without contradiction passing for the title of those men which at his command were sent up by the people to carry their Petitions and give him if he permitted it their advise Which may serve as an admonition for those that are the true and absolute Representative of a People to instruct men in the nature of that Office and to take heed how they admit of any other generall Representation upon any occasion whatsoever if they mean to discharge the 〈◊〉 committed to them The difference between these three kindes of Common-wealth consisteth not in the difference of Power but in the difference of Convenience or Aptitude to produce the Peace and Security of the people for which end they were instituted And to compare Monarchy with the other two we may observe First that whosoeuer beareth the Person of the people or is one of that Assembly that bears it 〈◊〉 also his own naturall Person And though he be carefull in his politique Person to procure the common interest yet he is more or no lesse carefull to procure the private good of himselfe his family kindred and friends and for the most part if the publique interest chance to crosse the private he preferrs the private for the Passions of men are commonly more potent than their Reason From whence it follows that where the publique and private interest are most closely united there is the publique most advanced Now in Monarchy the private interest is the same with the publique The riches power and honour of a Monarch arise onely from the riches strength and reputation of his Subjects For no King can be rich nor glorious nor secure whose Subjects are either poore or contemptible or too weak through want or dissention to maintain a war against their enemies Whereas in a Democracy or Aristocracy the publique prosperity conferres not so much to the private fortune of one that is corrupt or ambitious as doth many times a perfidious advice a treacherous action or a Civill warre Secondly that a Monarch receiveth counsell of whom when and where he pleaseth and consequently may heare the opinion of men versed in the matter about which he deliberates of what rank or quality soever and as long before the time of action and with as much secrecy as he will But when a Soveraigne Assembly has need of Counsell none are admitted but such as have a Right thereto from the beginning which for the most part are of those who have beene versed more in the acquisition of Wealth than of Knowledge and are to give their advice in long discourses which may and do commonly excite men to action but not governe them in it For the Understanding is by the flame of the Passions never enlightned but dazled Nor is there any place or time wherein an Assemblie can receive Counsell with secrecie because of their owne Multitude Thirdly that the Resolutions of a Monarch are subject to no other Inconstancy than that of Humane Nature but in Assemblies besides that of Nature there ariseth an Inconstancy from the Number For the absence of a few that would have the Resolution once taken continue firme which may happen by security negligence or private impediments or the diligent appearance of a few of the contrary opinion undoes to day all that was concluded yesterday Fourthly that a Monarch cannot disagree with himselfe out of envy or interest but an Assembly may and that to such a height as may produce a Civill Warre Fifthly that in Monarchy there is this inconvenience that any Subject by the power of one man for the enriching of a favourite or flatterer may be deprived of all he possesseth which I confesse is a great and inevitable inconvenience But the same may as well happen where the Soveraigne Power is in an Assembly For their power is the same and they are as subject to evill Counsell and to be seduced by Orators as a Monarch by Flatterers and becoming one an others Flatterers serve one anothers Covetousnesse and Ambition by turnes And whereas the Favorites of Monarchs are few and they have none els to advance but their owne Kindred the Favorites of an Assembly are many and the Kindred much more numerous than of any Monarch Besides there is no Favourite of a Monarch which cannot as well succour his friends as hurt his enemies But Orators that is to say Favourites of Soveraigne Assemblies though they have great power to hurt have little to save For to accuse requires lesse Eloquence such is mans Nature than to excuse and condemnation than absolution more resembles Justice Sixtly that it is an inconvenience in Monarchie that the Soveraigntie may descend upon an Infant or one that cannot discerne between Good and Evill and consisteth in this that the use of his Power must be in the hand of another Man or of some Assembly of men which are to governe by his right and in his name as Curators and Protectors of his Person and Authority But to say there is inconvenience in putting the use of the Soveraign Power into the hand of a Man or an Assembly of men is to say that all Government is more Inconvenient than Confusion and Civill Warre And therefore all the danger that can be pretended must arise from the Contention of those that for an office of so great honour and profit may become Competitors To make it appear that this inconvenience proceedeth not from that forme of Government we call Monarchy we are to consider that the precedent Monarch hath appointed who shall have the Tuition of his Infant Successor either expressely by Testament or tacitly by not controlling the Custome in that case received And then such inconvenience if it happen is to be attributed not to the Monarchy but to the Ambition and Injustice of the Subjects which in all kinds of Government where the people are not well instructed in their Duty and the Rights of Soveraignty is the same Or else the precedent Monarch hath not at all taken order for such Tuition And then the Law of Nature hath provided this sufficient rule That the Tuition shall be in him that hath by Nature most interest in the preservation of the Authority of the Infant and to whom least benefit can accrue by his death or diminution For seeing every man by nature seeketh his own benefit and promotion to put an Infant into the power of those that can promote themselves by his destruction or dammage is not Tuition but Trechery So that sufficient provision being taken against all just quarrell about the Government under a Child if any contention arise to the disturbance of the publique Peace it is not to be attributed to the forme of Monarchy but to the ambition of Subjects and ignorance of their Duty On the other side there is no great Common-wealth the Soveraignty whereof is in a great Assembly which is not as to consultations of Peace and Warre and making of Lawes in the same condition as if the Government
them For it is a thing that dependeth not on Nature but on the scope of the Writer and is subservient to every mans proper method In the Institutions of Justinian we find seven sorts of Civill Lawes 1. The Edicts Constitutions and Epistles of the Prince that is of the Emperour because the whole power of the people was in him Like these are the Proclamations of the Kings of England 2. The Decrees of the whole people of Rome comprehending the Senate when they were put to the Question by the Senate These were Lawes at first by the vertue of the Soveraign Power residing in the people and such of them as by the Emperours were not abrogated remained Lawes by the Authority Imperiall For all Lawes that bind are understood to be Lawes by his authority that has power to repeale them Somewhat like to these Lawes are the Acts of Parliament in England 3. The Decrees of the Common people excluding the Senate when they were put to the question by the Tribune of the people For such of them as were not abrogated by the Emperours remained Lawes by the Authority Imperiall Like to these were the Orders of the House of Commons in England 4. Senatûs consulta the Orders of the Senate because when the people of Rome grew so numerous as it was inconvenient to assemble them it was thought fit by the Emperour that men should Consult the Senate in stead of the people And these have some resemblance with the Acts of Counsell 5. The Edicts of Praetors and in some Cases of the Aediles such as are the Chiefe Justices in the Courts of England 6. Responsa Prudentum which were the Sentences and Opinions of those Lawyers to whom the Emperour gave Authority to interpret the Law and to give answer to such as in matter of Law demanded their advice which Answers the Judges in giving Judgement were obliged by the Constitutions of the Emperour to observe And should be like the Reports of Cases Judged if other Judges be by the Law of England bound to observe them For the Judges of the Common Law of England are not properly Judges but Juris Consulti of whom the Judges who are either the Lords or Twelve men of the Country are in point of Law to ask advice 7. Also Unwritten Customes which in their own nature are an imitation of Law by the tacite consent of the Emperour in case they be not contrary to the Law of Nature are very Lawes Another division of Lawes is into Naturall and Positive Naturâ—…ll are those which have been Lawes from all Eternity and are called not onely Naturall but also Morall Lawes consisting in the Morall Vertues as Justice Equity and all habits of the mind that conduce to Peace and Charity of which I have already spoken in the fourteenth and fifteenth Chapters Positive are those which have not been from Eternity but have been made Lawes by the Will of those that have had the Soveraign Power over others and are either written or made known to men by some other argument of the Will of their Legislator Again of Positive Lawes some are Humane some Divine And of Humane positive lawes some are Distributive some Penal Distributive are those that determine the Rights of the Subjects declaring to every man what it is by which he acquireth and holdeth a propriety in lands or goods and a right or liberty of action and these speak to all the Subjects Penal are those which declare what Penalty shall be inflicted on those that violate the Law and speak to the Ministers and Officers ordained for execution For though every one ought to be informed of the Punishments ordained before-hand for their transgression neverthelesse the Command is not addressed to the Delinquent who cannot be supposed will faithfully punish himselfe but to publique Ministers appointed to see the Penalty executed And these Penal Lawes are for the most part written together with the Lawes Distributive and are sometimes called Judgements For all Lawes are generall Judgements or Sentences of the Legislator as also every particular Judgement is a Law to him whose case is Judged Divine Positive Lawes for Naturall Lawes being Eternall and Universall are all Divine are those which being the Commandements of God not from all Eternity nor universally addressed to all men but onely to a certain people or to certain persons are declared for such by those whom God hath authorised to declare them But this Authority of man to declare what be these Positive Lawes of God how can it be known God may command a man by a supernaturall way to deliver Lawes to other men But because it is of the essence of Law that he who is to be obliged be assured of the Authority of him that declareth it which we cannot naturally take notice to be from God How can a man without supernaturall Revelation be assured of the Revelation received by the declarer and how can he be bound to obey them For the first question how a man can be assured of the Revelation of another without a Revelation particularly to himselfe it is evidently impossible For though a man may be induced to believe such Revelation from the Miracles they see him doe or from seeing the Extraordinary sanctity of his life or from seeing the Extraordinary wisedome or Extraordinary felicity of his Actions all which are marks of God extraordinary favour yet they are not assured evidences of speciall Revelation Miracles are Marvellous workes but that which is marvellous to one may not be so to another Sanctity may be feigned and the visible felicities of this world are most often the work of God by Naturall and ordinary causes And therefore no man can infallibly know by naturall reason that another has had a supernaturall revelation of Gods will but only a beliefe every one as the signs thereof shall appear greater or lesser a firmer or a weaker belief But for the second how he can be bound to obey them it is not so hard For if the Law declared be not against the Law of Nature which is undoubtedly Gods Law and he undertake to obey it he is bound by his own act bound I say to obey it but not bound to believe it for mens beliefe and interiour cogitations are not subject to the commands but only to the operation of God ordinary or extraordinary Faith of Supernaturall Law is not a fulfilling but only an assenting to the same and not a duty that we exhibite to God but a gift which God freely giveth to whom he pleaseth as also Unbelief is not a breach of any of his Lawes but a rejection of them all except the Laws Naturall But this that I say will be made yet cleerer by the Examples and Testimonies concerning this point in holy Scripture The Covenant God made with Abraham in a Supernaturall manner was thus This is the Covenant which thou shalt observe between Me and Thee and thy Seed after thee Abrahams Seed had
that word is understood Affliction for Sinne yet the Right of Afflicting is not alwayes derived from mens Sinne but from Gods Power This question Why Evill men often Prosper and Good men suffer Adversity has been much disputed by the Antient and is the same with this of ours by what Right God dispenseth the Prosperities and Adversities of this life and is of that difficulty as it hath shaken the faith not onely of the Vulgar but of Philosophers and which is more of the Saints concerning the Divine Providence How Good saith David is the God of Israel to those that are Upright in Heart and yet my feet were almost gone my treadings had well-nigh slipt for I was grieved at the Wicked when I saw the Ungodly in such Prosperity And Job how earnestly does he expostulate with God for the many Afflictions he suffered notwithstanding his Righteousnesse This question in the case of Job is decided by God himselfe not by arguments derived from Job's Sinne but his own Power For whereas the friends of Job drew their arguments from his Affliction to his Sinne and he defended himselfe by the conscience of his Innocence God himselfe taketh up the matter and having justified the Affliction by arguments drawn from his Power such as this Where wast thou when I layd the foundations of the earth and the like both approved Job's Innocence and reproved the Erroneous doctrine of his friends Conformable to this doctrine is the sentence of our Saviour concerning the man that was born Blind in these words Neither hath this man sinned nor his fathers but that the works of God might be made manifest in him And though it be said That Death entred into the world by sinne by which is meant that if Adam had never sinned he had never dyed that is never suffered any separation of his soule from his body it follows not thence that God could not justly have Afflicted him though he had not Sinned as well as he afflicteth other living creatures that cannot sinne Having spoken of the Right of Gods Soveraignty as grounded onely on Nature we are to consider next what are the Divine Lawes or Dictates of Naturall Reason which Lawes concern either the naturall Duties of one man to another or the Honour naturally due to our Divine Soveraign The first are the same Lawes of Nature of which I have spoken already in the 14. and 15. Chapters of this Treatise namely Equity Justice Mercy Humility and the rest of the Morall Vertues It remaineth therefore that we consider what Praecepts are dictated to men by their Naturall Reason onely without other word of God touching the Honour and Worship of the Divine Majesty Honour consisteth in the inward thought and opinion of the Power and Goodnesse of another and therefore to Honour God is to think as Highly of his Power and Goodnesse as is possible And of that opinion the externall signes appearing in the Words and Actions of men are called Worship which is one part of that which the Latines understand by the word Cultus For Cultus signifieth properly and constantly that labour which a man bestowes on any thing with a purpose to make benefit by it Now those things whereof we make benefit are either subject to us and the profit they yeeld followeth the labour we bestow upon them as a naturall effect or they are not subject to us but answer our labour according to their own Wills In the first sense the labour bestowed on the Earth is called Culture and the education of Children a Culture of their mindes In the second sense where mens wills are to be wrought to our purpose not by Force but by Compleasance it signifieth as much as Courting that is a winning of favour by good offices as by praises by acknowledging their Power and by whatsoever is pleasing to them from whom we look for any benefit And this is properly Worship in which sense Publicola is understood for a Worshipper of the People and Cultus Dei for the Worship of God From internall Honour consisting in the opinion of Power and Goodnesse arise three Passions Love which hath reference to Goodnesse and Hope and Fear that relate to Power And three parts of externall worship Praise Magnifying and Blessing The subject of Praise being Goodnesse the subject of Magnifying and Blessing being Power and the effect thereof Felicity Praise and Magnifying are signified both by Words and Actions By Words when we say a man is Good or Great By Actions when we thank him for his Bounty and obey his Power The opinion of the Happinesse of another can onely be expressed by words There be some signes of Honour both in Attributes and Actions that be Naturally so as amongst Attributes Good Just Liberall and the like and amongst Actions Prayers Thanks and Obedience Others are so by Institution or Custome of men and in some times and places are Honourable in others Dishonourable in others Indifferent such as are the Gestures in Salutation Prayer and Thanksgiving in different times and places differently used The former is Naturall the later Arbitrary Worship And of Arbitrary Worship there bee two differences For sometimes it is a Commanded sometimes Voluntary Worship Commanded when it is such as hee requireth who is Worshipped Free when it is such as the Worshipper thinks fit When it is Commanded not the words or gesture but the obedience is the Worship But when Free the Worship consists in the opinion of the beholders for if to them the words or actions by which we intend honour seem ridiculous and tending to contumely they are no Worship because no signes of Honour and no signes of Honour because a signe is not a signe to him that giveth it but to him to whom it is made that is to the spectator Again there is a Publique and a Private Worship Publique is the Worship that a Common-wealth performeth as one Person Private is that which a Private person exhibiteth Publique in respect of the whole Common-wealth is Free but in respect of Particular men it is not so Private is in secret Free but in the sight of the multitude it is never without some Restraint either from the Lawes or from the Opinion of men which is contrary to the nature of Liberty The End of Worship amongst men is Power For where a man seeth another worshipped he supposeth him powerfull and is the readier to obey him which makes his Power greater But God has no Ends the worship we do him proceeds from our duty and is directed according to our capacity by those rules of Honour that Reason dictateth to be done by the weak to the more potent men in hope of benefit for fear of dammage or in thankfulnesse for good already received from them That we may know what worship of God is taught us by the light of Nature I will begin with his Attributes Where First it is manifest we
of Soveraigns and both the Duty and Liberty of Subjects upon the known naturall Inclinations of Mankind and upon the Articles of the Law of Nature of which no man that pretends but reason enough to govern his private family ought to be ignorant And for the Power Ecclesiasticall of the same Soveraigns I ground it on such Texts as are both evident in themselves and consonant to the Scope of the whole Scripture And therefore am perswaded that he that shall read it with a purpose onely to be informed shall be informed by it But for those that by Writing or Publique Discourse or by their eminent actions have already engaged themselves to the maintaining of contrary opinions they will not bee so easily satisfied For in such cases it is naturall for men at one and the same time both to proceed in reading and to lose their attention in the search of objections to that they had read before Of which in a time wherein the interests of men are changed seeing much of that Doctrine which serveth to the establishing of a new Government must needs be contrary to that which conduced to the dissolution of the old there cannot choose but be very many In that part which treateth of a Christian Common-wealth there are some new Doctrines which it may be in a State where the contrary were already fully determined were a fault for a Subject without leave to divulge as being an usurpation of the place of a Teacher But in this time that men call not onely for Peace but also for Truth to offer such Doctrines as I think True and that manifestly tend to Peace and Loyalty to the consideration of those that are yet in deliberation is no more but to offer New Wine to bee put into New Cask that both may be preserved together And I suppose that then when Novelty can breed no trouble nor disorder in a State men are not generally so much inclined to the reverence of Antiquity as to preferre Ancient Errors before New and well proved Truth There is nothing I distrust more than my Elocution which neverthelesse I am confident excepting the Mischances of the Presse is not obscure That I have neglected the Ornament of quoting ancient Poets Orators and Philosophers contrary to the custome of late time whether I have done well or ill in it proceedeth from my judgment grounded on many reasons For first all Truth of Doctrine dependeth either upon Reason or upon Scripture both which give credit to many but never receive it from any Writer Secondly the matters in question are not of Fact but of Right wherein there is no place for Witnesses There is scarce any of those old Writers that contradicteth not sometimes both himself and others which makes their Testimonies insufficient Fourthly such Opinions as are taken onely upon Credit of Antiquity are not intrin◅ecally the Judgment of those that cite them but Words that passe like gaping from mouth to mouth Fiftly it is many times with a fraudulent Designe that men stick their corrupt Doctrine with the Cloves of other mens Wit Sixtly I find not that the Ancients they cite took it for an Ornament to doe the like with those that wrote before them Seventhly it is an argument of Indigestion when Greek and Latine Sentences unchewed come up again as they use to doe unchanged Lastly though I reverence those men of Ancient time that either have written Truth perspicuously or set us in a better way to find it out our selves yet to the Antiquity it self I think nothing due For if we will reverence the Age the Present is the Oldest If the Antiquity of the Writer I am not sure that generally they to whom such honor is given were more Ancient when they wrote than I am that am Writing But if it bee well considered the praise of Ancient Authors proceeds not from the reverence of the Dead but from the competition and mutuall envy of the Living To conclude there is nothing in this whole Discourse nor in that I writ before of the same Subject in Latine as far as I can perceive contrary either to the Word of God or to good Manners or to the disturbance of the Publique Tranquillity Therefore I think it may be profitably printed and more profitably taught in the Universities in case they also think so to whom the judgment of the same belongeth For seeing the Universities are the Fountains of Civill and Morall Doctrine from whence the Preachers and the Gentry drawing such water as they find use to sprinkle the same both from the Pulpit and in their Conversation upon the People there ought certainly to be great care taken to have it pure both from the Venime of Heathen Politicians and from the Incantation of Deceiving Spirits And by that means the most men knowing their Duties will be the less subject to serve the Ambition of a few discōtented persons in their purposes against the State and be the lesse grieved with the Contributions necessary for their Peace and Defence and the Governours themselves have the lesse cause to maintain at the Common charge any greater Army than is necessary to make good the Publique Liberty against the Invasions and Encroachments of forraign Enemies And thus I have brought to an end my Discourse of Civill and Ecclesiasticall Government occasioned by the disorders of the present time without partiality without application and without other designe than to set before mens eyes the mutuall Relation between Protection and Obedience of which the condition of Humane Nature and the Laws Divine both Naturall and Positive require an inviolable observation And though in the revolution of States there can be no very good Constellation for Truths of this nature to be born under as having an angry aspect from the dissolvers of an old Government and seeing but the backs of them that erect a new yet I cannot think it will be condemned at this time either by the Publique Judge of Doctrine or by any that desires the continu◅nce of Publique Peace And in this hope I return to my interrupted Speculation of Bodies Naturall wherein if God give me health to finish it I hope the Novelty will as much please as in the Doctrine of this Artificiall Body it useth to offend For such Truth as opposeth no mans profit nor pleasure is to all men welcome FINIS Memory Dreams Apparitions or Visions Understanding Trayne of Thoughts unguided Trayne of Thoughts regulated Remembrance Prudence Signes Con◅ecture of the time past Originall of Speech The use of Speech Abuses of Speech Names Proper Common Universall Necessity of D◅ons Subject to Names Use of Names Positive Negative Names with their Vses Words insignificant Understanding Inconstant names Reason what it is Reason defined Right Reason where The use of Reason Of Error and Absurdity Causes of absurditie 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Science Prudence Sapience with their difference Signes of Science Motion Vitall and Animal Endeavour Appetite Desire Hunger
alteri ne feceris To lay downe a mans Right to any thing is to devest himselfe of the Liberty of hindring another of the benefit of his own Right to the same For he that renounceth or passeth away his Right giveth not to any other man a Right which he had not before because there is nothing to which every man had not Right by Nature but onely standeth out of his way that he may enjoy his own originall Right without hindrance from him not without hindrance from another So that the efect which redoundeth to one man by another mans defect of Right is but so much diminution of impediments to the use of his own Right originall Right is layd aside either by simply Renouncing it or by Transferring it to another By Simply RENOUNCING when he cares not to whom the benefit thereof redoundeth By TRANSFERRING when he intendeth the benefit thereof to some certain person or persons And when a man hath in either manner abandoned or granted away his Right then is he said to be OBLIGED or BOUND not to hinder those to whom such Right is granted or abandoned from the benefit of it and that he Ought and it is his DUTY not to make voyd that voluntary act of his own and that such hindrance is INIUSTICE and INIURY as being Sine Jure the Right being before renounced or transferred So that Injury or Injustice in the controversies of the world is somewhat like to that which in the disputations of Scholers is called Absurdity For as it is there called an Absurdity to contradict what one maintained in the Beginning so in the world it is called Injustice and Injury voluntarily to undo that which from the beginning he had voluntarily done The way by which a man either simply Renounceth or Transferreth his Right is a Declaration or Signification by some voluntary and sufficient signe or signes that he doth so Renounce or Transferre or hath so Renounced or Transferred the same to him that accepteth it And these Signes are either Words onely or Actions onely or as it happeneth most often both Words and Actions And the same are the BONDS by which men are bound and obliged Bonds that have their strength not from their own Nature for nothing is more easily broken then a mans word but from Feare of some evill consequence upon the rupture Whensoever a man Transferreth his Right or Renounceth it it is either in consideration of some Right reciprocally transferred to himselfe or for some other good he hopeth for thereby For it is a voluntary act and of the voluntary acts of every man the object is some Good to himselfe And therefore there be some Rights which no man can be understood by any words or other signes to have abandoned or transferred As first a man cannot lay down the right of resisting them that assault him by force to take away his life because he cannot be understood to ayme thereby at any Good to himselfe The same may be sayd of Wounds and Chayns and Imprisonment both because there is no benefit consequent to such patience as there is to the patience of suffering another to be wounded or imprisoned as also because a man cannot tell when he seeth men proceed against him by violence whether they intend his death or not And lastly the motive and end for which this renouncing and transferring of Right is introduced is nothing else but the security of a mans person in his life and in the means of so preserving life as not to be weary of it And therefore if a man by words or other signes seem to despoyle himselfe of the End for which those signes were intended he is not to be understood as if he meant it or that it was his will but that he was ignorant of how such words and actions were to be interpreted The mutuall transferring of Right is that which men call CONTRACT There is difference between transferring of Right to the Thing and transferring or tradition that is delivery of the Thing it selfe For the Thing may be delivered together with the Translation of the Right as in buying and selling with ready mony or exchange of goods or lands and it may be delivered some time after Again one of the Contractors may deliver the Thing contracted for on his part and leave the other to perform his part at some determinate time after and in the mean time be trusted and then the Contract on his part is called PACT or COVENANT Or both parts may contract now to performe hereafter in which cases he that is to performe in time to come being trusted his performance is called Keeping of Promise or Faith and the fayling of performance if it be voluntary Violation of Faith When the transferring of Right is not mutuall but one of the parties transferreth in hope to gain thereby friendship or service from another or from his friends or in hope to gain the reputation of Charity or Magnanimity or to deliver his mind from the pain of compassion or in hope of reward in heaven This is not Contract but GIFT FREE-GIFT GRACE which words signifie one and the same thing Signes of Contract are either Expresse or by Inference Expresse are words spoken with understanding of what they signifie And such words are either of the time Present or Past as I Give I Grant I have Given I have Granted I will that this be yours Or of the future as I will Give I will Grant which words of the future are called PROMISE Signes by Inference are sometimes the consequence of Words sometimes the consequence of Silence sometimes the consequence of Actions somtimes the consequence of Forbearing an Action and generally a signe by Inference of any Contract is whatsoever sufficiently argues the will of the Contractor Words alone if they be of the time to come and contain a bare promise are an insufficient signe of a Free-gift and therefore not obligatory For if they be of the time to Come as To morrow I will Give they are a signe I have not given yet and consequently that my right is not transferred but remaineth till I transferre it by some other Act. But if the words be of the time Present or Past as I have given or do give to be delivered to morrow then is my to morrows Right given away to day and that by the vertue of the words though there were no other argument of my will And there is a great difference in the signification of these words Volo hoc tuum esse cras and Cras dabo that is between I will that this be thine to morrow and I will give it thee to morrow For the word I will in the former manner of speech signifies an act of the will Present but in the later it fignifies a promise of an act of the will to Come and therefore the former words being of the Present transferre
disturbance of the Peace of the Common-wealth Secondly by falsé Teachers that either mis-interpret the Law of Nature making it thereby repugnant to the Law Civill or by teaching for Lawes such Doctrines of their own or Traditions of former times as are inconsistent with the duty of a Subject Thirdly by Erroneous Inferences from True Principles which happens commonly to men that are hasty and praecipitate in concluding and resolving what to do such as are they that have both a great opinion of their own understanding and believe that things of this nature require not time and study but onely common experience and a good naturall wit whereof no man thinks himselfe unprovided whereas the knowledge of Right and Wrong which is no lesse difficult there is no man will pretend to without great and long study And of those defects in Reasoning there is none that can Excuse though some of them may Extenuate a Crime in any man that pretendeth to the administration of his own private businesse much lesse in them that undertake a publique charge because they pretend to the Reason upon the want whereof they would ground their Excuse Of the Passions that most frequently are the causes of Crime one is Vain-glory or a foolish over-rating of their own worth as if difference of worth were an effect of their wit or riches or bloud or some other naturall quality not depending on the Will of those that have the Soveraign Authority From whence proceedeth a Presumption that the punishments ordained by the Lawes and extended generally to all Subjects ought not to be inflicted on them with the same rigour they are inflicted on poore obscure and simple men comprehended under the name of the Vulgar Therefore it happeneth commonly that such as value themselves by the greatnesse of their wealth adventure on Crimes upon hope of escaping punishment by corrupting publique Justice or obtaining Pardon by Mony or other rewards And that such as have multitude of Potent Kindred and popular men that have gained reputation amongst the Multitude take courage to violate the Lawes from a hope of oppressing the Power to whom it belongeth to put them in execution And that such as have a great and false opinion of their own Wisedome take upon them to reprehend the actions and call in question the Authority of them that govern and so to unsettle the Lawes with their publique discourse as that nothing shall be a Crime but what their own designes require should be so It happeneth also to the same men to be prone to all such Crimes as consist in Craft and in deceiving of their Neighbours because they think their designes are too subtile to be perceived These I say are effects of a false presumption of their own Wisdome For of them that are the first movers in the disturbance of Common-wealth which can never happen without a Civill Warre very few are left alive long enough to see their new Designes established so that the benefit of their Crimes redoundeth to Posterity and such as would least have wished it which argues they were not so wise as they thought they were And those that deceive upon hope of not being observed do commonly deceive themselves the darknesse in which they believe they lye hidden being nothing else but their own blindnesse and are no wiser than Children that think all hid by hiding their own eyes And generally all vain-glorious men unlesse they be withall timorous are subject to Anger as being more prone than others to interpret for contempt the ordinary liberty of conversation And there are few Crimes that may not be produced by Anger As for the Passions of Hate Lust Ambition and Covetousnesse what Crimes they are apt to produce is so obvious to every mans experience and understanding as there needeth nothing to be said of them saving that they are infirmities so annexed to the nature both of man and all other living creatures as that their effects cannot be hindred but by extraordinary use of Reason or a constant severity in punishing them For in those things men hate they find a continuall and unavoydable molestation whereby either a mans patience must be everlasting or he must be eased by removing the power of that which molesteth him The former is difficult the later is many times impossible without some violation of the Law Ambition and Covetousnesse are Passions also that are perpetually incumbent and pressing whereas Reason is not perpetually present to resist them and therefore whensoever the hope of impunity appears their effects proceed And for Lust what it wants in the lasting it hath in the vehemence which sufficeth to weigh down the apprehension of all easie or uncertain punishments Of all Passions that which enclineth men least to break the Lawes is Fear Nay excepting some generous natures it is the onely thing when there is apparence of profit or pleasure by breaking the Lawes that makes men keep them And yet in many cases a Crime may be committed through Feare For not every Fear justifies the Action it produceth but the fear onely of corporeall hurt which we call Bodily Fear and from which a man cannot see how to be delivered but by the action A man is assaulted fears present death from which he sees not how to escape but by wounding him that assaulteth him If he wound him to death this is no Crime because no man is supposed at the making of a Common-wealth to have abandoned the defence of his life or limbes where the Law cannot arrive time enough to his assistance But to kill a man because from his actions or his threatnings I may argue he will kill me when he can seeing I have time and means to demand protection from the Soveraign Power is a Crime Again a man receives words of disgrace or some little injuries for which they that made the Lawes had assigned no punishment nor thought it worthy of a man that hath the use of Reason to take notice of and is afraid unlesse he revenge it he shall fall into contempt and consequently be obnoxious to the like injuries from others and to avoyd this breaks the Law and protects himselfe for the future by the terrour of his private revenge This is a Crime For the hurt is not Corporeall but Phantasticall and though in this corner of the world made sensible by a custome not many years since begun amongst young and vain men so light as a gallant man and one that is assured of his own courage cannot take notice of Also a man may stand in fear of Spirits either through his own superstition or through too much credit given to other men that tell him of strange Dreams and Visions and thereby be made believe they will hurt him for doing or omitting divers things which neverthelesse to do or omit is contrary to the Lawes And that which is so done or omitted is not to be Excused by this fear but is
to God but one Worship which then it doth when it commandeth it to be exhibited by Private men Publiquely And this is Publique Worship the property whereof is to be Uniforme For those actions that are done differently by different men cannot be said to be a Publique Worship And therefore where many sorts of Worship be allowed proceeding from the different Religions of Private men it cannot be said there is any Publique Worship nor that the Common-wealth is of any Religion at all And because words and consequently the Attributes of God have their signification by agreement and constitution of men those Attributes are to be held significative of Honour that men intend shall so be and whatsoever may be done by the wills of particular men where there is no Law but Reason may be done by the will of the Common-wealth by Lawes Civill And because a Common-wealth hath no Will nor makes no Lawes but those that are made by the Will of him or them that have the Soveraign Power it followeth that those Attributes which the Soveraign ordaineth in the Worship of God for signes of Honour ought to be taken and used for such by private men in their publique Worship But because not all Actions are signes by Constitution but some are Naturally signes of Honour others of Contumely these later which are those that men are ashamed to do in the sight of them they reverence cannot be made by humane power a part of Divine worship nor the former such as are decent modest humble Behaviour ever be separated from it But whereas there be an infinite number of Actions and Gestures of an indifferent nature such of them as the Common-wealth shall ordain to be Publiquely and Universally in use as signes of Honour and part of Gods Worship are to be taken and used for such by the Subjects And that which is said in the Scripture It is better to obey God than men hath place in the kingdome of God by Pact and not by Nature Having thus briefly spoken of the Naturall Kingdome of God and his Naturall Lawes I will adde onely to this Chapter a short declaration of his Naturall Punishments There is no action of man in this life that is not the beginning of so long a chayn of Consequences as no humane Providence is high enough to give a man a prospect to the end And in this Chayn there are linked together both pleasing and unpleasing events in such manner as he that will do any thing for his pleasure must engage himselfe to suffer all the pains annexed to it and these pains are the Naturall Punishments of those actions which are the beginning of more Harme than Good And hereby it comes to passe that Intemperance is naturally punished with Diseases Rashnesse with Mischances Injustice with the Violence of Enemies Pride with Ruine Cowardise with Oppression Negligent government of Princes with Rebellion and Rebellion with Slaughter For seeing Punishments are consequent to the breach of Lawes Naturall Punishments must be naturally consequent to the breach of the Lawes of Nature and therfore follow them as their naturall not arbitrary effects And thus farre concerning the Constitution Nature and Right of Soveraigns and concerning the Duty of Subjects derived from the Principles of Naturall Reason And now considering how different this Doctrine is from the Practise of the greatest part of the world especially of these Western parts that have received their Morall learning from Rome and Athens and how much depth of Morall Philosophy is required in them that have the Administration of the Soveraign Power I am at the point of believing this my labour as uselesse as the Common-wealth of Plato For he also is of opinion that it is impossible for the disorders of State and change of Governments by Civill Warre ever to be taken away till Soveraigns be Philosophers But when I consider again that the Science of Naturall Justice is the onely Science necessary for Soveraigns and their principall Ministers and that they need not be charged with the Sciences Mathematicall as by Plato they are further than by good Lawes to encourage men to the study of them and that neither Plato nor any other Philosopher hitherto hath put into order and sufficiently or probably proved all the Theoremes of Morall doctrine that men may learn thereby both how to govern and how to obey I recover some hope that one time or other this writing of mine may fall into the hands of a Soveraign who will consider it himselfe for it is short and I think clear without the help of any interessed or envious Interpreter and by the exercise of entire Soveraignty in protecting the Publique teaching of it convert this Truth of Speculation into the Utility of Practice OF A CHRISTIAN COMMON-WEALTH CHAP. XXXII Of the Principles of CHRISTIAN POLITIQUES I Have derived the Rights of Soveraigne Power and the duty of Subjects hitherto from the Principles of Nature onely such as Experience has found true or Consent concerning the use of words has made so that is to say from the nature of Men known to us by Experience and from Definitions of such words as are Essentiall to all Politicall reasoning universally agreed on But in that I am next to handle which is the Nature and Rights of a CHRISTIAN COMMON-VVEALTH whereof there dependeth much upon Supernaturall Revelations of the Will of God the ground of my Discourse must be not only the Naturall Word of God but also the Propheticall Neverthelesse we are not to renounce our Senses and Experience nor that which is the undoubted Word of God our naturall Reason For they are the talents which he hath put into our hands to negotiate till the coming again of our blessed Saviour and therefore not to be folded up in the Napkin of an Implicite aith but employed in the purchase of Justice Peace and true Religion For though there be many things in Gods Word above Reason that it is to say which cannot by naturall reason be either demonstrated or confuted yet there is nothing contrary to it but when it seemeth so the fault is either in our unskilfull Interpretation or erroneous Ratiocination Therefore when any thing therein written is too hard for our examination wee are bidden to captivate our understanding to the Words and not to labour in sifting out a Philosophicall truth by Logick of such mysteries as are not comprehensible nor fall under any rule of naturall science For it is with the mysteries of our Religion as with wholsome pills for the sick which swallowed whole have the vertue to cure but chewed are for the most part cast up again without effect But by the Captivity of our Understanding is not meant a Submission of the Intellectuall faculty to the Opinion of any other man but of the Will to Obedience where obedience is due For Sense Memory Understanding Reason and Opinion are not in our power to change but alwaies