Adultery Doe not Kill Doe not Steal Doe not bear false witnesse Honor thy Father and thy Mother which when he said he had observed our Saviour added Sell all thou hast give it to the Poor and come and follow me which was as much as to say Relye on me that am the King Therefore to fulfill the Law and to beleeve that Jesus is the King is all that is required to bring a man to eternall life Thirdly St. Paul saith Rom. 1. 17. The Just shall live by Faith not every one but the Just therefore Faith and Justice that is the will to be Just or Repentance are all that is Necessary to life eternall And Mark 1. 15. our Saviour preached saying The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent and Beleeve the Evangile that is the Good news that the Christ was come Therefore to Repent and to Beleeve that Jesus is the Christ is all that is required to Salvation Seeing then it is Necessary that Faith and Obedience implyed in the word Repentance do both concurre to our Salvation the question by which of the two we are Justified is impertinently disputed Neverthelesse it will not be impertinent to make manifest in what manner each of them contributes thereunto and in what sense it is said that we are to be Justified by the one and by the other And first if by Righteousnesse be understood the Justice of the Works themselves there is no man that can be saved for there is none that hath not transgressed the Law of God And therefore when wee are said to be Justified by Works it is to be understood of the Will which God doth alwaies accept for the Work it selfe as well in good as in evill men And in this sense onely it is that a man is callod Iust or Vnjust and that his Justice Justifies him that is gives him the title in Gods acceptation of Just and renders him capable of living by his Faith which before he was not So that Justice Justifies in that sense in which to Justifie is the same that to Denominate a man Iust and not in the signification of discharging the Law whereby the punishment of his sins should be unjust But a man is then also said to be Justified when his Plea though in it selfe unsufficient is accepted as when we Plead our Will our Endeavour to fulfill the Law and Repent us of our failings and God accepteth it for the Performance it selfe And because God accepteth not the Will for the Deed but onely in the Faithfull it is therefore Faith that makes good our Plea and in this sense it is that Faith onely Justifies So that Faith and Obedience are both Necessary to Salvation yet in severall senses each of them is said to Justifie Having thus shewn what is Necessary to Salvation it is not hard to reconcile our Obedience to God with our Obedience to the Civill Soveraign who is either Christian or Infidel If he bee a Christian he alloweth the beleefe of this Article that Iesus is the Christ and of all the Articles that are contained in or are by evident consequence deduced from it which is all the Faith Necessary to Salvation And because he is a Soveraign he requireth Obedience to all his owne that is to all the Civill Laws in which also are contained all the Laws of Nature that is all the Laws of God for besides the Laws of Nature and the Laws of the Church which are part of the Civill Law for the Church that can make Laws is the Common-wealth there bee no other Laws Divine Whosoever therefore obeyeth his Christian Soveraign is not thereby hindred neither from beleeving nor from obeying God But suppose that a Christian King should from this Foundation Iesus is the Christ draw some false consequences that is to say make some superstructions of Hay or Stubble and command the teaching of the same yet seeing St. Paul says he shal be saved much more shall he be saved that teacheth them by his command and much more yet he that teaches not but onely beleeves his lawfull Teacher And in case a Subject be forbidden by the Civill Soveraign to professe some of those his opinions upon what just ground can he disobey Christian Kings may erre in deducing a Consequence but who shall Judge Shall a private man Judge when the question is of his own obedience or shall any man Judg but he that is appointed thereto by the Church that is by the Civill Soveraign that representeth it or if the Pope or an Apostle Judge may he not erre in deducing of a consequence did not one of the two St. Peter or St. Paul erre in a superstructure when St. Paul withstood St. Peter to his face There can therefore be no contradiction between the Laws of God and the Laws of a Christian Common-wealth And when the Civill Soveraign is an Infidel every one of his own Subjects that resisteth him sinneth against the Laws of God for such as are the Laws of Nature and rejecteth the counsell of the Apostles that admonisheth all Christians to obey their Princes and all Children and Servants to obey their Parents and Masters in all things And for their Faith it is internall and invisible They have the licence that Naaman had and need not put themselves into danger for it But if they do they ought to expect their reward in Heaven and not complain of their Lawfull Soveraign much lesse make warre upon him For he that is not glad of any just occasion of Martyrdome has not the faith he professeth but pretends it onely to set some colour upon his own contumacy But what Infidel King is so unreasonable as knowing he has a Subject that waiteth for the second comming of Christ after the present world shall bee burnt and intendeth then to obey him which is the intent of beleeving that Iesus is the Christ and in the mean time thinketh himself bound to obey the Laws of that Infidel King which all Christians are obliged in conscience to doe to put to death or to persecute such a Subject And thus much shall suffice concerning the Kingdome of God and Policy Ecclesiasticall Wherein I pretend not to advance any Position of my own but onely to shew what are the Consequences that seem to me deducible from the Principles of Christian Politiques which are the holy Scriptures in confirmation of the Power of Civill Soveraigns and the Duty of their Subjects And in the allegation of Scripture I have endeavoured to avoid such texts as are of obscure or controverted Interpretation and to alledge none but in such sense as is most plain and agreeable to the harmony and scope of the whole Bible which was written for the re-establishment of the Kingdome of God in Christ. For it is not the bare Words but the Scope of the writer that giveth the true light by which any writing is to bee interpreted and they that insist upon
prepare men for their reception into the Kingdome of Christ at the Resurrection a Common-wealth which I have proved already to bee none The third Argument is this It is not lawfull for Christians to tolerate an Infidel or Haereticall King in case he endeavour to draw them to his Haeresie or Infidelity But to judge whether a King draw his subjects to Haeresie or not belongeth to the Pope Therefore hath the Pope Right to determine whether the Prince be to be deposed or not deposed To this I answer that both these assertions are false For Christians or men of what Religion soever if they tolerate not their King whatsoever law hee maketh though it bee concerning Religion doe violate their faith contrary to the Divine Law both Naturall and Positive Nor is there any Judge of Haeresie amongst Subjects but their owne Civill Soveraign For Haeresie is nothing else but a private opinion obstinately maintained contrary to the opinion which the Publique Person that is to say the Representant of the Common-wealth hath commanded to bee taught By which it is manifest that an opinion publiquely appointed to bee taught cannot be Haeresie nor the Soveraign Princes that authorize them Haeretiques For Haeretiques are none but private men that stubbornly defend some Doctrine prohibited by their lawfull Soveraigns But to prove that Christians are not to tolerate Infidell or Haereticall Kings he alledgeth a place in Deut. 17. where God forbiddeth the Jews when they shall set a King over themselves to choose a stranger And from thence inferreth that it is unlawfull for a Christian to choose a King that is not a Christian. And 't is true that he that is a Christian that is hee that hath already obliged himself to receive our Saviour when he shall come for his King shal tempt God too much in choosing for King in this world one that hee knoweth will endeavour both by terrour and perswasion to make him violate his faith But it is saith hee the same danger to choose one that is not a Christian for King and not to depose him when hee is chosen To this I say the question is not of the danger of not deposing but of the Justice of deposing him To choose him may in some cases bee unjust but to depose him when he is chosen is in no case Just. For it is alwaies violation of faith and consequently against the Law of Nature which is the eternall Law of God Nor doe wee read that any such Doctrine was accounted Christian in the time of the Apostles nor in the time of the Romane Emperours till the Popes had the Civill Soveraignty of Rome But to this he hath replyed that the Christians of old deposed not Nero nor Dioclesian nor Iulian nor Valens an Arrian for this cause onely that they wanted Temporall forces Perhaps so But did our Saviour who for calling for might have had twelve Legions of immortall invulnerable Angels to assist him want forces to depose Caesar or at least Pilate that unjustly without finding fault in him delivered him to the Jews to bee crucified Or if the Apostles wanted Temporall forces to depose Nero was it therefore necessary for them in their Epistles to the new made Christians to teach them as they did to obey the Powers constituted over them whereof Nero in that time was one and that they ought to obey them not for fear of their wrath but for conscience sake Shall we say they did not onely obey but also teach what they meant not for want of strength It is not therefore for want of strength but for conscience sake that Christians are to tolerate their Heathen Princes or Princes for I cannot call any one whose Doctrine is the Publique Doctrine an Haeretique that authorize the teaching of an Errour And whereas for the Temporall Power of the Pope he alledgeth further that St. Paul 1 Cor. 6. appointed Judges under the Heathen Princes of those times such as were not ordained by those Princes it is not true For St. Paul does but advise them to take some of their Brethren to compound their differences as Arbitrators rather than to goe to law one with another before the Heathen Judges which is a wholsome Precept and full of Charity fit to bee practised also in the best Christian Common-wealths And for the danger that may arise to Religion by the Subjects tolerating of an Heathen or an Erring Prince it is a point of which a Subject is no competent Judgâ—… or if hee bee the Popes Temporall Subjects may judge also of the Popes Doctrine For every Christian Prince as I have formerly proyed is no lesse Supreme Pastor of his own Subjects than the Pope of his The fourth Argument is taken from the Baptisme of Kings wherein that they may be made Christians they submit their Scepters to Christ and promise to keep and defend the Christian Faith This is true for Christian Kings are no more but Christs Subjects but they may for all that bee the Popes Fellowes for they are Supreme Pastors of their own Subjects and the Pope is no more but King and Pastor even in Rome it selfe The fifth Argument is drawn from the words spoken by our Saviour Feed my sheep by which was given all Power necessary for a Pastor as the Power to chase away Wolves such as are Haeretiques the Power to shut up Rammes if they be mad or push at the other Sheep with their Hornes such as are Evill though Christian Kings and Power to give the Flock convenient food From whence hee inferreth that St. Peter had these three Powers given him by Christ. To which I answer that the last of these Powers is no more than the Power or rather Command to Teach For the first which is to chase away Wolves that is Haeretiques the place hee quoteth is Matth. 7. 15. Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravening Wolves But neither are Haeretiques false Prophets or at all Prophets nor admitting Haeretiques for the Wolves there meant were the Apostles commanded to kill them or if they were Kings to depose them but to beware of fly and avoid them nor was it to St. Peter nor to any of the Apostles but to the multitude of the Jews that followed him into the mountain men for the most part not yet converted that hee gave this Counsell to Beware of false Prophets which therefore if it conferre a Power of chasing away Kings was given not onely to private men but to men that were not at all Christians And as to the Power of Separating and Shutting up of furious Rammes by which hee meaneth Christian Kings that refuse to submit themselves to the Roman Pastor our Saviour refused to take upon him that Power in this world himself but advised to let the Corn and Tares grow up together till the day of Judgment much lesse did hee give it to St. Peter or can S. Peter give it to the Popes St. Peter and all
bee Lawes and publike Officers armed to revenge all injuries shall bee done him what opinion he has of his fellow subjects when he rides armed of his fellow Citizens when he locks his dores and of his children and servants when he locks his chests Does he not there as much accuse mankind by his actions as I do by my words But neither of us accuse mans nature in it The Desires and other Passions of man are in themselves no Sin No more are the Actions that proceed from those Passions till they know a Law that forbids them which till Lawes be made they cannot know nor can any Law be made till they have agreed upon the Person that shall make it It may peradventure be thought there was never such a time nor condition of warre as this and I believe it was never generally so over all the world but there are many places where they live so now For the savage people in many places of America except the government of small Families the concord whereof dependeth on naturall lust have no government at all and live at this day in that brutish manner as I said before Howsoever it may be perceived what manner of life there would be where there were no common Power to feare by the manner of life which men that have formerly lived under a peacefull government use to degenerate into in a civill Warre But though there had never been any time wherein particular men were in a condition of warre one against another yet in all times Kings and Persons of Soveraigne authority because of their Independency are in continuall jealousies and in the state and posture of Gladiators having their weapons pointing and their eyes fixed on one another that is their Forts Garrisons and Guns upon the Frontiers of their Kingdomes and continuall Spyes upon their neighbours which is a posture of War But because they uphold thereby the Industry of their Subjects there does not follow from it that misery which accompanies the Liberty of particular men To this warre of every man against every man this also is consequent that nothing can be Unjust The notions of Right and Wrong Justice and Injustice have there no place Where there is no common Power there is no Law where no Law no Injustice Force and Fraud are in warre the two Cardinall vertues Justice and Injustice are none of the Faculties neither of the Body nor Mind If they were they might be in a man that were alone in the world as well as his Senses and Passions They are Qualities that relate to men in Society not in Solitude It is consequent also to the same condition that there be no Propriety no Dominion no Mine and Thine distinct but onely that to be every mans that he can get and for so long as he can keep it And thus much for the ill condition which man by meer Nature is actually placed in though with a possibility to come out of it consisting partly in the Passions partly in his Reason The Passions that encline men to Peace are Feare of Death Desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living and a Hope by their Industry to obtain them And Reason suggesteth convenient Articles of Peace upon which men may be drawn to agreement These Articles are they which otherwise are called the Lawes of Nature whereof I shall speak more particularly in the two following Chapters CHAP. XIV Of the first and sâ—…cond NATURALL LAWES and of CONTRACTS THe RIGHT OF NATURE which Writers commonly call Jus Naturale is the Liberty each man hath to use his own power as he will himselfe for the preservation of his own Nature that is to say of his own Life and consequently of doing any thing which in his own Judgement and Reason hee shall conceive to be the aptest means thereunto By LIBERTY is understood according to the proper signification of the word the absence of externall Impediments which Impediments may oft take away part of a mans power to do what hee would but cannot hinder him from using the power left him according as his judgement and reason shall dictate to him A LAW OF NATURE Lex Naturalis is a Precept or generall Rule found out by Reason by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life or taketh away the means of preserving the same and to omit that by which he thinketh it may be best preserved For though they that speak of this subject use to confound Jus and Lex Right and Law yet they ought to be distinguished because RIGHT consisteth in liberty to do or to forbeare Whereas LAW determineth and bindeth to one of them so that Law and Right differ as much as Obligation and Liberty which in one and the same matter are inconsistent And because the condition of Man as hath been declared in the precedent Chapter is a condition of Warre of every one against every one in which case every one is governed by his own Reason and there is nothing he can make use of that may not be a help unto him in preserving his life against his enemyes It followeth that in such a condition every man has a Right to every thing even to one anothers body And therefore as long as this naturall Right of every man to every thing endureth there can be no security to any man how strong or wise soever he be of living out the time which Nature ordinarily alloweth men to live And consequently it is a precept or generall rule of Reason That every man ought to endeavour Peace as farre as he has hope of obtaining it and when he cannot obtain it that he may seek and use all helps and advantages of Warre The first branch of which Rule containeth the first and Fundamentall Law of Nature which is to seek Peace and follow it The Second the summe of the Right of Nature which is By all means we can to defend our selves From this Fundamentall Law of Nature by which men are commanded to endeavour Peace is derived this second Law That a man be willing when others are so too as farre-forth as for Peace and defence of himselfe he shall think it necessary to lay down this right to all things and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himselfe For as long as every man holdeth this Right of doing any thing he liketh so long are all men in the condition of Warre But if other men will not lay down their Right as well as he then there is no Reason for any one to devest himselfe of his For that were to expose himselfe to Prey which no man is bound to rather than to dispose himselfe to Peace This is that Law of the Gospell Whatsoever you require that others should do to you that do ye to them And that Law of all men Quod tibi fieri non vis
further and will not have the Law of Nature to be those Rules which conduce to the preservation of mans life on earth but to the attaining of an eternall felicity after death to which they think the breach of Covenant may conduce and consequently be just and reasonable such are they that think it a work of merit to kill or depose or rebell against the Soveraigne Power constituted over them by their own consent But because there is no naturall knowledge of mans estate after death much lesse of the reward that is then to be given to breach of Faith but onely a beliefe grounded upon other mens saying that they know it supernaturally or that they know those that knew them that knew others that knew it supernaturally Breach of Faith cannot be called a Precept of Reason or Nature Others that allow for a Law of Nature the keeping of Faith do neverthelesse make exception of certain persons as Heretiques and such as use not to performe their Covenant to others And this also is against reason For if any fault of a man be sufficient to discharge our Covenant made the same ought in reason to have been sufficient to have hindred the making of it The names of Just and Injust when they are attributed to Men signifie one thing and when they are attributed to Actions another When they are attributed to Men they signifie Conformity or Inconformity of Manners to Reason But when they are attributed to Actions they signifie the Conformity or Inconformity to Reason not of Manners or manner of life but of particular Actions A Just man therefore is he that taketh all the care he can that his Actions may be all Just and an Unjust man is he that neglecteth it And such men are more often in our Language stiled by the names of Righteous and Unrighteous then Just and Unjust though the meaning be the same Therefore a Righteous man does not lose that Title by one or a few unjust Actions that proceed from sudden Passion or mistake of Things or Persons nor does an Unrighteous man lose his character for such Actions as he does or forbeares to do for feare because his Will is not framed by the Justice but by the apparent benefit of what he is to do That which gives to humane Actions the relish of Justice is a certain Noblenesse or Gallantnesse of courage rarely found by which a man scorns to be beholding for the contentment of his life to fraud or breach of promise This Justice of the Manners is that which is meant where Justice is called a Vertue and Injustice a Vice But the Justice of Actions denominates men not Just but Guiltlesse and the Injustice of the same which is also called Injury gives them but the name of Guilty Again the Injustice of Manners is the disposition or aptitude to do Injurie and is Injustice before it proceed to Act and without supposing any individuall person injured But the Injustice of an Action that is to say Injury supposeth an individuall person Injured namely him to whom the Covenant was made And therefore many times the injury is received by one man when the dammage redoundeth to another As when the Master commandeth his servant to give mony to a stranger if it be not done the Injury is done to the Master whom he had before Covenanted to obey but the dammage redoundeth to the stranger to whom he had no Obligation and therefore could not Injure him And so also in Common-wealths private men may remit to one another their debts but not robberies or other violences whereby they are endammaged becaâ—…se the detaining of Debt is an Injury to themselves but Robbery and Violence are Injuries to the Person of the Common-wealth Whatsoever is done to a man conformable to his own Will signied to the doer is no Injury to him For if he that doeth it hath not passed away his originall right to do what he please by some Antecedent Covenant there is no breach of Covenant and therefore no Injury done him And if he have then his Will to have it done being signified is a release of that Covenant and so again there is no Injury done him Justice of Actions is by Writers divided into Commutative and Distributive and the former they say consisteth in proportion Arithmeticall the later in proportion Geometricall Commutative therefore they place in the equality of value of the things contracted for And Distributive in the distribution of equall benefit to men of equall merit As if it were Injustice to sell dearer than we buy or to give more to a man than he merits The value of all things contracted for is measured by the Appetite of the Contractors and therefore the just value is that which they be contented to give And Merit besides that which is by Covenant where the performance on one part meriteth the performance of the other part and falls under Justice Commutative not Distributive is not due by Justice but is rewarded of Grace onely And therefore this distinction in the sense wherein it useth to be expounded is not right To speak properly Commutative Justice is the Justice of a Contractor that is a Performance of Covenant in Buying and Selling Hiring and Letting to Hire Lending and Borrowing Exchanging Bartering and other acts of Contract And Distributive Justice the Justice of an Arbitrator that is to say the act of defining what is Just. Wherein being trusted by them that make him Arbitrator if he performe his Trust he is said to distribute to every man his own and this is indeed Just Distribution and may be called though improperly Distributive Justice but more properly Equity which also is a Law of Nature as shall be shewn in due place As Justice dependeth on Antecedent Covenant so does GRATITUDE depend on Antecedent Grace that is to say Antecedent Free-gift and is the fourth Law of Nature which may be conceived in this Forme That a man which receiveth Benefit from another of meer Grace Endeavour that he which giveth it have no reasonable cause to repent him of his good will For no man giveth but with intention of Good to himselfe because Gift is Voluntary and of all Voluntary Acts the Object is to every man his own Good of which if men see they shall be frustrated there will be no beginning of benevolence or trust nor consequently of mutuall help nor of reconciliation of one man to another and therefore they are to remain still in the condition of War which is contrary to the first and Fundamentall Law of Nature which commandeth men to Seck Peace The breach of this Law is called Ingratitude and hath the same relation to Grace that Injustice hath to Obligation by Covenant A fifth Law of Nature is COMPLEASANCE that is to say That every man strive to accommodate himselfe to the rest For the understanding whereof we may consider that there is in mens aptnesse to Society
a diversity of Nature rising from their diversity of Affections not unlike to that we see in stones brought together for building of an Aedifice For as that stone which by the asperity and irregularity of Figure takes more room from others than it selfe fills and for the hardnesse cannot be easily made plain and thereby hindereth the building is by the builders cast away as unprofitable and troublesome so also a man that by asperity of Nature will strive to retain those things which to himselfe are superfluous and to others necessary and for the stubbornness of his Passions cannot be corrected is to be left or cast out of Society as combersome thereunto For seeing every man not onely by Right but also by necessity of Nature is supposed to endeavour all he can to obtain that which is necessary for his conservation He that shall oppose himselfe against it for things superfluous is guilty of the warre that thereupon is to follow and therefore doth that which is contrary to the fundamentall Law of Nature which commandeth to seek Peace The observers of this Law may be called SOCIABLE the Latines call them Commodi The contrary Stubborn Insociable Froward Intractable A sixth Law of Nature is this That upon caution of the Future time a man ought to pardon the offences past of them that repenting desire it For PARDON is nothing but granting of Peace which though granted to them that persevere in their hostility be not Peace but Feare yet not granted to them that give caution of the Future time is signe of an aversion to Peace and therefore contrary to the Law of Nature A seventh is That in Revenges that is retribution of Evil for Evil Men look not at the greatnesse of the evill past but the greatnesse of the good to follow Whereby we are forbidden to inflict punishment with any other designe than for correction of the offender or direction of others For this Law is consequent to the next before it that commandeth Pardon upon security of the Future time Besides Revenge without respect to the Example and profit to come is a triumph or glorying in the hurt of another tending to no end for the End is alwayes somewhat to Come and glorying to no end is vain-glory and contrary to reason and to hurt without reason tendeth to the introduction of Warre which is against the Law of Nature and is commonly stiled by the name of Cruelty And because all signes of hatred or contempt provoke to fight insomuch as most men choose rather to hazard their life than not to be revenged we may in the eighth place for a Law of Nature set down this Precept That no man by deed word countenance or gesture declare Hatred or Contempt of another The breach of which Law is commonly called Contumely The question who is the better man has no place in the condition of meer Nature where as has been shewn before all men are equall The inequallity that now is has bin introduced by the Lawes civill I know that Aristotle in the first booke of his Politiques for a foundation of his doctrine maketh men by Nature some more worthy to Command meaning the wiser sort such as he thought himselfe to be for his Philosophy others to Serve meaning those that had strong bodies but were not Philosophers as he as if Master and Servant were not introduced by consent of men but by difference of Wit which is not only against reason but also against experience For there are very few so foolish that had not rather governe themselves than be governed by others Nor when the wise in their own conceiâ—… contend by force with them who distrust their owne wisdome do they alwaies or often or almost at any time get the Victory If Nature therefore have made men equall that equalitie is to be acknowledged or if Nature have made men unequall yet because men that think themselves equall will not enter into conditions of Peace but upon Equall termes such equalitie must be admitted And therefore for the ninth law of Nature I put this ' That every man acknowledge other for his Equall by Nature The breach of this Precept is Pride On this law dependeth another That at the entrance into conditions of Peace no man require to reserve to himselfe any Right which he is not content should be reserved to every one of the rest As it is necessary for all men that seek peace to lay down certaine Rights of Nature that is to say not to have libertie to do all they list so is it necessarie for mans life to retaine some as right to governe their owne bodies enjoy aire water motion waies to go from place to place and all things else without which a man cannot live or not live well If in this case at the making of Peace men require for themselves that which they would not have to be granted to others they do contrary to the precedent law that commandeth the acknowledgment of naturall equalitie and therefore also against the law of Nature The observers of this law are those we call Modest and the breakers Arrogant men The Greeks call the violation of this law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a desire of more than their share Also if a man be trusted to judge between man and man it is a precept of the Law of Nature that he deale Equally between them For without that the Controversies of men cannot be determined but by Warre He therefore that is partiall in judgment doth what in him lies to deterre men from the use of Judges and Arbitrators and consequently against the fundamentall Lawe of Nature is the cause of Warre The observance of this law from the equall distribution to each man of that which in reason belongeth to him is called EQUITY and as I have sayd before distributive Justice the violation Acception of persons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And from this followeth another law That such things as cannot be divided be enjoyed in Common if it can be and if the quantity of the thing permit without Stint otherwise Proportionably to the number of them that have Right For otherwise the distribution is Unequall and contrary to Equitie But some things there be that can neither be divided nor enjoyed in common Then The Law of Nature which prescribeth Equity requireth That the Entire Right or else making the use alternate the First Possession be determined by Lot For equall distribution is of the Law of Nature and other means of equall distribution cannot be imagined Of Lots there be two sorts Arbitrary and Naturall Arbitrary is that which is agreed on by the Competitors Naturall is either Primogeniture which the Greek calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Given by Lot or First Seisure And therefore those things which cannot be enjoyed in common nor divided ought to be adjudged to the First Possessor and in some cases to the First-Borne
as acquired by Lot It is also a Law of Nature That all men that mediate Peace be allowed safe Conduct For the Law that commandeth Peace as the End commandeth Intercession as the Means and to Intercession the Means is safe Conduct And because though men be never so willing to observe these Lawes there may neverthelesse arise questions concerning a mans action First whether it were done or not done Secondly if done whether against the Law or not against the Law the former whereof is called a question Of Fact the later a question Of Right therefore unlesse the parties to the question Covenant mutually to stand to the sentence of another they are as farre from Peace as ever This other to whose Sentence they submit is called an ARBITRATOR And therefore it is of the Law of Nature That they that are at controversie submit their Right to the judgement of an Arbitrator And seeing every man is presumed to do all things in order to his own benefit no man is a fit Arbitrator in his own cause and if he were never so fit yet Equity allowing to each party equall benefit if one be admitted to be Judge the other is to be admitted also so the controversie that is the cause of War remains against the Law of Nature For the same reason no man in any Cause ought to be received for Arbitrator to whom greater profit or honour or pleasure apparently ariseth out of the victory of one party than of the other for hee hath taken though an unavoydable bribe yet a bribe and no man can be obliged to trust him And thus also the controversie and the condition of War remaineth contrary to the Law of Nature And in a controversie of Fact the Judge being to give no more credit to one than to the other if there be no other Arguments must give credit to a third or to a third and fourth or more For else the question is undecided and left to force contrary to the Law of Nature These are the Lawes of Nature dictating Peace for a means of the conservation of men in multitudes and which onely concern the doctrine of Civill Society There be other things tending to the destruction of particular men as Drunkenness and all other parts of Intemperance which may therefore also be reckoned amongst those things which the Law of Nature hath forbidden but are not necessary to be mentioned nor are pertinent enough to this place And though this may seem too subtile a deduction of the Lawes of Nature to be taken notice of by all men whereof the most part are too busie in getting food and the rest too negligent to understand yet to leave all men unexcusable they have been contracted into one easie sum intelligible even to the meanest capacity and that is Do not that to another which thou wouldest not have done to thy selfe which sheweth him that he has no more to do in learning the Lawes of Nature but when weighing the actions of other men with his own they seem too heavy to put them into the other part of the ballance and his own into their place that his own passions and selfe-love may adde nothing to the weight and then there is none of these Lawes of Nature that will not appear unto him very reasonable The Lawes of Nature oblige in foro interno that is to say they bind to a desire they should take place but in foro externo that is to the putting them in act not alwayes For he that should be modest and tractable and performe all he promises in such time and place where no man els should do so should but make himselfe a prey to others and procure his own certain ruine contrary to the ground of all Lawes of Nature which tend to Natures preservation And again he that having sufficient Security that others shall observe tâ—…e same Lawes towards him observes them not himselfe seeketh not Peace but War consequently the destruction of his Nature by Violence And whatsoever Lawes bind in foro interno may be broken not onely by a fact contrary to the Law but also by a fact according to it in case a man think it contrary For though his Action in this case be according to the Law yet his Purpose was against the Law which where the Obligation is in foro interno is a breach The Lawes of Nature are Immutable and Eternall For Injustice Ingratitude Arrogance Pride Iniquity Acception of persons and the rest can never be made lawfull For it can never be that Warre shall preserve life and Peace destroy it The sames Lawes because they oblige onely to a desire and endeavour I mean an unfeigned and constant endeavour are easie to be observed For in that they require nothing but endeavour he that endeavoureth their performance fulfilleth them and he that fulfilleth the Law is Just. And the Science of them is the true and onely Moral Philosophy For Morall Philosophy is nothing else but the Science of what is Good and Evill in the conversation and Society of man-kind Good and Evill are names that signifie our Appetites and Aversions which in different tempers customes and doctrines of men are different And divers men differ not onely in their Judgement on the senses of what is pleasant and unpleasant to the tast smell hearing touch and sight but also of what is conformable or disagreeable to Reason in the actions of common life Nay the same man in divers times differs from himselfe and one time praiseth that is calleth Good what another time he dispraiseth and calleth Evil From whence arise Disputes Controversies and at last War And therefore so long a man is in the condition of meer Nature which is a condition of War as private Appetite is the measure of Good and Evill And consequently all men agree on this that Peace is Good and therefore also the way or means of Peace which as I have shewed before are Justice Gratitude Modesty Equity Mercy the rest of the Laws of Nature are good that is to say Morall Vertues and their contrarie Vices Evill Now the science of Vertue and Vice is Morall Philosophie and therfore the true Doctrine of the Lawes of Nature is the true Morall Philosophie But the Writers of Morall Philosophie though they acknowledge the same Vertues and Vices Yet not seeing wherein consisted their Goodnesse nor that they come to be praised as the meanes of peaceable sociable and comfortable living place them in a mediocrity of passions as if not the Cause but the Degree of daring made Fortitude or not the Cause but the Quantity of a gift made Liberality These dictates of Reason men use to call by the name of Lawes but improperly for they are but Conclusions or Theoremes concerning what conduceth to the conservation and defence of themselves wheras Law properly is the word of him that by right hath command over others But
and owning all the actions the Representer doth in case they give him Authority without stint Otherwise when they limit him in what and how farre he shall represent them none of them owneth more than they gave him commission to Act. And if the Representative consist of many men the voyce of the greater number must be considered as the voyce of them all For if the lesser number pronounce for example in the Affirmative and the greater in the Negative there will be Negatives more than enough to destroy the Affirmatives and thereby the excesse of Negatives standing uncontradicted are the onely voyce the Representative hath And a Representative of even number especially when the number is not great whereby the contradictory voyces are oftentimes equall is therefore oftentimes mute and uncapable of Action Yet in some cases contradictory voyces equall in number may determine a question as in condemning or absolving equality of votes even in that they condemne not do absolve but not on the contrary condemne in that they absolve not For when a Cause is heard not to condemne is to absolve but on the contrary to say that not absolving is condemning is not true The like it is in a deliberation of executing presently or deferring till another time For when the voyces are equall the not decreeing Execution is a decree of Dilation Or if the number be odde as three or more men or assemblies whereof every one has by a Negative Voice authority to take away the effect of all the Affirmative Voices of the rest This number is no Representative because by the diversity of Opinions and Interests of men it becomes oftentimes and in cases of the greatest consequence a mute Person and unapt as for many things else so for the government of a Multitude especially in time of Warre Of Authors there be two sorts The first simply so called which I have before defined to be him that owneth the Action of another simply The second is he that owneth an Action or Covenant of another conditionally that is to say he undertaketh to do it if the other doth it not at or before a certain time And these Authors conditionall are generally called SURETYES in Latine Fidejussores and Sponsores and particularly for Debt Praedes and for Appearance before a Judge or Magistrate Vades OF COMMON-VVEALTH CHAP. XVII Of the Causes Generation and Definition of a COMMON-WEALTH THe finall Cause End or Designe of men who naturally love Liberty and Dominion over others in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves in which wee see them live in Common-wealths is the foresight of their own preservation and of a more contented life thereby that is to say of getting themselves out from that miserable condition of Warre which is necessarily consequent as hath been shewn to the naturall Passions of men when there is no visible Power to keep them in awe and tye them by feare of punishment to the performance of their Covenants and observation of those Lawes of Nature set down in the fourteenth and fifteenth Chapters For the Lawes of Nature as Justice Equity Modesty Mercy and in summe doing to others as wee would be done to of themselves without the terrour of some Power to cause them to be observed are contrary to our naturall Passions that carry us to Partiality Pride Revenge and the like And Covenants without the Sword are but Words and of no strength to secure a man at all Therefore notwithstanding the Lawes of Nature which every one hath then kept when he has the will to keep them when he can do it safely if there be no Power erected or not great enough for our security every man will and may lawfully rely on his own strength and art for caution against all other men And in all places where men have lived by small Families to robbe and spoyle one another has been a Trade and so farre from being reputed against the Law of Nature that the greater spoyles they gained the greater was their honour and men observed no other Lawes thereâ—…n but the Lawes of Honour that is to abstain from cruelty leaving to men their lives and instruments of husbandry And as small Familyes did then so now do Cities and Kingdomes which are but greater Families for their own security enlarge their Dominions upon all pretences of danger and fear of Invasion or assistance that may be given to Invaders endeavour as much as they can to subdue or weaken their neighbours by open force and secret arts for want of other Caution justly and are remembred for it in after ages with honour Nor is it the joyning together of a small number of men that gives them this security because in small numbers small additions on the one side or the other make the advantage of strength so great as is sufficient to carry the Victory and therefore gives encouragement to an Invasion The Multitude sufficient to confide in for our Security is not determined by any certain number but by comparison with the Enemy we feare and is then sufficient when the odds of the Enemy is not of so visible and conspicuous moment to determine the event of warre as to move him to attempt And be there never so great a Multitude yet if their actions be directed according to their particular judgements and particular appetites they can expect thereby no defence nor protection neither against a Common enemy nor against the injuries of one another For being distracted in opinions concerning the best use and application of their strength they do not help but hinder one another and reduce theiâ—… strength by mutuall opposition to nothing whereby they are easily not onely subdued by a very few that agree together but also when there is no common enemy they make warre upon each other for their particular interests For if we could suppose a great Multitude of men to consent in the observation of Justice and other Lawes of Nature without a common Power to keep them all in awe we might as well suppose all Man-kind to do the same and then there neither would be nor need to be any Civill Government or Common-wealth at all because there would be Peace without subjection Nor is it enough for the security which men desire should last all the time of their life that they be governed and directed by one judgement for a limited time as in one Battell or one Warre For though they obtain a Victory by their unanimous endeavour against a forraign enemy yet afterwards when either they have no common enemy or he that by one part is held for an enemy is by another part held for a friend they must needs by the difference of their interests dissolve and fall again into a Warre amongst themselves It is true that certain living creatures as Bees and Ants live sociably one with another which are therefore by Aristotle numbred amongst Politicall creatures and
interest But if he whose private interest is to be debated and judged in the Assembly make as many friends as he can in him it is no Injustice because in this case he is no part of the Assembly And though he hire such friends with mony unlesse there be an expresse Law against it yet it is not Injustice For sometimes as mens manners are Justice cannot be had without mony and every man may think his own cause just till it be heard and judged In all Common-wealths if a private man entertain more servants than the government of his estate and lawfull employment he has for them requires it is Faction and unlawfull For having the protection of the Common-wealth he needeth not the defence of private force And whereas in Nations not throughly civilized severall numerous Families have lived in continuall hostility and invaded one another with private force yet it is evident enough that they have done unjustly or else that they had no Common-wealth And as Factions for Kindred so also Factions for Government of Religion as of Papists Protestants c. or of State as Patricians and Plebeians of old time in Rome and of Aristocraticalls and Democraticalls of old time in Greece are unjust as being contrary to the peace and safety of the people and a taking of the Sword out of the hand of the Soveraign Concourse of people is an Irregular Systeme the lawfulnesse or unlawfulnesse whereof dependeth on the occasion and on the number of them that are assembled If the occasion be lawfull and manifest the Concourse is lawfull as the usuall meeting of men at Church or at a publique Shew in usuall numbers for if the numbers be extraordinarily great the occasion is not evident and consequently he that cannot render a particular and good account of his being amongst them is to be judged conscious of an unlawfull and tumultuous designe It may be lawfull for a thousand men to joyn in a Petition to be delivered to a Judge or Magistrate yet if a thousand men come to present it it is a tumultuous Assembly because there needs but one or two for that purpose But in such cases as these it is not a set number that makes the Assembly Unlawfull but such a number as the present Officers are not able to suppresse and bring to Justice When an unusuall number of men assemble against a man whom they accuse the Assembly is an Unlawfull tumult because they may deliver their accusation to the Magistrate by a few or by one man Such was the case of St. Paul at Ephesus where Demetrius and a great number of other men brought two of Pauls companions before the Magistrate saying with one Voyce Great is Diana of the Ephesians which was their way of demanding Justice against them for teaching the people such doctrine as was against their Religion and Trade The occasion here considering the Lawes of that People was just yet was their Assembly Judged Unlawfull and the Magistrate reprehended them for it in these words If Demetrius and the other work-men can accuse any man of any thing there be Pleas and Deputies let them accuse one another And if you have any other thing to demand your case may be judged in an Assembly Lawfully called For we are in danger to be accused for this dayes sedition because there is no cause by which any man can render any reason of this Concourse of People Where he calleth an Assembly whereof men can give no just account a Sedition and such as they could not answer for And this is all I shall say concerning Systemes and Assemblyes of People which may be compared as I said to the Similar parts of mans Body such as be Lawfull to the Muscles such as are Unlawfull to Wens Biles and Apostemes engendred by the unnaturall conflux of evill humours CHAP. XXIII Of the PUBLIQUE MINISTERS of Soveraign Power IN the last Chapter I have spoken of the Similar parts of a Common-wealth In this I shall speak of the parts Organicall which are Publique Ministers A PUBLIQUE MINISTER is he that by the Soveraign whether a Monarch or an Assembly is employed in any affaires with Authority to represent in that employment the Person of the Common-wealth And whereas every man or assembly that hath Soveraignty representeth two Persons or as the more common phrase is has two Capacities one Naturall and another Politique as a Monarch hath the person not onely of the Common-wealth but also of a man and a Soveraign Assembly hath the Person not onely of the Common-wealth but also of the Assembly they that be servants to them in their naturall Capacity are not Publique Ministers but those onely that serve them in the Administration of the Publique businesse And therefore neither Ushers nor Sergeants nor other Officers that waite on the Assembly for no other purpose 〈◊〉 for the commodity of the men assembled in an Aristocracy or Democracy nor Stewards Chamberlains Cofferers or any other Officers of the houshold of a Monarch are Publique Ministers in a Monarchy Of Publique Ministers some have charge committed to them of a generall Administration either of the whole Dominion or of a part thereof Of the whole as to a Protector or Regent may bee committed by the Predecessor of an Infant King during his minority the whole Administration of his Kingdome In which case every Subject is so far obliged to obedience as the Ordinances he â—…all make and the commands he shall give be in the Kings name and not inconsistent with his Soveraigne Power Of a part or Province as when either a Monarch or a Soveraign Assembly shall give the generall charge thereof to a Governour Lieutenant Praefect or Vice-Roy And in this case also every one of that Province is obliged to all he shall doe in the name of the Soveraign and that not incompatible with the Soveraigns Right For such Protectors Vice-Roys and Governors have no other right but what depends on the Soveraigns Will and no Commission that can be given them can be interpretâ—…d for a Declaration of the will to transferre the Sovernignty without expresse and perspicuous words to that purpose And this kind of Publique Ministers resembleth the Nerves and Tendons that move the severall limbs of a body naturall Others have speciall Administration that is to say charges of some speciall businesse either at home or abroad As at home First for the Oeconomy of a Common-wealth They that have Authority concerning the Treasure as Tributes Impositions Rents Fines or whatsoever publique revenue to collect receive issue or take the Accounts thereof are Publique Ministers Ministers because they serve the Person Representative and can doe nothing against his Command nor without his Authority Publique because they serve him in his Politicall Capacity Secondly they that have Authority concerning the Militia to have the custody of Armes Forts Ports to Levy Pay or Conduct Souldiers or to provide for any necessary
the Plenty and Distribution of Materials conducing to Life In Concoction or Preparation and when concocted in the Conveyance of it by convenient conduits to the Publique use As for the Plenty of Matter it is a thing limited by Nature to those commodities which from the two breasts of our common Mother Land and Sea God usually either freely giveth or for labour selleth to man-kind For the Matter of this Nutriment consisting in Animals Vegetals and Minerals God hath freely layd them before us in or neer to the face of the Earth so as there needeth no more but the labour and industry of receiving them Insomuch as Plenty dependeth next to Gods favour meerly on the labour and industry of men This Matter commonly called Commodities is partly Native and partly Forraign Native that which is to be had within the Territory of the Common-wealth Forraign that which is imported from without And because there is no Territory under the Dominion of one Common-wealth except it be of very vast extent that produceth all things needfull for the maintenance and motion of the whole Body and few that produce not something more than necessary the superfluous commodities to be had within become no more superfluous but supply these wants at home by importation of that which may be had abroad either by Exchange or by just Warre or by Labour for a mans Labour also is a commodity exchangeable for benefit as well as any other thing And there have been Common-wealths that having no more Territory than hath served them for habitation have neverthelesse not onely maintained but also encreased their Power partly by the labour of trading from one place to another and partly by selling the Manifactures whereof the Materials were brought in from other places The Distribution of the Materials of this Nourishment is the constitution of Mine and Thine and His that is to say in one word Propriety and belongeth in all kinds of Common-wealth to the Soveraign Power For where there is no Common-wealth there is as hath been already shewn a perpetuall warre of every man against his neighbour And therefore every thing is his that getteth it and keepeth it by force which is neither Propriety nor Community but Uncertainty Which is so evident that even Cicero a passionate defender of Liberty in a publique pleading attributeth all Propriety to the Law Civil Let the Civill Law saith he be once abandoned or but negligently guarded not to say oppressed and there is nothing that any man can be sure to receive from his Ancestor or leave to his Children And again Take away the Civill Law and no man knows what is his own and what another mans Seeing therefore the Introduction of Propriety is an effect of Common-wealth which can do nothing but by the Person that Represents iâ—… it is the act onely of the Soveraign and consisteth in the Lawes which none can make that have not the Soveraign Power And this they well knew of old who called that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say Distribution which we call Law and defined Justice by distributing to every man his own In this Distribution the First Law is for Division of the Land it selfe wherein the Soveraign assigneth to every man a portion according as he and not according as any Subject or any number of them shall judge agreeable to Equity and the Common Good The Children of Israel were a Common-wealth in the Wildernesse but wanted the commodities of the Earth till they were masters of the Land of Promise which afterward was divided amongst them not by their own discretion but by the discretion of Eleazar the Priest and Joshua their Generall who when there were twelve Tribes making them thirteen by subdivision of the Tribe of Joseph made neverthelesse but twelve portions of the Land and ordained for the Tribe of Levi no land but assigned them the Tenth part of the whole fruits which division was therefore Arbitrary And though a People comming into possession of a Land by warre do not alwaies exterminate the antient Inhabitants as did the Jewes but leave to many or most or all of them their Estates yet it is manifest they hold them afterwards as of the Victors distribution as the people of England held all theirs of William the Conquerour From whence we may collect that the Propriety which a subject hath in his lands consisteth in a right to exclude all other subjects from the use of them and not to exclude their Soveraign be it an Assembly or a Monarch For seeing the Soveraign that is to say the Common-wealth whose Person he representeth is understood to do nothing but in order to the common Peace and Security this Distribution of lands is to be understod as done in order to the same And consequently whatsoever Distribution he shall make in prejudice thereof is contrary to the will of every subject that committed his Peace and safety to his discretion and conscience and therefore by the will of every one of them is to be reputed voyd It is true that a Soveraign Monarch or the greater part of a Soveraign Assembly may ordain the doing of many things in pursuit of their Passions contrary to their own consciences which is a breach of trust and of the Law of Nature but this is not enough to authorise any subject either to make warre upon or so much as to accuse of Injustice or any way to speak evill of their Soveraign because they have authorised all his actions and in bestowing the Soveraign Power made them their own But in what cases the Commands of Soveraigns are contrary to Equity and the Law of Nature is to be considered hereafter in another place In the Distribution of land the Common-wealth it selfe may bâ—… conceived to have a portion and possesse and improve the same by their Representative and that such portion may be made sufficient to susteine the whole expence to the common Peace and defence necessarily required Which were very true if there could be any Representative conceived free from humane passions and infirmities But the nature of men being as it is the setting forth of Publique Land or of any certaine Revenue for the Common-wealth is in vaine and tendeth to the dissolution of Government and to the condition of meere Nature and War assoon as ever the Soveraign Power falleth into the hands of a Monarch or of an Assembly that are either too negligent of mony or too hazardous in engaging the publique stock into a long or costly war Common-wealths can endure no Diet For seeing their expence is not limited by their own appetite but by externall Accidents and the appetites of their neighbours the Publique Riches cannot be limited by other limits than those which the emergent occasions shall require And whereas in England there were by the Conquerour divers Lands reserved to his own use besides Forrests and Chases either for his recreation or for preservation of
amongst them such as wish not his prosperity A man that doth his businesse by the help of many and prudent Counsellours with every one consulting apart in his proper element does it best as he that useth able Seconds at Tennis play placed in their proper stations He does next best that useth his own Judgement only as he that has no Second at all But he that is carried up and down to his businesse in a framed Counsell which cannot move but by the plurality of consenting opinions the execution whereof is commonly out of envy or interest retarded by the part dissenting does it worst of all and like one that is carried to the ball though by good Players yet in a Wheele-barrough or other frame heavy of it self and retarded also by the inconcurrent judgements and endeavours of them that drive it and so much the more as they be more that set their hands to it and most of all when there is one or more amongst them that desire to have him lose And though it be true that many eys see more then one yet it is not to be understood of many Counsellours but then only when the finall Resolution is in one man Otherwise because many eyes see the same thing in divers lines and are apt to look asquint towards their private benefit they that desire not to misse their marke though they look about with two eyes yet they never ayme but with one And therefore no great Popular Common-wealth was ever kept up but either by a forraign Enemy that united them or by the reputation of some one eminent Man amongst them or by the secret Counsell of a few or by the mutuall feare of equall factions and not by the open Consultations of the Assembly And as for very little Common-wealths be they Popular or Monarchicall there is no humane wisdome can uphold them longer then the Jealousy lasteth of their potent Neighbours CHAP. XXVI Of CIVILL LAWES BY CIVILL LAWES I understand the Lawes that men are therefore bound to observe because they are Members not of this or that Common-wealth in particular but of a Common-wealth For the knowledge of particular Lawes belongeth to them that professe the study of the Lawes of their severall Countries but the knowledge of Civill Law in generall to any man The antient Law of Rome was called their Civil Law from the word Civitas which signifies a Common-wealth And those Countries which having been under the Roman Empire and governed by that Law retaine still such part thereof as they think fit call that part the Civill Law to distinguish it from the rest of their own Civill Lawes But that is not it I intend to speak of here my designe being not to shew what is Law here and there but what is Law as Plato Aristotle Cicero and divers others have done without taking upon them the profession of the study of the Law And first it is manifest that Law in generall is not Counsell but Command nor a Command of any man to any man but only of him whose Command is addressed to one formerly obliged to obey him And as for Civill Law it addeth only the name of the person Commanding which is Persona Civitatis the Person of the Common-wealth Which considered I define Civill Law in this manner CIVILL LAW Is to every Subject those Rules which the Common-wealth hath Commanded him by Word Writing or other sufficient Sign of the Will to make use of for the Distinction of Right and Wrong that is to say of what is contrary and what is not contrary to the Rule In which definition there is nothing that is not at first sight evident For every man seeth that some Lawes are addressed to all the Subjects in generall some to particular Provinces some to particular Vocations and some to particular Men and are therefore Lawes to every of those to whom the Command is directed and to none else As also that Lawes are the Rules of Just and Unjust nothing being reputed Unjust that is not contrary to some Law Likewise that none can make Lawes but the Common-wealth because our Subjection is to the Common-wealth only and that Commands are to be signified by sufficient Signs because a man knows not otherwise how to obey them And therefore whatsoever can from this definition by necessary consequence be deduced ought to be acknowledged for truth Now I deduce from it this that followeth 1 The Legislator in all Common-wealths is only the Soveraign be he one Man as in a Monarchy or one Assembly of men as in a Democracy or Aristocracy For the Legislator is he that maketh the Law And the Common-wealth only praescribes and commandeth the observation of those rules which we call Law Therefore the Common-wealth is the Legislator But the Common-wealth is no Person nor has capacity to doe any thing but by the Representative that is the Soveraign and therefore the Soveraign is the sole Legislator For the same reason none can abrogate a Law made but the Soveraign because a Law is not abrogated but by another Law that forbiddeth it to be put in execution 2 The Soveraign of a Common-wealth be it an Assembly or one Man is not Subject to the Civill Lawes For having power to make and repeale Lawes he may when he pleaseth free himselfe from that subjection by repealing those Lawes that trouble him and making of new and consequently he was free before For he is free that can be free when he will Nor is it possible for any person to be bound to himselfe because he that can bind can release and therefore he that is bound to himselfe onely is not bound 3. When long Use obtaineth the authority of a Law it is not the Length of Time that maketh the Authority but the Will of the Soveraign signified by his silence for Silence is sometimes an argument of Consent and it is no longer Law then the Soveraign shall be silent therein And therefore if the Soveraign shall have a question of Right grounded not upon his present Will but upon the Lawes formerly made the Length of Time shal bring no prejudice to his Right but the question shal be judged by Equity For many unjust Actions and unjust Sentences go uncontrolled a longer time than any mancan remember And our Lawyers account no Customes Law but such as are reasonable and that evill Customes are to be abolished But the Judgement of what is reasonable and of what is to be abolished belongeth to him that maketh the Law which is the Soveraign Assembly or Monarch 4. The Law of Nature and the Civill Law contain each other and are of equall extent For the Lawes of Nature which consist in Equity Justice Gratitude and other morall Vertues on these depending in the condition of meer Nature as I have said before in the end of the 15th Chapter are not properly Lawes but qualities that dispose men to peace and to obedience When a Common-wealth
is once settled then are they actually Lawes and not before as being then the commands of the Common-wealth and therefore also Civill Lawes For it is the Soveraign Power that obliges men to obey them For in the differences of private men to declare what is Equity what is Justice and what is morall Vertue and to make them binding there is need of the Ordinances of Soveraign Power and Punishments to be ordaine d for such as shall break them which Ordinances are therefore part of the Civill Law The Law of Nature therefore is a part of the Civill Law in all Common-wealths of the world Reciprocally also the Civill Law is a part of the Dictates of Nature For Justice that is to say Performance of Covenant and giving to every man his own is a Dictate of the Law of Nature But every subject in a Common-wealth hath covenanted to obey the Civill Law either one with another as when they assemble to make a common Representative or with the Representative it selfe one by one when subdued by the Sword they promise obedience that they may receive life And therefore Obedience to the Civill Law is part also of the Law of Nature Civill and Naturall Law are not different kinds but different parts of Law whereof one part being written is called Civill the other unwritten Naturall But the Right of Nature that is the naturall Liberty of man may by the Civill Law be abridged and restrained nay the end of making Lawes is no other but such Restraint without the which there cannot possibly be any Peace And Law was brought into the world for nothing else but to limit the naturall liberty of particular men in such manner as they might not hurt but assist one another and joyn together against a common Enemy 5. If the Soveraign of one Common-wealth subdue a People that have lived under other written Lawes and afterwards govern them by the same Lawes by which they were governed before yet those Lawes are the Civill Lawes of the Victor and not of the Vanquished Common-wealth For the Legislator is he not by whose authority the Lawes were first made but by whose authority they now continue to be Lawes And therefore where there be divers Provinces within the Dominion of a Common-wealth and in those Provinces diversity of Lawes which commonly are called the Customes of each severall Province we are not to understand that such Customes have their force onely from Length of Time but that they were antiently Lawes written or otherwise made known for the Constitutions and Statutes of their Soveraigns and are now Lawes not by vertue of the Praescription of time but by the Constitutions of their present Soveraigns But if an unwritten Law in all the Provinces of a Dominion shall be generally observed and no iniquity appear in the use thereof that Law can be no other but a Law of Nature equally obliging all man-kind 6. Seeing then all Lawes written and unwritten have their Authority and force from the Will of the Common-wealth that is to say from the Will of the Representative which in a Monarchy is the Monarch and in other Common-wealths the Soveraign Assembly a man may wonder from whence proceed such opinions as are found in the Books of Lawyers of eminence in severall Common-wealths directly or by consequence making the Legislative Power depend on private men or subordinate Judges As for example That the Common Law hath no Controuler but the Parlament which is true onely where a Parlament has the Soveraign Power and cannot be assembled nor dissolved but by their own discretion For if there be a right in any else to dissolve them there is a right also to controule them and consequently to controule their controulings And if there be no such right then the Controuler of Lawes is not Parlamentum but Rex in Parlamento And were a Parlament is Soveraign if it should assemble never so many or so wise men from the Countries subject to them for whatsoever cause yet there is no man will believe that such an Assembly hath thereby acquired to themselves a Legislative Power Item that the two arms of a Common-wealth are Force and Justice the first whereof is in the King the other deposited in the hands of the Parlament As if a Common-wealth could consist where the Force were in any hand which Justice had not the Authority to command and govern 7. That Law can never be against Reason our Lawyers are agreed and that not the Letter that is every construction of it but that which is according to the Intention of the Legislator is the Law And it is true but the doubt is of whose Reason it is that shall be received for Law It is not meant of any private Reason for then there would be as much contradiction in the Lawes as there is in the Schooles nor yet as Sr. Ed. Coke makes it an Artificiall perfection of Reason gotten by long study observation and experience as his was For it is possible long study may encrease and confirm erroneous Sentences and where men build on false grounds the more they build the greater is the ruine and of those that study and observe with equall time and diligence the reasons and resolutions are and must remain discordant and therefore it is not that Juris prudentia or wisedome of subordinate Judges but the Reason of this our Artificiall Man the Common-wealth and his Command that maketh Law And the Common-wealth being in their Representative but one Person there cannot easily arise any contradiction in the Lawes and when there doth the same Reason is able by interpretation or alteration to take it away In all Courts of Justice the Soveraign which is the Person of the Common-wealth is he that Judgeth The subordinate Judge ought to have regard to the reason which moved his Soveraign to make such Law that his Sentence may be according thereunto which then is his Soveraigns Sentence otherwise it is his own and an unjust one 8. From this that the Law is a Command and a Command consisteth in declaration or manifestation of the will of him that commandeth by voyce writing or some other sufficient argument of the same we may understand that the Command of the Common-wealth is Law onely to those that have means to take notice of it Over naturall fooles children or mad-men there is no Law no more than over brute beasts nor are they capable of the title of just or unjust because they had never power to make any covenant or to understand the consequences thereof and consequently never took upon them to authorise the actions of any Soveraign as they must do that make to themselves a Common-wealth And as those from whom Nature or Accident hath taken away the notice of all Lawes in generall so also every man from whom any accident not proceeding from his own default hath taken away the means to take notice of any particular Law is excused if
he observe it not And to speak properly that Law is no Law to him It is therefore necessary to consider in this place what arguments and signes be sufficient for the knowledge of what is the Law that is to say what is the will of the Soveraign as well in Monarchies as in other formes of government And first if it be a Law that obliges all the Subjects without exception and is not written nor otherwise published in such places as they may take notice thereof it is a Law of Nature For whatsoever men are to take knowledge of for Law not upon other mens words but every one from his own reason must be such as is agreeable to the reason of all men which no Law can be but the Law of Nature The Lawes of Nature therefore need not any publishing nor Proclamation as being contained in this one Sentence approved by all the world Do not that to another which thou thinkest unreasonable to be done by another to thy selfe Secondly if it be a Law that obliges only some condition of men or one particular man and be not written nor published by word then also it is a Law of Nature and known by the same arguments and signs that distinguish those in such a condition from other Subjects For whatsoever Law is not written or some way published by him that makes it Law can be known no way but by the reason of him that is to obey it and is therefore also a Law not only Civill but Naturall For Example if the Soveraign employ a Publique Minister without written Instructions what to doe he is obliged to take for Instructions the Dictates of Reason As if he make a Judge The Judge is to take notice that his Sentence ought to be according to the reason of his Soveraign which being alwaies understood to be Equity he is bound to it by the Law of Nature Or if an Ambassador he is in all things not conteined in his written Instructions to take for Instruction that which Reason dictates to be most conducing to his Soveraigns interest and so of all other Ministers of the Soveraignty publique and private All which Instructions of naturall Reason may be comprehended under one name of Fidelity which is a branch of naturall Justice The Law of Nature excepted it belongeth to the essence of all other Lawes to be made known to every man that shall be obliged to obey them either by word or writing or some other act known to proceed from the Soveraign Authority For the will of another cannot be understood but by his own word or act or by conjecture taken from his scope and purpose which in the person of the Common-wealth is to be supposed alwaies consonant to Equity and Reason And in antient time before letters were in common use the Lawes were many times put into verse that the rude people taking pleasure in singing or reciting them might the more easily reteine them in memory And for the same reason Solomon adviseth a man to bind the ten Commandements upon his ten fingers And for the Law which Moses gave to the people of Israel at the renewing of the Covenant * he biddeth them to teach it their Children by discoursing of it both at home and upon the way at going to bed and at rising from bed and to write it upon the posts and dores of their houses and to assemble the people man woman and child to heare it read Nor is it enough the Law be written and published but also that there be manifest signs that it proceedeth from the will of the Soveraign For private men when they have or think they have force enough to secure their unjust designes and convoy them safely to their ambitious ends may publish for Lawes what they please without or against the Legislative Authority There is therefore requisite not only a Declaration of the Law but also sufficient signes of the Author and Authority The Author or Legislator is supposed in every Common-wealth to be evident because he is the Soveraign who having been Constituted by the consent of every one is supposed by every one to be sufficiently known And though the ignorance and security of men be such for the most part as that when the memory of the first Constitution of their Common-wealth is worn out they doe not consider by whose power they use to be defended against their enemies and to have their industry protected and to be righted when injury is done them yet because no man that considers can make question of it no excuse can be derived from the ignorance of where the Soveraignty is placed And it is a Dictate of Naturall Reason and consequently an evident Law of Nature that no man ought to weaken that power the protection whereof he hath himself demanded or wittingly received against others Therefore of who is Soveraign no man but by his own fault whatsoever evill men suggest can make any doubt The difficulty consisteth in the evidence of the Authority derived from him The removing whereof dependeth on the knowledge of the publique Registers publique Counsels publique Ministers and publique Seales by which all Lawes are sufficiently verified Verifyed I say not Authorised for the Verification is but the Testimony and Record not the Authority of the Law which consisteth in the Command of the Soveraign only If therefore a man have a question of Injury depending on the Law of Nature that is to say on common Equity the Sentence of the Judge that by Commission hath Authority to take cogninisance of such causes is a sufficient Verification of the Law of Nature in that individuall case For though the advice of one that professeth the study of the Law be usefull for the avoyding of contention yet it is but advice t is the Judge must tell men what is Law upon the hearing of the Controversy But when the question is of injury or crime upon a written Law every man by recourse to the Registers by himself or others may if he will be sufficiently enformed before he doe such injury or commit the crime whither it be an injury or not Nay he ought to doe so For when a man doubts whether the act he goeth about be just or injust and may informe himself if he will the doing is unlawfull In like manner he that supposeth himself injured in a case determined by the written Law which he may by himself or others see and consider if he complaine before he consults with the Law he does unjustly and bewrayeth a disposition rather to vex other men than to demand his own right If the question be of Obedience to a publique Officer To have seen his Commission with the Publique Seale and heard it read or to have had the means to be informed of it if a man would is a sufficient Verification of his Authority For every man is obliged to doe his best endeavour to informe himself of
no Law of England nor is the condemnation grounded upon a Presumption of Law but upon the Presumption of the Judges It is also against Law to say that no Proofe shall be admitted against a Presumption of Law For all Judges Soveraign and subordinate if they refuse to heare Proofe refuse to do Justice for though the Sentence be Just yet the Judges that condemn without hearing the Proofes offered are Unjust Judges and their Presumption is but Prejudice which no man ought to bring with him to the Seat of Justice whatsoever precedent judgements or examples he shall pretend to follow There be other things of this nature wherein mens Judgements have been perverted by trusting to Precedents but this is enough to shew that though the Sentence of the Judge be a Law to the party pleading yet it is no Law to any Judge that shall succeed him in that Office In like manner when question is of the Meaning of written Lawes he is not the Interpreter of them that writeth a Commentary upon them For Commentaries are commonly more subject to cavill than the Text and therefore need other Commentaries and so there will be no end of such Interpretation And therefore unlesse there be an Interpreter authorised by the Soveraign from which the subordinate Judges are not to recede the Interpreter can be no other than the ordinary Judges in the same manner as they are in cases of the unwritten Law and their Sentences are to be taken by them that plead for Lawes in that particular case but not to bind other Judges in like cases to give like judgements For a Judge may erre in the Interpretation even of written Lawes but no errour of a subordinate Judge can change the Law which is the generall Sentence of the Soveraigne In written Lawes men use to make a difference between the Letter and the Sentence of the Law And when by the Letter is meant whatsoever can be gathered from the bare words 't is well distinguished For the significations of almost all words are either in themselves or in the metaphoricall use of them ambiguous and may be drawn in argument to make many senses but there is onely one sense of the Law But if by the Letter be meant the literall sense then the Letter and the Sentence or intention of the Law is all one For the literall sense is that which the Legislator intended should by the letter of the Law be signified Now the Intention of the Legislator is alwayes supposed to be Equity For it were a great contumely for a Judge to think otherwise of the Soveraigne He ought therefore if the Word of the Law doe not fully authorise a reasonable Sentence to supply it with the Law of Nature or if the case be difficult to respit Judgement till he have received more ample authority For Example a written Law ordaineth that he which is thrust out of his house by force shall be restored by force It happens that a man by negligence leaves his house empty and returning is kept out by force in which case there is no speciall Law ordained It is evident that this case is contained in the same Law for else there is no remedy for him at all which is to be supposed against the Intention of the Legislator Again the word of the Law commandeth to Judge according to the Evidence A man is accused falsly of a fact which the Judge saw himself done by another and not by him that is accused In this case neither shall the Letter of the Law be followed to the condemnation of the Innocent nor shall the Judge give Sentence against the evidence of the Witnesses because the Letter of the Law is to the contrary but procure of the Soveraign that another be made Judge and himself Witnesse So that the incommodity that follows the bare words of a written Law may lead him to the Intention of the Law whereby to interpret the same the better though no Incommodity can warrant a Sentence against the Law For every Judge of Right and Wrong is not Judge of what is â—…ommodious or Incommodious to the Common-wealth The abilities required in a good Interpreter of the Law that is to say in a good Judge are not the same with those of an Advocate namely the study of the Lawes For a Judge as he ought to take notice of the Fact from none but the Witnesses so also he ought to take notice of the Law from nothing but the Satutes and Constitutions of the Soveraign alledged in the pleading or declared to him by some that have authority from the Soveraign Power to declare them and need not take care before-hand what hee shall Judge for it shall bee given him what hee shall say concerning the Fact by Witnesses and what hee shall say in point of Law from those that shall in their pleadings â—…hew it and by authority interpret it upon the place The Lords of Parlament in England were Judges and most difficult causes have been heard and determined by them yet few of them were much versed in the study of the Lawes and fewer had made profession of them and though they consulted with Lawyers that were appointed to be present there for that purpose yet they alone had the authority of giving Sentence In like manner in the ordinary trialls of Right Twelve men of the common People are the Judges and give Sentence not onely of the Fact but of the Right and pronounce simply for the Complaynant or for the Defendant that is to say are Judges not onely of the Fact but also of the Right and in a question of crime not onely determine whether done or not done but also whether it be Murder Homicide Felony Assault and the like which are determinations of Law but because they are not supposed to know the Law of themselves there is one that hath Authority to enforme them of it in the particular case they are to Judge of But yet if they judge not according to that he tells them they are not subject thereby to any penalty unlesse it be made appear they did it against their consciences or had been corrupted by reward The things that make a good Judge or good Interpreter of the Lawes are first A right understanding of that principall Law of Nature called Equity which depending not on the reading of other mens Writings but on the goodnesse of a mans own naturall Reason and Meditation is presumed to be in those most that have had most leisure and had the most inclination to meditate thereon Secondly Contempt of unnecessary Riches and Preferments Thirdly To be able in judgement to devest himselfe of all feare anger hatred love and compassion Fourthly and lastly Patience to heare diligent attention in hearing and memory to retain digest and apply what he hath heard The difference and division of the Lawes has been made in divers manners according to the different methods of those men that have written of
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
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
enemy of the Common-wealth that banished him as being no more a Member of the same But if he be withall deprived of his Lands or Goods then the Punishment lyeth not in the Exile but is to be reckoned amongst Punishments Pecuniary All Punishments of Innocent subjects be they great or little are against the Law of Nature For Punishment is only for Transgression of the Law and therefore there can be no Punishment of the Innocent It is therefore a violation First of that Law of Nature which forbiddeth all men in their Revenges to look at any thing but some future good For there can arrive no good to the Common-wealth by Punishing the Innocent Secondly of that which forbiddeth Ingratitude For seeing all Soveraign Power is originally given by the consent of every one of the Subjects to the end they should as long as they are obedient be protected thereby the Punishment of the Innocent is a rendring of Evill for Good And thirdly of the Law that commandeth Equity that is to say an equall distribution of Justice which in Punishing the Innocent is not observed But the Infliction of what evill soever on an Innocent man that is not a Subject if it be for the benefit of the Common-wealth and without violation of any former Covenant is no breach of the Law of Nature For all men that are not Subjects are either Enemies or else they have ceased from being so by some precedent covenants But against Enemies whom the Common-wealth judgeth capable to do them hurt it is lawfull by the originall Right of Nature to make warre wherein the Sword Judgeth not nor doth the Victor make distinction of Nocent and Innocent as to the time past nor has other respect of mercy than as it conduceth to the good of his own People And upon this ground it is that also in Subjects who deliberatly deny the Authority of the Common-wealth established the vengeance is lawfully extended not onely to the Fathers but also to the third and fourth generation not yet in being and consequently innocent of the fact for which they are afflicted because the nature of this offence consisteth in the renouncing of subjection which is a relapse into the condition of warre commonly called Rebellion and they that so offend suffer not as Subjects but as Enemies For Rebellion is but warre renewed REWARD is either of Gift or by Contract When by Contract it is called Salary and Wages which is benefit due for service performed or promised When of Gift it is benefit proceeding from the grace of them that bestow it to encourage or enable men to do them service And therefore when the Soveraign of a Common wealth appointeth a Salary to any publique Office he that receiveth it is bound in Justice to performe his office otherwise he is bound onely in honour to acknowledgement and an endeavour of requitall For though men have no lawfull remedy when they be commanded to quit their private businesse to serve the publique without Reward or Salary yet they are not bound thereto by the Law of Nature nor by the Institution of the Common-wealth unlesse the service cannot otherwise be done because it is supposed the Soveraign may make use of all their means insomuch as the most common Souldier may demand the wages of his warrefare as a debt The benefit which a Soveraign bestoweth on a Subject for fear of some power and ability he hath to do hurt to the Common-wealth are not properly Rewards for they are not Salaryes because there is in this case no contract supposed every man being obliged already not to do the Common-wealth disservice nor are they Graces because they be extorted by fear which ought not to be incident to the Soveraign Power but are rather Sacrifices which the Soveraign considered in his naturall person and not in the person of the Common-wealth makes for the appeasing the discontent of him he thinks more potent than himselfe and encourage not to obedience but on the contrary to the continuance and increasing of further extortion And whereas some Salaries are certain and proceed from the publique Treasure and others uncertain and casuall proceeding from the execution of the Office for which the Salary is ordained the later is in some cases hurtfull to the Common-wealth as in the case of Judicature For where the benefit of the Judges and Ministers of a Court of Justice ariseth for the multitude of Causes that are brought to their cognisance there must needs follow two Inconveniences One is the nourishing of sutes for the more sutes the greater benefit and another that depends on that which is contention about Jurisdiction each Court drawing to it selfe as many Causes as it can But in offices of Execution there are not those Inconveniences because their employment cannot be encreased by any endeavour of their own And thus much shall suffice for the nature of Punishment and Reward which are as it were the Nerves and Tendons that move the limbes and joynts of a Common-wealth Hitherto I have set forth the nature of Man whose Pride and other Passions have compelled him to submit himselfe to Government together with the great power of his Governour whom I compared to Leviathan taking that comparison out of the two last verses of the one and fortieth of Job where God having set forth the great power of Leviathan calleth him King of the Proud There is nothing saith he on earth to be compared with him He is made so as not to be afraid Hee seeth every high thing below him and is King of all the children of pride But because he is mortall and subject to decay as all other Earthly creatures are and because there is that in heaven though not on earth that he should stand in fear of and whose Lawes he ought to obey I shall in the next following Chapters speak of his Diseases and the causes of his Mortality and of what Lawes of Nature he is bound to obey CHAP. XXIX Of those things that Weaken or tend to the DISSOLUTION of a Common-wealth THough nothing can be immortall which mortals make yet if men had the use of reason they pretend to their Common-wealths might be secured at least from perishing by internall diseases For by the nature of their Institution they are designed to live as long as Man-kind or as the Lawes of Nature or as Justice it selfe which gives them life Therefore when they come to be dissolved not by externall violence but intestine disorder the fault is not in men as they are the Matter but as they are the Makers and orderers of them For men as they become at last weary of irregular justling and hewing one another and desire with all their hearts to conforme themselves into one firme and lasting edifice so for want both of the art of making fit Lawes to square their actions by and also of humility and patience to suffer the rude and combersome points of
that are dearest to a man are his own life limbs and in the next degree in most men those that concern conjugall affection and after them riches and means of living Therefore the People are to be taught to abstain from violence to one anothers person by private revenges from violation of conjugall honour and from forcible rapine and fraudulent surreption of one anothers goods For which purpose also it is necessary they be shewed the evill consequences of false Judgement by corruption either of Judges or Witnesses whereby the distinction of propriety is taken away and Justice becomes of no effect all which things are intimated in the sixth seventh eighth and ninth Commandements Lastly they are to be taught that not onely the unjust facts but the designes and intentions to do them though by accident hindred are Injustice which consisteth in the pravity of the will as well as in the irregularity of the act And this is the intention of the tenth Commandement and the summe of the second Table which is reduced all to this one Commandement of mutuall Charity Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe as the summe of the first Table is reduced to the love of God whom they had then newly received as their King As for the Means and Conduits by which the people may receive this Instruction wee are to search by what means so many Opinions contrary to the peace of Man-kind upon weak and false Principles have neverthelesse been so deeply rooted in them I mean those which I have in the precedent Chapter specified as That men shall Judge of what is lawfull and unlawfull not by the Law it selfe but by their own Consciences that is to say by their own private Judgements That Subjects sinne in obeying the Commands of the Common-wealth unlesse they themselves have first judged them to be lawfull That their Propriety in their riches is such as to exclude the Dominion which the Common-wealth hath over the same That it is lawfull for Subjects to kill such as they call Tyrants That the Soveraign Power may be divided and the like which come to be instilled into the People by this means They whom necessity or covetousnesse keepeth attent on their trades and labour and they on the other side whom superfluity or sloth carrieth after their sensuall pleasures which two sorts of men take up the greatest part of Man-kind being diverted from the deep meditation which the learning of truth not onely in the matter of Naturall Justice but also of all other Sciences necessarily requireth receive the Notions of their duty chiefly from Divines in the Pulpit and partly from such of their Neighbours or familiar acquaintance as having the Faculty of discoursing readily and plausibly seem wiser and better learned in cases of Law and Conscience than themselves And the Divines and such others as make shew of Learning derive their knowledge from the Universities and from the Schooles of Law or from the Books which by men eminent in those Schooles and Universities have been published It is therefore manifest that the Instruction of the people dependeth wholly on the right teaching of Youth in the Universities But are not may some man say the Universities of England learned enough already to do that or is it you will undertake to teach the Universities Hard questions Yet to the first I doubt not to answer that till towards the later end of Henry the eighth the Power of the Pope was alwayes upheld against the Power of the Common-wealth principally by the Universities and that the doctrines maintained by so many Preachers against the Soveraign Power of the King and by so many Lawyers and others that had their education there is a sufficient argument that though the Universities were not authors of those false doctrines yet they knew not how to plant the truâ—… For in such a contradiction of Opinions it is most certain that they have not been sufficiently instructed and 't is no wonder if they yet retain a relish of that subtile liquor wherewith they were first seasoned against the Civill Authority But to the later question it is not fit nor needfull for me to say either I or No for any man that sees what I am doing may easily perceive what I think The safety of the People requireth further from him or them that have the Soveraign Power that Justice be equally administred to all degrees of People that is that as well the rich and mighty as poor and obscure persons may be righted of the injuries done them so as the great may have no greater hope of impunity when they doe violence dishonour or any Injury to the meaner sort than when one of these does the like to one of them For in this consisteth Equity to which as being a Precept of the Law of Nature a Soveraign is as much subject as any of the meanest of his People All breaches of the Law are offences against the Common-wealth but there be some that are also against private Persons Those that concern the Common-wealth onely may without breach of Equity be pardoned for every man may pardon what is done against himselfe according to his own diseretion But an offence against a private man cannot in Equity be pardoned without the consent of him that is injured or reasonable satisfaction The Inequality of Subjects proceedeth from the Acts of Soveraign Power and therefore has no more place in the presence of the Soveraign that is to say in a Court of Justice then the Inequality between Kings and their Subjects in the presence of the King of Kings The honour of great Persons is to be valued for their beneficence and the aydes they give to men of inferiour rank or not at all And the violences oppressions and injuries they do are not extenuated but aggravated by the greatnesse of their persons because they have least need to commit them The consequences of this partiality towards the great proceed in this manner Impunity maketh Insolence Insolence Hatred and Hatred an Endeavour to pull down all oppressing and contumelious greatnesse though with the 〈◊〉 of the Common wealth To Equall Justice appertaineth also the Equall imposition of Taxes the Equality whereof dependeth not on the Equality of riches but on the Equality of the debt that every man oweth to the Common-wealth for his defence It is not enough for a man to labour for the maintenance of his life but also to fight if need be for the securing of his labour They must either do as the Jewes did after their return from captivity in re-edifying the Temple build with one hand and hold the Sword in the other or else they must hire others to fight for them For the Impositions that are layd on the People by the Soveraign Power are nothing else but the Wages due to them that hold the publique Sword to defend private men in the exercise of severall Trades and Callings Seeing then the benefit that every one
contriving their Titles to save the People from the shame of receiving them To have a known Right to Soveraign Power is so popular a quality as he that has it needs no more for his own part to turn the hearts of his Subjects to him but that they see him able absolutely to govern his own Family Nor on the part of his enemies but a disbanding of their Armies For the greatest and most active part of Mankind has never hetherto been well contented with the present Concerning the Offices of one Soveraign to another which are comprehended in that Law which is commonly called the Law of Nations I need not say any thing in this place because the Law of Nations and the Law of Nature is the same thing And every Soveraign hath the same Right in procuring the safety of his People that any particular man can have in procuring the safety of his own Body And the same Law that diâ—…tateth to men that have no Civil Government what they ought to do and what to avoyd in regard of one another dictateth the same to Common-wealths that is to the Consciences of Soveraign Princes and Soveraign Assemblies there being no Court of Naturall Justice but in the Conscience onely where not Man but God raigneth whose Lawes such of them as oblige all Mankind in respect of God as he is the Author of Nature are Naturall and in respect of the same God as he is King of Kings are Lawes But of the Kingdome of God as King of Kings and as King also of a peculiar People I shall speak in the rest of this discourse CHAP. XXXI Of the KINGDOME OF GOD BY NATURE THat the condition of meer Nature that is to say of absolute Liberty such as is theirs that neither are Soveraigns nor Subjects is Anarchy and the condition of Warre That the Praecepts by which men are guided to avoyd that condition are the Lawes of Nature That a Common-wealth without Soveraign Power is but a word without substance and cannot stand That Subjects owe to Soveraigns simple Obedience in all things wherein their obedience is not repugnant to the Lawes of God I have sufficiently proved in that which I have already written There wants onely for the entire knowledge of Civill duty to know what are those Lawes of God For without that a man knows not when he is commanded any thing by the Civill Power whether it be contrary to the â—…aw of God or not and so either by too much civill obedience offends the Divine Majesty or through feare of offending God transgresses the commandements of the Common-wealth To avoyd both these Rocks it is necessary to know what are the Lawes Divine And seeing the knowledge of all Law dependeth on the knowledge of the Soveraign Power I shall say something in that which followeth of the KINGDOME OF GOD. God is King let the Earth rejoyce saith the Psalmist And again God is King though the Nations be angry and he that sitteth on the Cherubins though the earth be moved Whether men will or not they must be subject alwayes to the Divine Power By denying the Existence or Providence of God men may shake off their Ease but not their Yoke But to call this Power of God which extendeth it selfe not onely to Man but also to Beasts and Plants and Bodies inanimate by the name of Kingdome is but a metaphoricall use of the word For he onely is properly said to Raigne that governs his Subjects by his Word and by promise of Rewards to those that obey it and by threatning them with Punishment that obey it not Subjects therefore in the Kingdome of God are not Bodies Inanimate nor creatures Irrationall because they understand no Precepts as his Nor Atheists nor they that believe not that God has any care of the actions of mankind because they acknowledge no Word for his nor have hope of his rewards or fear of his threatnings They therefore that believe there is a God that goeverneth the world and hath given Praecepts and propounded Rewards and Punishments to Mankind are Gods Subjects all the rest are to be understood as Enemies To rule by Words requires that such Words be manifestly made known for else they are no Lawes For to the nature of Lawes belongeth a sufficient and clear Promulgation such as may take away the excuse of Ignorance which in the Lawes of men is but of one onely kind and that is Proclamation or Promulgation by the voyce of man But God declareth his Lawes three wayes by the Dictates of Naturall Reason by Revelation and by the Voyce of some man to whom by the operation of Miracles he procureth credit with the rest From hence there ariseth a triple Word of God Rational Sensible and Prophetique to which Correspondeth a triple Hearing Right Reason Sense Supernaturall and Faith As for Sense Supernaturall which consisteth in Revelation or Inspiration there have not been any Universall Lawes so given because God speaketh not in that manner but to particular persons and to divers men divers things From the difference between the other two kinds of Gods Word Rationall and Prophetique there may be attributed to God a twofold Kingdome Naturall and Prophetique Naturall wherein he governeth as many of Mankind as acknowledge his Providence by the naturall Dictates of Right Reason And Prophetique wherein having chosen out one peculiar Nation the Jewes for his Subjects he governed them and none but them not onely by naturall Reason but by Positive Lawes which he gave them by the mouths of his holy Prophets Of the Naturall Kingdome of God I intend to speak in this Chapter The Right of Nature whereby God reigneth over men and punisheth those that break his Lawes is to be derived not from his Creating them as if he required obedience as of Gratitude for his benefits but from his Irresistible Power I have formerly shewn how the Soveraign Right ariseth from Pact To shew how the same Right may arise from Nature requires no more but to shew in what case it is never taken away Seeing all men by Nature had Right to All things they had Right every one to reigne over all the rest But because this Right could not be obtained by force it concerned the safety of every one laying by that Right to set up men with Soveraign Authority by common consent to rule and defend them whereas if there had been any man of Power Irresistible there had been no reason why he should not by that Power have ruled and defended both himselfe and them according to his own discretion To those therefore whose Power is irresistible the dominion of all men adhaereth naturally by their excellence of Power and consequently it is from that Power that the Kingdome over men and the Right of afflicting men at his pleasure belongeth Naturally to God Almighty not as Creator and Gracious but as Omnipotent And though Punishment be due for Sinne onely because by
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
and delivered by God himselfe to Moses and by Moses made known to the people Before that time there was no written Law of God who as yet having not chosen any people to bee his peculiar Kingdome had given no Law to men but the Law of Nature that is to say the Precepts of Naturall Reason written in every mans own heart Of these two Tables the first containeth the law of Soveraignty 1. That they should not obey nor honour the Gods of other Nations in these words Non-habebis Deos alienos coram me that is Thou shalt not have for Gods the Gods that other Nations worship but onely me whereby they were forbidden to obey or honor as their King and Governour any other God than him that spake unto them then by Moses and afterwards by the High Priest 2. That they should not make any Image to represent him that is to say they were not to choose to themselves neither in heaven nor in earth any Representative of their own fancying but obey Moses and Aaron whom he had appointed to that office 3. That they should not take the Name of God in vain that is they should not speak rashly of their King nor dispute his Right nor the commissions of Moses and Aaron his Lieutenants 4. That they should every Seventh day abstain from their ordinary labour and employ that time in doing him Publique Honor. The second Table containeth the Duty of one man towards another as To honor Parents Not to kill Not to Commit Adultery Not to steale Not to corrupt Iudgment by false witnesse and finally Not so much as to designe in their heart the doing of any injury one to another The question now is Who it was that gave to these written Tables the obligatory force of Lawes There is no doubt but they were made Laws by God himselfe But because a Law obliges not nor is Law to any but to them that acknowledge it to be the act of the Soveraign how could the people of Israel that were forbidden to approach the Mountain to hear what God said to Moses be obliged to obedience to all those laws which Moses propounded to them Some of them were indeed the Laws of Nature as all the Second Table and therefore to be acknowledged for Gods Laws not to the Israelites alone but to all people But of those that were peculiar to the Israelites as those of the first Table the question remains saving that they had obliged themselves presently after the propounding of them to obey Moses in these words Exod. 20. 19. Speak thou to us and we will hear thee but let not God speak to us lest we dye It was therefore onely Moses then and after him the High Priest whom by Moses God declared should administer this his peculiar Kingdome that had on Earth the power to make this short Scripture of the Decalogue to bee Law in the Common-wealth of Israel But Moses and Aaron and the succeeding High Priests were the Civill Soveraigns Therefore hitherto the Canonizing or making of the Scripture Law belonged to the Civill Soveraigne The Judiciall Law that is to say the Laws that God prescribed to the Magistrates of Israel for the rule of their administration of Justice and of the Sentences or Judgments they should pronounce in Pleas between man and man and the Leviticall Law that is to say the rule that God prescribed touching the Rites and Ceremonies of the Priests and Levites were all delivered to them by Moses onely and therefore also became Lawes by vertue of the same promise of obedience to Moses Whether these laws were then written or not written but dictated to the People by Moses after his forty dayes being with God in the Mount by word of mouth is not expressed in the Text but they were all positive Laws and equivalent to holy Scripture and made Canonicall by Moses the Civill Soveraign After the Israelites were come into the Plains of Moab over against Jericho and ready to enter into the land of Promise Moses to the former Laws added divers others which therefore are called Deuteronomy that is Second Laws And are as it is written Deut. 29. 1. The words of a Covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Children of Israel besides the Covenant which he made with them in Horeb. For having explained those former Laws in the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy he addeth others that begin at the 12. Cha. and continue to the end of the 26. of the same Book This Law Deut. 27. 1. they were commanded to write upon great stones playstered over at their passing over Jordan This Law also was written by Moses himself in a Book and delivered into the hands of the Priests and to the Elders of Israel Deut. 31. 9. and commanded ve 26. to be put in the side of the Arke for in the Ark it selfe was nothing but the Ten Commandements This was the Law which Moses Deuteronomy 17. 18. commanded the Kings of Israel should keep a copie of And this is the Law which having been long time lost was found again in the Temple in the time of Josiah and by his authority received for the Law of God But both Moses at the writing and Josiah at the recovery thereof had both of them the Civill Soveraignty Hitherto therefore the Power of making Scripture Canonicall was in the Civill Soveraign Besides this Book of the Law there was no other Book from the time of Moses till after the Captivity received amongst the Jews for the Law of God For the Prophets except a few lived in the time of the Captivity it selfe and the rest lived but a little before it and were so far from having their Prophecies generally received for Laws as that their persons were persecuted partly by false Prophets and partly by the Kings which were seduced by them And this Book it self which was confirmed by Josiah for the Law of God and with it all the History of the Works of God was lost in the Captivity and sack of the City of Jerusalem as appears by that of 2 Esdras 14. 21. Thy Law is burnt therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee or the works that shall begin And before the Captivity between the time when the Law was lost which is not mentioned in the Scripture but may probably be thought to be the time of Rehoboam when Shishak King of Egypt took the spoile of the Temple and the time of Josiah when it was found againe they had no written Word of God but ruled according to their own discretion or by the direction of such as each of them esteemed Prophets From hence we may inferre that the Scriptures of the Old Testament which we have at this day were not Canonicall nor a Law unto the Jews till the renovation of their Covenant with God at their return from the Captivity and restauration of their Common-wealth under Esdras But from that time
for the Churches Salvation because he hath commanded her to follow the Popes directions But this Reason is invalid unlesse he shew when and where Christ commanded that or took at all any notice of a Pope Nay granting whatsoever was given to S. Peter was given to the Pope yet seeing there is in the Scripture no command to any man to obey St. Peter no man can bee just that obeyeth him when his commands are contrary to those of his lawfull Soveraign Lastly it hath not been declared by the Church nor by the Pope himselfe that he is the Civill Soveraign of all the Christians in the world and therefore all Christians are not bound to acknowledge his Jurisdiction in point of Manners For the Civill Soveraignty and supreme Judicature in controversies of Manners are the same thing And the Makers of Civill Laws are not onely Declarers but also Makers of the justice and injustice of actions there being nothing in mens Manners that makes them righteous or unrighteous but their conformity with the Law of the Soveraign And therefore when the Pope challengeth Supremacy in controversies of Manners hee teacheth men to disobey the Civill Soveraign which is an erroneous Doctrine contrary to the many precepts of our Saviour and his Apostles delivered to us in the Scripture To prove the Pope has Power to make Laws he alledgeth many places as first Deut. 17. 12. The man that will doe presumptuously and will not he arken unto the Priest that standeth to Minister there before the Lord thy God or unto the Iudge even that man shall die and thou shalt put away the evill from Israel For answer whereunto we are to remember that the High Priest next and immediately under God was the Civill Soveraign and all Judges were to be constituted by him The words alledged sound therefore thus The man that will presume to disobey the Civill Soveraign for the time being or any of his Officers in the execution of their places that man shall die c. which is cleerly for the Civill Soveraignty against the Universall power of the Pope Secondly he alledgeth that of Matth. 16. Whatsoever yee shall bind c. and interpreteth it for such binding as is attributed Matth. 23. 4. to the Scribes and Pharisees They bind heavy burthens and grievous to be born and lay them on mens shoulders by which is meant he sayes Making of Laws and concludes thence that the Pope can make Laws But this also maketh onely for the Legislative power of Civill Soveraigns For the Scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses Chaire but Moses next under God was Soveraign of the People of Israel and therefore our Saviour commanded them to doe all that they should say but not all that they should do That is to obey their Laws but not follow their Example The third place is Iohn 21. 16. Feed my sheep which is not a Power to make Laws but a command to Teach Making Laws belongs to the Lord of the Family who by his owne discretion chooseth his Chaplain as also a Schoolmaster to Teach his children The fourth place Iohn 20. 21. is against him The words are As my Father sent me so send I you But our Saviour was sent to Redeeem by his Death such as should Beleeve and by his own and his Apostles preaching to prepare them for their entrance into his Kingdome which he himself saith is not of this world and hath taught us to pray for the coming of it hereafter though hee refused Acts 1. 6 7. to tell his Apostles when it should come and in which when it comes the twelve Apostles shall sit on twelve Thrones every one perhaps as high as that of St. Peter to judge the twelve tribes of Israel Seeing then God the Father sent not our Saviour to make Laws in this present world wee may conclude from the Text that neither did our Saviour send S. Peter to make Laws here but to perswade men to expect his second comming with a stedfast faith and in the mean time if Subjects to obey their Princes and if Princes both to beleeve it themselves and to do their best to make their Subjects doe the same which is the Office of a Bishop Therefore this place maketh most strongly for the joining of the Ecclesiasticall Supremacy to the Civill Soveraignty contrary to that which Cardinall Bellarmine alledgeth it for The fift place is Acts 15. 28. It hath seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things that yee abstain from meats offered to Idoles and from bloud and from things strangled and from fornication Here hee notes the word Laying of burdens for the Legislative Power But who is there that reading this Text can say this stile of the Apostles may not as properly be used in giving Counsell as in making Laws The stile of a Law is VVe command But VVe think good is the ordinary stile of them that but give Advice and they lay a Burthen that give Advice though it bee conditionall that is if they to whom they give it will attain their ends And such is the Burthen of abstaining from things strangled and from bloud not absolute but in case they will not erre I have shewn before chap. 25. that Law is distinguished from Counsell in this that the reason of a Law is taken from the designe and benefit of him that prescribeth it but the reason of a Counsell from the designe and benefit of him to whom the Counsell is given But here the Apostles aime onely at the benefit of the converted Gentiles namely their Salvation not at their own benefit for having done their endeavour they shall have their reward whether they be obeyed or not And therefore the Acts of this Councell were not Laws but Counsells The sixt place is that of Rom. 13. Let every Soul be subject to the Higher Powers for there is no Power but of God which is meant he saith not onely of Secular but also of Ecclesiasticall Princes To which I answer first that there are no Ecclesiasticall Princes but those that are also Civill Soveraignes and their Principalities exceed not the compasse of their Civill Soveraignty without those bounds though they may be received for Doctors they cannot be acknowledged for Princes For if the Apostle had meant we should be subject both to our own Princes and also to the Pope he had taught us a doctrine which Christ himself hath told us is impossible namely to serve two Masters And though the Apostle say in another place I write these things being absent lest being present I should use sharpnesse according to the Power which the Lord hath given me it is not that he challenged a Power either to put to death imprison banish whip or fine any of them which are Punishments but onely to Excommunicate which without the Civill Power is no more but a leaving of their company and having no more to doe with them than
Laws if any else can make a Law besides himselfe all Common-wealth and consequently all Peace and Justice must cease which is contrary to all Laws both Divine and Humane Nothing therefore can be drawn from these or any other places of Scripture to prove the Decrees of the Pope where he has not also the Civill Soveraignty to be Laws The last point hee would prove is this That our Saviour Christ has committed Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction immediately to none but the Pope Wherein he handleth not the Question of Supremacy between the Pope and Christian Kings but between the Pope and other Bishops And first he sayes it is agreed that the Jurisdiction of Bishops is at least in the generall de Iure Divino that is in the Right of God for which he alledges S. Paul Ephes. 4. 11. where hee sayes that Christ after his Ascension into heaven gave gifts to men some Apostles some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and some Teachers And thence inferres they have indeed their Jurisdiction in Gods Right but will not grant they have it immediately from God but derived through the Pope But if a man may be said to have his Jurisdiction de Jure Divino and yet not immediately what lawfull Jurisdiction though but Civill is there in a Christian Common-wealth that is not also de Jure Divino For Christian Kings have their Civill Power from God immediately and the Magistrates under him exercise their severall charges in vertue of his Commission wherein that which they doe is no lesse de Jure Divino mediato than that which the Bishops doe in vertue of the Popes Ordination All lawfull Power is of God immediately in the Supreme Governour and mediately in those that have Authority under him So that either hee must grant every Constable in the State to hold his Office in the Right of God or he must not hold that any Bishop holds his so besides the Pope himselfe But this whole Dispute whether Christ left the Jurisdiction to the Pope onely or to other Bishops also if considered out of those places where the Pope has the Civill Soveraignty is a contention de lana Caprina For none of them where they are not Soveraigns has any Jurisdiction at all For Jurisdiction is the Power of hearing and determining Causes between man and man and can belong to none but him that hath the Power to prescribe the Rules of Right and Wrong that is to make Laws and with the Sword of Justice to compell men to obey his Decisions pronounced either by himself or by the Judges he ordaineth thereunto which none can lawfully do but the Civill Soveraign Therefore when he alledgeth out of the 6 of Luke that our Saviour called his Disciples together and chose twelve of them which he named Apostles he proveth that he Elected them all except Matthias Paul and Barnabas and gave them Power and Command to Preach but not to Judge of Causes between man and man for that is a Power which he refused to take upon himselfe saying Who made me a Iudge or a Divider amongst you and in another place My Kingdome is not of this world But hee that hath not the Power to hear and determine Causes between man and man cannot be said to have any Jurisdiction at all And yet this hinders not but that our Saviour gave them Power to Preach and Baptize in all parts of the world supposing they were not by their own lawfull Soveraign forbidden For to our own Soveraigns Christ himself and his Apostles have in sundry places expressely commanded us in all things to be obedient The arguments by which he would prove that Bishops receive their Jurisdiction from the Pope seeing the Pope in the Dominions of other Princes hath no Jurisdiction himself are all in vain Yet because they prove on the contrary that all Bishops receive Jurisdiction when they have it from their Civill Soveraigns I will not omit the recitall of them The first is from Numbers 11. where Moses not being able alone to undergoe the whole burthen of administring the affairs of the People of Israel God commanded him to choose Seventy Elders and took part of the spirit of Moses to put it upon those Seventy Elders by which is understood not that God weakned the spirit of Moses for that had not eased him at all but that they had all of them their authority from him wherein he doth truly and ingenuously interpret that place But seeing Moses had the entire Soveraignty in the Common-wealth of the Jews it is manifest that it is thereby signified that they had their Authority from the Civill Soveraign and therefore that place proveth that Bishops in every Christian Common-wealth have their Authority from the Civill Soveraign and from the Pope in his own Territories only and not in the Territories of any other State The second argument is from the nature of Monarchy wherein all Authority is in one Man and in others by derivation from him But the Government of the Church he says is Monarchicall This also makes for Christian Monarchs For they are really Monarchs of their own people that is of their own Church for the Church is the same thing with a Christian people whereas the Power of the Pope though hee were S. Peter is neither Monarchy nor hath any thing of Archicall nor Craticall but onely of Didacticall For God accepteth not a forced but a willing obedience The third is from that the Sea of S. Peter is called by S. Cyprian the Head the Source the Roote the Sun from whence the Authority of Bishops is derived But by the Law of Nature which is a better Principle of Right and Wrong than the word of any Doctor that is but a man the Civill Soveraign in every Common-wealth is the Head the Source the Root and the Sun from which all Jurisdiction is derived And therefore the Jurisdiction of Bishops is derived from the Civill Soveraign The fourth is taken from the Inequality of their Jurisdictions For if God saith he had given it them immediately he had given aswell Equality of Jurisdiction as of Order But wee see some are Bishops but of own Town some of a hundred Towns and some of many whole Provinces which differences were not determined by the command of God their Jurisdiction therefore is not of God but of Man and one has a greater another a lesse as it pleaseth the Prince of the Church Which argument if he had proved before that the Pope had had an Universall Jurisdiction over all Christians had been for his purpose But seeing that hath not been proved and that it is notoriously known the large Jurisdiction of the Pope was given him by those that had it that is by the Emperours of Rome for the Patriarch of Constantinople upon the same title namely of being Bishop of the Capitall City of the Empire and Seat of the Emperour claimed to be equall to him it followeth that all other Bishops
Thirst. Aversion Love Hate Contempt Good Evill Pulchrum Turpe Delightfull Profitable 〈◊〉 Unprofitable Delight Displeasure Pleasure Offence Pleasures of sense Pleasures of the Mind Joy Paine Griefe Hope Despaire Feare Courage Anger Confidence Diffidâ—…nce Indignation Benevolence Good Nature Covetousnesse Ambition Pusillanimity Magnanimity Valour Liberality Miserablenesse Kindnesse Naturall Lust. Luxury The passion of Love Jealousie Revengefulnesse Curiosity Religion Superstition True Religion Panique Terrour Admiration Glory Vain-glory. Dejection Sudden Glory Laughter Sudden Dejection Weeping Shame Blushing Impudence Pitty Cruelty Emulation Envy Deliberation The Will Formes of Speech in Passion Good and Evill apparent Felicity Praise Magnification 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Judgement or Sentence â—…inal Doubt Science Opinioâ—… Consciâ—…ce Beliefe Faith Intellectuall Vertue defined Wit Naturall or Acquired Naturall Wit Good Wit or Fancy Good Judgement Discretion Prudence Craft Acquired Wit Giddinesse Madnesse Rage Melancholy Insignificant Speech Power Worth Dignity To Honour and Dishonour Honourable Dishonourable Coats of Armes Titles of Honour Worthinesse Fitnesse What is here meant by Manners A restlesse desire of Power in all men Love of Contention from Competition Civil obedience from love of Ease From feare of Death or Wounds And from love of Arts. Love of Vertue from love Praise Hate from difficulty of Requiting great Benefits And from Conscience of deserving to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Promptnesse to hurt from Fear And from distrufl of their own wit Vain undertaking from Vain-glory. Ambition from opinion of sufficiency Irresolution from too great valuing of small matters Conâ—…idence in others â—…rom Ignorance of the marks of Wisdome and Kindnesse And from Ignorance of naturall causes And from want of Understanding Adhaerence to Custome from Ignorance of the nature of Right and Wrong Adhaerence to private men From ignorance of the Causes of Peace Credulity from Ignorance of nature Curiosity to know from Care of future time Naturall Re ligion from the same Religion in Man onely First from his desire of knowing Causes From the consideration of the Begining of thingâ—… From his observation of the Sequell of things The naturall Cause of Religion the Anxiety of the time to come Which makes them fear the Power of Inuisible things And suppose them Incorporeall But know not the way how they effect any thing But honour them as they honour mâ—…n And attribute to them all extraordinary events Foure things Naturall seeds of Religion Mide different by Culture The absurd opinion of Gentilisme The designes of the Authors of the Religion of the Heathen The true Religion and the lawes of Gods kingdome the same Chap. 35. The causes of Change in Religion Injoyning beleefe of Impossibilities Doing contrary to the Religion they establish Want of the testimony of Miracles * Exod. 32. 1 2. * Judges 2. 11. * 1 Sam. 8. 3. Men by nature Equall From Equâ—…lity proceâ—…ds Diâ—…idence From Diffidence Warre Out of Civil States there is alwayes Warre of every one against every one The Incommodities of such a War In such a Warre nothing is Unjust The Passions that incline men to Peace Right of Nature what Liberty what A Law of Nature what Difference of Right and Law Naturally every man has Right to everything The Fundamentall Law of Nature The seoond Law of Nature What it is to lay down a Right Renouncing a Right what it is Transferring Right what Obligation Duty Injustice Not all Rights are alienable Contract what Covenant what Free-gift Signes of Contract Expresse Signes of Contract by Inference Free gift passeth by words of the Present or Past. Signes of Contract are words both of the Past Present and Future Merit what Covenants of Mutuall trust when Invalid Right to the End Containeth Right to the Means No Covenant with Beasts Nor with God witâ—…out speciall Revelation No Covenant but of Possible and Future Covenants how made voyd Covenants extorted by feare are valide The former Covenant to one makes voyd the later to another A mans Covenant not to defend himselfe is voyd No man obliged to accuse himself The End of an Oath The forme of an Oath No Oath but by God An Oath addes nothing to the Obligation The third Law of Nature Justice Justice and Jnjustice what Justice and Propriety begin with the Constitution of Common-wealth Justice not Contrary to Reason Covenants not discharged by the Vice of the Person to whom they are made Justice of Men Iustice of Actions what Iustice of Manners and Iustice of Actions Nothing done to a man by his own consent can be Injury Justice Commutative and Distributive The fourth Law of Nature Gratitude The fifth Mutuall accommodetion or Compleasance The sixth Facility to Pardon The seventh that in Revenges men respect onely the future good The eighth against Contumely The ninth against 〈◊〉 The tenth against Arrogance The elevâ—…nth Equity The twelfth Equall use of things Common The thirteenth of Lot The fourteenth of Primogeniture and First seising The â—…fteenth of Mediators The sixteenth of Submission to Arbitrement The seventeenth No man is his own Judge The eighteenth no man to be Judge that has in him a natural cause of Partiality The nineteenth of Witnesses A Rule by which the Laws of Nâ—…ture may eâ—…sily be examined The Lawes of Nature oblige inConscience alwayes but in Effect then onely when there is Security The Laws of Nature are Eternal And yet Easie The Science of these Lawes is the true Morall Philosophy A Person what Person Naturall and Artificiall The word Person whence Actor Author Authority Covenants by Authority bind the Author But not the Actor The Authority is to be shewne Things personated Inanimate Irrational False Gods The true God A Multitude of men how one Person Every one is Author An Actor may be Many men made One by Plurâ—…lity of Voyâ—… Representatives when the number is even unprofitable Negativâ—… voyce The End of Commonweâ—…th particular Security Chap. 13. Which is not to be had from the Law of Nature Nor from the conjunction of a few men or familyes Nor from a great Multitude unlesse directed by one judgement And that continually Why certain creatures without reason or speech do neverthelesse live in Society without any câ—…rcive Power The Generation of a Common-wealth The Definition of a Common-wealth Soveraigne and Subjeâ—…t what The act of Instituting a Common-wealth what The Consequences to such Institution are 1. The Subjects cannot change the forme of government 2. Soveraigne Power cannot be forfeited 3 No man can without injustice protest against the Institution of the Soveraigne declared by the major part 4 The Soveraigns Actions cannot be justly accused by the Subject 5. What soever the Soveraigne doth is unpunishable by the Subject 6. The Soveraigne is judge of what is necessary for the Peace and Defence of his Subjects And Iudge of what Doctrines are fit to be taught them 7 The Right of making Rules whereby the Subjects may every man know what is so his owne as no other Subject can without injustice take it from him 8 To
among them Westward in all businesse of the Lord and in the service of the King Likewise verse 32. that hee made other Hebronites rulers over the Reubenites the Gadites and the halfe tribe of Manasseh these were the rest of Israel that dwelt beyond Jordan for every matter pertaining to God and affairs of the King Is not this full Power both temporall and spirituall as they call it that would divide it To conclude from the first institution of Gods Kingdome to the Captivity the Supremacy of Religion was in the same hand with that of the Civill Soveraignty and the Priests office after the election of Saul was not Magisteriall but Ministeriall Notwithstanding the government both in Policy and Religion were joined first in the High Priests and afterwards in the Kings so far forth as concerned the Right yet it appeareth by the same Holy History that the people understood it not but there being amongst them a great part and probably the greatest part that no longer than they saw great miracles or which is equivalent to a miracle great abilities or great felicity in the enterprises of their Governours gave sufficient credit either to the fame of Moses or to the Colloquies between God and the Priests they took occasion as oft as their Governours displeased them by blaming sometimes the Policy sometimes the Religion to change the Government or revolt from their Obedience at their pleasure And from thence proceeded from time to time the civill troubles divisions and calamities of the Nation As for example after the death of Eleazar and Joshua the next generation which had not seen the wonders of God but were left to their own weak reason not knowing themselves obliged by the Covenant of a Sacerdotall Kingdome regarded no more the Commandement of the Priest nor any law of Moses but did every man that which was right in his own eyes and obeyed in Civill affairs such men as from time to time they thought able to deliver them from the neighbour Nations that oppressed them and consulted not with God as they ought to doc but with such men or women as they guessed to bee Prophets by their Praedictions of things to come and though they had an Idol in their Chappel yet if they had a Levite for their Chaplain they made account they worshipped the God of Israel And afterwards when they demanded a King after the manner of the nations yet it was not with a design to depart from the worship of God their King but despairing of the justice of the sons of Samuel they would have a King to judg them in Civill actions but not that they would allow their King to change the Religion which they thought was recommended to them by Moses So that they alwaies kept in store a pretext either of Justice or Religion to discharge them selves of their obedience whensoever they had hope to prevaile Samuel was displeased with the people for that they desired a King for God was their King already and Samuel had but an authority under him yet did Samuel when Saul observed not his counsell in destroying Agag as God had commanded anoint another King namely David to take the succession from his heirs Rehoboam was no Idolater but when the people thought him an Oppressor that Civil pretence carried from him ten Tribes to Jeroboam an Idolater And generally through the whole History of the Kings as well of Judah as of Israel there were Prophets that alwaies controlled the Kings for transgressing the Religion and sometimes also for Errours of State as Jehosaphat was reproved by the Prophet Jehu for aiding the King of Israel against the Syrians and Hezekiah by Isaiah for shewing his treasures to the Ambassadors of Babylon By all which it appeareth that though the power both of State and Religion were in the Kings yet none of them were uncontrolled in the use of it but such as were gracious for their own naturall abilities or felicities So that from the practise of those times there can no argument be drawn that the Right of Supremacy in Religion was not in the Kings unlesse we place it in the Prophets and conclude that because Hezekiah praying to the Lord before the Cherubins was not answered from thence nor then but afterwards by the Prophet Isaiah therefore Isaiah was supreme Head of the Church or because Iosiah consulted Hulda the Prophetesse concerning the Book of the Law that therefore neither he nor the High Priest but Hulda the Prophetesse had the Supreme authority in matter of Religion which I thinke is not the opinion of any Doctor During the Captivity the Iews had no Common-wealth at all And after their return though they renewed their Covenant with God yet there was no promise made of obedience neither to Esdras nor to any other And presently after they became subjects to the Greeks from whose Customes and Daemonology and from the doctrine of the Cabalists their Religion became much corrupted In such sort as nothing can be gathered from their confusion both in State and Religion concerning the Supremacy in either And therefore so far forth as concerneth the Old Testament we may conclude that whosoever had the Soveraignty of the Common-wealth amongst the Jews the same had also the Supreme Authority in matter of Gods externall worship and represented Gods Person that is the person of God the Father though he were not called by the name of Father till such time as he sent into the world his Son Jesus Christ to redeem mankind from their sins and bring them into his Everlasting Kingdome to be saved for evermore Of which we are to speak in the Chapter following CHAP. XLI Of the OFFICE of our BLESSED SAVIOUR WE find in Holy Scripture three parts of the Office of the Messiah The first of a Redeemer or Saviour The second of a Pastor Counsellor or Teacher that is of a Prophet sent from God to convert such as God hath elected to Salvation The third of a King an eternall King but under his Father as Moses and the High Priests were in their severall times And to these three parts are correspondent three times For our Redemption he wrought at his first coming by the Sacrifice wherein he offered up himself for our sinnes upon the Crosse our Conversion he wrought partly then in his own Person and partly worketh now by his Ministers and will continue to work till his coming again And after his coming again shall begin that his glorious Reign over his elect which is to last eternally To the Office of a Redeemer that is of one that payeth the Ransome of Sin which Ransome is Death it appertaineth that he was Sacrificed and thereby bare upon his own head and carryed away from us our iniquities in such sort as God had required Not that the death of one man though without sinne can satisfie for the offences of all men in the rigour of Justice but in the Mercy of
God that ordained such Sacrifices for sin as he was pleased in his mercy to accept In the Old Law as we may read Leviticus the 16. the Lord required that there should every year once bee made an Atonement for the Sins of all Israel both Priests and others for the doing whereof Aaron alone was to sacrifice for himself and the Priests a young Bullock and for the rest of the people he was to receive from them two young Goates of which he was to sacrifice one but as for the other which was the Scape Goat he was to lay his hands on the head thereof and by a confession of the iniquities of the people to lay them all on that head and then by some opportune man to cause the Goat to be led into the wildernesse and there to escape and carry away with him the iniquities of the people As the Sacrifice of the one Goat was a sufficient because an acceptable price for the Ransome of all Israel so the death of the Messiah is a sufficient price for the Sins of all mankind because there was no more required Our Saviour Christs sufferings seem to be here figured as cleerly as in the oblation of Isaac or in any other type of him in the Old Testament He was both the sacrificed Goat and the Scape Goat Hee was oppressed and he was afflicted Esay 53. 7. he opened not his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep is dumbe before the shearer so opened he not his mouth Here he is the sacrificed Gâ—…at He hath born our Griefs ver 4. and carried our sorrows And again ver 6. the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquities of us all And so he is the Scape Goat He was cut off from the land of the living ver 8. for the transgression of my People There again he is the sacrificed Goat And again ver 11. he shall bear their sins Hee is the Scape Goat Thus is the Lamb of God equivalent to both those Goates sacrificed in that he dyed and escaping in his Resurrection being raised opportunely by his Father and removed from the habitation of men in his Ascension For as much therefore as he that redeemeth hath no title to the thing redeemed before the Redemption and Ransome paid and this Ransome was the Death of the Redeemer it is manifest that our Saviour as man was not King of those that he Redeemed before hee suffered death that is during that time hee conversed bodily on the Earth I say he was not then King in present by vertue of the Pact which the faithfull make with him in Baptisme Neverthelesse by the renewing of their Pact with God in tisme they were obliged to obey him for King under his Father whensoever he should be pleased to take the Kingdome upon him According whereunto our Saviour himself expressely saith Iohn 18. 36. My Kingdome is not of this world Now seeing the Scripture maketh mention but of two worlds this that is now and shall remain to the day of Judgment which is therefore also called the last day and that which shall bee after the day of Judgement when there shall bee a new Heaven and a new Earth the Kingdome of Christ is not to begin till the generall Resurrection And that is it which our Saviour saith Mat. 16. 27. The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works To reward every man according to his works is to execute the Office of a King and this is not to be till he come in the glory of his Father with his Angells When our Saviour saith Mat. 23. 2. The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat All therefore whatsoever they bid you doe that observe and doe hee declareth plainly that hee ascribeth Kingly Power for that time not to himselfe but to them And so hee doth also where he saith Luke 12. 14. Who made mee a Iudge or Divider over you And Iohn 12. 47. I came not to judge the world but to save the world And yet our Saviour came into this world that hee might bee a King and a Judge in the world to come For hee was the Messiah that is the Christ that is the Anointed Priest and the Soveraign Prophet of God that is to say he was to have all the power that was in Moses the Prophet in the High Priests that succeeded Moses and in the Kings that succeeded the Priests And St. Iohn saies expressely chap. 5. ver 22. The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son And this is not repugnant to that other place I came not to judge the world for this is spoken of the world present the other of the world to come as also where it is said that at the second coming of Christ Mat. 19. 28. Yee that have followed me in the Regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his Glory yee shall also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel If then Christ whilest hee was on Earth had no Kingdome in this world to what end was his first coming It was to restore unto God by a new Covenant the Kingdom which being his by the Old Covenant had been cut off by the rebellion of the Israelites in the election of Saul Which to doe he was to preach unto them that he was the Messiah that is the King promised to them by the Prophets and to offer himselfe in sacrifice for the sinnes of them that should by faith submit themselves thereto and in case the nation generally should refuse him to call to his obedience such as should beleeve in him amongst the Gentiles So that there are two parts of our Saviours Office during his aboad upon the Earth One to Proclaim himself the Christ and another by Teaching and by working of Miracles to perswade and prepare men to live so as to be worthy of the Immortality Beleevers were to enjoy at such tiâ—…e as he should come in majesty to take possession of his Fathers Kingdome And therefore it is that the time of his preaching is often by himself called the Regeneration which is not properly a Kingdome and thereby a warrant to deny obedience to the Magistrates that then were for hee commanded to obey those that sate then in Moses chaire and to pay tribute to Caesar but onely an earnest of the Kingdome of God that was to come to those to whom God had given the grace to be his disciples and to beleeve in him For which cause the Godly are said to bee already in the Kingdome of Grace as naturalized in that heavenly Kingdome Hitherto therefore there is nothing done or taught by Christ that tendeth to the diminution of the Civill Right of the Jewes or of Caesar. For as touching the Common-wealth which then was amongst the Jews both they that bare rule amongst them