fome things, left
in the Prince’s hand, to do good, not
harm, to the People) employed contrary
to the end, for which it was given. If the
People fhall find the Minifters, and fubor-
dinate Magiftrates chofen, fiiitable to fiich
ends, and favoured, or laid by proportion-
f '/ <4$0 v 1
ably as they promote, or oppole them: If
they lee feveral Experiments made of Ar¬
bitrary Power, and that Religion under¬
hand favoured, though /publickly pro¬
claimed againd, which is readied to
introduce it, and the Operators in it fup-
ported as much as may be; and when
that cannot be done, yet approved dill,
and liked the better, and a long Train of
A&ings fhew the Councils all tending
that way : how can a Man any more hin¬
der himleif from being perfwaded in his
own Mind, which way things aye going;
or from cading about how to lave himleif,
than he could from believing the Cap¬
tain of the Ship he was in , was carrying
him, and the red of the Company, to
<_ Algiers , when he found him always Rear¬
ing that Courle, though crols Winds,
Leaks in his Ship, and want of Men, and
Provifions, did often force him to turn his
Courle another way, for lome time, which
he deadily returned to again, as loon as
the Wind, Weather, and other Circum-
dances would let him ?
CHAP.
(430
< — * , » 4 ■ . *
«"•***• » i t
( I ttlV 7 < • » k' iHl Jk
^ I. r i rf r ¥ 1 ♦
CHAP. XIX.
Of the Diffoiution of Governments,
211. T T E that will, with any clearnefs,
_£~j[ fpeak of the Diffoiution of Go¬
vernment, ought, in the firft place, to
diftinguifh between the Diffoiution of the
Society, and the Diffoiution of the Go¬
vernment. That which makes the Com¬
munity, and brings Men out of the loofe
State of Nature, into one Politick Society,
is the Agreement, which every one ha 9 ,
with the reft, to incorporate and act as
one Body, and fo be one diftinCt Com¬
monwealth. The ufual, and ahnoft only
way, whereby this Union is diffolved, is
the Inroad of foreign Force making a
Conqueft upon them. For in that Cafe,
. (not being able to maintain and fupport
themfelves, as one intire, and independent
Body; the Union belonging to that Body,
which confifted therein, muft neceffarily
ceafe, and fb every one return to the ftate
he was in before, with a liberty to fhift for
himfelf, and provide for his own Safety,
as he thinks fit, in fome other Society.
Whenever the Society is diffolved, ’tis
certain, the Government of that Society
cannot remain. Thus Conquerors Swords
- \ often
^ C'4H >
ooften cut up Governments by the Root’s,
and mangle Societies to pieces, fepa rating
the fubdued or Icattered multitude from
the Protection of* and Dependence on that
Society which ought ! to< have preferved
them from violence. The. World is too
well inftrufted in, and too forward to al¬
low of this way of diffolving of Govern¬
ments , to need any more to be laid of
it; and there wants not much Argument
to prove, that where the Society is diF
lolved, the Government cannot remain:
that being as impoffible^ as for the Frame
of an houie to fubfift when the Materials
of it are fcattered and difplaced by a
Whirl-wind, or jumbled into a confuted
heap by an Earthquake..
212. Befides this over-turning, from
without, Governments are diffolved from
within, : •
Firfiy When the Legillative is altered,.
Civil Society being a ftate of Peace a-
mongft thole who are of it, from whom
:he hate of War is excluded by the Um¬
pirage, which they have provided in their
Legillative, for the ending all differences,
hat may arils amongft any of them. ’Tis
' n their Legillative, that the Members of
i Commonwealth are united and combi-
led together into one coherent, living Bo-
!ly. This is .the Soul that gives Form,
! V‘ F f Life,
( 434 )
\ Life, and $Jnity to the Commonwealth:
from hence the feveral Members have
their mutual Influence, Sympathy, and
Connexion: and therefore, when the Le-
giflative is broken, or diffolved, Diifolu-
tion and Death follows. For the Effence,
and Union of the Society confifting in ha¬
ving one Will, the Legislative, when once
eftablifhed by the Majority, has the de¬
claring, and, as it were, keeping of that
Will. The Conftitution of the Legifla-
tive is the fir ft and fundamental A£l of
Society, whereby provifion is made
for the Continuation of their Union, un¬
der the Direction of Perfbns, and Bonds
of Laws, made by Perfbns authorized
thereunto, by the Content and Appoint¬
ment of the People, without which no
one Man, or number of Men, among ft
them, can have Authority of making
Laws that fhail be binding to the reft.
When any one, or more, (ball take upon
them to make Laws, whom the People
have not appointed fo to do, they make
Laws without Authority, which the Peo¬
ple are not therefore bound to obey; by
which means they come again to be out
of fubje&ion, and may conftitute to them-
felves a new Legiflative, as they think
beft, being in full liberty to refill the force
of thole, who, without Authority, would
impote
( 4*0
impole any thing upon them. Every one
is at the difpofure of his own Will, when
thole, who had, by the delegation of the
Society, the declaring of the publick Will,
ire excluded from it, and others uliirp the
slace, who have no fuch Authority or De-
egation. '
213. This being ufually brought about
>y fuch, in the Commonwealth, who
nif ule the Power they have : It is hard '
0 conflderit aright, and know at whole
loor to lay it> without knowing the Form
)f Government in which it happens. Let
is luppole then the Legiflative placed in
he Concurrence of three diftinft Perlons.
A Angle, hereditary Perfon having
lie conftant, liipream, executive Power, :
nd, with it, the Power of convoking,*
nd diflolving the other two, within cer-
lin Periods of Time. Secondly , An Af-
bmbyof hereditary Nobility. Thirdly , *
\.n Aflembly of Reprefentatives cholen,-
ro tempore , by the People: Such a Form
f Government fuppoled, it ' is evi-
ent,
214 . Firjl , That when fuch a Angle
'erlbn,” or Prince lets up his own Arbi-
■ary Will, in place of the Laws, which
re the Will of the Society, declared by
le Legiflative, then the Legiflative is
hanged. FOr that being, in effett, the
F f 2 Legifla-
( 43 * ) \
Legislative whole Rules and Laws are put
in execution, and required to be obeyed,
when other Laws are let up, and other
Rules pretended and inforced, than what
the Legiflative, conftituted by the Society,
have enabled, ’tis plain that the Legifla¬
tive is changed. Who-ever introduces
new Laws, not being thereunto authori¬
zed, by the fundamental Appointment of
the Society, or fubverts the old, dilbwns
and overturns the Power, by which they
were made, and 16 lets up a new Legit
ktive. ; . J
2i<>. Secondly, When the Prince hin¬
ders the Legiflative from aflembling in its
due time, or from a£fing freely, purliiant
to thole ends for which it was constitu¬
ted, the Legiflative is altered. For tis
not a certain number of Men, no, nor
their meeting, unlels they have alfo Free- '
dom of debating, and Leilure of perfect¬
ing what is for the good of the Society,
wherein the Leniflative eonfifts, when
thefeare taken away, or altered, 16 as to
deprive the Society, of the due exercile
of their Power. the Legiflative is truly
altered. For it is not Names tliat con¬
stitute Governments, but the ule and ex¬
ercile of thole Powers that were intended
to accompany them: 16 that he who takes
away the Freedom, or hinders the aCfing
/ ( 437 )
of the Legiflative in its duefeafons, in ef¬
fect takes away the Legiflative, and puts
a an end to the Government.
216. Thirdly, When, by the-Arbitrary
Power of the Prince, the Eleblours, or
ways of Election are altered , without
the Content, and contrary to the com¬
mon Intereft of the People, there alfo the
Legiflative is altered. For if others, then
thole whom the Society hath authorized
thereunto, do chute, or in another way
than what the Society bath prelcribed,
thole choten are not the Legiflative ap¬
pointed by the People.
217. Fourthly , The delivery alio of the
People into the fubjeflion of a foreign
Power, either by the Prince, or by the
Legiflative, is certainly a change of the
Legiflative, and lb a Dilfolution of the
• Government. For the end, why People
entered into Society, being to be preler-
ved one intire, free, independent Society,
1 to be governed by its own Laws; this is
i loll when-ever they are given up into the
Power of another. - ’
218. Why, in fuch a Conllitution as
this, the Dilfolution of the Government,
in thefe Gales, is to be imputed to the
Prince, is evident, becaute he having the
Force, Treafure, and Offices of the State,
itoimplovj and often perlwading hitnielf,
t Ff $ or
( 438 ) . * 1
or being flattered by others,, that as fu-
preme Magiftrate, he is uncapable of con-
troul; he alone is in a Condition to make
great Advances toward fuch Changes, un¬
der pretence of lawful Authority, and has
it in his hands to terrifie, or fupprefs Op-
pofers, as factious, feditious, and Ene¬
mies to the Government: whereas no o-
ther part of the Legiflative, or People » is
capable, by themfelves, to attempt any
alteration of the Legiflative , without o-
pen and vifible Rebellion, apt enough to
be taken notice of; which, when it pre¬
vails, produces Effects very little different
from foreign Conquefl:. Befides the Prince,
in fitch a Form of Government, having
the Power of diffblving the other Parts of
the Legiflative, and thereby rendring them
private Perfons, they can never, in oppo¬
sition to him, or without his Concur¬
rence, alter the Legiflative by a Law; his
Conient being necefiary to give any of
their "Decrees that San&ion. But yet fo far
as the other parts of the Legiflative any
way contribute to any attempt upon the -
Government, and do either promote, or
not, what jj$s in them , hinder fitch de¬
igns, they ar t e guilty, and partake in this,
which is certainly the greateih Crime Men
can be guilty of one towards another.
* ” ■ * ■ ' * •» * » ■ k •
f • y.". * f (SA * v O- t - ■ >■ hi Ik J *j
■V ' ■ 219. There
?-* v (439)
219. There is one way more, whereby
fuch a Government may be diffolved, and
chat is ; When he, who has tneluprcme,
executive Power, negletls, and abandons
that charge, lo that the Laws, already
made, can no longer be put in executi¬
on. This is demonftratively to reduce
all to Anarchy, and lb effe&ually to dil-
lolve the Government. For Laws not
being made for themfelves, but to be, by
their execution, the Bonds ol the Society,
to keep every part of the Body Politick in
its due place, and lunftion. When that
totally ceales, the Government vifibly
ceafes, and the People become a confuted
Multitude, without Order or Connexion.
Where there is no longer the adminiftra-
tion of Jnftice, for the fecuring of Mens
Rights; nor any remaining Power with¬
in the Community to direft the Force,
or provide for the Neceffities of the pub-
lick; there certainly is no Government
left. Where the Laws cannot be execu¬
ted it is all one as if there were no Laws;
and a Government without Laws, is, I
! Ihppofe, a Myftery in Politicks, uncon-
iceivable to humane Capacity, and incon-
fiftent with humane Society.
220. In thefe, and the like Cafes, when
the Government is diffolved, the People
are at liberty to provide for themfelves,
Ff 4 by
f 44° ) 1
by erecting a new Legiflative, differing
from the other, by the change of Perfons,
or Form, or both, as they fhall find it '
moft for their fafety and good. For the.
Society can never, by the fault of another,
lofe the native and original Right it has ;
to preferve it felf ; which can onlv be
done by a fetled Legiflative, and a fair
and impartial execution of the Laws made
by it. But the ltate of Mankind is not lo
rpiferable, that they are not capable of
ufing ^this Pvemedy, till it be too late
to loox ior any. i o tell People they may
provide for therafelves, lyerebting a new
Legiflative; when, by Oppreffion, Arti- jj
tifice, or being delivered over to a foreign
Power, their old one is gone, is only to
tell them, they may expebt Relief, when
it is too late, and the evil is pail Cure.
This is, in Effebt, no more, than to bid
them, firfr be Slaves, and then to take
care of their Liberty; and, when their
Chains are on, tell them, they may
act like Free-men. This, if barely fo, is
rather Mockery than Relief, and Men can
never be fecure from Tyranny, if there be
no means to efcapeit,till they are perfectly
uncsr it: And therefore it is, tiat they
have not only: a Right to get out of it, but
tb prevent iL,oT
i
< ^ ^ yi 101 t'J ; V M L •.
t 1 *'v * r* -
v 1 -- " .221. There
( 440
2 2i. There is therefore Secondly another '
way,whereby Governments are diftolved;
and that is, when the Legislative, or
the Prince, either of them act contrary
to their Truft. ; •
Firft, 1 'he Legislative a&s againft the
Truft repofed in them, when: they endea¬
vour to invade the Property of the Sub¬
ject, and to make themielves, or any part
of the Community, Matters, or Arbitra¬
ry Difbofers of the Lives, Liberties, or
Fortunes of the People. . .«• i
222. The Reatons why Men enter into
Society, is the preservation of their Pro- -
perty ; and the end why they chute, and
authorize a Legidative, is, that there may
be Laws made, and Rules let, as Guards
and Fences to the Properties of all the So¬
ciety, to limit the Power, and moderate
the Dominion of every Part and Member
of the Society. . For fince it can never be
tuppofed to be the Will of the Society,
that the Legitlative thou Id have a Power
to deftroy that which every one defigns to
lecure, by entering into Society, and for
which the People fubmitted themfelves to
Legifiators of their own making; when¬
ever the Legiflators endeavour to take a-
way, and deftroy the Poperty of the Peo¬
ple, or to reduce them to Slavery, under
Arbitrary Power, they put themfelves in¬
to
-
( 44 2 )
to a ftate of War with the People, who
are thereupon ablolved from any farther
Obedience, and are left to the common
Refuge, which God hath provided for all
Men, againft Force and Violence. When-
foever therefore the Legiflative fhall tranf-
grels this fundamental Rule of Society ;and
either by Ambition, Fear, Folly or Corru¬
ption, endeavour to gralp themlelves, or
put into the hands of any other, an Abio-
iblute Power, over the Lives, Liberties,
and Eftates of the People : by this breach
of Truft they forfeit the Power, the Peo¬
ple had put into their hands, for quite
Contrary ends, and it devolves to the Peo¬
ple ; who have a Right to relume their
original Liberty, and, by the Eftablifh-
ment of a new Legiflative ( fuch as they
fhall think fit) provide for their oum
Safety and Security, which is the end for
which they are in Society. What I have
laid here, concerning the Legiflative, in
general, holds true alio concerning the fu-
preme Executor, who having a double
Truft put in him, both to have a part in
the Legiflative ;and the fupreme Execution
of the Law,abts againft both,when he goes
about to let up his own Arbitrary Will,
as the Law of the Society. He ads alio
contrary to his Truft, when he implovs
the Force, Trealure, and Offices of the
Society,
( 44 ?)
Society, to corrupt the Reprefentatives,
and gain them to his purpoies: when he
openly pre-ingages the Eleftors, and pre-
Icribes, to their choice, fiich, whom he
has, by Sollicitation, Threats, Promiles,
or othewue, won to his defigns; andim-
ploys them to bring in liich, who have
promifed before-hand what to vote, and
what to enaft. Thus to regulate Candi¬
dates and Ele&ors, and new model the
ways of Ele£iion, what is it, but to Cut
up t he Government by the Roots, and
poiiou the very Fountain of publick Secu¬
rity ? For the People having relerved to
them (elves the Choice of their Reprelen-
tatives, as the Fence to their Properties,
could do it for no other end, but that
they might always be freely cholen, and
lo cholen, freely a£t and advile, as the ne-
ceility of the Commonwealth, and the
publick Good fhould, upon examination,
and mature debate, be judged to require.
This, thole who give their Votes before
they hear the Debate, and have weighed
the Realons on all Tides, are not capable'
of doing. To prepare liich an Alfembly
as this, and endeavour to fet up the de¬
clared Abettors of his own Will, for the
true Reprefentatives of the People, and
the Law-makers of the Society, is certain¬
ly as great a breacji of truft, and as per-
fea
( 444 ) |
fed a Declaration of a defign to fubvei t
the Government, as is poffible to be met
with. To which, if one fhall add re¬
wards and punifhments vifibly imploy’d
to the fame end , and all the arts of per¬
verted Law made ufe of to take off and
deftroy all that Hand in the way of fuch a
defign, and will not comply and content
to betray the Liberties of their Country,
•’twill be paft doubt what is doing. What
Power they' ought to have in the
Society who thus imploy it contrary to
the truft went along with it in its firft In-
ffitution, is eafy to determine ; and one
cannot but fee, that he who has once at¬
tempted any fuch thing as this, cannot
any longer be trufted.
223. To this perhaps it will be laid,
that the People being ignorant and always
difcontentedito lav the Foundation of Go-
* * 4
vernment in the unfteady opinion and un¬
certain humour of the People, is to expote
it to certain ruin : and no Government
will be able long to fubfift, if the People
may fet up a new Legiflative whenever
they take offence at the old one. To this
I Anfwer quite the-contrary. People are
not lb eafiiy got out of their old Forms.as
fome are apt rofiiggeft. They are hardly V
robe prevailed with to amend the acknow¬
ledg’d Faults in the Frame they have been
accuftomd
( 440
ficcuftom’d to. And if there be any origi-
nnal defe&s, or adventitious ones introdu¬
ced by time or corruption.; ’tis not an ea-
fy thing to get them changed, even when
i all the World fees there is an opportunity
for it. This flownefs and averfion in the
People to quit their old Conftitutions, has
in the many Revolutions have been feen
(in this Kingdom, in this and former Ages,
ftill kept us to^or afterlbme interval of fruit-
lefs attempts, flill brought us back again to
|< our oldLegiflative of King,Lords andCom-
mons: and whatever provocations have
made theCrown be taken from feme of our
Princes Heads, they never carried.rhe peo¬
ple lb far as to place it in another Line.
224. But ’twill be laid, this Hypothefis
lays a ferment for frequent Rebellion. To
which I Anfwer,
• Firft, No more than any other Hypo¬
thefis. For when the People are made
miferable, and find themlelves expofed to
the ill ufage of Arbitrary Power; cry up
their Governours as much as you will for
Sons of 'Jupiter , let them be Sacred and
Divine, delcended or authoriz’d from fclea-
ven ; give them out for whom or what
you pleafe, the lame will happen. The
People generally ill treated, and contrary
to right, will be ready upon , any occalion
to ; eale themlelves of a burden that fits
*t8 heavy
( 44 6 )
heavy upon them. They will wifh and
ieek for the opportunity , which in the
change, weaknels and accidents of human
affairs feldom delays long to offer it felf.
He muft have lived but a little while in
the World, who has not feen Examples
of this in his time; and he muft have read
very little, who cannot produce Examples
of it in all forts of Governments in the
World.
225. Secondly, I Anfwer, fuch Revo¬
lutions happen not upon every little mis¬
management in publick affairs. Great
miftakes in the ruling part, many wrong
and inconvenient Laws , and all the flips
of human frailty will be born by the Peo¬
ple, without mutiny or murmur. But if
a long train of Abufes, Prevarications and
Artifices, all tending the fame way, make
the d£fign vifible to the People, and they
cannot but feel what they lye under, and
fee whither they are going; 'tis not to be
, ’wonder’d that they fhould then rouze
themfelves, and endeavour to put the rule
into fuch hands which may fecure to them
the ends for which Government was at
firft ere&ed ; and without which, ancient
Names and fpecious Forms, are fo far
from being better, that they are much
worfe than theftate of Nature, or pure
Anarchy; the inconveniencies being all
as
(447)
i as great and as near, but the remedy far-
i ther off and more difficult.
226. Thirdly , I Anfwer, that this
Power in the People of providing for their
fafety anew, by a new Legiflative, when
i their Legiflators have a&ed contrary to
i their truft , by invading their Property
is the beft fence againft Rebellion, and
the probableft means to hinder it. For
Rebellion be’ing an Oppofition, not to Per-
lons but Authority, which is founded on¬
ly in the Conftitutions and Laws of the
Government; thole, whoever they be,
’ who by force break through, and by force
jnftify their violation of them, are truly
and properly Rebels. For when Men by
entering into Society and civil Govern¬
ment, have excluded force , and introdu¬
ced Laws for the prelervation of Proper-
i ty. Peace and Unity amongft-themlelves;
thole who letup force again in oppofition
to the Laws, do rebellare , that is, bring
back again the Rate of War, and are pro-
iperly Rebels ; which they who are in
IPower, by the pretence they have to Au¬
thority, the temptation of force they have
lin their hands,. and the Flattery of thole
about them being likeliell to do * thepro-
ipereft way to prevent the evil, is to fliew
them the danger and injuftice of it, who
are under the greateft temptation to run
into it. 227. In
1
( 448 )
., 227. In both the forementioned Cafes,
when either the Legiflative is changed, or
the Legiflators a£t contrary to the end for
which they were constituted ; thofe who
are guilty are guilty of Rebellion. For if
any one by force takes away the efta-
blifk’d Legiflative of any Society, and the
Laws by them made, purfuant to their
truft,he thereby takes away the Umpirage
which every one had confented to, for a
peaceable decilion of all their Controver¬
sies, and a bar to the Rate of War amongft
them. They who remove, or change the
Legiflative, take away this decifive pow¬
er, which no Body can have but by the ap¬
pointment and confent of the People ; and
fb destroying the Authority which the
People did, and no Body elle can let up,
and introducing a Power which the Peo¬
ple hath not authoriz’d actually intro¬
duce a Rate of War, which is, that of
Force without Authority : and thus by
removing the Legiflative eftablifh’d by the
Society, in whole decilions the People ac-
quieiced and united, as to N that of their
own will; they unty the Knot, and ex-
pote the People anew to the ftate of War.
And if thole, who by force take away the
Legiflative, are Rebels, the Legiflators
themfelves, as has been Ihewn, can be no
lels efteemed lo; when they who were
let
1
(449)
• 4 • I f i 0
let up for the prote&ion and prelervation
of the People, their Liberties and Proper¬
ties, /hall by force invade and indeavour
to take them away ; and lo they, putting
themlelves into a date of War with thole
who made them the Protettors and Guar¬
dians of their Peace, are properly, and
with the greatell aggravation, Rebellantes
Rebels.
228. But if they who lay it lays a foun-
lation for Rebellion, mean that it may
)Ccalion civil Wars, or inteftine Broils, to
ell the People they are abfolved from O-
)edience, when illegal attempts are made
ipon their Liberties or Properties, and
nay oppole the unlawful violence of thole
vho were their Magiftrates when they
nvade their Properties, contrary to the
ruft put in them ; and that therefore this
)oftrine is not to be allow’d, being lb
veftructive to the Peace of the World.
They may as well lay upon the lame
round, that honefl: Men may not oppole
Lobbers or Pirats, becauie this may occa-
on dborder or blocd/hed. If any mil-
hiei come in luch Gales, it is not to be
aarged upon him who defends his own
ght, but on him that invades his Neigh-
ours. If the innocent honelt Man, mult
aietly quit all he has for Peace lake, to
m who will lay violent hands upon it,
1 : G g • I de-
1
(45°)
I defirc it may be confider’d, what a kind
of Peace there will be in the World .which
con/ilfs only in Violence and Rapine ; and
which is to be maintain’d only for the be¬
nefit of Robbers and Oppreflors. Who
would not think it an admirable Peace be¬
twixt the Mighty and the Mean, when
the Lamb, without refiftance, yielded his
Throat to be torn by the imperious Wolf?
Polyphemmh Den gives us a perfect Pattern
of fuch a Peace. Such a Government
wherein Dlyljes and his Companions had
nothing to do, but quietly to iiiffer them-
felves to be devour’d. And no doubt,
VlyJJes, who was a prudent Man,preach’d
up Pa (five Obedience, and exhorted them
to a quiet Submiflion, by reprelenting to
them of what concernment Peace was to
Mankind ; and by fbewing the inconve-
niencies might happen, if they fhould of¬
fer to refift Polyphemus, who had now the
Power over them. • i
229. The end of Government is the
good of Mankind , and which is beft for
Mankind, that the People fhould be al¬
ways expos’d to the boundlefs will of Ty¬
ranny, or that the Rulers fhould be (ome-
times liable to be oppos d , when they
grow exorbitant in the ufe of their Pow¬
er, and imploy it for the deffrufUon, and
not the prelervation of the Properties of
their People? • 230. hi or
( 45 1 )
2^0. Nor let any one fay, that mifi*
:hief can arile from hence, as often as it
(hall pleale a buly head or turbulent fpi-
'it to defire the alteration of the Govern-
nent. ’Tis true, fuch Men may ftit
whenever they pleafe, but it will be only
o their own juft ruin and perdition. For
ill the milchief be grown general, and the
11 defigns of the Rulers become vilible, or
heir attempts fenfible to the greater part,
he People, who are more dilpofed to fuf-
er, than right themfelves by Refiftance,
re not apt to ftir. The examples of par-
icular Injustice, or Oppreffion of here
nd there an unfortunate Man, moves
hem not. But if they univerfally have
perfwafion grounded upon manifeft evi-
ilence, that defigns are carrying on a-
jainft their Liberties, and the general
ourle and tendency of things cannot
>ut give them ftrong fufpicions of the
vil intention of their Governours, who
> to be blamed for it ? Who can help it,
F they, who might avoid it, bring them-
elves into this fufpicion ? Are the People
d be blamed, if they have the fence of ra-
ional Creatures, and can think of things
o otherwife than as they find and feel
hem? And is it not rather their fault
pho put things in fuch a pofture that
hey would not have them thought as they .
. v Gg 2 -• are ?
( 452 ) 1
are? I grant, that the Pride, Ambition,and ’
Turbulency of private Men have fome-
times caufed great Diforders in Common¬
wealths , and Faflions have been fatal to
States and Kingdoms. But whether the
mifchief hath oftner began in the Peoples
Wantonnefs, and a Defire to call: off the
lawful Authority of their Rulers; or in
the Rulers Iniblence, and Endeavours to
get, and exercife an Arbitrary Power over
their People; whether Opprefiion, or Difc
obedience gave the firft rile to the Dilbr-
der, I leave it to impartial Hiftory to de - 1
termine. This I am fure, who-ever, ei¬
ther Ruler or Subject, by force goes about
to invade the Rights of either Prince or
People, and lays the foundation for over¬
turning the Conftitution and Frame of any
Juft Government; he is guilty of the grea-
teft Crime, I think, a Man is capable of,
being to anfwerlbr all thole milchiefs, of
Blood, Rapine, and Defblation, which
the breaking to pieces of Governments
bring on a Countrey. And he, who does
it, is juftiy to be efteemed the common
Enemy and Peft of Mankind ; and is to.
be treated accordingly. •,
231. That Subje&s or Foreigners at¬
tempting by force, on the Properties of a-
ny People, may be-refifted with force, is
agreed on all hands. But that Magiftrates,
• 'V doing
( 45 ?)
doing the fame thing, may be refitted,
hath of late been denied : As if thofe
who had the greateft Priviledges and Ad¬
vantages by the Law, had thereby a Pow¬
er to break thofe Laws, by which alone
they were let in a better place than
their Brethren : whereas their Offence is
thereby the greater, - both as being un¬
grateful for the greater (hare they have by
the Law, and breaking alfo that Truft
which is put into their hands by their
Brethren.
• 232. Whofoever ufes force without
Right, as every one does in Society, who
does it without Law; puts himfelf into a
Rate of War with thofe, againft whom
he fo ufes it, and in that ftate all former
Ties are cancelled, all other Rights ceafe,
•and every one has a Right to defend him¬
felf, and to refitt the Aggreffour. This is
fo evident, that Barclay himfelf, that
great Affertor of the Power and Sacred-
nefs of Kings, is forced to confels, That
it is lawful for the People, in fome Cafes,
to refitt their King; and that too in a
Chapter, wherein he pretends to fhew
that the Divine Law flouts up the People
from all manner of Rebellion. Whereby
it is evident, even by his own Do&rine,
that, fince they may, in fome Cafes, refitt,
all refitting of Princes is not Rebellion.
Gg 3 His
(454)
His Words are thele. Quod (iquis die at ,
Ergone populus tyrannic# crudelitate & furore
jugulum femper prabebit ? Ergone multitudo
cevifates fuas fame, ferro, & flammd vaftari ,
feqne f conjugeSy & liber osfor tun# ludibrio&
tyranni Ubidini exponi, incite omnia vita pe-
ricula omnefque miferias & moleflias a Rege
deduce patientur ? Num illis quod omni ant-
mantinm gtner 't eft a naturd tribalum^enega-
ri debet, ut fc. vim vi repellant , fefeq\ ab in¬
juria tueantur ? Httic breviter refponfum jit ,
Populo tmiverfo negari defen fionem, qua juris
naturalis e/? s neque ultionem qua prater natu-
ram eft adverfus Regem concede debere. Qua-
propter fi Rex non in fingulares t ant am perfo-
nas aliquot privatum odium exerceat , fed cor¬
pus eteam Reipub/ic#, cujrn ipfe caput eft, i.e.
totum pop a lam , vel infignem aliquam ejus
partem immani & intolerandd favitid Jeu ty-
rannide divexet ; populo, quidtm hoc cafu re¬
ft fendi ac tuendi fe ab injuria pote[l as compe-
titiy fed tuendi fe tantum , nonenim in prin-
cipem tnvadendi: & rejHtuend# injure# Mat#,
non recedende d debit a reverent id propter ac¬
cept am injure am. Vrnfentem denique impe-
turn propulfandi non vim prater it am ulcifcen-
di jits habet. Horton enim alterum a naturd
eft, ut vitam fcilicet corpufq\ tueamur. Alte-
rnm vero contra n at nr am , ut inferior de fn-
periori fupplicium fumat. Quod itaque po¬
pulus malum , antequam jaclum fit , impedire
4 ' potejl ,
(455 )
potelt,nefiat, idpoftquam factum eft , in Regem
authorem feeler is vindicare non potejl. popu *
Ins igitttr hoc amplihs quam privatus qmfpi-
am habet •* Quod hutc^ vel ipfis adverfariis
judicibus , excepto Buchanano , nullum nifi in
pat lent la remedium Juperest. turn i lie ft in -
tolcrabilis tyrannic eft (modicum enirn^ ferre
omnino debet) refiftere cum reverent id pofflty
Barclay contra Monarchom. 1 . 5. c. 8. In
il Englifh thus:
2. 4 But if any one fhould ask, Muff
4 the People then always lay themfelves
4 open to the Cruelty and Rage of Ty-
‘ ‘ ranny ? Mull they fee their Cities pilla-
4 aed, and laid in allies, their Wives and
< Children expoied to the Tyrant’s Lull:,
4 and Fury, and themfelves and Families
4 reduced, by their King, to Ruine, and
• 4 all the Mileries of Want and Oppreflt-
4 on, and yet fit ftill ? Mufc Men alone
4 be debarred the common Priviledge of
4 oppoling force with force, which Nature
4 allows fo freely to all other Creatures,
4 for their prefervation from Injury ? I
‘anfwer: Self-defence is a part of the
‘Law of Nature; nor can it be denied
4 the Community, even againft the King
* himfelf; but to revenge themfelves upon
4 him, muft by no means, be allowed
4 them; it being not agreeable to that
4 Law. Wherefore if the King fhall fhew
Gg 4 / ‘an
( 4*6) r /;
Cn hatred, not only to iome particular
r Perfons, but .-lets' himfelf againft the
6 Body of tne Commonwealth, whereof
4 he is the Head, andlhall, with intolera-
‘ ble ill ufage, cruelly tyrannize over the
‘whole, or a confiderable part of the
‘People; in this cafe, the People have
a right to refid and defend themlelves
‘ from Injury : but it muft be with this
‘ Caution , that they only defend them-
‘ Pelves, but do not attach their Prince : •
‘ They may repair the Damages re¬
ceived , but muft not, for any provo¬
cation, exceed the bounds of due R.e-
‘verence and Relped:. They may. re-
* pulle the prelent attempt, but muft not
4 revenge paft violences. For it is natu-
c ral for us to defend Life and Limb, but
‘that an Imeriour fhould punilh a Superi¬
or is againft: Nature. The mifchjef *
‘ which is defigned them, the People may
4 prevent before it be done, but when it is
‘ done, they muft not revenge it on the
‘King, though Author of the Yillany.
‘ This therefore is die Priviledge of the
‘People in general, above what any pri-
1 vate rerfon Hath ; That particular Men
Cre allowed , by our Adversaries them-
‘ ielves, (Buchanm only excepted) to have
‘no otner Remedy but Patience ; but the
‘ Body of the People may, with Refpeci,
‘refift
upon the Forfeiture of
their Rulers, or at the Determination of
the Time fet, it reverts to the Societv,
and the People have a Right to a£l as Su¬
preme, and continue the Legiflative in
themfdves, or place it in a new Form, or
new hands, as they think good.
FINIS.