A Fragment on Government;

being an examination of whit is delivered, on the subject of government in general in the introduction to sir william blackstone's commentaries

Jeremy entham
with a !reface, in which is given a criti"ue on the work at large# $ien ne recule !lus le !rogr%s des connoissances, "u'un mauvais ouvrage d'un Auteur c&l%bre' !arce "u'avant d'instuire, il faut commencer !ar d&trom!er# ()*+,-./0,/ ,s!irit' des 1ois, 1# 222# 3h# 24# 1ondon' 5rinted for +# 5A6*,, at the (ews7Gate; 5# ,(016, o!!osite -outham!ton7-treet in the -trand; and ,# rooks, in oll76ard, +em!le7 ar# (#833#12240#

Preface +he age we live in is a busy age; in which knowledge is ra!idly advancing towards !erfection# 0n the natural world, in !articular, every thing teems with discovery and with im!rovement# +he most distant and recondite regions of the earth traversed and ex!lored the all7vivifying and subtle element of the air so recently analy9ed and made known to striking evidences, were all others wanting, of this !leasing truth# 3orres!ondent to discovery and im!rovement in the natural world, is reformation in the moral; if that which seems a common notion be, indeed, a true one, that in the moral world there no longer remains any matter for discovery# 5erha!s, however, this may not be the case' !erha!s among such observations as would be best calculated to serve as grounds for reformation, are some which, being observations of matters of fact hitherto either incom!letely noticed, or not at all would, when !roduced, a!!ear ca!able of bearing the name of discoveries' with so little method and !recision have the conse"uences of this fundamental axiom, it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong, been as yet develo!!ed# e this as it may, if there be room for making, and if there be use in !ublishing, discoveries in the natural world, surely there is not much less room for making, nor much less use in !ro!osing, reformation in the moral# 0f it be a matter of im!ortance and of use to us to be made ac"uainted with distant countries, surely it is not a matter of much less im!ortance, nor of much less use to us, to be made better and better ac"uainted with the chief means of living ha!!ily in our own' 0f it be of im!ortance and of use to us to know the !rinci!les of the element we breathe, surely it is not of much less im!ortance nor of much less use to com!rehend the !rinci!les, and endeavour at the im!rovement of those laws, by which alone we breathe it in security# 0f to this endeavour we should fancy any Author, es!ecially any Author of great name, to be, and as far as could in such case be ex!ected, to avow himself a determined and !ersevering enemy, what should we say of him: ;e should say that the interests of reformation, and through them the welfare of mankind, were inse!arably connected with the downfall of his works' of a great !art, at least, of the esteem and, influence, which these works might under whatever title have ac"uired# -uch an enemy it has been my misfortune <and not mine only= to see, or fancy at least 0 saw, in the Author of the celebrated 3)((,*+A$0,- on the 1A;- of ,*G1A*8; an Author whose works have had beyond com!arison a more extensive circulation, have obtained a greater share of esteem, of a!!lause, and conse"uently of influence <and that by a title on many grounds so indis!utable= than any other writer who on that subject has ever yet a!!eared# 0t is on this account that 0 conceived, some time since, the design of !ointing out some of what a!!eared to me the ca!ital blemishes of that work, !articularly this grand and fundamental one, the anti!athy to reformation; or rather, indeed, of laying o!en and ex!osing the universal inaccuracy and

confusion which seemed to my a!!rehension to !ervade the whole# For, indeed, such an ungenerous anti!athy seemed of itself enough to !romise a general vein of obscure and crooked reasoning, from whence no clear and sterling knowledge could be derived; so intimate is the connexion between some of the gifts of the understanding, and some of the affections of the heart# 0t is in this view then that 0 took in hand that !art of the first volume to which the Author has given the name of 0*+$)8/3+0)*# 0t is in this !art of the work that is contained whatever comes under the denomination of general principles# 0t is in this !art of the work that are contained such !reliminary views as it seemed !ro!er to him to give of certain objects real or imaginary, which he found connected with his subject 1A; by identity of name' two or three sorts of 1A;- of Nature, the revealed 1A;, and a certain 1A; of Nations# 0t is in this !art of the work that he has touched u!on several to!ics which relate to all laws or institutions<>= in general, or at least to whole classes of institutions without relating to any one more than to another# +o s!eak more !articularly, it is in this !art of his work that he has given a definition, such as it is, of that whole branch of law which he had taken for his subject; that branch, which some, considering it as a main stock, would term 1A; without addition; and which he, to distinguish it from those others its condivident branches,<?= terms law munici!al'an account, such as it is, of the nature and origin of *atural -ociety the mother, and of 5olitical -ociety the daughter, of 1aw munici!al, duly begotten in the bed of (eta!hor'a division, such as it is, of a law, individually considered, into what he fancies to be its !arts'an account, such as it is, of the method to be taken for inter!reting any law that may occur# 0n regard to the 1aw of ,ngland in !articular, it is here that he gives an account of the division of it into its two branches <branches, however, that are no ways distinct in the !ur!ort of them, when once established, but only in res!ect of the source from whence their establishment took its rise= the -tatute or ;ritten law, as it is called, and the 3ommon or /nwritten'an account of what are called General 3ustoms, or institutions in force throughout the whole em!ire, or at least the whole nation;of what are called 5articular 3ustoms, institutions of local extent established in !articular districts; and of such ado!ted institutions of a general extent, as are !arcel of what are called the 3ivil and the 3anon laws; all three in the character of so many branches of what is called the 3ommon 1aw'in fine, a general account of ,"uity, that ca!ricious and incom!rehensible mistress of our fortunes, whose features neither our Author, nor !erha!s any one is well able to delineate;of ,"uity, who having in the beginning been a rib of 1aw, but since in some dark age !lucked from her side, when slee!ing, by the hands not so much of God as of enter!ri9ing Judges, now lords it over her !arent sister' All this, 0 say, together with an account of the different districts of the em!ire over which different !ortions of the 1aw !revail, or over which the 1aw has different degrees of force, com!oses that !art of our Author's work which he has styled the 0*+$)8/3+0)*# @is elo"uent A8iscourse on the study of the 1aw', with which, as being a discourse of the rhetorical kind rather than of the didactic, 0 !ro!osed not to intermeddle, !refaces the whole# 0t would have been in vain to have thought of travelling over the whole of so vast a work# (y design, therefore, was to take such a !ortion of it, as might afford a fair and ade"uate s!ecimen of the character and com!lexion ofthe whole# For this !ur!ose the !art here marked out would, 0 thought, abundantly suffice# +his, however narrow in extent, was the most cons!icuous, the most characteristic !art of our Author's work, and that which was most his own# +he rest was little more than com!ilation# 5ursuing my examination thus far, 0 should !ursue it, 0 thought, as far as was necessary for my !ur!ose' and 0 had little stomach to !ursue a task at once so laborious and so invidious any farther# 0f @ercules, according to the old !roverb, is to be known ex pede' much more thought 0, is he to be known ex ca!ite# 0n these views it was that 0 !roceeded as far as the middle of the definition of the 1aw municipal# 0t was there 0 found, not without sur!ri9e, the digression which makes the subject of the !resent ,ssay# +his threw me at first into no small !er!lexity# +o give no account of it at all;to !ass wholly sub silentio, so large, and in itself so material a !art of the work 0 was examining, would seem strange' at the same time 0 saw no !ossibility of entering into an examination of a !assage so anomalous, without cutting in !ieces the thread of the discourse# /nder this doubt 0 determined at any rate, for the !resent, to !ass it by; the rather as 0 could not !erceive any connexion that it had with any thing that came before or after# 0 did so; and continuing my examination of the definition from which it digressed, 0 travelled on to the end of the 0ntroduction# 0t then became necessary to come to some definitive resolution concerning this excentric !art of it' and the result was, that being

loth to leave the enter!ri9e 0 had begun in this res!ect, im!erfect, 0 sat down to give what 0 intended should be a very slight and general survey of it# +he farther, however, 0 !roceeded in examining it, the more confused and unsatisfactory it a!!eared to me' and the greater difficulty 0 found in knowing what to make of it, the more words it cost me, 0 found, to say so# 0n this way, and by these means it was that the !resent ,ssay grew to the bulk in which the $eader sees it# ;hen it was nearly com!leted, it occurred to me, that as the digression itself which 0 was examining was !erfectly distinct from, and unconnected with the text from which it starts, so was, or so at least might be, the criti"ue on that digression, from the criti"ue on the text# +he former was by much too large to be engrafted into the latter' and since if it accom!anied it at all, it could only be in the sha!e of an A!!endix, there seemed no reason why the same !ublication should include them both# +o the former, therefore, as being the least, 0 determined to give that finish which 0 was able, and which 0 thought was necessary' and to !ublish it in this detached manner, as the first, if not the only !art of a work, the !rinci!al and remaining !art of which may !ossibly see the light some time or other, under some such title as that of AA 3)((,*+ on the 3)((,*+A$0,-' 0n the mean time that 0 may stand more fully justified, or excused at least, in an enter!ri9e to most !erha!s so extraordinary, and to many doubtless so unacce!table, it may be of use to endeavour to state with some degree of !recision, the grounds of that war which, for the interests of true science, and of liberal im!rovement, 0 think myself bound to wage against this work# 0 shall therefore !roceed to mark out and distinguish those !oints of view in which it seems !rinci!ally re!rehensible, not forgetting those in which it seems still entitled to our a!!robation and a!!lause# +here are two characters, one or other of which every man who finds any thing to say on the subject of 1aw, may be said to take u!on him;that of the Expositor, and that of the Censor# +o the !rovince of the Expositor it belongs to ex!lain to us what, as he su!!oses, the 1aw is' to that of the 3ensor, to observe to us what he thinks it ought to be# +he former, therefore, is !rinci!ally occu!ied in stating, or in en"uiring after facts'<B= the latter, in discussing reasons# +he Expositor, kee!ing within his s!here, has no concern with any other faculties of the mind than the a!!rehension, the memory, and the judgment' the latter, in virtue of those sentiments of !leasure or dis!leasure which he finds occasion to annex to the objects under his review, holds some intercourse with the affections# +hat which is 1aw, is, in different countries, widely different' while that which ought to be, is in all countries to a great degree the same# +he ,x!ositor, therefore, is always the citi9en of this or that !articular country' the 3ensor is, or ought to be the citi9en of the world# +o the ,x!ositor it belongs to shew what the 1egislator and his underworkman the Judge have done already' to the 3ensor it belongs to suggest what the 1egislator ought to do in future# +o the 3ensor, in short, it belongs to teach that science, which when by change of hands converted into an art, the 1,G0-1A+)$ !ractises# 1et us now return to our Author# )f these two !erfectly distinguishable functions, the latter alone is that which it fell necessarily within his !rovince to discharge# @is !rofessed object was to ex!lain to us what the 1aws of ,ngland were# AIta lex scripta est', was the only motto which he stood engaged to kee! in view# +he work of censure <for to this word, in default of any other, 0 find it necessary to give a neutral sense= the work of censure, as it may be styled, or, in a certain sense, of criticism, was to him but a !arergona work of su!ererogation' a work, indeed, which, if a!tly executed, could not but be of great ornament to the !rinci!al one, and of great instruction as well as entertainment to the $eader, but from which our Author, as well as those that had gone before him on the same line, might, without being chargeable with any deficiency, have stood excused' a work which, when su!eradded to the !rinci!al, would lay the Author under additional obligations, and im!ose on him new duties' which, notwithstanding whatever else it might differ in from the !rinci!al one, agrees with it in this, that it ought to be executed with im!artiality, or not at all# 0f, on the one hand, a hasty and undiscriminating condemner of what is established may ex!ose himself to contem!t; on the other hand, a bigotted or corru!t defender of the works of !ower, becomes guilty, in a manner, of the abuses which he su!!orts' the more so if, by obli"ue glances and so!histical glosses, he studies to guard from re!roach, or recommend to favour, what he knows not how, and dares not attem!t, to justify# +o a man who contents himself with sim!ly stating an institution as he thinks it is, no share, it is !lain, can justly be attributed <nor would any one think of attributing to him any share= of whatever re!roach, any more than of whatever a!!lause the institu tion may be thought to merit# ut if not content with this humbler function, he takes u!on him to give reasons in behalf of it, reasons whether made or found by him, it is far otherwise# ,very false and so!histical reason that he contributes to circulate, he himself is chargeable with' nor ought he to be holden guiltless even of such as, in a work where fact not reason is the "uestion, he delivers as from other writers without censure# y officiously ado!ting them he makes them his own, though

delivered under the names of the res!ective Authors' not much less than if delivered under his own# For the very idea of a reason betokens a!!robation' so that to deliver a remark under that character, and that without censure, is to ado!t it# A man will scarcely, therefore, without some note of disa!!robation, be the instrument of introducing, in the guise of a reason, an argument which he does not really wish to see a!!roved# -ome method or other he will take to wash his hands of it' some method or other he will take to let men see that what he means to be understood to do, is merely to re!ort the judgment of another, not to !ass one of his own# /!on that other then he will lay the blame; at least he will take care to re!el it from himself# 0f he omits to do this, the most favourable cause that can be assigned to the omission is indifference' indifference to the !ublic welfarethat indifference which is itself a crime# 0t is wonderful how forward some have been to look u!on it as a kind of !resum!tion and ingratitude, and rebellion, and cruelty, and 0 know not what besides, not to allege only, nor to own, but to suffer any one so much as to imagine, that an old7established law could in any res!ect be a fit object of condemnation# ;hether it has been a kind of !ersonification, that has been the cause of this, as if the law were a living creature, or whether it has been the mechanical veneration for anti"uity, or what other delusion of the fancy, 0 shall not here en"uire# For my !art, 0 know not for what good reason it is that the merit of justifying a law when right should have been thought greater, than that of censuring it when wrong# /nder a government of 1aws, what is the motto of a good citi9en: +o obey !unctually; to censure freely# +hus much is certain; that a system that is never to be censured, will never be im!roved' that if nothing is ever to be found fault with, nothing will ever be mended' and that a resolution to justify every thing at any rate, and to disa!!rove of nothing, is a resolution which, !ursued in future, must stand as an effectual bar to all the additional ha!!iness we can ever ho!e for; !ursued hitherto would have robbed us of that share of ha!!iness which we enjoy already# *or is a dis!osition to find Aevery thing as it should be,' less at variance with itself, than with reason and utility# +he common!lace arguments in which it vents itself justify not what is established, in effect, any more than they condemn it' since whatever now is established, once was innovation# 5reci!itate censure, cast on a !olitical institution, does but recoil on the head of him who casts it# From such an attack it is not the institution itself, if well grounded, that can suffer# ;hat a man says against it either makes im!ression or makes none# 0f none, it is just as if nothing had been said about the matter' if it does make an im!ression, it naturally calls u! some one or other in defence# For if the institution is in truth a beneficial one to the community in general, it cannot but have given an interest in its !reservation to a number of individuals# y their industry, then, the reasons on which it is grounded are brought to light' from the observation of which those who ac"uiesced in it before u!on trust, now embrace it u!on conviction# 3ensure, therefore, though ill7founded, has no other effect u!on an institution than to bring it to that test, by which the value of those, indeed, on which !rejudice alone has stam!ed a currency, is cried down, but by which the credit of those of sterling utility is confirmed# *or is it by any means from !assion and ill7humour, that censure, !assed u!on legal institutions, is a!t to take its birth# ;hen it is from !assion and ill7humour that men s!eak, it is with men that they are in ill7humour, not with laws' it is men, not laws, that are the butt of arrogance#<C= -!leen and turbulence may indeed !rom!t men to "uarrel with living individuals' but when they make com!laint of the dead letter of the 1aw, the work of de!arted lawgivers, against whom no !ersonal anti!athy can have subsisted, it is always from the observation, or from the belief at least, of some real grievance# +he 1aw is no man's enemy' the 1aw is no man's rival# Ask the clamorous and unruly multitudeit is never the 1aw itself that is in the wrong' it is always some wicked inter!reter of the 1aw that has corru!ted and abused it#<D= +hus destitute of foundations are the terrors, or !retended terrors, of those who shudder at the idea of a free censure of established institutions# -o little does the !eace of society re"uire the aid of those lessons which teach men to acce!t of any thing as reason, and to yield the same abject and indiscriminating homage to the 1aws here, which is !aid to the des!ot elsewhere# +he fruits of such tuition are visible enough in the character of that race of men who have always occu!ied too large a s!ace in the circle of the !rofession' A !assive and enervate race, ready to swallow any thing, and to ac"uiesce in any thing' with intellects inca!able of distinguishing right from wrong, and with affections alike indifferent to either' insensible, short7sighted, obsti nate' lethargic, yet liable to be driven into convulsions by false terrors' deaf to the voice of reason and !ublic utility' obse"uious only to the whis!er of interest, and to the beck of !ower#

+his head of mischief, !erha!s, is no more than what may seem included under the former# For why is it an evil to a country that the minds of those who have the 1aw under their management should be thus enfeebled: 0t is because it finds them im!otent to every enter !ri9e of im!rovement# *ot that a race of lawyers and !oliticians of this enervate breed is much less dangerous to the duration of that share of felicity which the -tate !ossesses at any given !eriod, than it is mortal to its chance of attaining to a greater# 0f the designs of a (inister are inimical to his country, what is the man of all others for him to make an instrument of or a du!e: )f all men, surely none so fit as that sort of man who is ever on his knees before the footstool of Authority, and who, when those above him, or before him, have !ronounced, thinks it a crime to have an o!inion of his own# +hose who duly consider u!on what slight and trivial circum stances, even in the ha!!iest times, the ado!tion or rejection of a 1aw so often turns; circumstances with which the utility of it has no imaginable connectionthose who consider the desolate and abject state of the human intellect, during the !eriods in which so great a !art of the still subsisting mass of institutions had their birththose who consider the backwardness there is in most men, unless when s!urred by !ersonal interests or resentments, to run a7tilt against the 3olossus of authoritythose, 0 say, who give these considerations their due weight, will not be "uite so 9ealous, !erha!s, as our Author has been to terrify men from setting u! what is now A!rivate judgment,' against what once was A!ublic'' nor to thunder down the harsh e!ithet of Aarrogance' on those, who, with whatever success, are occu!ied in bringing rude establishments to the test of !olished reason# +hey will rather do what they can to cherish a dis!osition at once so useful and so rare'<E= which is so little connected with the causes that make !o!ular discontentments dangerous, and which finds so little aliment in those !ro!ensities that govern the multitude of men# +hey will not be for giving such a turn to their discourses as to bes!eak the whole of a man's favour for the defenders of what is established' nor all his resentment for the assailants# +hey will acknowledge that if there be some institutions which it is Aarrogance' to attack, there may be others which it is effrontery to defend# +)/$$,01<F= has defended torture' torture established by the A!ublic judgment' of so many enlightened nations# ,33A$0A <Aindecent' and 'arrogant' eccariaG= has condemned it# )f these two whose lot among men would one choose rather,the A!ologist's or the 3ensor's: )f a !iece with the discernment which enables a man to !erceive, and with the courage which enables him to avow, the defects of a system of institutions, is that accuracy of conce!tion which enables him to give a clear account of it# *o wonder then, in a treatise !artly of the ex!ository class, and !artly of the censorial, that if the latter de!artment is filled with imbecillity, sym!toms of kindred weakness should characteri9e the former# +he former de!artment, however, of our Author's work, is what, on its own account merely, 0 should scarce have found myself dis!osed to intermeddle with# +he business of sim!le ex!osition is a harvest in which there seemed no likelihood of there being any want of labourers' and into which therefore 0 had little ambition to thrust my sickle# At any rate, had 0 sat down to make a re!ort of it in this character alone, it would have been with feelings very different from those of which 0 now am conscious, and in a tone very different from that which 0 !erceive myself to have assumed# 0n determining what conduct to observe res!ecting it, 0 should have considered whether the taint of error seemed to confine itself to !arts, or to diffuse itself through the whole# 0n the latter case, the least invidious, and considering the bulk of the work, the most beneficial course would have been to have taken no notice of it at all, but to have sat down and tried to give a better# 0f not the whole in general, but scattered !ositions only had a!!eared exce!tionable, 0 should have sat down to rectify those !ositions with the same a!athy with which they were advanced# +o fall in an adverse way u!on a work sim!ly ex!ository, if that were all there were of it, would have been alike ungenerous and unnecessary# 0n the involuntary errors of the understanding there can be little to excite, or at least to justify, resentment# +hat which alone, in a manner, calls for rigid censure, is the sinister bias of the affections# 0f then 0 may still continue to mention as se!arate, !arts which in the work itself are so intimately, and, indeed, undistinguishably blended, it is the censorial !art alone that has drawn from me that sort of animadversion 0 have been led to bestow indiscriminately on the whole# +o lay o!en, and if !ossible su!!ly, the im!erfections of the other, is an o!eration that might indeed of itself do service; but that which 0 thought would do still more service, was the weakening the authority of this# /nder the sanction of a great name every string of words however unmeaning, every o!inion however erroneous, will have a certain currency# $e!utation adds weight to sentiments from whence no !art of it arose, and which had they stood alone might have drawn nothing, !erha!s, but

contem!t# 5o!ular fame enters not into nice distinctions# (erit in one de!artment of letters affords a natural, and in a manner irrecusable !resum!tion of merit in another, es!ecially if the two de!artments be such between which there is a!!arently a close affiance# ;onderful, in !articular, is that influence which is gained over young minds, by the man who on account of whatever class of merit is esteemed in the character of a preceptor# +hose who have derived, or fancy themselves to have derived knowledge from what he knows, or a!!ears to know, will naturally be for judging as he judges' for reasoning as he reasons; for a!!roving as he a!!roves; for condemning as he condemns# )n these accounts it is, that when the general com!lexion of a work is unsound, it may be of use to !oint an attack against the whole of it without distinction, although such !arts of it as are noxious as well as unsound be only scattered here and there# )n these considerations then it may be of use to shew, that the work before us, in s!ite of the merits which recommend it so !owerfully to the imagination and to the ear, has no better title on one account than on another, to that influence which, were it to !ass unnoticed, it might continue to exercise over the judgment# +he 0ntroduction is the !art to which, for reasons that have been already stated, it was always my intention to confine myself# 0t is but a !art even of this 0ntroduction that is the subject of the !resent ,ssay# ;hat determined me to begin with this small !art of it is, the facility 0 found in se!arating it from every thing that !recedes or follows it# +his is what will be more !articularly s!oken to in another !lace# 0t is not that this !art is among those which seemed most o!en to animadversion# 0t is not that stronger traces are exhibited in this !art than in another of that s!irit in our Author which seems so hostile to $eformation, and to that 1iberty which is $eformation's harbinger# 0t is not here that he tram!les on the right of !rivate judgment, that basis of every thing that an ,nglishman holds dear# 0t is not here, in !articular, that he insults our understandings with nugatory reasons; stands forth the !rofessed cham!ion of religious intolerance; or o!enly sets his face against civil reformation# 0t is not here, for exam!le, he would !ersuade us, that a trader who occu!ies a booth at a fair is a fool for his !ains; and on that account no fit object of the 1aw's !rotection#<H= 0t is not here that he gives the !resence of one man at the making of a 1aw, as a reason why ten thousand others that are to obey it, need know nothing of the matter#<I= 0t is not here, that after telling us, in ex!ress terms, there must be an Aactual breaking' to make burglary, he tells us, in the same breath, and in terms e"ually ex!ress, where burglary may be without actual breaking; and this because Athe 1aw will not suffer itself to be trifled with#'<>J= 0t is not here, that after relating the 1aws by which !eaceable 3hristians are made !unishable for worshi!!ing God according to their consciences, he !ronounces with e"ual !erem!toriness and com!lacency, that every thing, yes, Aevery thing is as it should be#'<>>= 0t is not here, that he commands us to believe, and that on !ain of forfeiting all !retensions to either Asense or !robity,' that the system of our juris!rudence is, in the whole and every !art of it, the very "uintessence of !erfection#<>?= 0t is not here that he assures us in !oint of fact, that there never has been an alteration made in the 1aw that men have not afterwards found reason to regret#<>B= 0t is not here that he turns the 1aw into a 3astle, for the !ur!ose of o!!osing every idea of Afundamental' re!aration#<>C= 0t is not here that he turns with scorn u!on those beneficent 1egislators, whose care it has been to !luck the mask of (ystery from the face of Juris!rudence#<>D= 0f here,<>E= as every where, he is eager to hold the cu! of flattery to high station, he has sto!t short, however, in this !lace, of idolatry#<>F= 0t is not then, 0 say, this !art, it is not even any !art of that 0ntroduction, to which alone 0 have any thoughts of extending my examination, that is the !rinci!al seat of that !oison, against which it was the !ur!ose of this attem!t to give an antidote# +he subject handled in this !art of the work is such, as admits not of much to be said in the !erson of the 3ensor# ,m!loyed, as we have seen, in

settling matters of a !reliminary naturein drawing outlines, it is not in this !art that there was occasion to enter into the details of any !articular institution# 0f 0 chose the 0ntroduction then in !reference to any other !art, it was on account of its affording the fairest s!ecimen of the whole, and not on account of its affording the greatest sco!e for censure# 1et us reverse the tablet# ;hile with this freedom 0 ex!ose our Author's ill deserts, let me not be backward in acknowledging and !aying homage to his various merits' a justice due, not to him alone, but to that 5ublic, which now for so many years has been dealing out to him <it cannot be su!!osed altogether without title= so large a measure of its a!!lause# 3orrect, elegant, unembarrassed, ornamented, the style is such, as could scarce fail to recommend a work still more vicious in !oint of matter to the multitude of readers# @e it is, in short, who first of all institutional writers, has taught Juris!rudence to s!eak the language of the -cholar and the Gentle man' !ut a !olish u!on that rugged science' cleansed her from the dust and cobwebs of the office' and if he has not enriched her with that !recision that is drawn only from the sterling treasury of the sciences, has decked her out, however, to advantage, from the toilette of classic erudition' enlivened her with meta!hors and allusions' and sent her abroad in some measure to instruct, and in still greater measure to entertain, the most miscellaneous and even the most fastidious societies# +he merit to which, as much !erha!s as to any, the work stands indebted for its re!utation, is the enchanting harmony of its numbers' a kind of merit that of itself is sufficient to give a certain degree of celebrity to a work devoid of every other# -o much is man governed by the ear# +he function of the ,x!ositor may be conceived to divide itself into two branches' that of history, and that of sim!le demonstration# +he business of history is to re!resent the 1aw in the state it has been in, in !ast !eriods of its existence' the business of sim!le demonstration in the sense in which 0 will take leave to use the word, is to re!resent the 1aw in the state it is in for the time being#<>H= Again, to the head of demonstration belong the several businesses of arrangement, narration and conjecture# (atter of narration it may be called, where the 1aw is su!!osed to be ex!licit, clear, and settled' matter of conjecture or inter!retation, where it is obscure, silent, or unsteady# 0t is matter of arrangement to distribute the several real or su!!osed institutions into different masses, for the !ur!ose of a general survey; to determine the order in which those masses shall be brought to view; and to find for each of them a name# +he business of narration and inter!retation are conversant chiefly about !articular institutions# 0nto the details of !articular institutions it has not been my !ur!ose to descend# )n these to!ics, then, 0 may say, in the language of !rocedure, non sum informatus# 4iewing the work in this light, 0 have nothing to add to or to exce!t against the !ublic voice# @istory is a branch of instruction which our Author, though not rigidly necessary to his design, called in, not without judgment, to cast light and ornament on the dull work of sim!le demonstration' this !art he has executed with an elegance which strikes every one' with what fidelity, having not very !articularly examined, 0 will not take u!on me to !ronounce# Among the most difficult and the most im!ortant of the functions of the demonstrator is the business of arrangement# 0n this our Author has been thought, and not, 0 conceive, without justice, to excel; at least in com!arison of any thing in that way that has hitherto a!!eared# A+is to him we owe such an arrangement of the elements of Juris!rudence, as wants little, !erha!s, of being the best that a technical nomenclature will admit of# A technical nomenclature, so long as it is admitted to mark out and denominate the !rinci!al heads, stands an invincible obstacle to every other than a technical arrange ment# For to denominate in general terms, what is it but to arrange: and to arrange under heads, what is it but to denominate u!on a large scale: A technical arrangement, governed then in this manner, by a technical nomenclature, can never be otherwise than confused and unsatisfactory# +he reason will be sufficiently a!!arent, when we understand what sort of an arrangement that must be which can be !ro!erly termed a natural one# +hat arrangement of the materials of any science may, 0 take it, be termed a natural one, which takes such !ro!erties to characteri9e them by, as men in general are, by the common constitution of man's nature, dis!osed to attend to' such, in other words, as naturally, that is readily, engage, and firmly fix the attention of any one to whom they are !ointed out# +he materials, or elements here in "uestion, are such actions as are the objects of what we call 1aws or 0nstitutions# *ow then, with res!ect to actions in general, there is no !ro!erty in them that is calculated so readily

to engage, and so firmly to fix the attention of an observer, as the tendency they may have to, or divergency <if one may so say= from, that which maybe styled the common end of all of them# +he end 0 mean is @a!!iness'<>I= and this tendency in any act is what we style its utility' as this divergency is that to which we give the name of mischievousness# ;ith res!ect then to such actions in !articular as are among the objects of the 1aw, to !oint out to a man the utility of them or the mischievousness, is the only way to make him see clearly that !ro!erty of them which every man is in search of; the only way, in short, to give him satisfaction# From utility then we may denominate a !rinci!le, that may serve to !reside over and govern, as it were, such arrangement as shall be made of the several institutions or combinations of institutions that com!ose the matter of this science' and it is this !rinci!le, that by !utting its stam! u!on the several names given to those combinations, can alone render satisfactory and dear any arrangement that can be made of them# Governed in this manner by a !rinci!le that is recogni9ed by all men, the same arrangement that would serve for the juris!rudence of any one country, would serve with little variation for that of any other# 6et more# +he mischievousness of a bad 1aw would be detected, at least the utility of it would be rendered sus!icious, by the difficulty of finding a !lace for it in such an arrangement' while, on the other hand, a technical arrangement is a sink that with e"ual facility will swallow any garbage that is thrown into it# +hat this advantage may be !ossessed by a natural arrangement, is not difficult to conceive# 0nstitutions would be characteri9ed by it in the only universal way in which they can be characteri9ed; by the nature of the several modes of conduct which, by !rohibiting, they constitute offences#<?J= +hese offences would be collected into classes denominated by the various modes of their divergency from the common end; that is, as we have said, by their various forms and degrees of mischievousness' in a word, by those !ro!erties which are reasons for their being made offences' and whether any such mode of conduct !ossesses any such !ro!erty is a "uestion of ex!erience# *ow, a bad 1aw is that which !rohibits a mode of conduct that is not mischievous# +hus would it be found im!racticable to !lace the mode of conduct !rohibited by a bad law under any denomination of offence, without asserting such a matter of fact as is contradicted by ex!erience# +hus cultivated, in short, the soil of Juris!rudence would be found to re!el in a manner every evil institution; like that country which refuses, we are told, to harbour any thing venomous in its bosom# +he syno!sis of such an arrangement would at once be a com!endium of ex!ository and of censorial Juris!rudence' nor would it serve more effectually to instruct the subject, than it would to justify or re!rove the 1egislator# -uch a syno!sis, in short, would be at once a ma!, and that an universal one, of Juris!rudence as it is, and a slight but com!rehensive sketch of what it ought to be# For, the reasons of the several institutions com!rised under it would stand ex!ressed, we see, and that uniformly <as in our Author's syno!sis they do in scattered instances= by the names given to the several classes under which those institutions are com!rised# And what reasons: *ot technical reasons, such as none but a 1awyer gives, nor any but a 1awyer would !ut u! with;<?>= but reasons, such as were they in themselves what they might and ought to be, and ex!ressed too in the manner they might and ought to be, any man might see the force of as well as he# *or in this is there any thing that need sur!ri9e us# +he conse"uences of any 1aw, or of any act which is made the object of a 1aw, the only conse"uences that men are at all interested in, what are they but !ain and !leasure: y some such words then as !ain and !leasure, they may be ex!ressed' and !ain and !leasure at least, are words which a man has no need, we may ho!e, to go to a 1awyer to know the meaning of#<??= 0n the syno!sis then of that sort of arrangement which alone deserves the name of a natural one, terms such as these, terms which if they can be said to belong to any science, belong rather to ,thics than to Juris!rudence, even than to universal Juris!rudence, will engross the most commanding stations# ;hat then is to be done with those names of classes that are !urely technical:;ith offences, for exam!le, against !rerogative, with mis!risions, contem!ts, felonies, !raemunires:<?B= ;hat relation is it that these mark out between the 1aws that concern the sorts of acts they are res!ectively !ut to signify, and that common end we have been s!eaking of: *ot any# 0n a natural arrangement what

then would become of them: +hey would either be banished at once to the region of "uiddities and substantial forms; or if, and in deference to attach ments too inveterate to be all at once dissolved, they were still to be indulged a !lace, they would be stationed in the corners and bye !laces of the -yno!sis' stationed, not as now togive light, but to receive it# ut more of this, !erha!s, at some future time# +o return to our Author# ,mbarrassed, as a man must needs be, by this blind and intractable nomenclature, he will be found, 0 conceive, to have done as much as could reasonably be ex!ected of a writer so circumstanced; and more and better than was ever done before by any one# 0n one !art, !articularly, of his -yno!sis,<?C= several fragments of a sort of method which is, or at least comes near to, what may be termed a natural one,<?D= are actually to be found# ;e there read of Acor!oral injuries'; of Aoffences against !eace'; against Ahealth'; against A!ersonal security';<?E= Aliberty''A!ro!erty''light is let in, though irregularly, at various !laces# 0n an une"ual imitation of this -yno!sis that has lately been !erformed u!on what is called the 3ivil 1aw,C all is technical# All, in short, is darkness# -carce a syllable by which a man would be led to sus!ect, that the affair in hand were an affair that ha!!iness or unha!!iness was at all concerned in#<?F= +o return, once more, to our Author's 3ommentaries# *ot even in a censorial view would 0 be understood to deem them altogether without merit# For the institutions commented on, where they are ca!able of good reasons, good reasons are every now and then given' in which way, so far as it goes, one7half of the 3ensor's task is well accom!lished# *or is the dark side of the !icture left absolutely untouched# /nder the head of A+rial by jury', are some very just and interesting remarks on the yet7remaining im!erfections of that mode of trial'<?H= and under that of AAssurances by matter of $ecord', on the lying and extortious jargon of $ecoveries#<?I= -o little, however, are these !articular remarks of a !iece with the general dis!osition, that shews itself so strongly throughout the work, indeed so !lainly adverse to the general maxims that we have seen, that 0 can scarce bring myself to attribute them to our Author# *ot only disorder is announced by them, but remedies, well7imagined remedies, are !ointed out# )ne would think some Angel had been sowing wheat among our Author's tares#<BJ= ;ith regard to this ,ssay itself, 0 have not much to say# +he insufficiencies of our Author# +he business of it is therefore rather to overthrow than to set u!; which latter task can seldom be !erformed to any great advantage where the former is the !rinci!al one# +o guard against the danger of misre!resentation, and to make sure of doing our Author no injustice, his own words are given all along' and, as scarce any sentence is left unnoticed, the whole comment wears the form of what is called a !er!etual one# ;ith regard to a discourse that is sim!ly institutional, and in which the writer builds u!on a !lan of his own, a great !art of the satisfaction it can be made to afford de!ends u!on the order and connection that are established between the several !arts of it# 0n a comment u!on the work of another, no such connection, or at least no such order, can be established commodiously, if at all# +he order of the comment is !rescribed by the order, !erha!s the disorder, of the text# +he chief em!loyment of this ,ssay, as we have said, has necessarily been to overthrow# 0n the little, therefore, which has been done by it in the way of setting u!, my view has been not so much to think for the $eader, as to !ut him u!on thinking for himself# +his 0 flatter myself with having done on several interesting to!ics; and this is all that at !resent 0 !ro!ose# Among the few !ositions of my own which 0 have found occasion to advance, some 0 observe which !romise to be far from !o!ular# +hese it is likely may give rise to very warm objections' objections which in themselves 0 do not wonder at, and which in their motive 0 cannot but a!!rove# +he !eo!le are a set of masters whom it is not in a man's !ower in every instance fully to !lease, and at the same time faithfully to serve# @e that is resolved to !ersevere without deviation in the line of truth and utility, must have learnt to !refer the still whis!er of enduring a!!robation, to the short7lived bustle of tumultuous a!!lause# )ther !assages too there may be, of which some farther ex!lanation may !erha!s not unreasonably be demanded# ut to give these ex!lanations, and to obviate those objections, is a task which, if executed at all, must be referred to some other o!!ortunity# 3onsistency forbad our ex!atiating so far as to lose sight of our Author' since it was the line of his course that marked the boundaries of ours#

Introduction ># +he subject of this examination, is a !assage contained in that !art of -0$ ;# 1A3K-+)*,'3)((,*+A$0,- on the 1A;- of ,*G1A*8, which the Author has styled the 0*+$)8/3+0)*# +his 0ntroduction of his stands divided into four -ections# +he first contains his discourse A)n the -+/86 of the 1A;'# +he second, entitled A)f the *A+/$, of 1A;- in general', contains his s!eculations concerning the various objects, real or imaginary, that are in use to be mentioned under the common name of 1A;# +he third, entitled A)f the 1A;- )F ,*G 1A*8', contains such general observations, relative to these last mentioned 1aws, as seemed !ro!er to be !remised before he entered into the details of any !arts of them in !articular# 0n the fourth, entitled, A)f the 3)/*+$0,- subject to the 1A;- of ,*G1A*8', is given a statement of the different territorial extents of different branches of those 1aws# ?# A+is in the second of these sections, that we shall find the !assage !ro!osed for examination# 0t occu!ies in the edition 0 ha!!en to have before me,' which is the first <and all the editions, 0 believe, are !aged alike= the s!ace of seven !ages; from the CFth, to the DBd, inclusive# B# After treating of A1A; in general', of the A1A; of *ature', 1A; of $evelation', and A1A; of *ations', branches of that imaginary whole, our Author comes at length to what he calls A1A; munici!al'' that sort of 1aw, to which men in their ordinary discourse would give the name of 1aw without addition; the only sort !erha!s of them all <unless it be that of $evelation= to which the name can, with strict !ro!riety, be a!!lied' in a word, that sort which we see made in each nation, to ex!ress the will of that body in it which governs# )n this subject of 1A; (unici!al he sets out, as a man ought, with a definition of the !hrase itself; an im!ortant and fundamental !hrase, which stood highly in need of a definition, and never so much as since our Author has defined it# C# +his definition is ushered in with no small dis!lay of accuracy# First, it is given entire' it is then taken to !ieces, clause by clause; and every clause by itself, justified and ex!lained# 0n the very midst of these ex!lanations, in the very midst of the definition, he makes a sudden stand# And now it bethinks him that it is a good time to give a dissertation, or rather a bundle of dissertations, u!on various subjects)n the manner in which Governments were established)n the different forms they assume when they are established)n the !eculiar excellence of that form which is establlshed in this country )n the right, which he thinks it necessary to tell us, the G)4,$*(,*+ m every country has of making 1A;-)n the duty of making 1A;-; which, he says, is also incumbent on the Government#0n stating these two last heads, 0 give, as near as !ossible, his own words; thinking it !remature to engage in discussions, and not daring to decide without discussion on the sense# D# +he digression we are about to examine, is, as it ha!!ens, not at all involved with the body of the work from which it starts# *o mutual references or allusions' no su!!orts or illustrations communicated or received# 0t may be considered as one small work inserted into a large one; the containing and the contained, having scarce any other connection than what the o!erations of the !ress have given them# 0t is this disconnection that will enable us the better to bestow on the latter a se!arate examination, without breaking in u!on any thread of reasoning, or any !rinci!le of )rder# E# A general statement of the to!ics touched u!on in the digression we are about to examine has been given above# 0t will be found, 0 trust, a faithful one# 0t will not be thought, however, much of a !iece, !erha!s, with the following, which our Author himself has given us# A+his', <says he,<B>= meaning an ex!lanation he had been giving of a !art of the definition above s!oken of= Awill naturally lead us into a short en"uiry into the nature of society and civil government;<B?= and the natural inherent right that belongs to the sovereignty of a state, wherever that sovereignty be lodged, of making and enforcing 1aws#' F# *o very ex!licit mention here, we may observe, of the manner in which governments have been established, or of the different forms they assume when established' no very ex!licit intimation that these were among the to!ics to be discussed# *one at all of the duty of government to make laws; none at all of the ritish constitution; though, of the four other to!ics we have mentioned, there is no one on which he has been near so co!ious as on this last# +he right of Government to make laws, that delicate and invidious to!ic, as we shall find it when ex!lained, is that which for the moment, seems to have swallowed u! almost the whole of his attention# H# e this as it may, the contents of the dissertation before us, taken as 0 have stated them, will furnish us with the matter of five cha!ters'one, which 0 shall entitle AF)$(A+0)* of G)4,$*(,*+'a second, AF)$(- of G)4,$*(,*+'a third, A $0+0-@ 3onstitution'a fourth,

A$0G@+ of the -/5$,(, 5);,$ to make 1A;-'a fifth, A8uty of the -u!reme 5);,$ to make 1A;-'# CHAPTER I - Formation of Government ># +he first object which our Author seems to have !ro!osed to himself in the dissertation we are about to examine, is to give us an idea of the manner in which Governments were formed# +his occu!ies the first !aragra!h, together with !art of the second' for the ty!ogra!hical division does not seem to "uadrate very exactly with the intellectual# As the examination of this !assage will unavoidably turn in great measure u!on the words, it will be !ro!er the reader should have it under his eye# ?# A+he only true and natural foundations of society,' <says our Author=<BB= Aare the wants and the fears of individuals# *ot that we can believe, with some theoretical writers, that there ever was a time when there was no such thing as society; and that, from the im!ulse of reason, and through a sense of their wants and weaknesses, individu als met together in a large !lain, entered into an original contract, and chose the tallest man !resent to be their governor# +his notion of an actually existing unconnected state of nature, is too wild to be seriously admitted; and besides, it is !lainly contradictory to the revealed accounts of the !rimitive origin of mankind, and their !reservation two thousand years afterwards; both which were effected by the means of single families# +hese formed the first society, among themselves; which every day extended its limits, and when it grew too large to subsist with convenience in that !astoral state, wherein the 5atriarchs a!!ear to have lived, it necessarily subdivided itself by various migrations into more# Afterwards, as agriculture increased, which em!loys and can maintain a much greater number of hands, migrations became less fre"uent; and various tribes which had formerly se!arated, re7united again; sometimes by com!ulsion and con"uest, sometimes by accident, and sometimes !erha!s by com !act# ut though society had not its formal beginning from any convention of individuals, actuated by their wants and their fears; yet it is the sense of their weakness and im!erfection that kee!s mankind together; that demonstrates the necessity of this union; and that therefore is the solid and natural foundation, as well as the cement of society' And this is what we mean by the original contract of society; which, though !erha!s in no instance it has ever been formally ex!ressed at the first institution of a state, yet in nature and reason must always be understood and im!lied, in the very act of associating together' namely, that the whole should !rotect all its !arts, and that every !art should !ay obedience to the will of the whole; or, in other words, that the community should guard the rights of each individual member, and that <in return for this !rotection= each individual should submit to the laws of the community; without which submis sion of all it was im!ossible that !rotection could be certainly extended to any# AFor when society is once formed, government results of course, as necessary to !reserve and to kee! that society in order# /nless some su!erior were constituted, whose commands and decisions all the members are bound to obey, they would still remain as in a state of nature, without any judge u!on earth to define their several rights, and redress their several wrongs#'+hus far our Author# B# ;hen leading terms are made to cho! and change their several significations; sometimes meaning one thing, sometimes another, at the u!shot !erha!s nothing; and this in the com!ass of a !aragra!h; one may judge what will be the com!lexion of the whole context# +his, we shall see, is the case with the chief of those we have been reading' for instance, with the words A-ociety','-tate of nature', original contract',not to tire the reader with any more# A-ociety', in one !lace means the same thing as Aa state of nature' does' in another !lace it means the same as AGovernment'# @ere, we are re"uired to believe there never was such a state as a state of nature' there we are given to understand there has been# 0n like manner with res!ect to an original contract we are given to understand that such a thing never existed; that the notion of it is ridiculous' at the same time that there is no s!eaking nor stirring without su!!osing there was one# C# >st, -ociety means a state of nature# For if by Aa state of nature' a man means any thing, it is the state, 0 take it, men are in or su!!osed to be in, before they are under government' the state men "uit when they enter into a state of government; and in which were it not for government they would remain# ut by the word Asociety' it is !lain at one time that he means that state# First, according to him, comes society; then afterwards comes government# AFor when society', says our Author, Ais once formed, government results of course; as necessary to !reserve and kee! that society in order#'<BC=And again, immediately afterwards,'A state in which a su!erior has been constituted, whose commands and decisions all the members are bound to obey', he !uts as an ex!lanation

<nor is it an ina!t one= of a state of Agovernment'' and Aunless' men were in a state of that descri!tion, they would still remain', he says, Aas in a state of nature'# y society, therefore, he means, once more, the same as by a Astate of nature'' he o!!oses it to government# And he s!eaks of it as a state which, in this sense, has actually existed# D# ?dly, +his is what he tells us in the beginning of the second of the two !aragra!hs' but all the time the first !aragra!h lasted, society meant the same as government# 0n shifting then from one !aragra!h to another, it has changed its nature# A+is Athe foundations of society',<BD= that he first began to s!eak of, and immediately he goes on to ex!lain to us, after his manner of ex!laining, the foundations of government# A+is of a Aformal beginning' of '-ociety',<BE= that he s!eaks soon after; and by this formal beginning, he tells us immediately, that he means, Athe original contract of society',<BF= which contract entered into, Aa state',<BH= he gives us to understand, is thereby Ainstituted', and men have undertaken to Asubmit to 1aws'#<BI= -o long then as this first !aragra!h lasts, Asociety', 0 think, it is !lain cannot but have been meaning the same as Agovernment'# E# Bdly, All this while too, this same Astate of nature' to which we have seen A-ociety' <a state s!oken of as existing= !ut synonymous, and in which were it not for government, men, he informs us, in the next !age, would Aremain',<CJ= is a state in which they never were# -o he ex!ressly tells us# +his Anotion', says he, Aof an actually existing unconnected state of nature'; <that is, as he ex!lains himself afterwards,<C>= Aa state in which men have no judge to define their rights, and redress their wrongs=, is too wild to be seriously admitted'#<C?= ;hen he admits it then himself, as he does in his next !age, we are to understand, it seems, that he is bantering us' and that the next !aragra!h is <what one should not otherwise have taken if for= a !iece of !leasantry# F# Cthly, +he original contract is a thing, we are to understand, that never had existence; !erha!s not in any state' certainly therefore not in all# A5erha!s, in no instance', says our Author, Ahas it ever been formally ex!ressed at the first institution of a state#'<CB= H# Dthly, *otwithstanding all this, we must su!!ose, it seems, that it had in every state' Ayet in nature and reason', <says our Author= Ait must always be understood and im!lied'#<CC= Growing bolder in the com!ass of four or five !ages, where he is s!eaking of our own Government, he asserts roundly,<CD= that such a 3ontract was actually made at the first formation of it# A+he legislature would be changed', he says, Afrom that which was originally set u! by the general consent and fundamental act of the society#' I# 1et us try whether it be not !ossible for something to be done towards drawing the im!ort of these terms out of the mist in which our Author has involved them# +he word A-ociety', 0 think it a!!ears, is used by him, and that without notice, in two senses that are o!!osite# 0n the one, -)30,+6, or a -+A+, of -)30,+6, is !ut synonymous to a -+A+, of *A+/$,; and stands o!!osed to G)4,$*(,*+, or a -+A+, )F G)4,$*(,*+' in this sense, it maybe styled, as it commonly is, natural -)30,+6# 0n the other, it is !ut synonymous to G)4,$*(,*+, or a -+A+, )F G)4,$*(,*+; and stands o!!osed to a -+A+, )F *A+/$,# 0n this sense it may be styled, as it commonly is, !olitical -)30,+6# )f the difference between these two states, a tolerably distinct idea,# 0 take it, may be given in a word or two# >J# +he idea of a natural society is a negative one# +he idea of a !olitical society is a !ositive one# A+is with the latter, therefore, we should begin# ;hen a number of !ersons <whom we may style subjects= are su!!osed to be in the habit of !aying obedience to a !erson, or an assemblage of !ersons, of a known and certain descri!tion <whom we may call governor or governors= such !ersons altogether <subjects and governors= are said to be in a state of !olitical -)30,+6# >># +he idea of a state of natural -)30,+6 is, as we have said, a negative one# ;hen a number of !ersons are su!!osed to be in the habit of conversing with each other, at the same time that they are not in any such habit as mentioned above, they are said to be in a state of natural -)30,+6# >?# 0f we reflect a little, we shall !erceive, that, between these two states, there is not that ex!licit se!aration which these names, and these definitions might teach one, at first sight, to ex!ect# 0t is with them as with light and darkness' however distinct the ideas may be, that are, at first mention, suggested by those names, the things themselves have no determinate bound to se!arate them# +he circumstance that has been s!oken of as constituting the difference between these two states, is the !resence or absence of an habit of obedience# +his habit, accordingly, has been s!oken of sim!ly as !resent <that is as being !etfectly !resent= or, in other words, we have s!oken as if there

were a !erfect habit of obedience, in the one case' it has been s!oken of sim!ly as absent <that is, as being !erfectly absent= or, in other words, we have s!oken as if there were no habit of obedience at all, in the other# ut neither of these manners of s!eaking, !erha!s, is strictly just# Few, in fact, if any, are the instances of this habit being !erfectly absent; certainly none at all, of its being !erfectly !resent# Governments accordingly, in !ro!ortion as the habit of obedience is more !erfect, recede from, in !ro!ortion as it is less !erfect, a!!roach to, a state of nature' and instances may !resent themselves in which it shall be difficult to say whether a habit, !erfect, in the degree in which, to constitute a government, it is deemed necessary it should be !erfect, does subsist or not#<CE= >B# )n these considerations, the su!!osition of a !erfect state of nature, or, as it may be termed, a state of society !erfectly natural, may, !erha!s, be justly !ronounced, what our Author for the moment seemed to think it, an extravagant su!!osition' but then that of a government in this sense !erfect; or, as it may be termed, a state of society !erfectly !olitical, a state of !erfect !olitical union, a state of !erfect submission in the subject, of !erfect authority in the governor, is no less so#<CF= >C# A remark there is, which, for the more thoroughly clearing u! of our notions on this subject, it may be !ro!er here to make# +o some ears, the !hrases, Astate of nature,' Astate of !olitical society,' may carry the a!!earance of being absolute in their signification' as if the condition of a man, or a com!any of men, in one of these states, or m the other, were a matter that de!ended altogether u!on themselves# ut this is not the case# +o the ex!ression Astate of nature,' no more than to the ex!ression Astate of !olitical society,' can any !recise meaning be annexed, without reference to a !arty different from that one who is s!oken of as being in the state in "uestion# +his will readily be !erceived# +he difference between the two states lies, as we have observed, in the habit of obedience# ;ith res!ect then to a habit of obedience, it can neither be understood as subsisting in any !erson, nor as not subsisting in any !erson, but with reference to some other !erson# For one !arty to obey, there must be another !arty that is obeyed# ut this !arty who is obeyed, may at different times be different# @ence may one and the same !arty be conceived to obey and not to obey at the same time, so as it be with res!ect to different !ersons, or as we may say, to different objects of obedience# @ence it is, then, that one and the same !arty may be said to be in a state of nature, and not to be in a state of nature, and that at one and the same time, according as it is this or that !arty that is taken for the other object of com!arison# +he case is, that in common s!eech, when no !articular object of com!arison is s!ecified, all !ersons in general are intended' so that when a number of !ersons are said sim!ly to be in a state of nature, what is understood is, that they are so as well with reference to one another, as to all the world# >D# 0n the same manner we may understand, how the same man, who is governor with res!ect to one man or set of men, may be subject with res!ect to another' how among governors some may be in a !erfect state of nature, with res!ect to each other' as the K0*G- of F$A*3, and -5A0*' others, again, in a state of!erfect subjection, as the @)-5)8A$- )F ;A1A3@0A and ()18A40A with res!ect to the G$A*8 -0G*0)$' others, again, in a state of manifest but im!erfect subjection, as the G,$(A* -tates with res!ect to the ,(5,$)$' others, again, in such a state in which it may be difficult to determine whether they are in a state of im!erfect subjection or in a!erfect state of nature' as the K0*G of *A51,- with res!ect to the 5)5,#<CH= >E# 0n the same manner, also, it may be conceived, without entering into details, how any single !erson, born, as all !ersons are, into a state of !erfect subjection to his !arents, that is into a state of !erfect !olitical society with res!ect to his !arents, may from thence !ass into a !erfect state of nature; and from thence successively into any number of different states of !olitical society more or less !erfect, by !assing into different societies# >F# 0n the same manner also it may be conceived how, in any !olitical society, the same man may, with res!ect to the same individuals, be, at different !eriods, and on different occasions, alternately, in the state of governor and subject' to7day concurring, !erha!s active, in the business of issuing a general command for the observance of the whole society, amongst the rest of another man in "uality of Judge' to7morrow, !unished, !erha!s, by a !articular command of that same Judge for not obeying the general command which he himself <0 mean the !erson acting in character of governor= had issued# 0 need scarce remind the reader how ha!!ily this alternate state of authority and submission is exem!lified among ourselves# >H# @ere might be a !lace to state the different shares which different !ersons may have in the issuing of the same command' to ex!lain the nature of cor!orate action' to enumerate and distinguish half a do9en or more different modes in which subordination between the same !arties may subsist' to distinguish and ex!lain the different senses of the words, Aconsent', Are!resentation',

and others of connected im!ort' consent and re!resentation, those interesting but !er!lexing words, sources of so much debate' and sources or !retexts of so much animosity# ut the limits of the !resent design will by no means admit of such !rotracted and intricate discussions# >I# 0n the same manner, also, it may be conceived, how the same set of men considered among themselves, may at one time be in a state of nature, at another time in a state of government# For the habit of obedience, in whatever degree of !erfection it be necessary it should subsist in order to constitute a government, may be conceived, it is !lain, to suffer interru!tions# At different junctures it may take !lace and cease# ?J# 0nstances of this state of things a!!ear not to be unfre"uent# +he sort of society that has been observed to subsist among the A(,$03A* 0*80A*- may afford us one# According to the accounts we have of those !eo!le, in most of their tribes, if not in all, the habit we are s!eaking of a!!ears to be taken u! only in time of war# 0t ceases again in time of !eace# +he necessity of acting in concert against a common enemy, subjects a whole tribe to the orders of a common 3hief# )n the return of !eace each warrior resumes his !ristine inde!endence# ?># )ne difficulty there is that still sticks by us# 0t has been started indeed, but not solved#+his is to find a note of distinction,a characteristic mark, whereby to distinguish a society in which there is a habit of obedience, and that at the degree of !erfection which is necessary to constitute a state of government, from a society in which there is not' a mark, 0 mean, which shall have a visible determinate commencement; insomuch that the instant of its first a!!earance shall be distinguishable from the last at which it had not as yet a!!eared# A+is only by the hel! of such a mark that we can be in a condition to determine, at any given time, whether any given society is in a state of government, or in a state of nature# 0 can find no such mark, 0 must confess, any where, unless it be this; the establishment of names of office' the a!!earance of a certain man, or set of men, with a certain name, serving to mark them out as objects of obedience' such as King, -achem, 3aci"ue, -enator, urgomaster, and the like#' +his, 0 think, may serve tolerably well to distinguish a set of men in a state of !olitical union among themselves from the same set of men not yet in such a state# ??# ut su!!ose an incontestable !olitical society, and that a large one, formed; and from that a smaller body to break off' by this breach the smaller body ceases to be in a state of !olitical union with res!ect to the larger' and has thereby !laced itself, with res!ect to that larger body, in a state of nature;hat means shall we find of ascertaining the !recise juncture at which this change took !lace: ;hat shall be taken for the characteristic mark in this case: +he a!!ointment, it may be said, of new governors with new names# ut no such a!!ointment, su!!ose, takes !lace# +he subordinate governors, from whom alone the !eo!le at large were in use to receive their commands under the old government, are the same from whom they receive them under the new one# +he habit of obedience which these subordinate governors were in with res!ect to that single !erson, we will say, who was the su!reme governor of the whole, is broken off insensibly and by degrees# +he old names by which these subordinate governors were characteri9ed, while they were subordinate, are continued now they are su!reme# 0n this case it seems rather difficult to answer# ?B# 0f an exam!le be re"uired, we may take that of the 8/+3@ !rovinces with res!ect to -5A0*# +hese !rovinces were once branches of the -!anish monarchy# +hey have now, for a long time, been universally s!oken of as inde!endent states' inde!endent as well of that of -!ain as of every other# +hey are now in a state of nature with res!ect to -!ain# +hey were once in a state of !olitical union with res!ect to -!ain' namely, in a state of subjection to a single governor, a King, who was King of -!ain# At what !recise juncture did the dissolution of this !olitical union take !lace: At what !recise time did these !rovinces cease to be subject to the King of -!ain: +his, 0 doubt, will be rather difficult to agree u!on#<CI= ?C# -u!!ose the defection to have begun, not by entire !rovinces, as in the instance just mentioned, but by a handful of fugitives, this augmented by the accession of other fugitives, and so, by degrees, to a body of men too strong to be reduced, the difficulty will be increased still farther# At what !recise juncture was it that ancient $)(,, or that modem 4,*03,, became an inde!endent state: ?D# 0n general then, at what !recise juncture is it, that !ersons subject to a government, become, by disobedience, with res!ect to that government, in a state of nature: ;hen is it, in short, that a revolt shall be deemed to have taken !lace; and when, again, is it, that that revolt shall be deemed to such a degree successful, as to have settled into inde!endence: ?E# As it is the obedience of individuals that constitutes a state of submission, so is it their disobedience that must constitute a state of revolt# 0s it then every act of disobedience that will do as

much: +he affirmative, certainly, is what can never be maintained' for then would there be no such thing as government to be found any where# @ere then a distinction or two obviously !resents itself# 8isobedience may be distinguished into conscious or unconscious' and that, with res!ect as well to the law as to the fact#<DJ= 8isobedience that is unconscious with res!ect to either, will readily, 0 su!!ose, be acknowledged not to be a revolt# 8isobedience again that is conscious with res!ect to both, may be distinguished into secret and o!en; or, in other words, into fraudulent and forcible#<D>= 8isobedience that is only fraudulent, will likewise, 0 su!!ose, be readily acknowledged not to amount to a revolt# ?F# +he difficulty that will remain will concern such disobedience only as is both conscious, <and that as well with res!ect to law as fact,= and forcible# +his disobedience, it should seem, is to be determined neither by numbers altogether <that is of the !ersons su!!osed to be disobedient= nor by acts, nor by intentions' all three may be fit to be taken into consideration# ut having brought the difficulty to this !oint, at this !oint 0 must be content to leave it# +o !roceed any farther in the endeavour to solve it, would be to enter into a discussion of !articular local juris!rudence# 0t would be entering u!on the definition of +reason, as distinguished from (urder, $obbery, $iot, and other such crimes, as, in com!arison with +reason, are s!oken of as being of a more !rivate nature# -u!!ose the definition of +reason settled, and the commission of an act of +reason is, as far as regards the !erson committing it, the characteristic mark we are in search of# ?H# +hese remarks it were easy to extend to a much greater length# 0ndeed, it is what would be necessary, in order to give them a !ro!er fulness, and method, and !recision# ut that could not be done without exceeding the limits of the !resent design# As they are, they may serve as hints to such as shall be dis!osed to give the subject a more exact and regular examination# ?I# From what has been said, however, we may judge what truth there is in our Author's observation, that Awhen society' <understand natural society= Ais once formed, government' <that is !olitical society= <whatever "uantity or degree of )bedience is necessary to constitute !olitical society= Aresults ofcourse; as necessary to !reserve and to kee! that society in order#' y the words, Aof course,' is meant, 0 su!!ose, constantly and immediately' at least constantly# According to this, !olitical society, in any sense of it, ought long ago to have been established all the world over# ;hether this be the case, let any one judge from the instances of the @ottentots, of the 5atagonians, and of so many other barbarous tribes, of which we hear from travellers and navigators# BJ# 0t may be, after all, we have misunderstood his meaning# ;e have been su!!osing him to have been meaning to assert a matter of fact, and to have written, or at least begun, this sentence in the character of an historical observer; whereas, all he meant by it, !erha!s, was to s!eak in the character of a 3ensor, and on a case su!!osed, to ex!ress a sentiment of a!!robation# 0n short, what he meant, !erha!s, to !ersuade us of, was not that Agovernment' does actually Aresult' from natural Asociety'; but that it were better that it should, to wit, as being necessary to A!reserve and kee!' men Ain that state of order', in which it is of advantage to them that they should be# ;hich of the above mentioned characters he meant to s!eak in, is a !roblem 0 must leave to be determined# +he distinction, !erha!s, is what never so much as occurred to him; and indeed the shifting insensibly, and without warning, from one of those characters to the other, is a failing that seems inveterate in our Author; and of which we shall !robably have more instances than one to notice# B># +o consider the whole !aragra!h <with its a!!endage= together, something, it may be seen our Author struggles to over throw, and something to establish# ut how it is he would overthrow, or what it is he would establish, are "uestions 0 must confess myself unable to resolve# A+he !reservation of mankind', he observes, Awas effected by single families#' +his is what u!on the authority of the @oly -cri!tures, he assumes; and from this it is that he would have us conclude the notion of an original contract <the same notion which he afterwards ado!ts= to be ridiculous# +he force of this conclusion, 0 must own, 0 do not see# (ankind was !reserved by single families e it so# ;hat is there in this to hinder Aindividuals' of those families, or of families descended from those families, from meeting together Aafterwards, in a large !lain', or any where else, Aentering into an original contract', or any other contract, Aand choosing the tallest man', or any other man, A!resent', or absent, to be their Governor: +he Aflat contradiction' our Author finds between this su!!osed transaction and the A!reservation of mankind by single families', is what 0 must own myself unable to discover# As to the Aactually existing unconnected state of nature' he s!eaks of, Athe notion of which', he says, Ais too wild to be seriously admitted', whether this be the case with it, is what, as he has given us no notion of it at all, 0 cannot judge of#

B?# -omething !ositive, however, in one !lace, we seem to have# +hese Asingle families,' by which the !reservation of mankind was effected; these single families, he gives us to understand, Aformed the first society#' +his is something to !roceed u!on# A society then of the one kind or the other; a natural society, or else a !olitical society, was formed# 0 would here then !ut a case, and then !ro!ose a "uestion# 0n this society we will say no contract had as yet been entered into; no habit of obedience as yet formed# ;as this then a natural society merely, or was ita!olitical one: For my !art, according to my notion of the two kinds of society as above ex!lained, 0 can have no difficulty# 0t was a merely natural one# ut, according to our Author's notion, which was it: 0f it was already a !olitical one, what notion would he give us of such an one as shall have been a natural one; and by what change should such !recedent natural one have turned into this !olitical one: 0f this was not a !olitical one, then what sort of a society are we to understand any one to be which is !olitical: y what mark are we to distinguish it from a natural one: +o this, it is !lain, our Author has not given any answer# At the same time, that to give an answer to it, was, if any thing, the !rofessed !ur!ose of the long !aragra!h before us# BB# 0t is time this !assage of our Author were dismissedAs among the ex!ressions of it are some of the most striking of those which the vocabulary of the subject furnishes, and these ranged in the most harmonious order, on a distant glance nothing can look fairer' a !rettier !iece of tinsel7work one shall seldom see exhibited from the shew7glass of !olitical erudition# -te! close to it, and the delusion vanishes# 0t is then seen to consist !artly of self7evident observations, and !artly of contradictions; !artly of what every one knows already and !artly of what no one can understand at all# BC# +hroughout the whole of it, what distresses me is, not the meeting with any !ositions, such as, thinking them false, 0 find a difficulty in !roving so' but the not meeting with any !ositions, true, or false, <unless it be here and there a self7evident one,= that 0 can find a meaning for# 0f 0 can find nothing !ositive to accede to, no more can 0 to contradict# )f this latter kind of work, indeed, there is the less to do for any one else, our Author himself having executed it, as we have seen, so am!ly# +he whole of it is, 0 must confess, to me a riddle' more acute, by far, than 0 am, must be the )edi!us that can solve it# @a!!ily it is not necessary, on account of any thing that follows, that it should be solved# *othing is concluded from it# For aught 0 can find, it has in itself no use, and none is made of it# +here it is, and as well might it be any where else, or no where# BD# ;ere it then !ossible, there would be no use in its being solved' but being, as 0 take it, really unsolvable, it were of use it should be seen to be so# 5eace may by this means be restored to the breast of many a des!onding student, who, now !re!ossessed with the ho!es of a rich harvest of instruction, makes a crime to himself of his inability to rea! what, in truth, his Author has not sown# BE# As to the )riginal 3ontract, by turns embraced and ridiculed by our Author, a few !ages, !erha!s, may not be ill bestowed in endeavouring to come to a !recise notion about its reality and use# +he stress laid on it formerly, and still, !erha!s, by some, is such as renders it an object not undeserving of attention# 0 was in ho!es, however, till 0 observed the notice taken of it by our author, that this chimera had been effectually demolished by (r @/(,#<D?= 0 think we hear not so much of it now as formerly# +he indestructible !rerogatives of mankind have no need to be su!!orted u!on the sandy foundation of a fiction# BF# ;ith res!ect to this, and other fictions, there was once a time, !erha!s, when they had their use# ;ith instruments of this tem!er, 0 will not deny but that some !olitical work may have been done, and that useful work, which, under the then circumstances of things, could hardly have been done with any other# ut the season of Fiction is now over' insomuch, that what formerly might have been tolerated and countenanced under that name, would, if now attem!ted to be set on foot, be censured and stigmati9ed under the harsher a!!ellations of incroachment or im!osture# +o attem!t to introduce any new one, would be now a crime' for which reason there is much danger, without any use, in vaunting and !ro!agating such as have been introduced already# 0n !oint of !olitical discernment, the universal s!read of learning has raised mankind in a manner to a level with each other, in com!arison of what they have been in any former time' nor is any man now so far elevated above his fellows, as that he should be indulged in the dangerous licence of cheating them for their good# BH# As to the fiction now before us, in the character of an argumentum ad hominem coming when it did, and managed as it was, it succeeded to admiration# +hat com!acts, by whomsoever entered into, ought to be ke!t; that men are bound by com!acts, are !ro!ositions which men, without knowing or en"uiring why, were dis!osed universally to accede

to# +he observance of !romises they had been accustomed to see !retty constantly enforced# +hey had been accustomed to see Kings, as well as others, behave themselves as if bound by them# +his !ro!osition, then, Athat men are bound by com!acts;' and this other, Athat, if one !arty !erforms not his !art, the other is released from his,' being !ro!ositions which no man dis!uted, were !ro!ositions which no man had any call to !rove# 0n theory they were assumed for axioms' and in !ractice they were observed as rules#<DB= 0f, on any occasion, it was thought !ro!er to make a shew of !roving them, it was rather for form's sake than for any thing else' and that, rather in the way of memento or instruction to ac"uiescing auditors, than in the way of !roof against o!!onents# )n such an occasion the common !lace retinue of !hrases was at hand; Justice, $ight $eason re"uired it, the 1aw of *ature commanded it, and so forth; all which are but so many ways of intimating that a man is firmly !ersuaded of the truth of this or that moral !ro!osition, though he either thinks he need not, or finds he can't, tell why# (en were too obviously and too generally interested in the observance of these rules to entertain doubts concerning the force of any arguments they saw em!loyed in their su!!ort0t is an old observation how 0nterest smooths the road to Faith# BI# A com!act, then, it was said, was made by the King and 5eo!le' the terms of it were to this effect# +he 5eo!le, on their !art, !romised to the King a general obedience# +he King, on his !art, !romised to govern the !eo!le in such a !articular manner always, as should be subservient to their ha!!iness# 0 insist not on the words' 0 undertake only for the sense; as far as an imaginary engagement, so loosely and so variously worded by those who have imagined it, is ca!able of any decided signification# Assuming then, as a general rule, that !rom ises, when made, ought to be observed; and, as a !oint of fact, that a !romise to this effect in !articular had been made by the !arty in "uestion, men were more ready to deem themselves "ualified to judge when it was such a !romise was broken, than to decide directly and avowedly on the delicate "uestion, when it was that a King acted so far in o!!osition to the ha!!iness of his !eo!le, that it were better no longer to obey him# CJ# 0t is manifest, on a very little consideration, that nothing was gained by this manoouvre after all' no difficulty removed by it# 0t was still necessary, and that as much as ever, that the "uestion men studied to avoid should be determined, in order to determine the "uestion they thought to substitute in its room# 0t was still necessary to determine, whether the King in "uestion had, or had not acted so far in o!!osition to the ha!!iness of his !eo!le, that it were better no longer to obey him; in order to determine, whether the !romise he was su!!osed to have made, had, or had not been broken# For what was the su!!osed !ur!ort of this !romise: 0t was no other than what has just been mentioned# C># 1et it be said, that !art at least of this !romise was to govern m subservience to 1aw' that hereby a more !recise rule was laid down for his conduct, by means of this su!!osal of a !romise, than that other loose and general rule to govern in subservience to the ha!!iness of his !eo!le' and that, by this means, it is the letter of the 1aw that forms the tenor of the rule# *ow true it is, that the governing in o!!osition to 1aw, is one way of governing in o!!osition to the ha!!iness of the !eo!le' the natural effect of such a contem!t of the 1aw being, if not actually to destroy, at least to threaten with destruction, all those rights and !rivileges that are founded on it' rights and !rivileges on the enjoyment of which that ha!!iness de!ends# ut still it is not this that can be safely taken for the entire !ur!ort of the !romise here in "uestion' and that for several reasons# First, ecause the most mischievous, and under certain constitutions the most feasible, method of governing in o!!osition to the ha!!iness of the !eo!le, is, by setting the 1aw itself in o!!osition to their ha!!iness# -econdly, ecause it is a case very conceivable, that a King may, to a great degree, im!air the ha!!iness of his !eo!le without violating the letter of any single 1aw# +hirdly, ecause extraordinary occasions may now and then occur, in which the ha!!iness of the !eo!le may be better !romoted by acting, for the moment, in o!!osition to the 1aw, than in subservience to it# Fourthly, ecause it is not any single violation of the 1aw, as such, that can !ro!erly be taken for a breach of his !art of the contract, so as to be understood to have released the !eo!le from the obligation of !erforming theirs# For, to "uit the fiction, and resume the language of !lain truth, it is scarce ever any single violation of the 1aw that, by being submitted to, can !roduce so much mischief as shall sur!ass the !robable mischief of resisting it# 0f every single instance whatever of such a violation were to be deemed an entire dissolution of the contract, a man who reflects at all would scarce find any7where, 0 believe, under the sun, that Government which he could allow to subsist for twenty years together# 0t is !lain, therefore, that to !ass any sound decision u!on the "uestion which the inventors of this fiction substituted instead of the true one, the latter was still necessary to be decided# All they gained by their contrivance was, the convenience of deciding it obli"uely, as it were, and by a side windthat is, in a crude and hasty way, without any

direct and steady examination# C?# ut, after all, for what reason is it, that men ought to kee! their !romises: +he moment any intelligible reason is given, it is this' that it is for the advantage of society they should kee! them; and if they do not, that, as far as !unishment will go, they should be made to kee! them# 0t is for the advantage of the whole number that the !romises of each individual should be ke!t' and, rather than they should not be ke!t, that such individuals as fail to kee! them should be !unished# 0f it be asked, how this a!!ears: the answer is at hand'-uch is the benefit to gain, and mischief to avoid, by kee!ing them, as much more than com!ensates the mischief of so much !unishment as is re"uisite to oblige men to it# ;hether the de!endence of benefit and mischief <that is, of !leasure and !ain= u!on men's conduct in this behalf, be as here stated, is a "uestion offact, to be decided, in the same manner that all other "uestions of fact are to be decided, by testimony, observation, and ex!erience#<DC= CB# +his then, and no other, being the reason why men should be made to kee! their !romises, vi9, that it is for the advantage of society that they should, is a reason that may as well be given at once, why Kings, on the one hand, in governing, should in general kee! within established 1aws, and <to s!eak universally= abstain from all such measures as tend to the unha!!iness of their subjects' and, on the other hand, why subjects should obey Kings as long as they so conduct themselves, and no longer; why they should obey in short so long as the !robable mischiefs of obedience are less than the !robable mischiefs of resistance' why, in a word, taking the whole body together, it is their duty to obey, just so long as it is their interest, and no longer# +his being the case,what need of saying of the one, that he 5$)(0-,8 so to govern; of the other, that they 5$)(0-,8 so to obey, when the fact is otherwise: CC# +rue it is, that, in this country, according to ancient forms, some sort ofvague !romise of good government is made by Kings at the ceremony of their coronation' and let the acclamations, !erha!s given, !erha!s not given, by chance !ersons out of the surrounding multitude, be construed into a !romise of obedience on the !art of the whole multitude' that whole multitude itself, a small dro! collected together by chance out of the ocean of the state' and let the two !romises thus made be deemed to have formed a !erfect com!act' not that either of them is declared to be the consideration of the other# CD# (ake the most of this concession, one ex!eriment there is, by which every reflecting man may satisfy himself, 0 think, beyond a doubt, that it is the consideration of utilily, and no other, that, secretly but unavoidably, has governed his judgment u!on all these matters# +he ex!eriment is easy and decisive# 0t is but to reverse, in su!!osition, in the first !lace the im!ort of the !articular !romise thus feigned; in the next !lace, the effect in !oint of utility of the observance of !romises in general#-u!!ose the King to !romise that he would govern his subjects not according to 1aw; not in the view to !romote their ha!!iness'would this be binding u!on him: -u!!ose the !eo!le to !romise they would obey him at all events, let him govern as he will; let him govern to their destruction# ;ould this be binding u!on them: -u!!ose the constant and universal effect of an observance of !romises were to !roduce mischief would it then be men's duty to observe them: ;ould it then be right to make 1aws, and a!!ly !unishment to oblige men to observe them: CE# A*o;' <it may !erha!s be re!lied= Abut for this reason; among !romises, some there are that, as every one allows, are void' now these you have been su!!osing, are un"uestionably of the number# A !romise that is in itself void, cannot, it is true, create any obligation# ut allow the !romise to be valid, and it is the !romise itself that creates the obligation, and nothing else#' +he fallacy of this argument it is easy to !erceive# For what is it then that the !romise de!ends on for its validity: what is it that being!resent makes it valid: what is it that being wanting makes it void: +o acknowledge that any one !romise may be void, is to acknowledge that if any other is binding, it is not merely because it is a !romise# +hat circumstance then, whatever it be, on which the validity of a !romise de!ends, that circumstance, 0 say, and not the !romise itself must, it is !lain, be the cause of the obligation which a !romise is a!t in general to carry with it# CF# ut farther# Allow, for argument's sake, what we have dis !roved' allow that the obligation of a !romise is inde!endent of every other' allow that a !romise is binding propri vi inding then on whom: )n him certainly who makes it# Admit this' For what reason is the same individual !romise to be binding on those who never made it: +he King, fifty years ago, !romised my Great7 Grandfather to govern him according to 1aw' my Great7Grandfather, fifty years ago, !romised the King to obey him according to 1aw# +he King, just now, !romised my neighbour to govern him according to 1aw' my neigh bour, just now, !romised the King to obey him according to 1aw e it so;hat are these !romises, all or any of them, to me: +o make answer to this "uestion, some other

!rinci!le, it is manifest, must be resorted to, than that of the intrinsic obligation of !romises u!on those who make them# CH# *ow this other !rinci!le that still recurs u!on us, what other can it be than the !rinci!le of /+010+6:<DD= +he !rinci!le which furnishes us with that reason, which alone de!ends not u!on any higher reason, but which is itself the sole and all7sufficient reason for every !oint of !ractice whatsoever#

CHAPTER II - Forms of Government ># +he contents of the whole digression we are examining, were distributed, we may remember, at the outset of this ,ssay, into five divisions# +he first, relative to the manner in which Government in general was formed, has already been examined in the !receding cha!ter# +he next, relative to the different s!ecies or forms it may assume, comes now to be considered# ?# +he first object that strikes us in this division of our subject is the theological flourish it sets out with# 0n God may be said, though in a !eculiar sense, to be our Author's strength# 0n theology he has found a not unfre"uent source, of ornament to divert us, of authority to overawe us, from sounding into the shallowness of his doctrines#<DE= B# +hat governors, of some sort or other, we must have, is what he has been shewing in the manner we have seen in the last cha!ter# *ow for endowments to "ualify them for the exercise of their function# +hese endowments then, as if it were to make them shew the brighter, and to kee! them, as much as !ossible, from being soiled by the rough hands of im!ertinent s!eculators, he has chosen should be of aethereal texture, and has fetched them from the clouds# AAll mankind',<DF= he says, Awill agree that government should be re!osed in such !ersons in whom those "ualities are most likely to be found, the !erfection of which are among the attributes of @im who is em!hatically styled the -u!reme eing' the three great re"uisites, 0 mean, of wisdom, of goodness, and of !ower#' ut let us see the whole !assage as it stands C# A ut as all the members of -ociety', <meaning natural -ociety= Aare naturally ,./A1,' <i#e#, 0 su!!ose, with res!ect to !olitical !ower, of which none of them as yet have any= Ait may be asked,' <continues he= in whose hands are the reins of government to be intrusted: +o this the general answer is easy; but the a!!lication of it to !articular cases, has occasioned one half of those mischiefs which are a!t to !roceed from misguided !olitical 9eal# 0n general, all mankind will agree that government should be re!osed in such !ersons in whom those "ualities are most likely to be found, the !erfection of which are among the attributes of @im who is em!hatically styled the -u!reme eing; the three grand re"uisites, 0 mean, of wisdom, goodness, and of !ower' wisdom, to discern the real interest of the community; goodness, to endeavour always to !ursue that real interest; and strength or !ower, to carry this knowledge and intention into action# +hese are the natural foundations of sovereignty, and these are the re"uisites that ought to be found in every well7 constituted frame of government# D# ,very thing in its !lace# +heology in a sermon, or a catechism# ut in this !lace, the flourish we have seen, might, for every !ur!ose of instruction, have much better, it should seem, been s!ared# ;hat !ur!ose the idea of that tremendous and incom!rehensible eing thus unnecessarily introduced can answer, 0 cannot see, unless it were to bewilder and entrance the reader; as it seems to have bewildered and entranced the writer# eginning thus, is beginning at the wrong end' it is ex!laining ignotum per ignotius# 0t is not from the attributes of the 8eity, that an idea is to be had of any "ualities in men' on the contrary, it is from what we see of the "ualities of men, that we obtain the feeble idea we can frame to ourselves, of the attributes of the 8eity# E# ;e shall soon see whether it be light or darkness our Author has brought back from this excursion to the clouds# +he "ualifications he has !itched u!on for those in whose hands Government is to be re!osed we see are three' wisdom, goodness, and !ower# *ow of these three, one there is which, 0 doubt, will give him some trouble to know what to do with# 0 mean that of 5ower which, looking u!on it as a jewel, it should seem, that would give a lustre to the royal diadem, he was for im!orting from the celestial regions# 0n heaven, indeed, we shall not dis!ute its being to be found; and that at all junctures alike# ut the !arallel, 0 doubt, already fails# 0n the earthly governors in "uestion, or, to s!eak more !ro!erly, candidates for government, by the very su!!osition there

can not, at the juncture he su!!oses, be any such thing# 5ower is that very "uality which, in consideration of these other "ualities, which, it is su!!osed, are !ossessed by them already, they are now waiting to receive# F# y 5ower in this !lace, 0, for my !art, mean !olitical !ower' the only sort of !ower our Author could mean' the only sort of !ower that is here in "uestion# A little farther on we shall find him s!eaking of this endowment as being !ossessed, and that in the highest degree, by a King, a single !erson# *atural !ower therefore, mere organical !ower, the faculty of giving the hardest blows, can never, it is !lain, be that which he meant to number among the attributes of this godlike !ersonage# H# ;e see then the dilemma our Author's theology has brought him into, by !utting him u!on reckoning !ower among the "ualifications of his candidates# 5ower is either natural or !olitical# 5olitical !ower is what they cannot have by the su!!osition' for that is the very thing that is to be created, and which by the establishment of Government, men are going to confer on them# 0f any, then, it must be natural !ower; the natural strength that a man !ossesses of himself without the hel! of Government# ut of this, then, if this be it, there is more, if we may believe our Author, in a single member of a society, than in that member and all the rest of the society !ut together#<DH= I# +his difficulty, if !ossible, one should be glad to see cleared u!# +he truth is, 0 take it, that in what our Author has said of !ower, he has been s!eaking, as it were, by antici!ation' and that what he means by it, is not any !ower of either kind actually !ossessed by any man, or body of men, at the juncture he su!!oses, but only a ca!acity, if one may call it so, of retaining and !utting into action !olitical !ower, whensoever it shall have been conferred# *ow, of actual !ower, the "uantity that is !ossessed is, in every case, one and the same' for it is neither more nor less than the su!reme !ower# ut as to the ca!acity above s!oken of, there do seem, indeed, to be good grounds for su!!osing it to subsist in a higher degree in a single man than in a body# >J# +hese grounds it will not be ex!ected that 0 should dis!lay at large' a slight sketch will be sufficient#+he efficacy of !ower is, in !art at least, in !ro!ortion to the !rom!titude of obedience' the !rom!titude of obedience is, in !art, in !ro!ortion to the !rom!titude of command'command is an ex!ression of will' a will is sooner formed by one than many# And this, or something like it, 0 take to be the !lain ,nglish of our Author's meta!hor, where he tells us,<DI= as we shall see a little farther on,<EJ= that Aa monarchy is the most !owerful' <form of government= Aof any, all the sinews of government being knit together, and united in the hands of the !rince#' >># +he next !aragra!h, short as it is, contains variety of matter# +he first two sentences of it are to let us know, that with regard to the manner in which each of the !articular governments that we know of have been formed, he thinks !ro!er to !ass it by# A third is to intimate, for the second time, that all governments must be absolute in some hands or other# 0n the fourth and last, he favours us with a very comfortable !iece of intelligence; the truth of which, but for his averment, few of us !erha!s would have sus!ected# +his is, that the "ualifications mentioned by the last !aragra!h as re"uisite to be !ossessed by all Governors of states are, or at least once u!on a time were, actually !ossessed by them' <i#e#= according to the o!inion of somebody; but of what somebody is not altogether clear' whether in the o!inion of these Governors themselves, or of the !ersons governed by them# >?# A@ow the several forms of government we now see in the world at first actually began,' says our Author, Ais matter of great uncertainty, and has occasioned infinite dis!utes# 0t is not my business or intention to enter into any of them# @owever they began, or by what right soever they subsist, there is and must be in all of them a su!reme, irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority, in which the jura summi imperii, or the rights of sovereignty, reside# And this authority is !laced in those hands, wherein <according to the )50*0)* of the F)/*8,$- of such res!ective states, either ex!ressly given or collected from their tacit A55$) A+0)*= the "ualities re"uisite fot su!remacy, wisdom, goodness, and !ower, are the most likely to be found#'<E>= >B# ;ho those !ersons are whom our Author means here by the word founders; whether those who became the Governors of the states in "uestion, or those who became the governed, or both together, is what 0 would not take u!on me to determine# For aught 0 know he may have meant neither the one nor the other, but some third !erson# And, indeed, what 0 am vehemently inclined to sus!ect is, that, in our Author's large conce!tion, the mighty and extensive domains of A+@,*- and -5A$+A, of which we read so much at school and at college, consisting each of several score of miles s"uare, re!resented, at the time this !aragra!h was writing, the whole universe' and the res!ective aeras of -olon and 1ycurgus, the whole !eriod of the history of those states#

>C# +he words Afounders',77'o!inion'7'a!!robation',77in short the whole com!lection of the sentence is such as brings to one's view a system of government utterly different from the generality of those we have before our eyes; a system in which one would think neither ca!rice, nor violence, nor accident, nor !rejudice, nor !assion, had any share' a system uniform, com!rehensive, and simultaneous; !lanned with !hlegmatic deliberation; established by full and general assent' such, in short, as, according to common imagination, were the systems laid down by the two sages above7mentioned# 0f this be the case, the object he had in mind when he said Founders, might be neither Governors nor governed, but some neutral !erson' such as hose sages, chosen as they were in a manner as um!ires, might be considered with regard to the !ersons who, under the !rior constitution, whatever it was, had stood res!ectively in those two relations# >D# All this, however, is but conjecture' 0n the !ro!osition itself neither this, nor any other restriction is ex!ressed# 0t is delivered ex!licitly and em!hatically in the character of an universal one# A0n A11 )F +@,(', he assures us, Athis authority,' <the su!reme authority= Ais !laced in those hands, wherein, according to the o!inion of the founders of such res!ective states, these L"ualities of wisdom, good ness, and !ower,L are the most likely to be found#' 0n this character it cannot but throw a singular light on history# 0 can see no end, indeed, to the discoveries it leads to, all of them e"ually new and edifying# ;hen the -!aniards, for exam!le, became masters of the em!ire of (exico, a vulgar !olitician might su!!ose it was because such of the (exicans as remained unexterminated, could not hel! it# *o such thingit was because the -!aniards were of Ao!inion' or the (exicans themselves were of Ao!inion' <which of the two is not altogether clear= that in 3harles 4th, and his successors, more goodness <of which they had such abundant !roofs= as well as wisdom, was likely to be found, than in all the (exicans !ut together# +he same !ersuasion obtained between 3harlemagne and the Ger man -axons with res!ect to the goodness and wisdom of 3harlemagne'between ;illiam the *orman and the ,nglish -ax ons'between (ahomet lid and the subjects of John 5aleologus' between )doacer and those of Augustulus'between the +artar Gingiskan and the 3hinese of his time'between the +artars 3hang7ti and 3am7ghi, and the 3hinese of their times'between the 5rotector 3romwell and the -cotch'between ;illiam 000d and the 0rish 5a!ists'between 3aesar and the Gauls'in short, between the +hirty +yrants, so called, and the Athenians, whom our Author seems to have had in view'to mention these exam!les only, out of as many hundred as might be re"uired# All this, if we may trust our Author, he has the Agoodness' to believe' and by such lessons is the !enetration of students to be shar!ened for !iercing into the de!ths of !olitics# >E# -o much for the introductory !aragra!h+he main !art of the subject is treated of in six others' the general contents of which are as follow# >F# 0n the first he tells us how many different forms of government there are according to the division of the antients' which division he ado!ts# +hese are three' (onarchy, Aristocracy, and 8emocracy# >H# +he next is to tell us, that by the sovereign 5);,$ he means that of 'making laws'# >I# 0n a third he gives us the advantages and disadvantages of these three different forms of government# ?J# 0n a fourth he tells us that these are all the antients would allow of# ?># A Fifth is to tell us that the ritish form of government is different from each of them; being a combination of all, and !osses sing the advantages of all# ??# 0n the sixth, and last, he shews us that it could not !ossess these advantages, if, instead of being what it is, it were either of those others' and tells us what it is that may destroy it# +hese two last it will be sufficient here to mention' to examine them will be the task of our next cha!ter# ?B# (onarchy is that form of Government in which the !ower of making 1aws is lodged in the hands of a single member of the state in "uestion# Aristocracy is that form of Government in which the !ower of making laws is lodged in the hands of several members# 8emocracy is that form of government in which the !ower of making laws is lodged in the hands of Aall' of them !ut together# +hese, according to our Author, are the definitions of the Antients; and these, therefore, without difficulty, are the definitions of our Author# ?C# A+he !olitical writers of anti"uity,' says he, Awill not allow more than three regular forms of government; the first, when the sovereign !ower is lodged in an aggregate assembly, consisting of all the members of a community, which is called a 8emocracy; the second, when it is lodged in a council com!osed of select members, and then it is styled an Aristocracy; the last, when it is entrusted in the hands of a single !erson, and then it takes the name of a (onarchy# All other

s!ecies of government they say are either corru!tions of, or reducible to these three#' ?D# A y the sovereign !ower, as was before observed, is meant the making of laws; for wherever that !ower resides, all others must conform to, and be directed by it, whatever a!!earance the outward form and administration of the government may !ut on# For it is at any time in the o!tion of the legislature to alter that form and administration by a new edict or rule, and to !ut the execution of the laws into whatever hands it !leases; and all the other !owers of the state must obey the legislative !ower in the execution of their several functions, or else the constitution is at an end#' ?E# @aving thus got three regular sim!le forms of Government <this anomalous com!lex one of our own out of the "uestion= and just as many "ualifications to divide among them; of each of which, by what he told us a while ago, each form of Government must have some share, it is easy to see how their allotments will be made out# ,ach form of Government will !ossess one of these "ualities in !erfection, taking its chance, if one may say so, for its share in the two others# ?F# Among these three different forms of Government then, it should seem according to our Author's account of them, there is not much to choose# ,ach of them has a "ualification, an endowment, to itself# ,ach of them is com!letely characteri9ed by this "ualification# *o intimation is given of any !re7eminence among these "ualifications, one above another# -hould there be any dis!ute concerning the !reference to be given to any of these forms of government, as !ro!er a method as any of settling it, to judge from this view of them, is that of cross and !ile# @ence we may infer, that all the governments that ever were, or will be <exce!t a very !articular one that we shall come to !resently, that is to say our own= are u!on a !ar' that of A+@,*- with that of 5,$-0A; that of G,*,4A with that of (orocco' since they are all of them, he tells us, Acorru!tions of, or reducible to', one of these# +his is ha!!y# A legislator cannot do amiss# @e may save himself the ex!ence of thinking# +he choice of a king was once determined, we are told, by the neighing of a horse#' +he choice of a form of Government might be determined so as well# ?H# As to our own form of government, however, this, it is !lain, being that which it seemed good to take for the theme of his !anegyric, and being made out of the other three, will !ossess the advantages of all of them !ut together; and that without any of the disadvantages; the disadvantages vanishing at the word of command, or even without it, as not being suitable to the !ur!ose# ?I# At the end of the !aragra!h which gives us the above definitions, one observation there is that is a little !u99ling# A)ther s!ecies of government', we are given to understand, there are besides these; but then those others, if not Areducible to', are but Acorru!tions of these'# *ow, what there is in any of these to be corru!ted, is not so easy to understand# +he essence of these several forms of government, we must always remember, is !laced by him, solely and entirely, in the article of number' in the ratio of the number of the Governors, <for so for shortness we will style those in whose hands is lodged this A!ower of making laws'= to that of the governed# 0f the number of the former be, to that of the latter, as one to all, then is the form of Government a (onarchy' if as all to all, then is it a 8emocracy' if as some number between one and all to all, then is it an Aristocracy# *ow then, if we can conceive a fourth number, which not being more than all, is neither one nor all, nor any thing between one and all, we can conceive a form of Government, which, u!on due !roof, may a!!ear to be a corru!tion of some one or other of these three#<E?= 0f not, we must look for the corru!tion somewhere else' -u!!ose it were in our Author's reason#<EB= BJ# *ot but that we may meet, indeed, with several other hard worded names for forms of Government' but these names were only so many names for one or other of those three# ;e hear often of a +yranny' but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to our Author's (onarchy, when out of humour with it# 0t is still the government of number one# ;e hear now and then, too, of a sort of Government called an )ligarchy' but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to our Author's Aristocracy, in the same case# 0t is still the Government of some number or other, between one and all# 0n fine, we hear now and then of a sort of government fit to break one's teeth, called an )chlocracy' but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to a 8emocracy in the same case# 0t is still that sort of government, which, according to our Author, is the Government of all# B># 1et us now see how he has dis!osed of his three "ualifications among his three sorts or forms of Government# /!on (onarchy, we shall find, he has bestowed the !erfection of !ower; on Aristocracy, of wisdom; on 8emocracy, of goodness; each of these forms having just enough, we may su!!ose, of the two remaining "ualifications besides its own !eculiar one to make u! the necessary com!lement of A"ualities re"uisite for su!remacy#' Kings are, <nay were before they were

Kings, since it was this "ualification determined their subjects to make them Kings<EC==, as strong as so many @ercules's; but then, as to their wisdom, or their goodness, there is not much to say# +he members of an Aristocracy are so many -olomons' but then they are not such sturdy folks as your Kings; nor, if the truth is to be s!oken, have they much more honesty than their neighbours# As to the members of a 8emocracy, they are the best sort of !eo!le in the world; but then they are but a !uny sort of gentry, as to strength, !ut them all together; and are a!t to be a little defective in !oint of understanding# B?# A0n a democracy', says he, Awhere the right of making laws resides in the !eo!le at large, !ublic virtue or goodness of intention, is more likely to be found, than either of the other "ualities of government# 5o!ular assemblies are fre"uently foolish in their con trivance, and weak in their execution; but generally mean to do the thing that is right and just, and have always a degree of !atriotism or !ublic s!irit# 0n aristocracies there is more wisdom to be found than in the other frames of Government; being com!osed, or intended to be com!osed, of the most ex!erienced citi9ens; but there is less honesty than in a re!ublic, and less strength than in a monarchy# A monarchy is indeed the most !owerful of any, all the sinews of government being knit together and united in the hand of the !rince; but then there is imminent danger of his em!loying that strength to im!rovident or o!!ressive !ur!oses#' BB# A+hus these three s!ecies of government have all of them their several !erfections and im!erfections# 8emocracies are usually the best calculated to direct the end of a law; aristocracies to invent the means by which that end shall be obtained; and monarchies to carry those means into execution# And the antients, as was observed, had in general no idea of any other !ermanent form of government but these three; for though 3icero declares himself of o!inion, esse optim constitutam rempublicam, quae ex tribus generibus illis, regali, optimo, et populari sit modic confusa; yet +acitus treats this notion of a mixed government, formed out of them all, and !artaking of the advantages of each, as a visionary whim; and one, that if effected, could never be lasting or secure, BC# 0n the midst of this fine7s!un ratiocination, an accident has ha!!ened, of which our Author seems not to be aware# )ne of his accidents, as a logician would say, has lost its subject' one of the "ualifications he has been telling us of, is, somehow or other, become vacant' the form of Government he designed it for, having unluckily sli!!ed through his fingers in the handling# 0 mean 8emocracy; which he, and, according to him, the Antients, make out to be the Government of all# *ow Aall' is a great many; so many that, 0 much doubt, it will be rather a difficult matter to find these high and mighty !ersonages !ower enough, so much as to make a decent figure with# +he members of this redoubtable 3ommonwealth will be still worse off, 0 doubt, in !oint of subjects, than +rinculo in the !lay, or than the !otentates, whom some later navigators found lording it, with might and main, A ' over a -!anish settlement' there were three members of the Government; and they had one subject among them all#<ED= 1et him examine it a little, and it will turn out, 0 take it, to be !recisely that sort of Government, and no other, which one can conceive to obtain, where there is no Government at all# )ur Author, we may remember, had shrewd doubts about the existence of a state of nature'<EE= grant him his 8emocracy, and it exists in his 8emocracy#<EF= BD# +he "ualification of goodness, 0 think it was, that belonged to the Government of all, while there was such a Government# +his having taken its flight, as we have seen, to the region of nonentities, the "ualification that was designed for it remains u!on his hands' he is at liberty, therefore, to make a com!liment of it to Aristocracy or to (onarchy, which best suits him# 5erha!s it were as well to give it to (onarchy; the title of that form of Government to its own !eculiar "ualification, !ower, being, as we have seen, rather an e"uivocal one' or else, which, !erha!s, is as good a way of settling matters as any, he may set them to cast lots#

CHAPTER III - British Constitution ># ;ith a set of data, such as we have seen in the last cha!ter, we may judge whether our author can meet with any difficulty in !roving the ritish 3onstitution to be the best of all !ossible governments, or indeed anything else that he has a mind# 0n his !aragra!h on this subject there are several things that lay claim to our attention# ut it is necessary we should have it under our eye# ?# A ut ha!!ily for us in> this island the ritish 3onstitution has long remained, and 0 trust will long continue, a standing exce!tion to the truth of this observation# For, as with us the executive !ower of

the laws is lodged in a single !erson, they have all the advantages of strength and dis!atch that are to be found in the most absolute monarchy' and, as the legislature of the kingdom is entrusted to three distinct !owers entirely inde!endent of each other; first, the King; secondly, the 1ords -!iritual and +em!oral, which is an aristocrati cal assembly of !ersons selected for their !iety, their birth, their wisdom, their valour, or their !ro!erty; and thirdly, the @ouse of 3ommons, freely chosen by the !eo!le from among themselves, which makes it a kind of democracy; as this aggregate body, actuated by different s!rings, and attentive to different interests, com!oses the ritish 5arliament, and has the su!reme dis!osal of every thing; there can no inconvenience be attem!ted by either of the three branches, but will be withstood by one of the other two; each branch being armed with a negative !ower sufficient to re!el any innovation which it shall think inex!edient or dangerous#' B# A@ere then is lodged the sovereignty of the ritish 3onstitution; and lodged as beneficially as is !ossible for society# For in no other sha!e could we be so certain of finding the three great "ualities of Government so well and so ha!!ily united# 0f the su!reme !ower were lodged in any one of the three branches se!arately, we must be ex!osed to the inconveniencies of either absolute monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy; and so want two of the !rinci!al ingredients of good !olity, either virtue, wisdom, or !ower# 0f it were lodged in any two of the branches; for instance, in the King and @ouse of 1ords, our laws might be !rovidently made and well executed, but they might not always have the good of the !eo!le in view' if lodged in the King and 3ommons, we should want that circums!ection and mediatory caution, which the wisdom of the 5eers is to afford' if the su!reme rights of legislature were lodged in the two @ouses only, and the King had no negative u!on their !roceedings, they might be tem!ted to encroach u!on the royal !rerogative, or !erha!s to abolish the kingly office, and thereby weaken <if not totally destroy= the strength of the executive !ower# ut the constitutional government of this island is so admirably tem!ered and com!ounded, that nothing can endanger or hurt it, but destroy ing the e"uilibrium of !ower between one branch of the legislature and the rest# For if ever it should ha!!en that the inde!endence of any one of the three should be lost, or that it should become subservient to the views of either of the other two, there would> soon be an end of our constitution# +he legislature would be changed from that which was originally set u! by the general consent and fundamental act of the society; and such a change, however effected, is, according to (r 1ocke <who !erha!s carries his theory too far= at once an entire dissolution of the bands of Government, and the !eo!le would be reduced to a state of anarchy, with liberty to constitute to themselves a new legislative !ower#' C# 0n considering the first of these two !aragra!hs, in the first !lace, the !henomenon we should little ex!ect to see from any thing that goes before, is a certain executive !ower, that now, for the first time, bolts out u!on us without warning or introduction# +he !ower, the only !ower our Author has been s!eaking of all along till now, is the legislative# A+is to this, and this alone, that he has given the name of Asovereign !ower'# A+is this !ower, the different distributions of which he makes the characteristics of his three different forms of government# A+is with these different distributions, distributions made of the legislative !ower, that, according to his account, are connected the several "ualifications laid down by him, as Are"uisites for su!remacy'' "ualifications in the !ossession of which consist all the advantages which can belong to any form of Government# 3oming now then to the ritish 3onstitution, it is in the su!erior degree in which these "ualifications of the legislative body are !ossessed by it, that its !eculiar excellence is to consist# 0t is !ossessing the "ualification of strength, that it !ossesses the advan tage of a monarchy# ut how is it then that, by his account, it !ossesses the "ualification of strength: y any dis!osition made of the legislative !ower: y the legislative !ower's being lodged in the hands of a single !erson, as in the case of a monarchy: *o; but to a dis!osition made of a new !ower, which comes in, as it were, in a !arenthesis, a new !ower which we now hear of for the first time, a !ower which has not, by any descri!tion given of it, been distinguished from the legislative, an executive# D# ;hat then is this same executive !ower: 0 doubt our Author would not find it a very easy matter to inform us# A;hy not:' says an objector'is it not that !ower which in this country the King has in addition to his share in the legislative:' e it so' the difficulty for a moment is staved off# ut that it is far enough from being solved, a few "uestions will soon shew us# +his !ower, is it that only which the King really has, or is it all that he is said to have: 0s it that only which he really has, and which he exercises, or is it that also, which although he be said to have it, he neither does exercise, nor may exercise: 8oes it include judiciary !ower or not: 0f it does, does it include the !ower of making as well !articular decisions and orders, as general, !ermanent, s!ontaneous regulations of !rocedure, such as are some of those we see made by judges: 8oth it include su!reme military !ower, and that as well in ordinary as in a time of martial law: 8oth it include the su!reme fiscal !ower;<EH= and, in general, that !ower which, extending as well over the !ublic money as over every other article of

!ublic !ro!erty, may be styled the dispensatorial:<EI= 8oth it include the !ower of granting !atents for inventions, and charters of incor!oration: 8oth it include the right of making bye7laws in cor!orations: And is the right of making bye7laws in cor!orations the su!erior right to that of conferring the !ower to make them, or is it that there is an executive !ower that is su!erior to a legislative: +his executive again, doth it include the right of substituting the laws of war to the laws of !eace; and vice versa, the laws of !eace to the laws of war: 8oth it include the right of restraining the trade of subjects by treaties with foreign !owers: 8oth it include the right of delivering over, by virtue of the like treaties, large bodies of subjects to foreign laws:@e that would understand what !ower is executive and not legislative, and what legislative and not executive, he that would mark out and delineate the different s!ecies of constitutional !owers, he that would describe either what is, or what ought to be the constitution of a country, and !articularly of this country, let him thin of these things# E# 0n the next !lace we are told in a !arenthesis <it being a matter so !lain as to be taken for granted= that Aeach of these branches of the 1egislature is inde!endent,Ayes, Aentirely inde!endent', of the two others#0s this then really the case: +hose who consider the influence which the King and so many of the 1ords have in the election of members of the @ouse of 3ommons; the !ower which the King has, at a minute's warning, of !utting an end to the existence of any @ouse of 3ommons; those who consider the influence which the King has over both @ouses, by offices of dignity and !rofit given and taken away again at !leasure; those who consider that the King, on the other hand, de!ends for his daily bread on both @ouses, but more !articularly on the @ouse of 3ommons; not to mention a variety of other circumstances that might be noticed in the same view, will judge what degree of !recision there was in our Author's meaning, when he so roundly asserted the affirmative# F# )ne !arenthesis more' for this sentence teems with !arenthesis within !arenthesis# +o this we are indebted for a very interesting !iece of intelligence' nothing less than a full and true account of the !ersonal merits of the members of the @ouse of 1ords for the time being# +his he is enabled to do, by means of a contrivance of his own, no less sim!le than it is ingenious' to wit, that of looking at their titles# 0t is by looking at men's titles that he !erceives, not merely that they ought to !ossess certain merits, not that there is reason to wish they may !ossess them, but that they do actually !ossess them, and that it is by !ossessing those merits that they came to !ossess these titles# -eeing that some are bisho!s, he knows that they are !ious' seeing that some are !eers, he knows that they are wise, rich, valiant#<FJ= H# +he more we consider the a!!lication he makes of the common !lace notions concerning the three forms of Government to our own, the more we shall see the wide difference there is between reading and reflecting# )ur own he finds to be a combination of these three# 0t has a (onarchical branch, an Aristocratical, and a 8emocratical# +he Aristocratical is the @ouse of 1ords; the 8emocratical is the @ouse of 3ommons# (uch had our Author read, at school, doubt less, and at college, of the wisdom and gravity of the -!artan senate' something, !robably, in (ontes"uieu, and elsewhere, about the 4enetian# @e had read of the turbulence and extravagance of the Athenian mob# Full of these ideas, the @ouse of 1ords were to be our -!artans or 4enetians; the @ouse of 3ommons, our Athenians# ;ith res!ect then to the !oint of wisdom, <for that of honesty we will !ass by= the conse"uence is obvious# +he @ouse of 3ommons, however excellent in !oint of honesty, is an assembly of less wisdom than that of the @ouse of 1ords# +his is what our Author makes no scru!le of assuring us# A 8uke's son gets a seat in the @ouse of 3ommons# +here needs no more to make him the very model of an Athenian cobbler# I# 1et us find out, if we can, whence this notion of the want of wisdom in the members of a 8emocracy, and of the abundance of it in those of an Aristocracy, could have had its rise# ;e shall then see with what degree of !ro!riety such a notion can be transferred to our @ouses of 1ords and 3ommons# 0n the members of a 8emocracy in !articular, there is likely to be a want of wisdom;hy: +he greater !art being !oor, are, when they begin to take u!on them the management of affairs, uneducated' being uneducated, they are illiterate' being illiterate, they are ignorant# 0gnorant, therefore, and unwise, if that be what is meant by ignorant, they begin# 8e!ending for their daily bread on the !rofits of some !etty traffic, or the labour of some manual occu!ation, they are nailed to the work7board, or the counter# 0n the business of Government, it is only by fits and starts that they have leisure so much as to act' they have no leisure to reflect# 0gnorant therefore they continue# ut in what degree is this the case with the members of our @ouse of 3ommons: >J# )n the other hand, the members of an Aristocracy, being few, are rich' either they are members

of the Aristocracy, because they are rich; or they are rich, because they are members of the Aristocracy# eing rich, they are educated' being educated, they are learned' being learned, they are knowing# +hey are at leisure to reflect, as well as act# +hey may therefore naturally be ex!ected to become more knowing, that is more wise, as they !ersevere# 0n what degree is this the case with the members of the @ouse of 1ords more than with those of the @ouse of 3ommons: +he fact is, as every body sees, that either the members of the @ouse of 3ommons are as much at leisure as those of the @ouse of 1ords; or, if occu!ied, occu!ied in such a way as tends to give them a more than ordinary insight into some !articular de!artment of Government# 0n whom shall we ex!ect to find so much knowledge of 1aw as in a !rofessed 1awyer: of +rade, as in a (erchant: >># ut hold)ur Author, when he attributes to the members of an Aristocracy more wisdom than to those of a 8emocracy, has a reason of his own# 1et us endeavour to understand it, and then a!!ly it, as we have a!!lied the others# 0n Aristocratical bodies, we are to understand there is more ex!erience at least it is intended by some body or other there should be' which, it seems, answers the same !ur!ose as if there was# A0n Aristocracies,' says our Author, Athere is more wisdom to be found, than in the other frames of Government; being com!osed,' continues he, Aor intended to be com!osed, of the most ex!erienced citi9ens#L<F>= )n this ground then it is, that we are to take for granted, that the members of the @ouse of 1ords have more wisdom among them, than those of the @ouse of 3ommons# 0t is this article of ex!erience that, being a "ualification !ossessed by the members of an Aristocratical body, as such, in a su!erior degree to that in which it can be !ossessed by a democratical body, is to afford us a !articular ground for attributing a greater share of wisdom to the members of the u!!er house, than to those of the lower# >?# @ow it is that a member of an aristocracy, as such, is, of all things, to have attained more ex!erience than the member of a democracy, our Author has not told us; nor what it is this ex!erience is to consist of# 0s it ex!erience of things !re!aratory to, but different from, the business of governing: +his should rather go by the name of knowledge# 0s it ex!erience of the business itself of governing: 1et us see# For the member of the one body, as of the other, there must be a time when he first enters u!on this business# +hey both enter u!on it, su!!ose on the same day# *ow then is it on that same day that one is more ex!erienced in it than the other: or is it on that day ten years: >B# +hose indeed who recollect what we observed but now,<F?= may answer without hesitation,on that day ten years# +he reason was there given# 0t is neither more nor less, than that want of leisure which the bulk of the numerous members of a 8emocracy must necessarily labour under, more than those of an Aristocracy# ut of this, what intimation is there to be collected, from any thing that has been suggested by our Author: >C# -o much with res!ect to Aristocracies in general# 0t ha!!ens also by accident, that that !articular branch of our own government to which he has given the name of the Aristocratical,the @ouse of 1ords,has actually greater o!!ortunities of ac"uiring the "ualification of ex!erience, than that other branch, the @ouse of 3ommons, to which he has given the name of the democratical# ut to what is this owing: not to any thing in the characteristic natures of those two bodies, not to the one's being Aristocratical, and the other 8emocratical; but to a circumstance, entirely foreign and accidental, which we shall see !resently# ut let us observe his reasoning# +he @ouse of 1ords, he says, is an assembly that behoves to have more wisdom in it, than the @ouse of 3ommons# +his is the !ro!osition# *ow for the !roof# +he first is an Aristocratical assembly; the second a 8emocratical# An Aristocratical assembly has more ex!erience than a 8emocratical; and on that account more wisdom# +herefore the @ouse of 1ords, as was to be !roved, has more wisdom than the @ouse of 3ommons# *ow, what the whole of the argument rests u!on, we may observe, is this fact, that an Aristocratical assembly, as such, has more ex!erience than a 8emocratical one; but this, with Aristocratical assemblies in general, we see, is not, for any reason that our Author has given us, the case# At the same time with res!ect to our @ouse of 1ords in !articular, in com!arison with the @ouse of 3ommons, it does ha!!en to be the case, owing to this sim!le circumstance' the members of the @ouse of 1ords, when once they begin to sit, sit on for life' those of the @ouse of 3ommons only from seven years to seven years, or it may ha!!en, less# >D# 0n s!eaking, however, in this !lace, of ex!erience, 0 would rather be understood to mean o!!ortunity of ac"uiring ex!erience, than ex!erience itself# For actual ex!erience de!ends u!on other concurrent causes# >E# 0t is, however, from su!eriority of ex!erience alone, that our Author derives su!eriority of wisdom# @e has, indeed, the !roverb in his favour' A,x!erience,' it has been said of old, Ais the

(other of ;isdom'' be it so;but then 0nterest is the Father# +here is even an 0nterest that is the Father of ,x!erience# Among the members of the @ouse of 3ommons, though none so !oor as to be illiterate, are many whose fortunes, according to the common !hrase, are yet to make# +he fortunes of those of the @ouse of 1ords <0 s!eak in general= are made already# +he members of the @ouse of 3ommons may ho!e to be members of the @ouse of 1ords# +he members of the @ouse of 1ords have no higher @ouse of 1ords to rise to# 0s it natural for those to be most active who have the least, or those who have the most interest to be so: Are the ex!erienced those who are the least, or those who are the most active: 8oes ex!erience come to men when aslee!, or when awake: 0s it the members of the @ouse of 1ords that are the most active, or of the @ouse of 3ommons: +o s!eak !lain, is it in the @ouse of 1ords that there is most business done, or in the @ouse of 3ommons: ;as it after the fish was caught that the successor of -t 5eter used the net, or was it before:<FB= 0n a word is there most wisdom ordinarily where there is least, or where there is most to gain by being wise:<FC= >F# A word or two more with res!ect to the characteristic "ualifications, as our Author states them, of the higher assembly of our legislature# ,x!erience is, in virtue of their being an anstocratical assembly, to afford them wisdom' thus far we were arrived before# ut he now !ushes the deduction a ste! farther#;isdom is to afford them Acircums!ection and mediatory caution;' "ualifications which it seems as if we should see nothing of, were it not for them# 1et us now !ut a case# +he business, indeed, that originates in the @ouse of 1ords is, as things stand, so little, that our Author seems to forget that there is any# @owever, some there is# A bill then originates with the 1ords, and is sent down to the 3ommons#As to Acircums!ection' 0 say nothing' that, let us ho!e, is not wanting to either @ouse# ut whose !rovince is Amediatory caution,' now: >H# +hus much concerning these two branches of our legislature, so long as they continue what, according to our Author's !rinci!les, they are at !resent' the @ouse of 1ords the Aristocratical branch' the @ouse of 3ommons the 8emocratical# A little while and we shall see them so; but again a little while, !erha!s, and we shall not see them so# y what characteristic does our Author distinguish an Aristocratical legislative body from a 8emocratical one: y that of number' by the number of the !ersons that com!ose them' by that, and that alone' for no other has he given# *ow, therefore, to judge by that, the @ouse of 1ords, at !resent, indeed, is the Aristocratical branch' the @ouse of 3ommons in com!arison at least with the other, the 8emocratical# +hus far is well# ut should the list of nobility swell at the rate we have sometimes seen it, there is an assignable !eriod, and that, !erha!s, at no very enormous distance, at which the assembly of the 1ords will be more numerous than that of the 3ommons# ;hich will then be the Aristocratical branch of our 1egislature: /!on our Author's !rinci!les, the @ouse of 3ommons# ;hich the 8emocratical: +he @ouse of 1ords# >I# +he final cause we are to observe, and finishing ex!loit, the Aportus et sabbatum', as 1ord acon might !erha!s have called it,<FD= of this sublime and edifying dissertation, is this demonstration, he has been giving us, of the !erfection of the ritish Form of Government# +his demonstration <for by no less a title ought it to be called= is founded, we may have observed, altogether u!on the !ro!erties of numbers' !ro!erties, newly discovered indeed, and of an extraordinary com!lection, moral !ro!erties; but !ro!erties, however, so it seems, of numbers#<FE= A+is in the nature then of numbers we shall find these characteristic !ro!erties of the three Forms of Government, if anywhere# *ow the !ro!erties of numbers are universally allowed to be the !ro!er subject of that mode of demonstration which is called mathematical# +he !roof our Author has given has therefore already in it the essence of such a demonstration# +o be com!leat at all !oints, it wants nothing but the form# +his deficiency is no other than what an under7rate workman might easily su!!ly# A mere technical o!eration does the business# +hat humble task it shall be my endeavour to !erform# +he substantial honour 0 ascribe wholly to our Author, to whom only it is most due# ?J# 5$)5)-0+0)* +@,)$,( +he ritish Government is all7!erfect 8,()*-+$A+0)* y definition Again, by definition, Also, > ? B +he ritish Government M (onarchy N Aristocracy N8emocracy# (onarchy M the Government of ># 8emocracy M the Government of all#

Also 5ut 5ut also *ow then, by assum!tion Also Also

C D E F H I

Aristocracy the Government of some number between > and all# All M >,JJJ,JJJ +he number of governors in an Aristocracy M >JJJ > has N strength 7 wisdom 7 honesty >JJJ has N wisdom 7 strength 7 honesty >,JJJ,JJJ has N honesty 7 strength 7 wisdom

$ejecting 7 wisdom 7 honesty<FF= in >J > has N strength <F= Also rejecting 7 strength 7 wisdom >> >JJJ has N wisdom in <H= Also rejecting 7 strength 7 wisdom in <I= >? >,JJJ,JJJ has N honesty 5utting together the ex!ressions <>J=, <>>= and >B > N >JJJ N >,JJJ,JJJ has strength N wisdom N <>?= honesty ut by definition <>=, <?=, <B=, <C= and the >C +he ritish Government M > N >JJJ N su!!ositions <D=, <E= >,JJJ,JJJ +herefore, by <>B= 3hanging the ex!ression ut by definition +herefore, by <>E= and <>F= >D +he ritish Government has N strength N wisdom N honesty >E +he ritish Government is all7!owerful N all7 wise N all7honest >F All7!owerful N all7wise N all7honest 7 all7!erfect >H +he ritish Government is all7!erfect, .#,#8#

-3@)10/(# After the same manner it may be !roved to be all weak, all7foolish, and all7knavish# ?># +hus much for the ritish 3onstitution; and for the grounds of that !re7eminence which it boasts, 0 trust, indeed, not without reason above all others that are known' -uch is the idea our Author gives us of those grounds#'6ou are not satisfied with it then', says some one#*ot !erfectly#';hat is then your own:'0n truth this is more than 0 have yet "uite settled# 0 may have settled it with myself, and not think it worth the giving' but if ever 0 do think it worth the giving, it will hardly be in the form of a comment on a digression stuffed into the belly of a definition# At any rate it is not likely to be much wished for, by those, who have read what has been given us on this subject by an ingenious foreigner' since it is to a foreigner we were destined to owe the best idea that has yet been given of a subject so much our own# )ur Author has co!ied' but (r# 8, 1')1(, has thought# +he to!ic which our Author has thus brought u!on the car!et <let any one judge with what necessity= is in res!ect to some !arts of it that we have seen, rather of an invidious nature# -ince, however, it has been brought u!on the car!et, 0 have treated it with that !lainness with which an ,nglishman of all others is bound to treat it, because an ,nglishman may thus treat it and be safe# 0 have said what the subject seemed to demand, without any fear indeed, but without any wish, to give offence' resolving not to !ermit myself to consider how this or that man might chance to take it# 0 have s!oken without syco!hantical res!ects indeed, yet 0 ho!e not without decency' certainly without any !arty s!leen# 0 chose rather to leave it to our Author to com!liment men in the lum!' and to stand aghast with admiration at the virtues of men unknown#<FH= )ur Author will do as shall seem meet to him# For my !art, if ever 0 stand forth and sing the song of eulogy to great men, it shall be not because they occu!y their station, but because they deserve it# CHAPTER IV - Right of the Su reme Po!er to "a#e $a!s > ;e now come to the third to!ic touched u!on in the digression; namely, the right, as our Author !hrases it, which the -u!reme 5ower has of making laws# And this to!ic occu!ies one !retty long !aragra!h# +he title here given to it is the same which in the next succeeding !aragra!h he has found for it himself# +his is fortunate' for, to have been obliged to find a title for it myself, is what

would have been to the last degree distressing# +o intitle a discourse, is to re!resent the drift of it# ut, to re!resent the drift of this, is a task which, so long at least as 0 confine my consideration to the !aragra!h itself, bids defiance to my utmost efforts# ?# A+is to another !assage or two, a !assage or two that we have already seen starting u! in distant !arts of this digression, that 0 am indebted for such conjectures as 0 have been able to make u!# +hese conjectures, however, 0 could not have ventured so far to rely on, as on the strength of them to have furnished the !aragra!h with a title of my own framing# +he danger of misre!resentation was too great; a kind of danger which a man cannot but lie imminently ex!osed to, who ventures to !ut a !recise meaning u!on a discourse which in itself has none# +hat 0 may just mention, however, in this !lace, the result of them; what he is really aiming at, 0 take it, is, to inculcate a !ersuasion that in every state there must subsist, in some hands or other, a !ower that is absolute# 0 mention it thus !rematurely, hat the reader may have some clue to guide him in his !rogress through the !aragra!h; which it is now time 0 should recite# B# A@aving', says our Author, Athus cursorily considered the three usual s!ecies of government, and our own singular constitution, selected and com!ounded from them all, 0 !roceed to observe, that, as the !ower of making laws constitutes the su!reme authority, so wherever the su!reme authority in any state resides, it is the right of that authority to make laws; that is, in the words of our definition, to !rescribe the rule of civil action# And this may be discovered from the very end and institution of civil states# For a state is a collective body, com!osed of a multitude of individuals united for their safety and convenience, and intending to act together as one man# 0f it therefore is to act as one man, it ought to act by one uniform will# ut in as much as !olitical communities are made u! of many natural !ersons, each of whom has his !articular will and inclination, these several wills cannot by any natural union be joined together, or tem!ered and dis!osed into a lasting harmony, so as to constitute and !roduce that one uniform will of the whole# 0t can therefore be no otherwise !roduced than by a !olitical union; by the consent of all !ersons to submit their own !rivate wills to the will of one man, or of one, or more assemblies of men, to whom the su!reme authority is entrusted' and this will of that one man, or assemblage of men is, in different states, according to their different constitutions, understood to be law#' C# +he other !assages which suggested to me the construction 0 have ventured to !ut u!on this, shall be mentioned by and by# First, let us try what is to be made of it by itself# D# +he obscurity in which the first sentence of this !aragra!h is envelo!ed, is such, that 0 know not how to go about bringing it to light, without borrowing a word or two of logicians# 1aying aside the !reamble, the body of it, vi9# Aas the !ower of making laws constitutes the su!reme authority, so where7ever the su!reme authority in any state resides, it is the right of that authority to make laws,' may be considered as constituting that sort of syllogism which logicians call an enthymeme# An enthymeme consists of two !ro!ositions; a conse"uent and an antecedent# A+he !ower of making laws', says our Author, Aconstitutes the su!reme authority#' +his is his antecedent# From hence it is he concludes, that Awherever the su!reme authority in any state resides, it is the right of that authority to make laws#' +his then is his conse"uent# *ow so it is, that this antecedent, and this conse"uent, for any difference at least that 0 can !ossibly !erceive in them, would turn out were they but correctly worded, to mean !recisely the same thing' for after saying that Athe !ower of making laws constitutes the su!reme authority', to tell us that, for that reason, Athe su!reme authority' is <oi has= the !ower <or the right= of making laws, is giving us, 0 take it, much the same sort of information, as it would be to us to be told that a thing is so, because it is so' a sort of a truth which there seems to be no very great occasion to send us u!on Adiscovering, in the end and institution of civil states'# +hat by the Asovereign !ower', he meant Athe !ower of making laws'; this, or something like it, is no more indeed than what he had told us over and over, and over again, with singular energy and anxiety, in his CEth !age, in his CIth, and in, 0 know not how many, !ages besides' 0 always taking care, for !recision's sake, to give a little variety to the ex!ression' the words A!ower' and Aauthority', sometimes, seemingly !ut for the same idea; sometimes seemingly o!!osed to each other' both of them sometimes denoting the fictitious being, the abstract "uality; sometimes the real being or beings, the !erson or !ersons su!!osed to !ossess that "uality# 1et us disentangle the sense from these ambiguities; let us learn to s!eak distinctly of the !ersons, and of the "uality we attribute to them; and then let us make another effort to find a meaning for this !er!lexing !assage# E# y the Asu!reme authority' then, <we may su!!ose our Author to say= A0 mean the same thing as when 0 say the !ower of making laws'# +his is the !ro!osition we took notice of above, under the

name of the antecedent# +his antecedent then, we may observe, is a definition' a definition, to wit, of the !hrase Asu!reme authority'# *ow to define a !hrase is, to translate it into another !hrase, su!!osed to be better understood, and ex!ressive of the same ideas# +he su!!osition here then is, that the reader was already, of himself, tolerably well ac"uainted with the im!ort of the !hrase A!ower of making laws'' that he was not at all, or was however less ac"uainted with the im!ort of the !hrase Asu!reme authority'# /!on this su!!osition then, it is, that in order to his being made clearly to understand the latter, he is informed of its being synonymous to the former# 1et us now introduce the mention of the !erson' let us add the word A!erson' to the definition; it will be the same definition still in substance, only a little more fully and !recisely worded# For a !erson to !ossess the su!reme authority, is for a !erson to !ossess the !ower of making laws# +his then is what in substance has been already laid down in the antecedent# F# *ow let us consider the conse"uent, which, when detached from the context, may be s!oken of as making a sentence of itself# L;herever', says he, Athe su!reme authority in any state resides, it is the right of that authority to make 1aws'# y Awherever' 0 take it for granted, he means, Ain whatever !ersons'' by Aauthority', in the former !art of the sentence,#!ower; by the same word, Aauthority', in the latter !art of the sentence,!ersons# 3orrected therefore, the sen tence will stand thus' 0n whatever !ersons in any state the su!reme !ower resides, it is the right of those !ersons to make 1aws# H# +he only word now remaining undis!osed of, is the word Aright'# And what to think of this, indeed 0 know not' whether our Author had a meaning in it, or whether he had none# 0t is inserted, we may observe, in the latter !art only of the sentence' it a!!ears not in the former# 3oncerning this omission, two conjectures here !resent themselves' it may have ha!!ened by accident; or it may have been made by design# 0f by accident, then the case is, that the idea annexed to the word Aright' is no other than what was meant to be included in the former !art of the sentence, in which it is not ex!ressed, as well as in the latter, in which it is# 0n this case it may, without any change in the signification, be ex!ressed in both# 1et it then be ex!ressed, and the sentence, take it altogether, will stand thus' 0n whatever !ersons the right of exercising su!reme !ower in any state resides, it is the right of those !ersons to make 1aws# 0f this conjecture be the true one, and 0 am a!t to think it is, we see once more, and, 0 trust, beyond all doubt, that the conse"uent in this enthymeme is but a re!etition of the antecedent# A;e may judge then, whether it is from any such consideration as that of Athe end and institution of civil states,' or any other consideration that we are likely to gain any further conviction of the truth of this conclusion, than it !resents us of itself# A;e may also form some judgment beforehand, what use or meaning there is likely to be in the assemblage of words that is to follow# I# ;hat is !ossible, notwithstanding, however im!robable, is, that the omission we have been s!eaking of was designed# 0n this case, what we are to understand is, that the word Aright' was meant to introduce a new idea into this latter !art of the sentence, over and above any that was meant to be suggested by the former# A$ight' then, according to this construction, in the one !lace, is to be considered as !ut in contradistinction to fact in the other# +he sense is then, that whatever !ersons do actually exercise su!reme !ower, <or what, according to the antecedent of the enthymeme, is the same thing, the !ower of making laws= those !ersons have the right to exercise it# ut, in this case, neither does what is given as a conse"uence in any res!ect follow from the antecedent, nor can any thing be made of it, but what is altogether foreign to the rest of the discourse# -o much indeed, that it seems more consonant to !robability, as well as more favourable to our Author, to conclude that he had no meaning at all, than that he had this# >J# 1et us now try what we can make of the remainder of the !aragra!h# eing ushered in by the word Afor,' it seems to lay claim to the a!!ellation of an argument# +his argument, setting out, as we have seen, without an object, seems however to have found something like one at last, as if it had !icked it u! by the way# +his object, if 0 mistake it not, is to !ersuade men, that the su!reme !ower, <that is the !erson or !ersons in use to exercise the su!reme !ower in a state= ought, in all !oints without exce!tion, to be obeyed# ;hat men intend, he says, to do when they are in a state, is to act, as if they were but Aone man#' ut one man has but one will belonging to him# ;hat they intend therefore, or what they ought to intend, <a slight difference which our Author seems not to be well aware of= is, to act as if they had but one will# +o act as if they had but one will, the way is, for them to Ajoin' all their wills Atogether#' +o do this, the most obvious way would be to join them Anaturally'' but, as wills will not s!lice and dovetail like deal boards, the only feasible way is to join them A!olitically#' *ow the only way for men to join their wills together !olitically, is for them all to consent to submit their wills to the will of one# +his one will, to which all others are to be submitted, is the will of those !ersons who are in use to exercise the su!reme !ower; whose wills again, when there

ha!!ens to be many of them, have, by a !rocess of which our Author has said nothing, been reduced <as we must su!!ose= into one already# -o far our Author's argument# +he above is the substance of it fairly given; not altogether with so much ornament, indeed, as he has given it, but, 0 trust, with somewhat more !recision# +he whole concludes, we may observe, with our Author's favourite identical !ro!osition, or something like it, now for the twentieth time re!eated# >># +aking it altogether, it is, without "uestion, a very ingenious argument' nor can any thing in the world answer the !ur!ose better, exce!t just in the case where it ha!!ens to be wanted# *ot but that a veteran antagonist, trained u! in the regular and accustomed disci !line of legal fencing, such an one, indeed, might contrive !erha!s, with due management, to give our Author the honour of the field# ut should some undisci!lined blunderer, like the 3ommissary's land lady, thrust in "uart, when he should have thrust in tierce# 0 doubt much whether he might not get within our Author's guard#0 Aintend':0 Aconsent':0 Asubmit' myself :A;ho are you, 0 wonder, that should know what 0 do better than 0 do myself: As to Lsubmitting my willL to the wills of the !eo!le who made this law you are s!eaking of,what 0 know is, that 0 never LintendedL any such thing' 0 abominate them, 0 tell you, and all they ever did, and have always said so' and as to my Lconsent,L so far have 0 been from giving it to their law, that from the first to the last, 0 have !rotested against it with all my might#' -o much for our refractory dis!utant#;hat 0 should say to him 0 know' but what our Author could find to answer to him, is more than 0 can imagine#<FI= >?# 1et us now return and !ick u! those other !assages which we su!!osed to have a res!ect to the same design that seems to be in view in this# First comes the short introductory !aragra!h that ushers in the whole digression' a !aragra!h which, however short, and however im!erfect with res!ect to the !ur!ose of giving a general view of the contents of those which follow it, was, in des!ite of method, to ex!atiate u!on this subject# /!on this subject, indeed, he does ex!atiate with a force of argument and energy of ex!ression which nothing can withstand# A+his', it begins, Awill necessarily lead us into a short en"uiry concerning the nature of society and civil gov ernment#'<HJ= +his is all the intimation it gives of the contents of those !aragra!hs we have examined# /!on this before us it touches in energetic terms; but more energetic than !recise#'And the natural' <it continues= Aand inherent right that belongs to the sovereignty of a state', <natural right, observe, that belongs to the sovereignty of a !olitical society= Awherever that sovereignty be lodged, of making and enforcing laws#' >B# +his is not all# +he most em!hatical !assage is yet behind# 0t is a !assage in that short !aragra!h<H>= which we found to contain such a variety of matter# @e is there s!eaking of the several forms of government now in being# A@owever they began', says he, Aor by what right soever they subsist, there is and must be in all of them a su!reme, irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority, in which the jura summi imperii, or the rights of sovereignty, reside#' >C# +he vehemence, the , of this !assage is remarkable# @e ransacks the language' he !iles u!, one u!on another, four of the most tremendous e!ithets he can find; he hea!s )ssa u!on 5elion' and, as if the ,nglish tongue did not furnish ex!ressions strong or im!osing enough, he to!s the whole with a !iece of formidable 1atinity# From all this agitation, it is !lain, 0 think, there is a something which he has very much at heart; which he wishes, but Fears, !erha!s, to bring out undisguised' which in several !laces, notwithstanding, bursts out involuntarily, as it were, before he is well ready for it; and which, a certain discretion, getting at last the u!!er hand of !ro!ensity, forces, as we have seen, to dribble away in a string of obscure so!hisms# +hus oddly enough it ha!!ens, that that !assage of them all, which, if 0 mistake not, is the only one that was meant to be dedicated ex!ressly to the subject, is the least ex!licit on it#<H?= >D# A courage much stauncher than our Author's might have wavered here# A task of no less intricacy was here to be travelled through, than that of adjusting the claims of those two jealous antagonists, 1iberty and Government# A more invidious ground is scarcely to be found any where within the field of !olitics# ,nemies encom!ass the traveller on every side# @e can scarce stir but he must ex!ect to be assaulted with the war7hoo! of !olitical heresy from one "uarter or another# 8ifficult enough is the situation of him, who, in these defiles, feels himself im!elled one way by fear, and another by affection# >E# +o return to the !aragra!h which it was the more immediate business of this cha!ter to examine';ere the !ath of obscurity less familiar to our Author, one should be tem!ted to imagine he had struck into it on the !articular occasion before us, in the view of extricating himself from this dilemma# A discourse thus !rudently indeterminate might ex!ress enough to kee! fair with the rulers of the earth, without setting itself in direct array against the !rejudices of the !eo!le# 4iewed by

different !ersons, it might !resent different as!ects' to men in !ower it might recommend itself, and that from the first, under the character of a !ractical lesson of obedience for the use of the !eo!le; while among the !eo!le themselves it might !ass muster, for a time at least, in "uality of a string of abstract scientific !ro!ositions of juris!rudence# 0t is not till some occasion for making a!!lication of it should occur, that its true use and efficacy would be brought to light# +he !eo!le, no matter on what occasion, begin to murmur, and concert measures of resistance# *ow then is the time for the latent virtues of this !assage to be called forth# +he book is to be o!ened to them, and in this !assage they are to be shewn, what of themselves, !erha!s, they would never have observed, a set of arguments curiously strung together and wra!!ed u!, in !roof of the universal ex!edience, or rather necessity, of submission' a necessity which is to arise, not out of the reflection that the !robable mischiefs of resistance are greater than the !robable mischiefs of obedience, not out of any such debateable consideration; but out of a something that is to be much more cogent and effectual' to wit, a certain meta!hysico7legal im!otence, which is to beget in them the sentiment, and answer all the !ur!oses of a natural one# Armed, and full of indignation, our malecontents are making their way to the royal !alace# 0n vain# A certain esto!!el being made to bolt out u!on them, in the manner we have seen, by the force of our Author's legal engineering, their arms are to fall, as it were by enchantment, from their hands# +o disagree, to clamour, to o!!ose, to take back, in short, their wills again, is now, they are told, too late' it is what cannot be done' their wills have been !ut in hotch!ot along with the rest' they have Aunited',they have Aconsented',they have Asubmitted'#)ur Author having thus !ut his hook into their nose, they are to go back as they came, and all is !eace# An ingenious contrivance this enough' but !o!ular !assion is not to be fooled, 0 doubt, so easily# *ow and then, it is true, one error may be driven out, for a time, by an o!!osite error' one !iece of nonsense by another !iece of nonsense' but for barring the door effectually and for ever against all error and all nonsense, there is nothing like the sim!le truth# >F# After all these !ains taken to inculcate unreserved submission, would any one have ex!ected to see our Author himself among the most eager to excite men to disobedience: and that, !erha!s, u!on the most frivolous !retences: in short, u!on any !retence whatsoever: -uch, however, u!on looking back a little, we shall find him# 0 say, among the most eager; for other men, at least the most enlightened advocates for liberty, are content with leaving it to subjects to resist, for their own sakes, on the footing of !ermission' this will not content our Author, but he must be forcing it u!on them as a !oint of duty# >H# A+is in a !assage antecedent to the digression we are examining, but in the same section, that, s!eaking of the !retended law of *ature, and of the law of revelation, Ano human laws', he says, Ashould be suffered to contradict these'#<HB= +he ex!ression is remarkable# 0t is not that no human laws should contradict them' but that no human laws should be -/FF,$,8 to contradict them# @e then !roceeds to give us an exam!le# +his exam!le, one might think, would be such as should have the effect of softening the dangerous tendency of the rule'on the contrary, itis such as cannot but enhance it;<HC= and, in the a!!lication of it to the rule, the substance of the latter is again re!eated in still more ex!licit and energetic terms# A*ay,' says he, s!eaking of the act he instances, Aif any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit it, we are )/*8 +) +$A*-G$,-- that human law, or else we must offend both the natural and the divine#' >I# +he !ro!riety of this dangerous maxim, so far as the 8ivine 1aw is concerned, is what 0 must refer to a future occasion for more !articular consideration#<HD= As to the 1A; of *ature, if <as 0 trust it will a!!ear= it be nothing but a !hrase;<HE= if there be no other medium for !roving any act to be an offence against it, than the mischievous tendency of such act; if there be no other medium for !roving a law of the state to be contrary to it, than the inex!ediency of such law, unless the bare unfounded disa!!robation of any one who thinks of it be called a !roof; if a test for distinguishing such laws as would be contrary to the 1A; of *ature from such as, without being contrary to it, are sim!ly inex!edient, be that which neither our Author, nor any man else, so much as !retended ever to give; if, in a word, there be scarce an law whatever but what those who have not liked it have found, on some account or another, to be re!ugnant to some text of scri!ture, 0 see no remedy but that the natural tendency of such doctrine is to im!el a man, by the force of conscience, to rise u! in arms against any law whatever that he ha!!ens not to like# ;hat sort of government it is that can consist with such a dis!osition, 0 must leave to our Author to inform us# ?J# 0t is the !rinci!le of utility, accurately a!!rehended and steadily a!!lied, that affords the only clue to guide a man through these straits# 0t is for that, if any, and for that alone to furnish a decision which neither !arty shall dare in theory to disavow# 0t is something to reconcile men even in theory# +hey are at least, something nearer to an effectual union, than when at variance as well in res!ect

of theory as of !ractice# ?># 0n s!eaking of the su!!osed contract between King and !eo!le,<HF= 0 have already had occasion to give the descri!tion, and, as it a!!ears to me, the only general descri!tion that can be given, of that juncture at which, and not before, resistance to government becomes commendable; or, in other words, reconcileable to just notions; whether of legal or not, at least of moral, and, if there be any difference, religious duty#<HH= ;hat was there said was s!oken, at the time, with reference to that !articular branch of government which was then in "uestion; the branch that in this country is administered by the King# ut if it was just, as a!!lied to that branch of government, and in this country, it could only be for the same reason that it is so when a!!lied to the whole of government, and that in any country whatsoever# 0t is then, we may say, and not till then, allowable to, if not incumbent on, every man, as well on the score of duty as of interest, to enter into measures of resistance; when, according to the best calculation he is able to make, the !robable mischiefs of resistance <s!eaking with res!ect to the community in general= a!!ear less to him than the !robable mischiefs of submission# +his then is to him, that is to each man in !articular, the juncture for resistance# ??# A natural "uestion here isby what sign shall this juncture be known: y what common signal alike cons!icuous and !erce!tible to all: A "uestion which is readily enough started, but to which, 0 ho!e, it will be almost as readily !erceived that it is im!ossible to find an answer# 3ommon sign for such a !ur!ose, 0, for my !art, know of none' he must be more than a !ro!het,' 0 think, that can shew us one# For that which shall serve as a !articular sign to each !articular !erson,' 0 have already given onehis own internal !ersuasion of a balance of utility on the side of resistance# ?B# /nless such a sign then, which 0 think im!ossible, can be shewn, the field, if one may say so, of the su!reme governor's authority, though not infinite, must unavoidably, 0 think, unless where limited by ex!ress convention,<HI= be allowed to be indefinite# *or can 0 see any narrower, or other bounds to it, under this constitution, or under any other yet freer constitution, if there be one, than under the most des!otic# efore the juncture 0 have been describing were arrived, resistance, even in a country like this, would come too soon' were the juncture arrived already, the time for resistance would be come already, under such a government even as any one should call des!otic# ?C# 0n regard to a government that is free, and one that is des!otic, wherein is it then that the difference consists: 0s it that those !ersons in whose hands that !ower is lodged which is acknowledged to be su!reme, have less !ower in the one than in the other, when it is from custom that they derive it: y no means# 0t is not that the !ower of one any more than of the other has any certain bounds to it# +he distinction turns u!on circumstances of a very different com !lexion'on the manner in which that whole mass of !ower, which, taken together, is su!reme, is, in a free state, distributed among the several ranks of !ersons that are sharers in it'on the source from whence their titles to it are successively derived'on the fre"uent and easy changes of condition between governors and governed; whereby the interests of the one class are more or less indistinguish ably blended with those of the other'on the res!onsibility of the governors; or the right which a subject has of having the reasons !ublicly assigned and canvassed of every act of !ower that is exerted over him'on the liberty of the !ress; or the security with which every man, be he of the one class or the other, may make known his com!laints and remonstrances to the whole community'on the liberty of !ublic association; or the security with which malecontents may communicate their sentiments, concert their !lans, and !ractise every mode of o!!osition short of actual revolt, before the executive !ower can be legally justified in disturbing them# ?D# +rue then, it may be, that, owing to this last circumstance m !articular, in a state thus circumstanced, the road to a revolution, if a revolution be necessary, is to a!!earance shorter; certainly more smooth and easy# (ore likelihood, certainly there is of its being such a revolution as shall be the work of a number; and in which, therefore, the interests of a number are likely to be consulted# Grant then, that by reason of these facilitating circumstances, the juncture itself may arrive sooner, and u!on less !rovocation, under what is called a free government, than under what is called an absolute one' grant this; yet till it be arrived, resistance is as much too soon under one of them as under the other# ?E# 1et us avow then, in short, steadily but calmly, what our Author ha9ards with anxiety and agitation, that the authority of the su!reme body cannot, unless where limited by ex!ress convention, be said to have any assignable, any certain bounds#+hat to say there is any act they cannot do,to s!eak of any thing of their's as being illegal,as being void;to s!eak of their exceeding their authority <whatever be the !hrase=their !ower, their right ,is, however common, an abuse of

language# ?F# +he legislature cannot do it: +he legislature cannot make a law to this effect: ;hy cannot: ;hat is there that should hinder them: ;hy not this, as well as so many other laws murmured at, !erha!s, as inex!edient, yet submitted to without any "uestion of the right: ;ith men of the same !arty, with men whose affections are already listed against the law in "uestion, any thing will go down' any rubbish is good that will add fuel to the flame# ut with regard to an im!artial by7stander, it is !lain that it is not denying the right of the legislature, heir authority, their !ower, or whatever be the wordit is not denying hat they can do what is in "uestionit is not that, 0 say, or any discourse verging that way that can tend to give him the smallest satisfaction# ?H# Grant even the !ro!osition in general';hat are we the nearer: Grant that there are certain bounds to the authority of the legislature')f what use is it to say so, when these bounds are what nobody has ever attem!ted to mark out to any useful !ur!ose; that is, in any such manner whereby it might be known beforehand what descri!tion a law must be of to fall within, and what to fall beyond them: Grant that there are things which the legislature cannot do; grant that there are laws which exceed the !ower of the legislature to establish# ;hat rule does this sort of discourse furnish us for determining whether any one that is in "uestion is, or is not of the number: As far as 0 can discover, none# ,ither the discourse goes on in the confusion it began;either all rests in vague assertions, and no intelligible argument at all is offered; or if any, such arguments as are drawn from the !rinci!le of utility' arguments which, in whatever variety of words ex!ressed, come at last to neither more nor less than this; that the tendency of the law is, to a greater or a less degree, !ernicious# 0f this then be the result of the argument, why not come home to it at once: ;hy turn aside into a wilderness of so!histry, when the !ath of !lain reason is straight before us: ?I# ;hat !ractical inferences those who maintain this language mean should be deduced from it, is not altogether clear; nor, !erha!s, does every one mean the same# -ome who s!eak of a law as being void <for to this ex!ression, not to travel through the whole list, 0 shall confine myself= would !ersuade us to look u!on the authors of it as having thereby forfeited, as the !hrase is, their whole !ower' as well that of giving force to the !articular law in "uestion, as to any other# +hese are they who, had they arrived at the same !ractical conclusion through the !rinci!le of utility, would have s!oken of the law as being to such a degree !ernicious, as that, were the bulk of the community to see it in its true light, the !robable mischief of resisting it would be less than the !robable mischief of submitting to it# +hese !oint, in the first instance, at hostile o!!osition# BJ# +hose who say nothing about forfeiture are commonly less violent in their views# +hese are they who, were they to ground themselves on the !rinci!le of utility, and, to use our language, would have s!oken of the law as being mischievous indeed, but without s!eaking of it as being mischievous to the degree that has been just mentioned# +he mode of o!!osition which they !oint to is one which !asses under the a!!ellation of a legal one# B># Admit then the law to be void in their sense, and mark the conse"uences# +he idea annexed to the e!ithet void is obtained from those instances in which we see it a!!lied to a !rivate instrument# +he conse"uence of a !rivate instrument's being void is, that all !ersons concerned are to act as if no such instrument had existed# +he conse"uence, accordingly, of a law's being void must be, that !eo!le shall act as if there were no such law about the matter' and therefore that if any !erson in virtue of the mandate of the law should do anything in coercion of another !erson, which without such law he would be !unishable for doing, he would still be !unishable; to wit, by a!!ointment of the judicial !ower# 1et the law for instance, be a law im!osing a tax' a man who should go about to levy the tax by force would be !unishable as a tres!asser' should he chance to be killed in the attem!t, the !erson killing him would not be !unishable as for murder' should he kill, he himself would, !erha!s, be !unishable as for murder# +o whose office does it a!!ertain to do those acts in virtue of which such !unishment would be inflicted: +o that of the Judges# A!!lied to !ractice then, the effect of this language is, by an a!!eal made to the Judges, to confer on those magistrates a control ling !ower over the acts of the legislature# B?# y this management a !articular !ur!ose might !erha!s, by chance be answered' and let this be su!!osed a good one# -till what benefit would, from the general tendency of such a doctrine, and such a !ractice in conformity to it, accrue to the body of the !eo!le is more than 0 can conceive# A 5arliament, let it be su!!osed, is too much under the influence of the 3rown' !ays too little regard to the sentiments and the interests of the !eo!le# e it so# +he !eo!le at any rate, if not so great a share as they might and ought to have, have had, at least, some share in chusing it# Give to the Judges a !ower of annulling its acts; and you transfer a !ortion of the su!reme !ower from an assembly which the !eo!le have had some share, at least, in chusing, to a set of men in the choice

of whom they have not the least imaginable share; to a set of men a!!ointed solely by the 3rown' a!!ointed solely, and avowedly and constantly, by that very magistrate whose !artial and occasional influence is the very grievance you seek to remedy# BB# 0n the heat of debate, some, !erha!s, would be for saying of this management that it was transferring at once the su!reme authority from the legislative !ower to the judicial# ut this would be going too far on the other side# +here is a wide difference between a !ositive and a negative !art in legislation# +here is a wide difference again between a negative u!on reasons given, and a negative without any# +he !ower of re!ealing a law even for reasons given is a great !ower' too great indeed for Judges' but still very distinguishable from, and much inferior to that of making one#
<IJ=

BC# 1et us now go back a little# 0n denying the existence of any assignable bounds to the su!reme !ower, 0 added,<I>= Aunless where limited by ex!ress convention'' for this exce!tion 0 could not but subjoin# )ur Author indeed, in that !assage in which, short as it is, he is the most ex!licit, leaves, we may observe, no room for it# A@owever they began', says he <s!eaking of the several forms of government= Ahowever they began, and by what right soever they subsist, there is and must be in A11 of them an authority that is absolute#' ## +o say this, however, of all governments without exce!tion;to say that no assemblage of men can subsist in a state of government, without being subject to some one body whose authority stands unlimited so much as by convention; to say, in short, that not even by convention can any limitation be made to the !ower of that body in a state which in other res!ects is su!reme, would be saying, 0 take it, rather too much' it would be saying that there is no such thing as government in the German ,m!ire; nor in the 8utch 5rovinces; nor in the -wiss 3antons; nor was of old in the Achaean league# BD# 0n this mode of limitation 0 see not what there is that need sur!ri9e us# y what is it that any degree of !ower <meaning !olitical !ower= is established: 0t is neither more nor less, as we have already had occasion to observe,<I?= than a habit of, and dis!osition to obedience' habit, s!eaking with res!ect to !ast acts; dis!osition, with res!ect to future# +his dis!osition it is as easy, or 0 am much mistaken, to conceive as being absent with regard to one sort of acts; as !resent with regard to another# For a body then, which is in other res!ects su!reme, to be conceived as being with res!ect to a certain sort of acts, limited, all that is necessary is, that this sort of acts be in its descri!tion distinguishable from every other# BE# y means of a convention then we are furnished with that common signal which, in other cases, we des!aired of finding#<IB= A certain act is in the instrument of convention s!ecified, with res!ect to which the government is therein !recluded from issuing a law to a certain effect' whether to the effect of commanding the act, of !ermitting it, or of forbidding it# A law is issued to that effect notwithstanding# +he issuing then of such a law <the sense of it, and likewise the sense of that !art of the convention which !rovides against it being su!!osed clear= is a fact notorious and visible to all' in the issuing then of such a law we have a fact which is ca!able of being taken for that common signal we have been s!eaking of# +hese bounds the su!reme body in "uestion has marked out to its authority' of such a demarcation then what is the effect: either none at all, or this' that the dis!osition to obedience confines itself within these bounds# eyond them the dis!osition is sto!!ed from extending' beyond them the subject is no more !re!ared to obey the governing body of his own state, than that of any other# ;hat difficulty, 0 say, there should be in conceiving a state of things to subsist in which the su!reme authority is thus limited,what greater difficulty in conceiving it with this limitation, than without any, 0 cannot see# +he two states are, 0 must confess, to me alike conceivable' whether alike ex!edient,alike conducive to the ha!!iness of the !eo!le, is another "uestion# BF# God forbid, that from any thing here said it should be concluded that in any society any convention is or can be made, which shall have the effect of setting u! an insu!erable bar to that which the !arties affected shall deem a reformation'God forbid that any disease in the constitution of a state should be without its remedy# -uch might by some be thought to be the case, where that su!reme body which in such a convention, was one of the contracting !arties, having incor!orated itself with that which was the other, no longer subsists to give any new modification to the engagement# (any ways might however be found to make the re"uisite alteration, without any de!arture from the s!irit of the engagement# Although that body itself which contracted the engagement be no more, a larger body, from whence the first is understood to have derived its title, may still subsist# 1et this larger body be consulted# 4arious are the ways that might be conceived of doing this, and that without any dis!aragement to the dignity of the subsisting legislature' of doing it, 0 mean to such effect, as that, should the sense of such larger body be favourable to the alteration, it

may be made by a law, which, in this case, neither ought to be, nor !robably would be, regarded by the body of the !eo!le as a breach of the convention#<IC= BH# +o return for a moment to the language used by those who s!eak of the su!reme !ower as being limited in its own nature# )ne thing 0 would wish to have remembered# ;hat is here said of the im!ro!riety, and evil influence of that kind of discourse, is not intended to convey the smallest censure on those who use it, as if intentionally accessary to the ill effects it has a tendency to !roduce# 0t is rather a misfortune in the language, than a fault of any !erson in !articular# +he original of it is lost in the darkness of anti"uity# ;e inherited it from our fathers, and, maugre all its inconveniences,> are likely, 0 doubt, to transmit it to our children# BI# 0 cannot look u!on this as a mere dis!ute of words# 0 cannot hel! !ersuading myself, that the dis!utes between contending !artiesbetween the defenders of a law and the o!!osers of it, would stand a much better chance of being adjusted than at !resent were they but ex!licitly and constantly referred at once to the !rinci!le of /+010+6# +he footing on which this !rinci!le rests every dis!ute, is that of matter of fact; that is, future factthe !robability of certain future contingencies# ;ere the debate then conducted under the aus!ices of this !rinci!le, one of two things would ha!!en' either men would come to an agreement concerning that !robability, or they would see at length, after due discussion of the real grounds of the dis!ute, that no agreement was to be ho!ed for# +hey would at any rate see clearly and ex!licitly, the !oint on which the disagreement turned# +he discontented !arty would then take their resolution to resist or to submit, u!on just grounds, according as it should a!!ear to them worth their whileaccording to what should a!!ear to them, the im!ortance of the matter in dis!uteaccording to what should a!!ear to them the !robability or im!robability of successaccording, in short, as the mischiefs of submission should a!!ear to bear a less, or a greater ratio to the mischiefs of resistance# ut the door to reconcilement would be much more o!en, when they saw that it might be not a mere affair of !assion, but a difference of judgment, and that, for any thing they could know to the contrary, a sincere one, that was the ground of "uarrel# CJ# All else is but womanish scolding and childish altercation, which is sure to irritate, and which never can !ersuade#'0 say, the legislature cannot do this0 say, that it can# 0 say, that to do this, exceeds the bounds of its authority0 say, it does not#'0t is evident, that a !air of dis!utants setting out in this manner, may go on irritating and !er!lexing one another for everlasting, without the smallest chance of ever coming to an agreement# 0t is no more than announcing, and that in an obscure and at the same time, a !erem!tory and ca!tious manner, their o!!osite !ersuasions, or rather affections, on a "uestion of which neither of them sets himself to discuss the grounds# +he "uestion of utility, all this while, most !robably, is never so much as at all brought u!on the car!et' if it be, the language in which it is discussed is sure lobe war!ed and clouded to make it match with the obscure and entangled !attern, we have seen# C># )n the other hand, had the debate been originally and avowedly instituted on the footing of utility, the !arties might at length have come to an agreement; or at least to a visible and ex!licit issue# A0 say, that the mischiefs of the measure in "uestion are to such an amount#0 say, not so, but to a less#0 say, the benefits of it are only to such an amount#0 say, not so, but to a greater#'+his, we see, is a ground of controversy very different from the former# +he "uestion is now manifestly a "uestion of conjecture concerning so many future contingent matters of fact' to solve it, both !arties then are naturally directed to su!!ort their res!ective !ersuasions by the only evidence the nature of the case admits of;the evidence of such !ast matters of fact as a!!ear to be analogous to those contingent future ones# *ow these !ast facts are almost always numerous' so numerous, that till brought into view for the !ur!ose of the debate, a great !ro!ortion of them are what may very fairly have esca!ed the observation of one of the !arties' and it is owing, !erha!s, to this and nothing else, that that !arty is of the !ersuasion which sets it at variance with the other# @ere, then, we have a !lain and o!en road, !erha!s, to !resent reconcilement' at the worst to an intelligible and ex!licit issue ,that is, to such a ground of difference as may, when thoroughly trodden and ex!lored, be found to lead on to reconcilement at the last# (en, let them but once clearly understand one another, will not be long ere they agree# 0t is the !er!lexity of ambiguous and so!histical discourse that, while it distracts and eludes the a!!rehension, stimulates and inflames the !assions# ut it is now high time we should return to our Author, from whose text we have been insensibly led astray, by the nicety and intricacy of the "uestion it seemed to offer to our view#

CHAPTER V - %ut& of the Su reme Po!er to "a#e $a!s ># ;e now come to the last to!ic touched u!on in this digression' a certain Aduty', which, according to our Author's account, the su!reme !ower lies under'the duty of making laws# ?# A+hus far', says he, Aas to the right of the su!reme !ower to make laws; but farther, it is its duty likewise# For since the res!ective members are bound to conform themselves to the will of the state, it is ex!edient that they receive directions from the state declaratory of that its will# ut since it is im!ossible, in so great a multitude, to give injunctions to every !articular man, relative to each !articular action, therefore the state establishes general rules for the !er!etual infor mation and direction of all !ersons, in all !oints, whether of !ositive or negative duty# And this, in order that every man may know what to look u!on as his own, what as another's; what absolute and what relative duties are re"uired at his hands; what is to be esteemed honest, dishonest, or indifferent; what degree every man retains of his natural liberty; what he has given u! as the !rice of the benefits of society; and after what manner each !erson is to moderate the use and exercise of those rights which the state assigns him, in order to !romote and secure the !ublic tran"uillity#' B# -till as obscure, still as ambiguous as ever# +he Asu!reme !ower' we may remember, according to the definition so lately given of it by our Author, and so often s!oken of, is neither more nor less than the !ower to make laws# )f this !ower we are now told that it is its Aduty Ato make laws# @ence we learnwhat:that it is its Aduty' to do what it does; to be, in short, what it is# +his then is what the !aragra!h now before us, with its a!!aratus of Afors', and Abuts', and Asinces', is designed to !rove to us# )f this stam! is that meaning, at least, of the initial sentence, which is a!!arent u!on the face of it# C# 3om!leat the sense of the !hrase, Ato make laws'; add to it, in this !lace, what it wants in order to be an ade"uate ex!ression of the im!ort which the !receding !aragra!h seemed to annex to it; you have now, for what is mentioned as the object of the Aduty', another sense indeed, but a sense still more untenable than the foregoing# A+hus far', says our Author <reca!itulating what he had been saying before= Aas to the right of the su!reme !ower to make laws#' y this Aright' we saw, in the !receding cha!ter, was meant, a right to make laws in all cases whatsoever# A ut further', he now adds, Ait is its duty likewise#' 0ts duty then to dowhat: to do the same thing that it was before asserted to be its right to doto make laws in all cases whatsoever' or <to use another word, and that our Author's own, and that a!!lied to the same !ur!ose= that it is its duty to be 'absolute#'<ID= A sort of duty this which will !robably be thought rather a singular one# D# (ean time the observation which, if 0 conjecture right, he really had in view to make, is one which seems very just indeed, and of no mean im!ortance, but which is very obscurely ex!ressed, and not very obviously connected with the !ur!ose of what goes before# +he duty he here means is a duty, which res!ects, 0 take it, not so much the actual making of laws, as the taking of !ro!er measures to s!read abroad the knowledge of whatever laws ha!!en to have been made' a duty which <to ado!t some of our Author's own words= is conversant, not so much about issuing Adirections', as about !roviding that such as are issued shall be Areceived'# E# (ean time to s!eak of the duties of a su!reme !ower;of a legislature, meaning a su!reme legislature;of a set of men acknow ledged to be absolute;is what, 0 must own, 0 am not very fond of# *ot that 0 would wish the subordinate !art of the community to be a whit less watchful over their governors, or more dis!osed to unlimited submission in !oint of conduct, than if 0 were to talk with ever so much !erem!toriness of the Aduties' of these latter, and of the rights which the former have against them'<IE= what 0 am afraid of is, running into solecism and confusion in discourse# F# 0 understand, 0 think, !retty well, what is meant by the word duty m <!olitical duty= when a!!lied to myself; and 0 could not !ersuade of myself, 0 think, to a!!ly it in the same sense in a regular didactic discourse to those whom 0 am s!eaking of as my su!reme governors# +hat is my duty to do, which 0 am liable to be !unished, according to law, if 0 do not do' this is the original, ordinary, and !ro!er sense of the word duly#<IF= @ave these su!reme governors any such duty: *o' for if they are at all liable to !unishment according to law, whether it be for not doing any thing, or for doing, then are they not, what they are su!!osed to be, su!reme governors'<IH= those are the su!reme governors, by whose a!!ointment the former are liable to be !unished# H# +he word duty, then, if a!!lied to !ersons s!oken of as su!reme governors, is evidently a!!lied to them in a sense which is figurative and im!ro!er' nor therefore are the same conclusions to be

drawn from any !ro!ositions in which it is used in this sense, as might be drawn from them if it were used in the other sense, which is its !ro!er one# I# +his ex!lanation, then, being !remised;understanding myself to be using the word duty in its im!ro!er sense, the !ro!osition that it is the duty of the legislature to s!read abroad, as much as !ossible, the knowledge of their will among the !eo!le, is a !ro!osition 0 am dis!osed most unreservedly to accede to# 0f this be our Author's meaning, 0 join myself to him heart and voice# >J# ;hat !articular institutions our Author wished to see established in this viewwhat !articular duties he would have found for the legislature under this general head of duty, is not very a!!arent' though it is what should have a!!eared more !recisely than it does, ere his meaning could be a!!rehended to any !ur!ose# ;hat encreases still the difficulty of a!!rehending it, is a !ractice which we have already had more than once occasion to detect him in,<II=a kind of versatility, than which nothing can be more vexatious to a reader who makes a !oint of entering into the sentiments of his Author# @e sets out with the word Aduty' in his mouth; and, in the character of a 3ensor, with all due gravity begins talking to us of what ought to be# A+is in the midst of this lecture that our 5roteus sli!s aside; !uts on the historian; gives an insensible turn to the discourse; and, without any warning of the change, finishes with telling us what is# etween these two !oints, indeed, the is, and the ought to be, so o!!osite as they fre"uently are in the eyes of other men, that s!irit of obse"uious "uietism that seems constitutional in our Author, will scarce ever let him recogni9e a difference# A+is in the second sentence of the !aragra!h that he observes that Ait is ex!edient that they' <the !eo!le= Areceive directions from the state' <meaning the governing body= Adeclaratory of that its will'# A+is in the very next sentence that we learn from him, that what it is thus Aex!edient' that the state should do, it does do# ' ut since it is im!ossible in so great a multitude, to give !articular injunctions to even !articular man relative to each !articular action, therefore, says he 'the state establishes <does actuall! establish= 'general rules "the state generally, an! state, that is to say, that one can mention, all states, in short, whatever do establish= 'general rules for the !er!etual information and direction of all !ersons in aOO!oints, whether of !ositive or of negative duty# +hus far our Author; so that, for ought> a!!ears, whatever he could wish to see done in this view is done# *either this state of our own, nor any other, does he wish to see do any thing more in the matter than he sees done already; nay, nor than what is sure to be done at all events' so that ha!!ily the duty he is here so forward to lay on his su!eriors will not sit on them very heavy# +hus far is he from having any determinate instructive meaning in that !art of the !aragra!h in which, to a!!earance, and by accident, he comes nearest to it# >># *ot that the !assage however is absolutely so remote from meaning, but that the inventive com!laisance of a commentator of the admiring breed might find it !regnant with a good deal of useful matter# +he design of disseminating the knowledge of the laws is glanced at by it at least, with a shew of a!!robation# ;ere our Authors writings then as sacred as they are mysterious; and were they in the number of those which stam! the seal of authority on whatever doctrines can be fastened on them; what we have read might serve as a text, from which the obligation of ado!ting as many measures as a man should deem subservient to that design, might, without any unexam!led violence, be deduced# 0n this oracular !assage 0 might find inculcated, if not totidem s!llabis, at least totidem literis, as many !oints of legislative duty as should seem subservient to the !ur!oses of digestion and promulgation# +hus fortified, 0 might !ress u!on the legislature, and that on the score of dut!, to carry into execution, and that without delay, many a busy !roject as yet either unthought of or unheeded# 0 might call them with a tone of authority to their work' 0 PmightQ bid them go make !rovision forthwith for the bringing to light such scattered materials as can be found of the judicial decisions# of time !ast,77sole and neglected materials of common law;77for the registering and !ublishing of all future ones as they arise;77for transforming, by a digest, the body of the common law thus com!leated, into statute7law;77for breaking down the whole together into codes or !arcels, as many as there are classes of !ersons distinguishably concerned in it;77for introducing to the notice and !ossession of every !erson his res!ective code'77works which !ublic necessity cries aloud for, at which !rofessional interest shudders, and at which legislative indolence<>JJ= stands aghast# >?# All these leading !oints, 0 say, of legislative oeconomy, with as many !oints of detail subservient to each as a meditation not unassiduous has suggested, 0 might enforce, were it necessary, by our Authors oracular authority# For nothing less than what has been mentioned, 0 trust, is necessary, in order that every man may be made to know, in the degree in which he might and ought to be made to know, what <in our Authors words= 'to look u!on as his own, what as anothers; what absolute and what relative duties are re"uired at his hands; what is to be esteemed honest, dishonest, or

indifferent; what degree every man retains of his natural liberty; what he has given u! as the !rice of the benefits of society; and after what manner each !erson is to moderate the use and exercise of those rights which the state assigns him, in order to !romote and secure the !ublic tran"uility#? 0n taking my leave of our Author, 0 finish gladly with this !leasing !eroration' a scrutini9ing judgment, !erha!s, would not be altogether satisfied with it; but the ear is soothed by it, and the heart is warmed# >B# 0 now !ut an end to the tedious and intricate war of words that has subsisted, in a more !articular manner during the course of these two last cha!ters' a logomachy, wearisome enough, !erha!s, and insi!id to the reader, but beyond descri!tion laborious and irksome to the writer# ;hat remedy: @ad there been sense, 0 should have attached myself to the sense' finding nothing but words; to the words 0 was to attach myself, or to nothing# @ad the doctrine been but false, the task of ex!osing it would have been com!aratively an easy one' but it was what is worse, unmeaning, and thence it came to re"uire all these !ains which 0 have been here bestowing on it' to what !rofit let the reader judge# A;ell then',<cries an objector='the task you have set yourself is at an end; and the subject of it after all, according to your own re!resentation, teaches nothing;according to your own shewing it is not worth attending to#;hy then bestow on it so much attention:' 0n this view+o do something to instruct, but more to undeceive, the timid and admiring studentto excite him to !lace more confidence in his own strength, and less in the infallibility of great names'to hel! him to emanci!ate his judgment from the shackles of authority'to let him see that the not understanding a discourse may as well be the writer's fault as the reader's'to teach him to distinguish between shewy language and sound sense'to warn him not to !ay himself with words'to shew him that what may tickle the ear, or da99le the imagination, will not always inform the judgment' to shew him what it is our Author can do, and has done' and what it is he has not done, and cannot do'to dis!ose him rather to fast on ignorance than feed himself with error'to let him see that with regard to an ex!ositor of the law, our Author is not he that should come, but that we may be still looking for another# A;ho then', says my objector, Ashall be that other: 6ourself:*o verily#(y mission is at an end, when 0 have !re!ared the way before him# F0*0-

'otes( ># 0 add here the word Ainstitutions', for the sake of including rules of 3ommon 1aw, as well as !ortions of -tatute 1aw# ?# $embra Condividnitul-A/*8# 1og# 1# 0# c# CE# B# 0n !ractice,' the "uestion of 1aw has commonly been s!oken of as o!!osed to that of fact but this distinction is an accidental one# +hat a 1aw commanding or !rohibiting such a son of action, has been established, is as much a fact, as that an individual action of that sort has been committed# +he establishment of a 1aw may be s!oken of as a fact, at least for the !ur!ose of distinguishing from any consideration that may be offered as a reason for such 1aw# C# A%rrogance'; our Author calls it the utmost arrogance, P04 3omm# !#DJ#Q Ato censure what has, at least, a better chance to be tight, than the singular notions of any !articular man'' meaning thereby certain ecclesiastical institutions# 4ibrating, as it should seem, between !assion and discretion, he has thought it necessary, indeed, to insert in the sentence that, which being inserted, turns it into nothing' After the word Acensure', Awith contem!t' he adds, Aand rudeness'' as if there needed a !rofessor to inform us, that to treat any thing with contem!t and rudeness is arrogance# A0ndecency', he had already called it, Ato set u! !rivate judgment in o!!osition to !ublic'' and this without restriction, "ualification, or reserve# +his was in the first trans!ort of a holy 9eal, before discretion had come in to his assistance# +his !assage the 8octors 5riestly P-ee $emarks, Rc#Q and Fumeaux, P-ee 1etters to (r Justice lackstone, >FF># -econd ,dition#Q who, in "uality of 8issenting (inisters, and cham!ions of dissenting o!inions, saw themselves !articularly attacked in it, have not suffered to !ass unnoticed; any more than has the celebrated Author of the A$emarks on the Acts of the >Bth 5arliament',P0n the 5reface#Q who found it adverse to his enter!ri9e, for the same reason that it is

hostile to every other liberal !lan of !olitical discussion# (y edition of the 3ommentaries ha!!ens to be the first' since the above !aragra!h was written 0 have been directed to a later# 0n this later edition the !assage about Aindecency' is, like the other about Aarrogance', ex!lained away into nothing# ;hat we are now told is, that Ato set u! !rivate judgment in <virulent and factious= o!!osition to !ublic authority' <he might have addedor to !rivate either= Ais indecency'# <-ee the Dth edit# Hvo# !# DJ, as in the >st#= +his we owe, 0 think, to 8r Furneaux# +he 8octors Furneaux and 5riestly, under whose well7a!!lied correction our Author has smarted so severely, have a good deal to answer for' +hey have been the means of his adding a good deal of this kind of rhetorical lumber to the !lentiful stock there was of it before# )ne !assage, indeed, a !assage dee!7tinctured with religious gall, they have been the means of clearing away entirely;P-ee Furneaux, 1etter 400#Q and in thirst least, they have done good service# +hey have made him so!histicate' they have made him even ex!unge' but all the 8octors in the world, 0 doubt, would not bring him to confession# -ee his answer to 8r 5riestly# D# +here is only one way in which censure, cast u!on the 1aws, has a greater tendency to do harm than good; and that is when it sets itself to contest their validity' 0 mean, when abandoning the "uestion of ex!ediency, it sets itself to contest the tight# ut this is an attack to which old7established 1aws are not so liable# As this is the last though but too common resource of !assion and ill7 humour; and what men scarce think of betaking themselves to, unless irritated by !ersonal com!etitions, it is that to which recent 1aws are most ex!osed# 0 s!eak of what are called written 1aws' for as to unwritten institutions, as there is no such thing as any certain symbol by which their authority is attested, their validity, how dee!ly rooted soever, is what we see challenged without remorse# A radical weakness, interwoven into the very constitution of unwritten 1aw# E# )ne may well say rare# 0t is a matter of fact about which there can be no dis!ute# +he truth of it may be seen in the multitude of ,x!ositors which the Juris!rudence of every nation furnished, ere it afforded a single 3ensor# ;hen eccaria came, he was received by the intelligent as an Angel from heaven would be by the faithful# @e may be styled the father of 3ensorial Juris!rudence# (ontes"uieu's was a work of the mixed kind# efore (ontes"uieu all was unmixed barbarism# Grotius and 5uffendorf were to 3ensorial Juris!rudence what the -choolmen were to *atural 5hiloso!hy# F# A French Jurist of the last age, whose works had like celebrity, and in many res!ects much the same sort of merits as our Author's# @e was known to most advantage by a translation of 8emosthenes# @e is now forgotten# H# A urglary',P3omm# 3h# 240# !#??E#Q says our Author, Acannot be committed in a tent or a booth erected in a market fair; though the owner may lodge therein' for the 1aw regards thus highly nothing but !ermanent edifices; a house, or church; the wall, or gate of a town; and it is the folly of the owner to lodge in so fragile a tenement#' +o save himself from this charge of folly, it is not altogether clear which of two things the trader ought to do' "uit his business and not go to the fair at all' or leave his goods without any body to take care of them# I# -!eaking of an Act of 5arliament,P0 3omm# 3h# 00# !# >FH#Q A+here needs', he says, Ano formal !romulgation to give it the force of a 1aw, as was necessary by the 3ivil 1aw with regard to the ,m!eror's ,dicts' because every man in ,ngland is, in judgment of 1aw, !arty to the making of an Act of 5arliament, being !resent thereat by his re!resentatives#' +his, for aught 0 know, may be good judgment of 1aw; because any thing may be called judgment of 1aw, that comes from a 1awyer, who has got a name' it seems, however, not much like any thing that can be called judgment of common sense# +his notable !iece of astutia was originally, 0 believe, judgment of 1ord 3oke' it from thence became judgment of our Author' and may have been judgment of more 1awyers than 0 know of before and since# ;hat grieves me is, to find many men of the best affections to a cause which needs no so!histry, bewildered and bewildering others with the like jargon# >J# @is words are,P04 3omm# 3h# 240# !#??E#Q A+here must be an actual breaking, not a mere legal clausum fregit <by lea!ing over invisible ideal boundaries, which may constitute a civil tres!ass= but a substantial and forcible irru!tion#' 0n the next sentence but two he goes on, and says,A ut to come down a chimney is held a burglarious entry; for that is as much closed as the nature of things will !ermit# -o also to knock at a door, and u!on o!ening it to rush in with a felonious intent; or under !retence of taking lodgings, to fall u!on the landlord and rob him; or to !rocure a constable to gain admittance, in order to search for traitors, and then to bind the constable and rob the house; all these entries have been adjudged burglarious, though there was no actual breaking' for the 1aw will not suffer itself to be trifled with by such evasions#' ### 3an it be more egregiously trifled with than by

such reasons: 0 must own 0 have been ready to grow out of conceit with these useful little !articles, for, because, since, and others of that fraternity, from seeing the drudgery they are continually !ut to in these 3ommentaries# +he a!!earance of any of them is a sort of warning to me to !re!are for some tautology, or some absurdity' for the same thing dished u! over again in the sha!e of a reason for itself' or for a reason which, ifs distinct one, is of the same stam! as those we have just seen# )ther instances of the like hard treatment given to these !oor !articles will come under observation in the body of this ,ssay# As to reasons of the first7mentioned class, of them one might !ick out enough to fill a volume# >># A0n what 0 have now said', says he,P04 3omm# 3h# 04# !#CI#Q A0 would not be understood to derogate from the rights of the national 3hurch, or to favour a loose latitude of !ro!agating any crude undigested sentiments in religious matters# )f 5ro!agating, 0 say; for the bare entertaining them, without an endeavour to diffuse them, seems hardly cogni9able by any human authority# 0 only mean to illustrate the excellence of our !resent establishment, by looking back to former times# ,very thing is now as is should be' unless, !erha!s, that heresy ought to be more strictly defined, and no !rosecution !ermitted, even in the ,cclesiastical 3ourts, till the tenets in "uestion are by !ro!er authority !reviously declared to be heretical# /nder these restrictions it seems necessary for the su!!ort of the national religion', <the national religion being such, we are to understand, as would not be able to su!!ort itself were any one at liberty to make objections to it= Athat the officers of the 3hurch should have !ower to censure heretics, hut not to exterminate or destroy them#' /!on looking into a later edition <the fifth= 0 find this !assage has undergone a modification# After A,very thing is now as it should be', is added, Awith res!ect to the s!iritual cogni9ance, and s!iritual !unishment of heresy#' After Athe officers of the 3hurch should have !ower to censure heretics,' is added, Abut not to harass them with tem!oral !enalties, much less to exterminate or destroy them#' @ow far the mischievousness of the original text has been cured by this amendment, may be seen from 8r Furneaux, 1ett# 00# !# BJ, ?nd edit#? >?# 0 3omm# >CJ# 0 would not be altogether !ositive, how far it was he meant this !ersuasion should extend itself in !oint of time' whether to those institutions only that ha!!ened to be in force at the individual instant of his writing' or whether to such o!!osite institutions also as, within any given distance of time from that instant, either had been in force, or were about to be# @is words are as follows' AAll these rights and liberties it is our birthright to enjoy entire; unless where the 1aws of our country have laid them under necessary restraints# $estraints in themselves so gentle and moderate, as will a!!ear u!on further en"uiry, that no man of sense or !robity would wish to see them slackened# For all of us have it in our choice to do every thing that a good man would desire to do; and are restrained from nothing, but what would be !ernicious either to ourselves or our fellow citi9ens#' 0f the $eader would know what these rights and liberties are, 0 answer him out of the same !age, they are those, Ain o!!osition to one or other of which every s!ecies of com!ulsive tyranny and o!!ression must act, having no other object u!on which it can !ossibly be em!loyed#' +he liberty, for exam!le, of worshi!!ing God without being obliged to declare a belief in the 22202 Articles, is a liberty that no Agood man,''no man of sense or !robity,' Awould wish' for#' >B# 0 3omm# FJ# 0f no reason can be found for an institution, we are to su!!ose one' and it is u!on the strength of this su!!osed one we are to cry it u! as reasonable; 0t is thus that the 1aw is justified of her children# +he words are'*ot that the !articular reason of every rule in the 1aw can, at this distance of time, be always !recisely assigned; but it is sufficient that there be nothing in the rule flatly contradictory to reason, and then the 1aw will !resume it to be well founded# And it hath been an ancient observation in the 1aws of ,ngland,' <he might with as good ground have addedand in all other 1aws= A+hat whenever a standing rule of 1aw, of which the reason, !erha!s, could not be remembered or discerned, hath been PwantonlyQ broke in u!on by statutes or new resolutions, the wisdom of the rule hath in the end a!!eared from the inconveniences that have followed the innovation#' ;hen a sentiment is ex!ressed, and whether from caution, or from confusion of ideas, a clause is !ut in by way of "ualifying it that turns it into nothing, in this case if we would form a fair estimate of the tendency and !robable effect of the whole !assage, the way is, 0 take it, to consider it as if no such clause were there# *or let this seem strange# +aking the "ualification into the account, the

sentiment would make no im!ression on the mind stall' if it makes any, the "ualification is dro!!ed, and the mind is affected in the same manner nearly as it would be were the sentiment to stand un"ualified# +his, 0 think, we may conclude to be the case with the !assage above mentioned# +he word Awantonly' is, in !ursuance of our Author's standing !olicy, !ut in by way of salvo# ;ith it the sentiment is as much as comes to nothing# ;ithout it, it would be extravagant# 6et in this extravagant form it is, !robably, if in any, that it !asses u!on the $eader# +he !leasant !art of the contrivance is, the mentioning of A-tatutes' and A$esolutions' <$esolutions to wit, that is 8ecisions, of 3ourts of Justice= in the same breath; as if whether it were by the one of them or the other that a rule of 1aw was broke in u!on, made no difference# y a $esolution indeed, a new $esolution, to break in u!on a standing rule, is a !ractice that in good truth is big with mischief# ut this mischief on what does it de!end: /!on the rule's being a reasonable one: y no means' but u!on its being a standing, an established one# $easonable or not reasonable, is what makes com!aratively but a trifling difference# A new resolution made in the teeth of an old established rule is mischievouson what account: 0n that it !uts men's ex!ectations universally to a fault, and shakes whatever confidence they may have in the stability of any rules of 1aw, reasonable or not reasonable' that stability on which every thing that is valuable to a man de!ends# eneficial be it in ever so high a degree to the !arty in whose favour it is made, the benefit it is of to him can never be so great as to outweigh the mischief it is of to the community at large# (ake the best of it, it is general evil for the sake of !artial good# 0t is what 1ord acon calls setting the whole house on fire, in order to roast one man's eggs# @ere then the salvo is not wanted' a Anew resolution can never be acknowledged to be contrary to a standing rule,' but it must on that very account be acknowledged to be wanton#' 1et such a resolution be made, and Ainconveniences' in abundance will sure enough ensue' and then will a!!earwhat: not by any means Athe wisdom of the rule,' but, what is a very different thing, the folly of breaking in u!on it# 0t were almost su!erfluous to remark, that nothing of all this a!!lies in general to a statute' though !articular -tatutes may be conceived that would thwart the course of ex!ectation, and by that means !roduce mischief in the same way in which it is !roduced by irregular resolutions# A new statute, it is manifest, cannot, unless it be sim!ly a declaratory one, be made in any case, but it must break in u!on some standing rule of 1aw# ;ith regard to a -tatute then to tell us that a Awanton' one has !roduced Ainconveniences,' what is it but to tell us that a thing that has been mischievous has !roduced mischief: )f this tem!er are the arguments of all those doating !oliticians, who, when out of humour with a !articular innovation without being able to tell why, set themselves to declaim against all innovation, because it is innovation# 0t is the nature of owls to hate the light' and it is the nature of those !oliticians who are wise by rote, to detest every thing that forces them either to find <what, !erha!s, is im!ossible= reasons for a favourite !ersuasion, or <what is not endurable= to discard it# >C# 000 3omm# ?EH, at the end of 3h# 2400, which concludes with three !ages against $eformation# )ur Author had better, !erha!s, on this occasion, have ke!t clear of allegories' he should have considered whether they might not be retorted on him with severe retaliation# @e should have considered, that it is not easier to him to turn the 1aw into a 3astle, than it is to the imaginations of im!overished suitors to !eo!le it with @ar!ies# @e should have thought of the den of 3acus, to whose enfeebled o!tics, to whose habits of dark and secret ra!ine, nothing was so hateful, nothing so dangerous, as the light of day# >D# 000 3omm# B??# 0t is from the decisions of 3ourts of Justice that those rules of 1aw are framed, on the knowledge of which de!end the life, the fortune, the liberty of every man in the nation# )f these decisions the $ecords are, according to our Author <0 3omm# F>= the most authentic histories# +hese $ecords were, till within these five7and7forty years, in 1aw71atin' a language which, u!on a high com!utation, about one man in a thousand used to fancy himself to understand# 0n this 1aw7 1atin it is that our Author is satisfied they should have been continued, because the !yramids of ,gy!t have stood longer than the tem!les of 5almyra# @e observes to us, that the 1atin language could not ex!ress itself on the subject without borrowing a multitude of words from our own' which is to hel! to convince us that of the two the former is the fittest to be em!loyed# @e gives us to understand that, taking it altogether, there could be no room to com!lain of it, seeing it was not more unintelligible than the jargon of the schoolmen, some !assages of which he instances; and then he goes on, A+his technical 1atin continued in use from the time of its first introduction till the

subversion of our ancient constitution under 3romwell; when, among many other innovations on the body of the 1aw, some for the better and some for the worse, the language of our $ecords was altered and turned into ,nglish# ut at the $estoration of King 3harles, this novelty was no longer countenanced; the !ractisers finding it very difficult to ex!ress themselves so concisely or significantly in any other language but the 1atin# And thus it continued without any sensible inconvenience till about the year >FBJ, when it was again thought !ro!er that the 5roceedings at 1aw should be done into ,nglish, and it was accordingly so ordered by statute C Geo# 00# c# ?E# A+his was done <continues our Author= in order that the common !eo!le might have knowledge and understanding of what was alleged or done for and against them in the !rocess and !leadings, the judgment and entries in a cause# ;hich !ur!ose 0 know not how well it has answered; but am a!t to sus!ect that the !eo!le are now, after many years ex!erience, altogether as ignorant in matters of law as before#' 0n this scornful !assage the words noveltydone into ,nglisha!t to sus!ectaltogether as ignorantsufficiently s!eak the affection of the mind that dictated it# 0t is thus that our Author chuckles over the su!!osed defeat of the 1egislature with a fond exultation which all his discretion could not !ersuade him to su!!ress# +he case is this# A large !ortion of the body of the 1aw was, by the bigotry or the artifice of 1awyers, locked u! in an illegible character, and in a foreign tongue# +he statute he mentions obliged them to give u! their hierogly!hics, and to restore the native language to its rights# +his was doing much; but it was not doing every thing# Fiction, tautology, technicality, circuity, irregularity, inconsistency remain# ut above all the !estilential breath of Fiction !oisons the sense of every instrument it comes near# +he conse"uence is, that the 1aw, and es!ecially that !art of it which comes under the to!ic of 5rocedure, still wants much of being generally intelligible# +he fault then of the 1egislature is their not having done enough# @is "uarrel with them is for having done any thing at all# 0n doing what they did, they set u! a light, which, obscured by many remaining clouds, is still but too a!t to !rove an ignis fatuus' our Author, instead of calling for those clouds to be removed, de!recates all light, and !leads for total darkness# *ot content with re!resenting the alteration as useless, he would !ersuade us to look u!on it as mischievous# @e s!eaks of Ainconveniences'# ;hat these inconveniences are it is !leasant to observe# 0n the first !lace, many young !ractisers, s!oilt by the indulgence of being !ermitted to carry on their business in their mother7tongue, know not how to read a $ecord u!on the old !lan# A(any 3lerks and Attornies', says our Author, Aare hardly able to read, much less to understand a $ecord of so modem a date as the reign of George the First#' ;hat the mighty evil is here, that is to outweigh the mischief of almost universal ignorance, is not altogether clear' ;hether it is, that certain 1awyers, in a case that ha!!ens very rarely, may be obliged to get assistance' or that the business in such a case may !ass from those who do not understand it to those who do# 0n the next !lace, he observes to us, Ait has much enhanced the ex!ense of all legal !roceedings' for since the !ractisers are confined <for the sake of the stam!7duties, which are thereby considerably increased= to write only a stated number of words in a sheet; and as the ,nglish language, through the multitude of its !articles, is much more verbose than the 1atin; it follows, that the number of sheets must be very much augmented by the change# 0 would fain !ersuade myself, were it !ossible, that this unha!!y so!hism could have !assed u!on the inventor# +he sum actually levied on the !ublic on that score is, u!on the whole, either a !ro!er sum or it is not# 0f it is, why mention it as an evil: 0f it is not, what more obvious remedy than to set the duties lower: After all, what seems to be the real evil, notwithstanding our Author's unwillingness to believe it, is, that by means of this alteration, men at large are in a somewhat better way of knowing what their 1awyers are about' and that a disinterested and enter!rising 1egislator, should ha!!ily such an one arise, would now with somewhat less difficulty be able to see before him# >E# 4# infra, 3h# 000# !ar# F# !#CEC# >F# 0n the -eventh 3ha!ter of the First ook# +he King has Aattributes';P0 3omm# ?C?#Q he !ossesses

Aubi"uity';P0 3omm# 3h# 400# !!# ?BC, ?BH, ?C?# First ,dition#Q he is Aall7!erfect and immortal#'P0 3omm# 3h# 400# !# ?EJ# First ,dition#Q +hese childish !aradoxes, begotten u!on servility by false wit, are not more adverse to manly sentiment, than to accurate a!!rehension# Far from contributing to !lace the institutions they are a!!lied to in any clear !oint of view, they serve but to da99le and confound, by giving to $eality the air of Fable# 0t is true, they are not altogether of our Author's invention' it is he, however, that has revived them, and that with im!rovements and additions# )ne might be a!t to su!!ose they were no more than so many transient flashes of ornament' it is "uite otherwise# @e dwells u!on them in sober sadness# +he attribute of Aubi"uity,' in !articular, he lays hold of, and makes it the basis of a chain of reasoning# @e s!ins it out into conse"uences' he makes one thing Afollow' from it, and another thing be so and so Afor the same reason'' and he uses em!hatic terms, as if for fear he should not be thought to be in earnest# AFrom the ubi"uity', says our Author <> 3omm# !# ?EJ= Ait follows, that the King can never be nonsuit; for a nonsuit is the desertion of the suit or action by the non7 a!!earance of the !laintiff in 3ourt#''For the same reason also the King is not to a!!ear by his Attorney, as other men do; for he always a!!ears in contem!lation of 1aw in his own !ro!er !erson#' +his is the case so soon as you come to this last sentence of the !aragra!h# For so long as you are at the last but two, Ait is the regal office, and not the royal !erson, that is always !resent'# All this is so drily and so strictly true, that it serves as the groundwork of a meta!hor that is brought in to embellish and enliven it# +he King, we see, is, that is to say is not, !resent in 3ourt# +he King's Judges are !resent too# -o far is !lain downright truth# +hese Judges, then, s!eaking meta!horically, are so many looking7glasses, which have this singular !ro!erty, that when a man looks at them, instead of seeing his own face in them, he sees the King's# A@is Judges', says our Author, Aare the mirror by which the King's image is reflected#' >H# +he word demonstration may here seem, at first sight, to be out of !lace# 0t will be easily !erceived that the sense here !ut u!on it is not the same with that in which it is em!loyed by 1ogicians and (athematicians# 0n our own language, indeed, it is not very familiar in any other sense than theirs' but on the 3ontinent it is currently em!loyed in many other sciences# +he French, for exam!le, have their demonstrateurs de botanique d&anatomie, de ph!sique experimentale, Rc# 0 use it out of necessity; not knowing of any other that will suit the !ur!ose# >I# 1et this be taken for a truth u!on the authority of Aristotle 0 mean by those, who like the authority of Aristotle better than that of their own ex!erience# , says that !hiloso!her, S , , # <understand = # Arise# ,th# ad *ic# 1# 0# c# ># ?J# )ffences, the $eader will remember, may as well be offences of omission as of commission# 0 would avoid the embarrassment of making se!arate mention of such 1aws as exert themselves in commanding# A+is on this account 0 use the !hrase Amode of conduct,' which includes omissions or forbearances, as well as acts# ?># +echnical reasons' so called from the Greek , which signifies an art, science, or !rofession# /tility is that standard to which men in general <exce!t in here and there an instance where they are deterred by !rejudices of the religious class, or hurried away by the force of what is called sentiment or feeling=, /tility, as we have said, is the standard to which they refer a 1aw or institution in judging of its title to a!!robation or disa!!robation# (en of 1aw, corru!ted by interests, or seduced by illusions, which it is not here our business to dis!lay, have deviated from it much more fre"uently, and with much less reserve# @ence it is that such reasons as !ass with 1awyers, and with no one else, have got the name of technical reasons; reasons !eculiar to the art, !eculiar to the !rofession# ??# +he reason of a 1aw, in short, is no other than the good !roduced by the mode of conduct which it enjoins, or <which comes to the same thing= the mischief !roduced by the mode of conduct which it !rohibits# +his mischief or this good, if they be real, cannot but shew themselves somewhere or other in the sha!e of !ain or !leasure# ?B# -ee in the -yno!tical +able !refixed to our Author's Analysis, the last !age com!rehending ook 04# ?C# 0t is that which com!rises his 04th ook, entitled 5/ 103 ;$)*G-# ?D# Fragmenta methodi naturalis#10**A,0 5hil# ot# +it# -ystematica# !ar# FF#

?E# +his title affords a !ertinent instance to exem!lify the use that a natural arrangement may be of in re!elling an incom!etent institution# ;hat 0 mean is the sort of filthiness that is termed unnatural# +his our Author has ranked in his class of )ffences against !ersonal security', and, in a subdivision of it, intitled A3or!oral injuries#A 0n so doing, then, he has asserted a fact' he has asserted that the offence in "uestion is an offence against !ersonal security; is a cor!oral in jury; is, in short, !roductive of unha!!iness in that way# *ow this is what, in the case where the act is committed by consent, is manifestly not true# 'olenti non fit injuria# 0f then the 1aw against the offence in "uestion had no other title to a !lace in the system than what was founded on this fact, it is !lain it would have none# 0t would be shad 1aw altogether# +he mischief the offence is of to the community in this case is in truth of "uite another nature, and would come under "uite another class# ;hen against consent, there indeed it does belong really to this class' but then it would come under another name# 0t would come under that of $a!e# ?F# 0 think it is -elden, somewhere in his +able7talk, that s!eaks of a whimsical notion he had hit u!on when a school7boy, that with regard to 3aesar and Justin, and those other !ersonages of anti"uity that gave him so much trouble, there was nota syllable of truth in any thing they said, nor in fact were there ever really any such !ersons; but that the whole affair was a contrivance of !arents to find em!loyment for their children# (uch the same sort of notion is that which these technical arrangements are calculated to give us of Juris!rudence' which in them stands re!resented rather as a game at Crambo for 1awyers to whet their wits at, than as that -cience which holds in her hand the ha!!iness of nations# 1et us, however, do no man wrong# ;here the success has been worse, the difficulty was greater# +hat detestable chaos of institutions which the Analyst last7mentioned had to do with is still more embarrassed with a technical nomenclature than our own# ?H# 000 3omm# 3h# 22000# !# BHF# ?I# 00 3omm# 3h# 220, !#BEJ# BJ# +he difference between a generous and determined affection, and an occasional, and as it were forced contribution, to the cause of reformation, may be seen, 0 think, in these 3ommentaries, com!ared with another celebrated work on the subject of our Juris!rudence# (r arrington, whose agreeable (iscellany has done so much towards o!ening men's eyes u!on this subject (r arrington, like an active General in the service of the !rinci!al and !rofessed !ur!ose of it is, to ex!ose the errors and 5ublic, storms the strongholds of chicane, wheresoever they !resent themselves, and !articularly fictions, without reserve# )ur Author, like an artful !arti9an in the service of the !rofession, sacrifices a few, as if it were to save the rest# 8e!lorable, indeed, would have been the student's chance for salutary instruction, did not (r arrington's work in so many instances, furnish the antidote to our Author's !oisons# B># 0 3omm# !#CF# B?# +o make sure of doing our Author no injustice, and to shew what it is that he thought would Anaturally lead us into' this Aen"uiry,' it may be !ro!er to give the !aragra!h containing the ex!lanation above mentioned# 0t is as follows'' ut farther' munici!al law is a rule of civil conduct, !rescribed by the su!reme !ower in a state#' AFor legislature, as was before observed, is the greatest act of su!eriority that can be exercised by one being over another# ;herefore it is re"uisite, to the very essence of a law, that it be made' <he might have added, or at least su!!orted= Aby the su!reme !ower# -overeignty and legislature are indeed convertible terms; one cannot subsist without the other#' 0 3omm# !# CE# BB# > 3omm# !#CF# BC# v# su!ra !# C?E# BD# > 3omm# !#CF# BE# > 3omm# !#CF# su!ra !# C?E# BF# > 3omm# !#CF# su!ra !#C?D# BH# > 3omm# !#CF# su!ra !# C?D# BI# > 3omm# !#CH# su!ra !# C?E# CJ# 3omm# !#CH# su!ra !#C?E#

C># > 3omm# !#CH# su!ra !#C?D# C?# > 3omm# !#CF# su!ra !#C?D# CB# > 3omm# !# CE# su!ra !#C?E# CC# > 3omm# !#CE# su!ra !#C?E# CD# > 3omm# !#D?# CE# ># A habit is but an assemblage of acts' under which name 0 would also include, for the !resent, voluntary forebearances# ?# A habit of obedience then is an assemblage of acts of obedience# B# An act of obedience is any act done in !ursuance of an ex!ression of will on the !art of some su!erior# C# An act of 5)10+03A1 obedience <which is what is here meant= is any act done in !ursuance of an ex!ression of will on the !art of a !erson governing# D# An ex!ression of will is either !arole or tacit# E# A !arole ex!ression of wilt is that which is conveyed by the signs called words# F# A tacit ex!ression of will is that which is conveyed by any other signs whatsoever' among which none are so efficacious as acts of !unishment annexed in time !ast, to the non7!erformance of acts of the same sort with those that are the objects of the will that is in "uestion# H# A !arole ex!ression of the will of a su!erior is a command# I# ;hen a tacit ex!ression of the will of a su!erior is su!!osed to have been uttered, it may be styled a fictitious command# >J# ;ere we at liberty to coin words after the manner of the $oman lawyers, we night say a "uasi7 command# >># +he -+A+/+, 1A; is com!osed of commands# +he 3)(()* 1A;, of "uasi7commands# >?# An act which is the object of a command actual or fictitious; such an act, considered before it is !erformed, is styled a duty, or a !oint of duty# >B# +hese definitions !remised, we are now in a condition to give such an idea, of what is meant by the !erfection or im!erfection of a habit of obedience in a society as may !rove tolerably !recise# >C# A !eriod in the duration of the society; the number of !ersons it is com!osed of during that !eriod; and the number of !oints of duty incumbent on each !erson being given;the habit of obedience will be more or less !erfect' in the ratio of the number of acts of obedience to those of disobedience# >D# +he habit of obedience in this country a!!ears to have been more !erfect in the time of the -axons than in that of the ritons' un"uestionably it is more so now than in the time of the -axons# 0t is not yet so !erfect, as well contrived and well digested laws its time, it is to be ho!ed, may render it# ut absolutely !erfect, till man ceases to be man, it never can be# A very ingenious and instructive view of the !rogress of nations, from the least !erfect states of !olitical union to that highly !erfect state of it in which we live, may be found in 1oad Kaims's (istorical )aw *racts# >E# For the convenience and accuracy of discourse it may be of use, in this !lace to settle the signification of a few other ex!ressions relative to the same subject# 5ersons who, with res!ect to each other, are ins state of !olitical society, may be said also to be in a state of !olitical union or connection# >F# -uch of them as are subjects may, accordingly, be said to be in a state of submission, or of subjection, with res!ect to governors' such as are governors in a state of authority with res!ect to subjects# >H# ;hen the subordination is considered as resulting originally from the will, or <it maybe more !ro!er to say= the !leasure of the !arty governed, we rather use the word Asubmission'' when from that of the !arty governing, the word Asubjection#' )n this account it is, that the term can scarcely be

used without a!ology, unless with a note of disa!!robation' es!ecially in this country, where the habit of considering the consent of the !ersons governed as being in some sense or other involved in the notion of all lawful, that is, all commendable government, has gained so firm a ground# 0t is on this account, then, that the term Asubjection,' excluding as it does, or, at least, not including such consent, is used commonly in what is called a A8 sense' that is, in such a sense as, together with the idea of the object in "uestion, conveys the accessary idea of disa!!robation# +his accessary idea, however, annexed as it is to the abstract term Asubjection,' does not extend itself to the concrete term Asubjects'a kind of inconsistency of which there are many instances in language# CF# 0t is true that every !erson must, for sometime, at least, after hjs birth, necessarily be in a state of subjection with res!ect to his !arents, or those who stand in the !lace of !arents to him; and that a !erfect one, or at least as near to being a !erfect one, as any that we see# ut for all this, the sort of society that is constituted by a state of subjection thus circumstanced, does not come u! to the idea that, 0 believe, is generally entertained by those who s!eak of a !olitical society# +o constitute what is meant in general by that !hrase, a greater number of members is re"uired, or, at least, a duration ca!able of a longer continuance# 0ndeed, for this !ur!ose nothing less, 0 take it, than an indefinite duration is re"uired# A society, to come within the notion of what is originally meant by a !olitical one, must be such as, in its nature, is not inca!able of continuing for ever in virtue of the !rinci!les which gave it birth# +his, it is !lain, is not the case with such a family society, of which a !arent, or a !air of !arents are at the head# 0n such a society, the only !rinci!le of union which is certain and uniform in its o!eration, is the natural weakness of those of its members that are in a state of subjection; that is, the children; a !rinci!le which has but a short and limited continuance# 0 "uestion whether it be the case even with a family society, subsisting in virtue of collateral consanguinity; and that for the like reason# *ot but that even in this case a habit of obedience, as !erfect as any we see exam!les of, may subsist for a time; to wit, in virtue of the same moral !rinci!les which may !rotract a habit of filial obedience bcyond the continuance of the !hysical ones which gave birth so it' 0 mean affection, gratitude, awe, the force of habit, and the like# ut it is not long, even in this case, before the bond of connection must either become im!erce!tible or lose its influence by being too extended# +hese considerations, therefore, it will be !ro!er to bear in mind in a!!lying the definition of !olitical society above given <in !ar# >J= and in order to reconcile it with what is said further on <in !ar# >F=# CH# +he Kingdom of *a!les is feudatory to the 5a!al -ee' and in token of fealty, the King, at his accession, !resents the @oly Father with a white horse# +he $oyal vassal sometimes treats his 1ord but cavalierly' but always sends him his white horse# CI# /!on recollection, 0 have some doubt whether this exam!le would be found historically exact# 0f not, that of the defection of the *abobs of @indostan may answer the !ur!ose# (y first choice fell u!on the former; su!!osing it to be rather better known# DJ# ># 8isobedience may be said to be unconscious with res!ect to the fact, when the !arty is ignorant either of his having done the act itself, which is forbidden by the law, or else of his having done it in those circumstances, in which alone it is forbidden# ?# 8isobedience may be said to be unconscious, with res!ect to the law; when although he may know of his having done the act that is in reality forbidden, and that, under the circumstances in which it is forbidden, he knows not of its being forbidden in these circumstances# B# -o long as the business of s!reading abroad the knowledge of the law continues to lie in the neglect in which it has lain hitherto, instances of disobedience unconscious with res!ect to the law, can never be otherwise than abundant# D># 0f exam!les be thought necessary, +heft may serve for an exam!le of fraudulent disobedience; $obbery of forcible# 0n +heft, the !erson of the disobedient !arty, and the act of disobedience, are both endeavoured to be ke!t secret# 0n $obbery, the act of disobedience, at least, if not the !erson of him who disobeys, is manifest and avowed# D?# ># 0n the third 4olume of his +$,A+0-, on @/(A* *A+/$,# )ur Author, one would think, had never so much as o!ened that celebrated book' of which the criminality in the eyes of some, and the merits in the eyes of others, have since been almost effaced by the s!lendour of more recent !roductions of the same !en# +he magnanimity of our Author scorned, !erha!s, or his circums!ection feared, to derive instruction from an enemy' or, what is still more !robable, he knew not that the subject had been so much as touched u!on by that !enetrating and acute meta!hysician, whose works lie so much out of the beaten track of Academic reading#

ut here, as it ha!!ens, there is no matter for such fears# +hose men, who are most alarmed at the dangers of a free en"uiry; those who are most intimately convinced that the surest way to truth is by hearing nothing but on one side, will, 0 dare answer almost, find nothing of that which they deem !oison in this third volume# 0 would not wish to send the $eader to any other than this, which, if 0 recollect aright, stands clear of the objections that have of late been urged, with so much vehemence, against the work in general#P y 8r ,A++0,, in his ,ssay on the 0mmutability of +ruth#Q As to the two first, the Author himself, 0 am inclined to think, is not ill dis!osed, at !resent, to join with those who are of o!inion, that they nsight, without any great loss to the science of @uman *ature, be dis!ensed with# +he like might be said, !erha!s, of a considerable !art, even of this# ut, after all retrenchments, there will still remain enough to have laid mankind under indelible obligations# +hat the foundations of all virtue are laid in utility, is there demonstrated, after a few exce!tions made, with the strongest force of evidence' but 0 see not, any more than @elvetius saw, what need there was for the exce!tions# ?# For my own !art, 0 well remember, no sooner had 0 read that !art of the work which touches on this subject, than 0 felt as if scales had fallen from my eyes, 0 then, for the first time, learnt to call the cause of the !eo!le the cause of 4irtue# 5erha!s a short sketch of the wanderings of a raw but well7intentioned mind, in its researches after moral truth, may, on this occasion, be not unuseful' for the history of one mind is the history of many# +he writings of the honest, but !rejudiced, ,arl of 3larendon to whose integrity nothing was wanting, and to whose wisdom little, but the fortune of living something later; and the contagion of a monkish atmos!here; these, and other concurrent causes, had listed my infant affections on the side of des!otism# +he Genius of the !lace 0 dwelt in, the authority of the state, the voice of the 3hurch in her solemn offices; all these taught me to call 3harles a (artyr, and his o!!onents rebels# 0 saw innovation, where indeed innovation, but a glorious innovation, was, in their efforts to withstand him# 0 saw falsehood, where indeed falsehood was, in their disavowals of innovation# 0 saw selfishness, and an obedience to the call of !assion, in the efforts of the o!!ressed to rescue themselves from o!!ression# 0 saw strong countenance lent in the sacred writings to monarchic government' and none to any other# 0 saw !assive obedience dee! stam!ed with the seal of the 3hristian 4irtues of humility and self7denial# 3onversing with 1awyers, 0 found them full of the virtues of their )riginal 3ontract, as a reci!e of sovereign efficacy for reconciling the accidental necessity of resistance with the general duty of submission# +his drug of theirs they administered to me to calm my scru!les# ut my un!ractised stomach revolted against their o!iate# 0 bid them o!en to me that !age of history in which the solemni9ation of this im!ortant contract was recorded# +hey shrunk from this challenge; nor could they, when thus !ressed, do otherwise than our Author has done, confess the whole to be a fiction# +his, methought, looked ill# 0t seemed tome the acknowledgment of a bad cause, the bringing a fiction to su!!ort it# A+o !rove fiction, indeed,' said 0, Athere is need of fiction; but it is the characteristic of truth to need no !roof but truth# @ave you then really any such !rivilege as that of coining facts: 6ou are s!ending argument to no !ur!ose# 0ndulge yourselves in the licence of su!!osing that to be true which is not, and as well may you su!!ose that !ro!osition itself to be true, which you wish to !rove, as that other whereby you ho!e to !rove it#' +hus continued 0 unsatisfying, and unsatisfied, till 0 learnt to see that utility was the test and measure of all virtue; of loyalty as much as any; and that the obligation to minister to general ha!!iness, was an obligation !aramount to and inclusive of every other# @aving thus got the instruction 0 stood in need of, 0 sat down to make my !rofit of it# 0 bid adieu to the original contract' and 0 left it to those to amuse themselves with this rattle, who could think they needed it# DB# A com!act or contract <for the two words on this occasion, at least, are used in the same sense= may, 0 think, be defined, a !air of !romises, by two !ersons reci!rocally given, the one !romise in consideration of the other# DC# +he im!ortance which the observance of !romises is of to the ha!!iness of society, is !laced in a very striking and satisfactory !oint of view, in a little a!ologue of (ontes"uieu, entitled, +he @istory of the +roglocytes#P-ee the 3ollection of his ;orks#Q +he +roglodytes are a !eo!le who !ay no regard to !romises# y the natural conse"uences of this dis!osition, they fall from one scene of misery into another; and are at last exterminated# +he same 5hiloso!her, in his -!irit of1aws, co!ying and refining u!on the current jargon, feigns a 1A; for this and other !ur!oses, after defining a 1A; to be a relation# @ow much more instructive on this head is the fable of the +roglodytes than the !seudo7meta!hysical so!histry of the ,s!rit des 1oixG DD# +o this denomination, has of late been added, or substituted, the greatest ha!!iness or greatest

felicity !rinci!le' this, for shortness, instead of saying at length that !rinci!le which states the greatest ha!!iness of all those whose interest lain "uestion, as being the right and !ro!er, and only right and !ro!er and universally desirable, end of human action' of human action in every situation; and, in !articular, in that of a functionary, or set of functionaries, exercising the !owers of Government# +he word utility does not so clearly !oint to the ideas of !leasure and !ain as the words ha!!iness and felicity do' nor does it lead us to the consideration of the number, of the interests affected' PtoQ the number, as being the circumstance which contributes, in the largest !ro!ortion, to the formation of the standard here in "uestion; the standard of right and wrong, by which alone the !ro!riety of human conduct, in every situation, can with !ro!riety be tried# +his want of a sufficiently manifest connection between the ideas of ha!!iness and !leasure on the one hand, and the idea of utility on the other, 0 have every now and then found o!erating, and with but too much efficiency, as a bar to the acce!tance, that might otherwise have been given, to this !rinci!le# For further elucidation of the !rinci!le of utility, or say greatest ha!!iness !rinci!le, it may be some satisfaction to the reader, to see a note, inserted in a second edition, now !rinting, of a later work of the Author's, intitled AAn 0ntroduction to the 5rinci!les of (orals and 1egislation'# 0n cha!ter >, subjoined to !aragra!h xiii is a note in these words''+he !rinci!le of utility' <0 have heard it said= Ais a dangerous !rinci!le' it is dangerous on certain occasions to consult it#' +his is as much as to saywhat: that it is not consonant to utility to consult utility; in short, that it is not consulting it, to consult it# 0n the second edition, to this note is added the following !aragra!h# ,x!lanation, written >?th July, >H??, relative to the above note# *ot long after the !ublication of the Fragment on Government, Anno >FFE, in which, in the character of an all7com!rehensive and all7commanding !rinci!le, the !rinci!le of utility was brought to view, one !erson by whom observation to the above effect was made was Alexander ;edderburn, at that time Attorney or -olicitor General, afterwards successively 3hief Justice of the 3ommon 5leas, and 3hancellor of ,ngland, under the successive titles of 1ord 1oughborough and ,arl of $osslyn# 0t was madenot indeed in my hearing, but in the hearing of a !erson by whom it was almost immediately communicated to me# -o far from being self7contradictory, it was <0 now see and confess= a shrewd and !erfectly true one# y that distinguished functionary, the state of the Government was !erfectly understood; by the obscure individual, at that time, not so much as su!!osed to be so; his dis"uisitions had not been as yet a!!lied, with any thing like a com!rehensive view, to the field of 3onstitutional 1aw, nor therefore to those features of the ,nglish Government, by which the greatest ha!!iness of the ruling one, with or without that of a favoured few, are now so !lainly seen to be the only ends to which the course of it has at any time been directed# +he !rinci!le of utility was an a!!ellative, at that time em!loyedem!loyed by me, as it has been by others, to designate that which, in a more !ers!icuous and instructive manner, may as above be designated by the name of the greatest ha!!iness !rinci!le# A+his !rinci!le' <said ;edderburn= Ais a dangerous one#' -aying so, he said that which, to a certain extent, is strictly true; a !rinci!le, which lays down, as the only right and justifiable end of Government, the greatest ha!!iness of the greatest numberhow can it be denied to be a dangerous one: dangerous to every Government, which has for its actual end or object, the greatest ha!!iness of a certain one, with or without the addition of some com!aratively small number of others, whom it is a matter of !leasure or accommodation to him to admit, each of them, to a share in the concern, on the footing of so many junior !artners# A8angerous' it therefore really was to the interestthe sinister interest of all those functionaries, himself included, whose interest it was to maximi9e delay, vexation, and ex!ence, in judicial and other modes of !rocedure, for the sake of the !rofit extractible out of the ex!ence# 0n a Government which had for its end in view the greatest ha!!iness of the greatest number, Alexander ;edderburn might have been Attorney General and then 3hancellor; but he would not have been Attorney General with >D,JJJ l# a year, nor 3hancellor, with a 5eerage, with a veto u!on all justice, with ?D,JJJ l# a year, and with DJJ sinecures at his dis!osal, under the name of ,cclesiastical enefices besides et caeteras*ote of the Author's, >?th July, >H??# DE# +his is what there would be occasion to shew at large, were what he says of 1aw in general, and of the 1aws of nature, and revelation in !articular, to be examined# DF# 0 3omm# !#CH# DH# 4# infra, !ar# B? (onarchy, which is the government of one, Ais the most !owerful form of government,' he says, Aof any'L more so than 8emocracy, which he describes as being the

Government of all# DI# > 3omm# !#DJ# EJ# 5ar# B?# E># > 3omm# CHI# E?# y the laws of G,$(A*6 such and such states arc to furnish so many men to the general army of the em!ire' some of them so many men and one half; others, so many and one third; others again, 0f 0 mistake not, so many and one fourth# )ne of these half, third7!art, or "uarter7men, su!!ose, !ossesses himself of the Government' here then we have a kind of corru!tion of a (onarchy# 0s this what our Author had in view: EB# A more suitable !lace to look for corru!tion in, if we may take his own word for it, there cannot be# A,very man's reason,' he assures us P> 3omm# !#C>#Q Ais corru!t'; and not only that, but Ahis understanding full of ignorance and error'# ;ith regard to others, it were as well not to be too !ositive' hut with regard to a man's self, what he tells us from ex!erience, it would be ill manners to dis!ute with him# EC# > 3omm# !#CH# ED# -ee @A;K,-;)$+@'- 4oyages# +he condition of these imaginary sovereigns !uts one in mind of the story of, 0 forget what King's Fool# +he Fool had stuck himself u! one day, with great gravity, in the King's throne with a stick, by way of a sce!tre, in one hand, and a ball in the other' being asked what he was doing, he answered, Areigning'# (uch the same sort of reign, 0 take it, would be that of the members of our Author's 8emocracy# EE# 4# su!ra, ch# 0# !ar# 40# EF# ;hat is curious is, that the same !ersons who tell you <having read as much= that 8emocracy is a form of Government under which the su!reme !ower is vested in all the members of a state, will also tell you <having also read as much= that the Athenian 3ommonwealth was a 8emocracy# *ow the truth is, that in the Athenian 3ommonwealth, u!on the most moderate com!utation, it is not one tenth !art of the inhabitants of the Athenian state that ever at a time !artook of the su!reme !ower' women, children, and slaves, being taken into the account#P-ee, among (r @/(,'- ,ssays, that on the !o!ulousness of ancient nations#Q 3ivil 1awyers, indeed, will tell you, with a grave face, that a slave is nobody; as 3ommon 1awyers will, that a bastard is the son of nobody# ut, to an un!rejudiced eye, the condition of a state is the condition of all the individuals, without distinction, that com!ose it# EH# y fiscal !ower 0 mean that which in this country is exercised by what is called the +reasury# oard of

EI# y dis!ensatorial !ower 0 mean as well that which is exercised by the oard of +reasury, as those others which are executed in the several offices styled with us the ;ar )ffice, Admiralty oard, *avy oard, oard of )rdnance, and oard of ;orks' exce!ting from the business of all these offices, the !ower of a!!ointing !ersons to fill other subordinate offices' a !ower which seems to be of a distinct nature from that of making dis!osition of any article of !ublic !ro!erty# 5ower, !olitical !ower, is either over !ersons or over things# +he !owers, then, that have been mentioned above, in as far as they concern things, are !owers over such things as are the !ro!erty of the !ublic' !owers which differ in this from those which constitute !rivate ownershi!, in that the former are, in the main, not beneficial <that is, to the !ossessors themselves= and indiscnminate but fiduciary, and limited in their exercise to such acts as are conducive to the s!ecial !ur!oses of !ublic benefit and security# FJ# A+he 1ords s!iritual and tem!oral' <!# DJ= Awhich', says our Author, Ais an aristocratical assembly of !ersons selected for their !iety, their birth, their wisdom, their valour, or their !ro!erty' 0 have distributed, 0 think, these endowments, as our Author could not but intend they should be distributed# irth, to such of the members of that assembly as have their seat in it by descent' and, as to those who may chance from time to time to sit there by creation, wisdom, valour, and !ro!erty in common among the tem!oral !eers; and !iety, singly but entirely, among my 1ords the isho!s# As to the other three endowments, if there were any of them to which these right reverend !ersons could lay any decent claim, it would be wisdom' but since worldly wisdom is what it would be an ill

com!liment to attribute to them, and the wisdom which is from above is fairly included under !iety, 0 conclude that, when secured in the exclusive !ossession of this grand virtue, they have all that was intended them# +here is a remarkable !eriod in our history, at which, measuring by our Author's scale, these three virtues seem to have been at the boiling !oint# 0t was in .ueen Anne's reign, not long after the time of the hard frost# 0 mean in the year >F>># 0n that aus!icious year, these three virtues issued forth, it seems, with such exuberance, as to furnish merit enough to stock no fewer than a do9en res!ectable !ersons, who, u!on the strength of it, were all made arons in a day: /nha!!ily indeed, so little read was a right reverend and contem!orary historian,P -ee isho! urnet's @istory of his own +imes# 4ol# ?#Q in our Author's method of Adiscerning of s!irits,' as to fancy, it was neither more nor less than the necessity of making a majority that introduced so large a body of new members thus suddenly into the house# ut 0 leave it to those who are read in the history of that time, to judge of the ground there can be for so romantic an imagination# As to !iety, the !eculiar endowment of the mitre, the stock there is of that virtue, should, to judge by the like standard, be, at all times, !retty much u!on a level' at all times, without "uestion, at a maximum# +his is what we can make the less doubt of, since, with regard to ecclesiastical matters, in general, our Author, as in another !lace he assures us, has had the ha!!iness to find, that Aevery thing is as it should be#'P4ol# C# 3ha!# iv# !#CI#Q F># !# DJ F?# 4# su!ra, !ar# I# FB# ,very body has heard the story of him who, from a fisherman, was made Archbisho!, and then 5o!e# ;hile Archbisho!, it was his custom every day, after dinner, to have a fishing net s!read u!on his table, by way of a memento, as he used to say, of the meanness of his original# +his farcical ostentation of humility was what, in those days, contributed not a little to the increase of his re!utation# -oon after his exaltation to -t 5eter's chair, one of his intimates was taking notice to him, one day, when dinner was over, of the table's not being decked as usual# A5eace', answered the @oly Father, Awhen the fish is caught, there is no occasion for the net#' FC# 0n the @ouse of 3ommons itself, is it by the o!ulent and inde!endent 3ountry gentlemen that the chief business of the @ouse is transacted, or by as!iring, and !erha!s needy 3ourtiers: +he man who would !ersevere in the toil of Government, without any other reward than the favour of the !eo!le, is certainly the man for the !eo!le to make choice of# ut such men are at best but rare# ;ere it not for those children of 3orru!tion we have been s!eaking of, the business of the state, 0 doubt, would stagnate# FD# 0t is what he says of +heology with res!ect to the -ciences4# Augm# -cient# 1# 4000# c# 000, !# IF# FE# 4# su!ra# FF# ;hich is done without any sort of ceremony, the "uantities marked in the ste! with the negative sign, being as so many fluents, which are at a maximum, or a minimum, just as ha!!ens to be most convenient# FH# 4# su!ra, !ar# F# FI# )ne thing in the !aragra!h we are considering is observable; it is the concluding sentence, in which he brings together the ideas of law and will# @ere then, in the tail of a digression, becomes nearer in fact, though without being aware of it, to the giving a just and !recise idea of a law, than in any !art of the definition itself from whence he is digressing# 0f, instead of saying that a law is a will, he had called it the ex!ression of a will, and that sort of ex!ression of a will which goes by the name of a command, his definition would, so far as this goes, have been clear as well as right# As it is, it is neither the one nor the other# ut of this more, if at all, in another !lace# +he definition of law is a matter of too much nicety and im!ortance to be dis!atched in a note# HJ# 0 3omm# !#CF# H># > 3omm# !# CH, su!ra, ch# 00# !ar# >># H?# Another !assage or two there is which might seem to glance the same way' but these 0 !ass over as less material, after those which we have seen# HB# 0 3omm# !#C?# HC# 0t is that of murder# 0n the word here chosen there lurks a fallacy which makes the !ro!osition the more dangerous as it is the more !lausible# 0t is too im!ortant to be altogether !ast over' at the same time that a slight hint of it, in this !lace, is all that can be given# (urder is killing under certain

circumstances#0s the human law then to be allowed to define, in dernier resort, what shall be those circumstances, or is it not: 0f yes, the case of a Ahuman law allowing or enjoining us to commit it,' is a case that is not so much as su!!osable' if no, adieu to all human laws' to the fire with our -tatutes at large, our $e!orts, our 0nstitutes, and all that we have hitherto been used to call our law books; our law books, the only law books we can be safe in trusting to, are 5uffendorf and the ible# HD# According to our Author, indeed, it should be to no !ur!ose to make any se!arate mention of the two laws; since the 8ivine 1aw, he tells us, is but Aa !art of' that of *ature#P> 3omm# !#C?#Q )f conse"uence, with res!ect to that !art, at least, which is common to both, to be contrary to the one, is, of course, to be contrary to the other# HE# +his is what there would be occasion to shew more at large in examining some former !arts of this section# HF# 3h# 0# HH# -ee 3h# 4# !ar# F# HI# +his res!ects the case where one state has, u!on terms, submitted itself to the government of another' or where the governing bodies of a number of states agree to take directions in certain s!ecified cases, from some body or other that is distinct from all of them' consisting of members, for instance, a!!ointed out of each# IJ# *otwithstanding what has been said, it would be in vain to dissemble, but that, u!on occasion, an a!!eal of this sort may very well answer, and has, indeed, in general, a tendency to answer, in some sort, the !ur!oses of those who es!ouse, or !rofess to es!ouse, the interests of the !eo!le# A !ublic and authori9ed debate on the !ro!riety of the law is by this means brought on# +he artillery of the tongue is !layed off against the law, under cover of the law itself# An o!!ortunity is gained of im!ressing sentiments unfavourable to it, u!on a numerous and attentive audience# As to any other effects from such an a!!eal, let us believe that in the instances in which we have seen it made, it is the certainty of miscarriage that has been the encouragement to the attem!t# I># 4# su!ra, !ar# ?E# I?# 4# su!ra, ch# ># !ar# >B# IB# 4# su!ra, !ar# ??# IC# 0n Great ritain, for instance, su!!ose it were deemed necessary to make an alteration in the Act of /nion# 0f in an article sti!ulated in favour of ,ngland, there need be no difficulty; so that there were a majority for the alteration among the ,nglish members, without reckoning the -cotch# +he only difficulty would be with res!ect to an article sti!ulated in favour of -cotland; on account, to wit, of the small number of the -cotch members, in com!arison with the ,nglish# 0n such a case, it would be highly ex!edient, to say no more, for the sake of !reserving the !ublic faith, and to avoid irritating the body of the nation, to take some method for making the establishment of the new law, de!end u!on their sentiments# )ne such method might be as follows# 1et the new law in "uestion be enacted in the common form# ut let its commencement be deferred to a distant !eriod, su!!ose a year or two' let it then, at the end of that !eriod, be in force, unless !etitioned against, by !ersons of such a descri!tion, and in such a number as might be su!!osed fairly to re!resent the sentiments of the !eo!le in general' !ersons, for instance, of the descri!tion of those who at the time of the /nion, constituted the body of electors# +o !ut the validity of the law out of dis!ute, it would he necessary the fact u!on which it was made ultimately to de!end, should be in its nature too notorious to be controverted# +o determine therefore, whether the conditions u!on which the invalidation of it was made to de!end, had been com!lied with, is what must be left to the sim!le declaration of some !erson or !ersons; for instance the King# 0 offer this only as a general idea' and as one amongst many that !erha!s might be offered in the same view# 0t will not he ex!ected that 0 should here answer objections, or enter into details# ID# 0 3omm# !#CI# IE# ;ith this note let no man trouble himself who is not used, or does not intend to use himself, to what are called meta!hysical s!eculations' in whose estimation the benefit of understanding clearly what he is s!eaking of, is not worth the labour# ># +hat may be said to be my duty to do <understand !olitical duty= which you <or

some other !erson or !ersons= have a right to have me made to do# 0 then have a 8/+6 towards you' you have a $0G@+ as against me# ?# ;hat you have a right to have me made to do <understand a !olitical right= is that which 0 am liable, according to law, u!on a re"uisition made on your behalf, to be !unished for not doing# B# 0 say !unished' for without the notion of !unishment <that is of !ain annexed to an act, and accruing on a certain account, and from a certain source= no notion can we have of either right or duty# C# *ow the idea belonging to the word !ain is a sim!le one# +o define or rather <to s!eak more generally= to ex!ound a word, is to resolve, or to make a !rogress towards resolving, the idea belonging to it into sim!le ones# D# For ex!ounding the words duty, right, !ower, title, and those other terms of the same stam! that abound so much in ethics and juris!rudence, either 0 am much deceived, or the only method by which any instruction can be conveyed, is that which is here exem!lified# An ex!osition framed after this method 0 would term !ara!hrasis# E# A word may be said to be ex!ounded by !ara!hrasis, when not that word alone is translated into other words, but some whole sentence of which it forms a !art is translated into another sentence, the words of which latter are ex!ressive of such ideas as are sim!le, or are more immediately resolvable into sim!le ones than those of the former# -uch are those ex!ressive of substances and sim!le mocks, in res!ect of such abstract terms as are ex!ressive of what 1ocke has called mixed modes# +his, in short, is the only method in which any abstract terms can, at the long run, be ex!ounded to any instructive !ur!ose' that is in terms calculated to raise images either of substances !erceived, or of emotions;sources, one or other of which every idea must be drawn from, to be a clear one# F# +he common method of definingthe method per genus et differentiam, as logicians call it, will, in many cases, not at all answer the !ur!ose# Among abstract terms we soon come to such as have no su!erior genus# A definition, per genus et differentiam, when a!!lied to these, it is manifest, can make no advance' it must either sto! short, or turn back, as it were, u!on itself, in a circulate or a re!etend# H# AFortitude is a virtue;'4ery well'but what is a virtue: AA virtue is a dis!osition''Good again'but what is a dis!osition: AA dis!osition is a## #;A and there we sto!# +he fact is, a dis!osition has no su!erior genus' a dis!osition is not a####, any thing'this is not the way to give us any notion of what is meant by it# AA !ower,' again Ais a right#' and what is a right: 0t is a !owerAn estate is an interest, says our Author somewhere; where he begins defining an well might he have said an interest was an estate# As well, in short, were it to define in this manner, a conjunction or a !re!osition# As well were it to

say of the !re!osition through, or the conjunction because; a through is a ###, or a because is a and so go on defining them# I# )f this stam!, by the bye, are some of his most fundamental definitions' of conse"uence they must leave the reader where they found him# ut of this, !erha!s, more fully, and methodically on some future occasion# 0n the meantime 0 have thrown out these loose hints for the consideration of the curious# IF# ># )ne may conceive three sorts of duties' !olitical, moral, and religious; corres!ondent to the three sorts of sanctious by which they are enforced' or the same !oint of conduct may be a man's duty on these three several accounts# After s!eaking of the one of these to !ut the change u!on the reader, and without warning begin s!eaking of another, or not to let it be seen from the first which of them one is s!eaking of, cannot but be !roductive of confusion# ?# 5olitical duty is created by !unishment; or at least by the will of !ersons who have !unishment in their hands; !ersons stated and certain,!olitical su!eriors# B# $eligious duty is also created by !unishment' by !unishment ex!ected at the hands of a !erson certain,the -u!reme eing# C# (oral duty is created by a kind of motive, which from the uncertainty of the !ersons to a!!ly it, and of the s!ecies and agree in which it will be a!!lied, has hardly yet got the name of !unishment' by various mortifications resulting from the ill7will of !ersons uncertain and variable,the community in general' that is, such individuals of that community as he, whose duty is in "uestion, shall ha!!en to be connected with# D# ;hen in any of these three senses a man asserts a !oint of conduct to be a duty, what he asserts is the existence, actual or !robable, of an external event' vi9, of a !unishment issuing from one or other of these sources in conse"uence of a contravention of the duty' an event extrinsic to, and distinct from, as well the conduct of the !arty s!oken of, as the sentiment of him who s!eaks# 0f he !ersists in asserting into be a duty, but without meaning it should be understood that it is on any one of these three accounts that he looks u!on it as such; all he then asserts is his own internal sentiment' all he means then is, that he feels himself !leased or dis!leased at the thoughts of the !oint of conduct in "uestion, but without being able to tell why# 0n this case he should e'en say so' and not seek to give an undue influence to his own single suffrage, by delivering it in terms that !ur!ort to declare the voice either of God, or of the law, or of the !eo!le# E# *ow which of all these senses of the word our Author had in mind; in which of them all he meant to assert that it was the duty of su!reme governors to make laws, 0 know not# 5olitical duty is what they cannot be subject to' and to say that a duty even of the moral or religious kind to this effect is incumbent on them, seems rather a !reci!itate assertion# 0n truth what he meant was neither more nor less, 0 su!!ose, than that he should be glad to see them do what he is s!eaking of; to wit, Amake laws'' that is, as he ex!lains himself, s!read abroad the knowledge of them# ;ould he so: -o indeed should 0; and if asked why, what answer our Author would give 0 know not; but 0, for my !art, have no difficulty# 0 answer,because 0 am !ersuaded that it is for the benefit of the community that they <its governors= should do so# +his would be enough to warrant me in my own o!inion for saying that they ought to do it# For all this, 0 should not at any rate say that it was their duty in a!olitical sense# *o more should 0 venture to say it was in a moral or religious sense, till 0 were satisfied whether they themselves thought the measures useful and feasible, and whether they were generally su!!osed to think so# ;ere 0 satisfied that they themselves thought so, God then, 0 might say, knows they do# God, we are to su!!ose, will !unish them if they neglect !ursuing it# 0t is then their religious duty# ;ere 0 satisfied that the !eo!le su!!osed they thought so' the !eo!le, 0 might say, in case of such neglect,the !eo!le, by various manifestations of its ill7will, will also !unish them# 0t is then their moral duty#

0n any of these senses it must be observed, there can be no more !ro!riety in averring it to be the duty of the su!reme !ower to !ursue the measure in "uestion, than in averring it to be their duty to !ursue any other su!!osable measure e"ually beneficial to the community# +o# usher in the !ro!osal of a measure in this !erem!tory and assuming guise, may be !ardonable in a loose rhetorical harangue, but can never be justifiable in an exact didactic com!osition# (odes of !rivate moral conduct there are indeed many, the tendency whereof is so well known and so generally acknowledged, that the observance of them may well be stiled a duty# ut to a!!ly the same term to the !articular details of legislative conduct, es!ecially newly !ro!osed ones, is going, 0 think, too far, and tends only to confusion# IH# 0 mean for what they do, or omit to do, when acting in a body' in that body in which, when acting, they are su!reme# ecause for any thing any of them do se!arately, or acting in bodies that are subordinate, they may any of them be !unished without any dis!aragement to their su!remacy# *ot only any may be, but many are' it is what we see exam!les of every day# II# 4# su!ra, ch# 00# !ar# >>, ch# 000# !ar# F, ch# 04# !ar# >J# >JJ# @ad 0 seen in those days what even body has seen since, instead of indolence 0 should have !ut corru!tion#