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Wi" a/nea:
^ Difcourfe ;
Wherein is examined,
What is particularly lan>fu
ring the Confufions and Reyo
lutiops of GOFERNMMNT.
OR,
Howfarre a man may lawfully con*
forme to the Powers and Commands of thofe who with various fuccelTes hold Kingdomes
divided by Civill or torrelgnc Warres, Whether it be,
f I . In faying Taxes. i J 2. In Ferfonallfervice.
l*i In takjng Oaths. . -**
< 1 In a mans giving himfelfe up to a find Alle- giance, in cafe the warre end to the advantage of the unjufi Power or Party.
' Whether the Nature ©f Warre be incontinent witft
s the Nature of the Chriftiau Religion ?
Three Parts : By Kjint : <~4$MWy Gent.
LONDON,
Printed, AnnoDom: 1648 *•
Preface to the R E AD E R-
F I might have enjoyed St \*j£u- gufttnes wi(Ti, and have feen^ Rome in us glory* it fhould have been only to have heard the great Kings of the world like private perions (Eifeptfitis fceptris) examindand plead, ^ & contract the Senate-barrel about the due administration of their Royall fun&ions.
For there was a true fbveraigne jt3risdi&i0n4 and to be admired, if the Senate it felfe had been free from mifgovernaients3depopulatio is, and ufurpation. But as the overboyling of their ambition flied it felfe over the whole earth, i[
I
the fighs and groanes of Eaft and Weft met
and eccho'd perpetually betwixt their wa!s :
A"»dif it had been likewife poflible, that all
0i'«)ttd which by their Commiffions was
r/ne from the fides of mankinde3could have
net at Rome, the fource was capacious enough to have made a River pafle before their Senate- doore, as big as their Tiber : Thus they com'- mere'e with the people 5 but Ctfar afterwards Dy a Commiffion derived from himfelfe, made the people all the world over, and the Senate likewife pay tribute to him •> For which he re- paid againe no lefle then his owne life as a tri- bute due to them. Here therefore I fhall be fo bold, in the Peoples behalfeefpecially, as to ex- amine both Cdfdr and the Senate; that is,I fhall lay the faffs of fupremeft powers to the rules q{ rights and not their fa&s only, but our mm al(b, as we are all moved, or rather hurried by their rapid motions. The originall and inhe- rent rights of the (bciety of mankinde is that which I here fearch after, not thofe rights of this or that Countrey (of which there is no de- termined end, no not betwixt the Lawyers of any one dominion) 5 that fo finding out, and afterwards holding to our owne native tights as men , we may be fure we doe others no wrong as SubjeSis , be it either in afting with them, or
litlenting from them.
Though I know the ftory of this age to be lad enough for aur fence and fuffering, yet no^ bad enough forthefedifcourfes, nor in any d^l gree fo calamitous as that of our forefatf under the difputes of the Red and white Rofes* There I fee true confufions and revolutions in Government 5 the fame men invading one ano- ther,now for this party,by and by for the other, and after that for a third, and an avowing of right in all • the confeiences only of thofe men we cannot fee > but to judge of them aright, I ftiall in thefe difcourfes change the Scene, and put ourfelves into their places. This we know by Proverbe,,that he who is afraid of leaves ought not to goe into a Forreft : fo ought not we into any a&ion, if we fcruple at the Ieaft circumftance ; For by Cdfars favour (who was farre from the complexion of a boglingCa- fuift ) Satin eft caver e femper^quam perire femel. I conceive that they who were not the firft mo- vers of thofe calamitous confufions, but were afterwards by j ftrid necefliry involv'd in them, had a larger liberty and right then ordi- narily any party would allow them,which ever fayes, That in all things we may inconfeience ad only one way. Wherefore I have made it mytaske to fhew in the two firft parts, how fbme confeiences in thofe tempeftuous times, like our Albion rocks,might on every fide have
refiftf ' c
refitted the waves they were beaten with, yet have been never the blacker. 4 1 The Chynaifts remedies Sirring the fpirits Oi%a dying body all at once, make a fudden r/ec©very of the patient, yetbecaufe they fpend - themfelves without a fuppiy, thofe remedies difpofe the body to as fudden a death : Thus the lamp which is c@nfuming its laft drop, . burnes brighteft, yet goes out fuddenly like <, lightning * Such cures as thofe what valuable effeft doe they produce ? In like manner,what advantage is it to have dedec'd out of the for- mer parts, a Morall and Civill Latitude for the defence of our perfons and fortunes, if Chriftianity diOtrme us totally ? This were by vertueof the firft parts to feeketo preferveour lives a little, but prefently after to dye a worfe death by the laft,in which it is examined, Whe- ther the filature of all Wane he wconfiflent with the Nature ef the chrijlia* Religion ? as Erafmut in his querela facis & Schiittingius contra, LMeif- mrum^ and other Socinians, would pofitively perfwadeus.
The magnificenteft triumphs did certainly by a reflexion reprefent to fome eyes nothing but horror : becaufe they were a 1 waves propor- tioned to the extent of defolations brought on K thofe who had the f oules and faces of men. But [^policy hath need of all its ftratagems to con-
* found
found the judgement of a fbuldier, by excefKve praifes,recompences and triumphs j that fo tli£ opinion of wounds and ofwoodden Ieggs,m raife in him a greater efteeme of himielfe,^Ctt if he had an intire body, To allure others,, (bmething alfo muft be found out to cover wounds and the afrightments of death hand- fomely -3 and without this, a C&far in his Tri- umph, with all his Garlands and Mufick would looke but like a Vi&ime. But what forrow of heart is it to fee paffionate man, a raye of Divi- nity, and the joy of Angels, fcourg'd thus with his owg£ fcorpions ? and fo fondly to give him- felfe alarums in the midft: of his innocent con- tentments, as they did who were in the midft of their recreations in the Theatre of Tarentum. The cholerickneffe of war (whereby the luftfull heate of fo many hearts is redoubled) ftirres up tthe lees of a Common- wealth, as a tempeft doth weeds and (limy fedement from the bot- tome to the top of , the Sea, which afterwards driven to the (hare, together with its foame, there covers pearles and precious ftones. Wherefore here likewife I mall endeavour to fhew how we may weather out fuch ftormes, and in the midft of fo many fwords find an in- culp4ta tuuU^ which may with as little contra- diction pafle through moftopp9fitions>asC!e- mency may through moft punifhments.Whcn
Car- c
^Carthage was befieged, there was ufe even of , jraens haire to make ropes for engines : I
ok*w * doe not contribute much ftrength t@ * ueie difficulties, neither conceive I my lelfe a
"Pilot dexterous enough for fiich a Sea. All that I can hope for in thefe difcourfes (Reader) is, that my efcapes or faults, like thofe which are found in the cuts of Diamonds, will paffe the eafilier undifcerned under the richnefle of their fubjeft-matter, or at leaft under the richnes of yourgoodnes.
The
mbhm mm&mm minm
mmB'nmmnm nmim
THE CONTENTS
OB
The firft Part :
Wherein is generally examined,
In what things^ and how farre a
man may lawfully conformc to the power and Commands of thofe
vvhoholdaKingdome divided by Civil! Warre.
t Ch a p. I.
The hiftoncall occafion3 and flare of thequeftion.
§ I . The cafes of right therefore hvdto refolve. 2. Theptafom wherefore men deurmtnemteafift
A the
Caw eafesofGiviBwarre*
f omhf * w^'J Sovtraigne Allegiance to him/elf
4, * ^. ,*wr* can be made without the extrcife of an abfolute power for the time dwiog.
5 . Abfoluteneffe of power wherein it conftfis.
CHAP. II. What is requisite to make a thing lawful! ?
§ 1 . The variety and contrariety of humane ani- ons, whence.
2. The difficulty of finding what is lawfuU.
3 . Humane Laws whence, and wherefore the Laws of Nature are above ours.
4. No man naturally mote a Judge then another of Natures Lawes.
5. Natures Lawes are for inward goodneffe and vertue.and fate Laws for quiet andrepofe*
CHAP. III. Of what things we have a lawfull right todilpofe : Or what our originall
rights
rights in them may be befote fatto do difpoic o£ them. 11 1
44*
§i«, Concerning our natural! flares wthe earthy
and whence came the Community of things at the
beginning* % . Whence the [efarati enjoyment of rights infre*
fent. 3* Concerning the right which men had tofei&eon
what they would at the beginning*
4. Of Pojfefiion and its originall right , and of Planters tu vacancies .
5. Of the Conditions of plantations ^ni bffacan- cies>.
6. The natural right of making loft Wils and Te- Jlaments of what wt fofeffe tn our lives.
CHAP. IV- Whether thfc Property which we have in our Goods fwaliows up all right*
$ 1 . He who hath nothing by humane pofitive Lawy may yetfeeke his means of fubfiflence by the La- l ofNjtm.
A i 2 Whin
? %$*(&*'< o*t rnan m*J naturally have wore then
^Oti/r .
r ^Whence it is that there was at the heginning^and Tisftill) a Tacitc-condition of 're-a fuming our ^ OnginaU Rights in cafe of extreame or natural neceptyfor a natural Community*
4. Of Chrtftian Community 9
5 . Whether that which is Gods here> lyes under the fame exceptions of our neceftties^ that our fro- ferties doe ?
CHAP. V.
Concerning the Parties (juft or unjuft) which by the variety of fucceffe in Civill Warre command us and our fubfiftence, and reduce us to thefe ex- treme necefsities.
Whether for a juftifiable obedience to
them, it be neceffary for us to aflure
ourfelves, that thole Parties have a
juftifiable caufe of Warre, or right to
; command us?
§ i. Wherefore difficult for m to a$urt our con- sciences in the pints of right. * .
2. Whether Prefcriftion make aright . *
3 . A caufe of Wane depending an i « jtti^y * . > w* a cert dine &ay of confirming m tb'a we >n - fuffyokey.
4. Wane for dominion and for foffepon.
CHAP. VI. To allure our conferences of a Iuftifia- ble obedience during the confufions or revolutions of Warre,it is beft and enough for us to co^id^x^Whether the intading Party (juftorunjuft) baDetu or the means of our fubfiftenee in their poffefiion or no.
§1. Princes themfches 3 netwithjlanding their fworne Leagues one with another, ground their obligations on the tacit e condition of their f of* pftng what they had when they [wore.
A?
ie
%
1
HE CONTENTS
O F
The fecond Part.
Wherein is examined:
WHET H ER,
i. A man rpay lawfully pay Duties or Taxes to an ufarping or unjuft Party?
2. Or whether he may lawfully ferve fuch aPartyperfonally ?
3. Or whether he may lawfully fwear fidelitie to fuch a Party* during the Warre ?
4. Or whether he may lawfully fwear a finall Allegiance and fubjedtion to *r ik. party after the Warre ?
Chap.
CHAP. I.
Whether a man may lawfully an^vith a good confidence pay Taxes to an ufurping or aa unjuft party during the Warre.
§i. What was meant by paying Tribute to Cae-
far?
2 . In tt hat cafe a man at the beginning of a Warre may contribute to it |l hough hefndsmt itscaufe g&od.
3. 7 he manner of aLevie.
4. We cannot properly firuple at that which is out
of our power.
5. Of the condition of theft who live upon Fron- tiers.
6. What liberty have we, when the right Gover- nor declares ,that bee will not have us pay any thing to the invading party . Likewise, whether any Law but that which derives immediately from God doth indi [pence ably oblige the cenft-
ence ?
0*4
p.
chap.il
Whether we may lawfully fervc an un- j aft Party in our Perfons or no ?
CHAP. Ill
Whether wee may lawfully take new Oaths for the intereft of the unjuft Party, efpecially after former Oaths of Allegiance t© an other Party ?
S. What an Oath is.
2. The matter of the Oaths here mentioned is the fame with thai of a Fromife, Of Affertory and Promiffory Oaths, v^i 'fi Contracts andOtfhes^ though in abfolatetermes^ havtfome tacite con- s' :§ns adhering to them^ and fo are mutable.
'hether alt Oat he $ be new unlaw full? Two caps ncerningthe qualities of the f er [on s giving Oaths.
3 . The caps wherein the matter of a Promt fe and f cur forts of Oaths doe agree.
& otters of : Vert ue and Piety. % JibiUtics.
6Jn
6. In transferring a right on him who wiU receive it : Whence difpenfationsarife.
7. Inthings whereof we have infaUihk certainty.
8. Concerning a mans fiotaring that Juch or fuck opinions are true.
9. Of oaths made to Pjrats andTyrants.
CHAP. IV.
In whofe fenfe is an oath to bde taken and kept, either in the givers or ta- kers fenfe.
CHAP. V. Of the Obligation of Words.
CHAP. VI.
Concerning thofe Oaths which pafle betwixt Prince and Prince.
: : . ■■ P
CHAP. VII.
^onctxfiing Princes Oaths to the Peo- ple, and of Coronation Oaths.
§ I. Hm Primes thinking to keep thofe Oathes] Wdy&reakethem,
2. OfState-Otihs.
3. The Oaths and St at clefts of Communities in Jgespafl, aretheatts of the prefect Communi- ties ^ if there were no intervening fundament all Change.
4. How 4 man mayjufily change his will.
5 . In whdt fence Communities change not.
CHAP. VIII.
Concerning fubje&s Oathcs to their Princes*
1 . Wherfore dangerous to examinefupreme rights f
2. Qf Monarchy 5 ^driftocracy, and Democracy. h7$[ort of Government which can give always 1 \ttrtmt remedy for an inconvenience of fate.
l.Why
u Why fome Countries more inclined gtog 'tally to one particular fort of g&vernmenf*
to another.
4.. Wherefore we are ahfedfi n$uch tn dijtrmQ luflieef Rewards andPunlfhmnts) as alfotO , fleafores of fen fetiches avdfonourjor the etjoj-^ mtms whereof we Jo vainly torment our f elves 9
5 . Of the power of dominion^ and the right ofex- trctfwgit ffecifrca&y in this or thtfe hands.
6. Foure cafes wherein frbje&s are freed from for- mer Allegiance.
7. How a man may take an oath from an unjuft in- ' vading party .contrary to tbofe oaths which per- haps ^ tookefirftfrom the juflf Arty, who pofi-
. bly hake no conditions with him.
8 . Some Kingdomes for the Prince alone and his be- nefit.
p. Of the Harmony of Oaths.
I o . Txvi wayes of taking oppo(tte Oaths.
I I • Of the presumptive will of the Prince.
1 2 \ Of the conditions of thofe Oatbs whereby we- are fworne to lofc our lives for our Prince*
17. In what fenfc'ntijy a manfweare that he bath the right, whom he knowes ts in the wrong ? Of fuffcription in the church of England.
14. Why Penalties bitter ferities for Princes Rights then Oaths.
ChaP,
Chap. IXJ
Conaethcr upon the iflueof a wat? and
plchc expulfion of ajuft party a man
; may lawfully give himfelf up to the
finall Allege ance of the unjuft party
or no?
S I. The troubles of Wane endnotprefently with the Wane.
2. Wherefore a ftritlgoverment is necejfary for thofe who conquer in a CiviR Wane.
3. Wherefore wee cannot fir ear e to obey none But fuch or fuch Govcrnours.
q. When may a man judge fuch a party or place to Be conquered?
5- What conquefior acqmfition can never Bejuftu
fed.
6. 0/Ferdinand King o/Naples his Cefton. 7% Oft he Society of mankinde. 8. The cafe of f laces taken on Frontiers.
The
THE CONTENTS
OF
The third Part.
Wherein it is examined,
WHETHER
The nature of Warre be inconfiftent with the nature of the Chriftian Re/ ligion ?
OR,
Whether fome Warre may not now be lawfull in the ftate of the Gofpcll J
CHAP. I.
%\.Thi description of Wat".
2. Bellumquaredicitur a belluis.
3 . Whrt it is to beu»\u^ vr unl«fvf«H*
4. Society twofold.
Chap
Chap. Ii;
9.^hcthcrillWarrc be ualawfull inor-
* dcr to the Lawes of nature ? th
M " '
§. i Vfenwhm meters lawfuiWarre is groun- ded.
2, What things are squivakmto life,
3 . Three conditions fr*requi(ite to a jnft Warre, 4« How Innocents may be. innocently flaine.
5» Wherein Gods Dominion twerweonjijls.
6. Concerning Gods decoying of Innocents.
7. Concerning Abrahams £r«3rm.
8. All cafes of Warn not written with the Ifrae- lites Mditia.
Chap, III.
Whether all Warre be unlawfull by the Law of the Golpell ?
§. x. The Law of Nature horv farrow Alter able.
Why difficult U find out what the Law of 2{*-
tureu. 3. Captattlfifiiceftill lawfully
3. How
3» ttewthe\M4giftrate carries not the fwordt^ want.
4. -7 he durAnce of the judicial Lawjn Judaea^/V Jerfcfalera was dtBroyed.
5 . The IudkiaB law not yet Wal/y abolifbt. tm Whether they who have committed $ngk\
and without violence ought tofuffer death?*®*- mofip*niJhakU,Amltcryjrfimpte theft f
7. Of the pure Utetnarchits.
8. Thonecefitj $f^M4gip4€j. Whether Mt?l- jtwyfkoutdhave kenj hough man hadmifdn> T^onefofit to be 4 Magistrate as 4 Chriflian.
Ch ap. IV. Objections and Aniwers.
jfc$i< The Chriftian Religion why not revealed al- together by our Saviour,
2. Of ChrtftsandWLoyfcs his Lawesfa order to the caufe and the sffeti of finne. Of loving our Enemies.
3. Of the lews Enemies . Of unequal! love.
4. Of Retaliation, and of *an eye for an eye. Pub- lique vindication offome private injuries not unlawful by the Law $fthe Cofpel.
5. Why the private retaliation offome blowes un- \us~t% How clemency and fttnijhment go congru-
oujly
tnfly together. J?# What Revenge is*
yS Our dijpojitions to Enmity and Amity. The convenience of our being borne impotent. Whj there are more Enmities then Vnions. Why M.eligion proper to make more Vnions then En- mities. 8. Whether eye for eye he equitable. p. Concerning killing for Religion, and why wee may more peremptorily flay men now for CiviS then for Religions caufes, CiviB rights eafily knowne. io. Qftbt repentance of UltalefaBors.
1 1 . Concerning Peters fheathing hitfwerd.
12. The Conelufion, perfwading not without ex- treme necepty tomakeufc of the naked (word.
The
The firft Part:
Wherein is examined in what
things? and how farrc a man may
lawfully conform to the power and commands of thole who hold a Kingdome divided by Ci- vil l Warrc.
Chap. I. The hiftoiicall occafion and ftate of thequeftion.
S.i. The cafes of fight wherefore hard to refolve. a. The reafons wherefore men deter mine note a ftlj
the cafes of Civ ill warrc. 3% Of each mans Soveraigve Allegiance to himfelf,
4, Nowarre canjke made without thecxercife of an ab folate power for the time during.
5. ^yibfofateneffe of power wherein it c on fiBs.
Here can beonely three confident ions of the ftate of Warre.
Firft, In its beginning ; Secondlyjn its continuance, which is mod properly its ftate 5 And Thirdly, i» its end 1 from thefc arile rtwec Qgeftions, B Firft,
m
Firft, What may be the Griginall and Justifiable caafes ©f a mans forming a party in the beginning of a Warre?
Secondly, How farrea man may lawfully fubmit .©, and obey oppofite parti assuring the confiifions of Warre a&ually formed and introduced ?
Thirdly, What maybe lawfullfora man to fub- mit to upon the iffue of a Warre, which may end to the advantage of him who by unjuft force hathpof- feft himfclfe of another* right?
Thefe two latter fall into the compafle of thisdif- courfe. The firft is a Queftion apart , to which though much may be faid , yet I hold not the knpw- ledge of it fo neeeffary for thofr who are the Achivi, and of the rank of the people to whom I now (peak. Thefeare the Anvill on which all forts of Hammers difcharge themf elves ; they feidomeor never begin a Warre, but are all coscern'd in it after it is begun ; Befides, the difficulties of it are not fo great as of thefe two latter, for the people feldome know the fe- cret caufes of the beginning of a Warre, ( which if known would quickly take away doublings) and which is worfe they muft come into it afterwards, though they would not have any at all. Many things will be proved lawfull for men to doe in the ftate and winding up of a Warre, introdu&'d by others, which would not have been fo for them in its beginning : fo that though by accident they may begin to put them/elves into fucha Warre, yet they cannot be laid to begin the Warre, or aflift to its beginning. Laftlyr that Queftion grows not naturally out of the Hiftori- cail ground and occafioa ef this Treatife, asprefently will appeare. O r Confciences more then our capacities fiiould
put
(3)
put us upon Ithe fearch of tbefe two Capitall difficul- ties, that f© if occafion feould be we mig*ht the ftea- dilier ftand thofe {heights and blows of fortune to which humane condition lies open, in the Revoladoa and confufion of Governments.
Oar forefathers above one hundred years agoe wen} above twenty years in examining the fecond quefti©n, and about four years in the third. Henry the Sixth being by force of Warre depofed (after foiernn Oaths of Allegiance, both of Parliaments and people) to make way for Edward the Fourth ; who again, after the like Oaths and Allegiance engaged to him, was as folemnly, and by the fame fate of the fword de- pofed for Henry the Sixth's righr9who after nine years imprifonment was rc-crowned, and after fix months Raigne was again forcibly depofed for Edward the Fourth, and ftabb'd by his Brother Richard Duke of Glome fier^ together with Prince Edward King Hen- ry's Sonne, upon his retarne from Trance for his Fa- thers relief e. Thofe two Kings, like the gods which the Romanes took in their Enemies Countries, were fometimes led in triumph, and fometimes adored. But that which was fome what blacker then all this, was the Duke of Glottceftcrs murthring bis two Ne- phews, the young King and his Brother, Mdnit e- nimrafere imferium qttdm exfeTtare. Yet notwith- ftaading, particular men (according to the calami- ty of thsfe times) were by Oathes and Allegiance forc'tto fubmittothis Injufticej which after ano- ther bloudy Warre had it* change, and after 24 years confufions and revolutions ended peaceably in the perfonof Henry they Seventh.
Here wee fee what thofe Confcicnces con- form'd unio in point of Facl: , which -tfu^V
Firft,
(4)
receives its motives from intereft or feare, the naked fword permitting no nicenejfe of obedience.
§. i . But neither then nor fince hath it been de- clar'd unto us what in fuch cafes is lawfall to doe in matter of right : Every prefent power, whether e- ftablifht or ftrugling to be eftablifht, having this inte- reft, that they who de fatto are under their power, fhould not during that time prefume to queftion theic Right ; It being fomekjnde of V& or y already gained, to have gaind the refute of the better cattfe.
§.2. Many other queftioas hang upon thefe, which are all the difficuker becaufe the fubje& of them, which is Civill Warre, confifts in confnfion, in which the minds of men are floting and divided, ac- cording to the variety of fucceffes & divisions which Armies make in the places where they and their whole fubfiftence are fallen into their pofleflion.
§. j. And let men argue at as much eafeas they pleafe, yet it is certaine, that no man is of fuch a cap- tivated Allegiance, as by reafon of it to engage him- felfe to a party, believing upon the engagement that he fliall be certainly deftroyed in it. There is nothing in the skin fas they fay) which will not doe itsbeft to fave it : And hee muft be a rare Example who makes not his laft refolution for his owne life, or fub- fiftence, which is equivalent to life ; And therefore the valiant eft and moft ftridly obli'g'd Troopes ftick not to aske quarter, when they cannot defend them- f elves any longer,and are juftiiied for it, even by thole for whom they (wore to die.
Our Savi©ur (peaks of a time when a man will fell all he hath for a fword : And we read of thofc who a long time ador'd and kill; a GoddefTe faftned to an Oke in a Grove ; but when that Tree was ready to
fall
(5)
fall, no one would c©mc within the fhadow of het
ftatue. And as it is natural! for particulars thus to confult for themfelves , fo is it as natural! for thofe Armies which have the laid particulars in their po(- feflions : Wherefore though in thofe cafes wee may lament our owne miferies, yet we ought not to won- der , that all mafter-po wers take fuch inter eft in their owne prefervations, as to uie all means that we reco- ver not a power to betray them.
4. This confideration obliges even thofe ( who , perhaps fight to have Laws f weetned,) to exercife for atime that Law which indeed is the fharpeft, viz,. the Martiall ; and they who fight to free themfelves from an ablolute power, are by that obliged for the time to take upon them the abfoluteft, fas Dictators <lid ) which abfobteneffe confifts in theie heads. In c aping off aH recognisance vf any Super 'iour or Col- later all power : In waging War re : In levying Taxes : In giving Oaths: In making Leagues and in Treating: In permitting no Appeals : In obliging to all fort of Fidelity : And finally in Judging of Itfs and death*
Here's matter enough to perplex Confcience,eipe- ciallyif it fhould bee exeicized on it by that party which is believed to be the unjuft; but yet that is not the worft : For 6y the chance of Warre the o- ther party may have the power to embroile our Con- fciences a new with contrary Oathes and Obligati- ons : And after this the other may be re *ellablifht a- gaine ; and then
>Quaspo?nas non exigit Ajaxy
Ut mate defenfml
But the dinicultie paramount is this; Ut innocens
fit animus in tarn irata fort una : and if wee dor. no
more then that which is lawful), wee are lure our
B 3 Con-
(t)
Confciences will bee better then the times;1
Thus having ftatedthe queftion, I enter into its terms, and in the firft place aske, What that is which wee call lawfull?
Chap. II. What is requifite to make a thing lawful!.
S.i. Thevariety and contrariety of humane aBi- $m ^whence.
2 . The difficult ie of finding what u UwjuU.
3. Humane Lam whence : and wherefore the Lam of Mature are abbve ours.
4. 2^> man naturally more a Indge then another of Natures Laws.
5. Natures Laws are for inward goodnefje and 'vertne, andfiate Laws for quiet Andrefofe.
PLainreafon fliewsus, thatNaturall and Mathe- matical! caafes have more certitude thenCivill: Por Nature is al waves uniforme, and alike, in its ope- rations. Hence fire alwayes burns and never wets; aftonein the aire naturally tends downwards, and never fayes in the middle. In Mathematical! canfes, ordinarily the formes are iucb, as have no middle in- terpofed,as betwixt even and od, there is no medium rwicifriiuu, betwixt a right line and a crooked,
(?)
there is no middle fort of line $ thus two and two al- wayes make feure, &c.
i. But Civill or Humane anions proceeding from a mutable and a various Principle, (the wilf) cannot alwayes be alike or uniferme : and befidcs the will within,bumaae actions v/ithout^re fub ; e&ed to different eircamftanceS; and to infinite encoun- ters : By realen of which their exceflive number, they cannot be forefeen while men are making Laws. Hence wee may underftaud wherefore it's f aid that Omnis definitio tn jure efi periculofa 5 and that Sum- mum jus may be at fome time Summa injuria ; as to render a man his fword when he is a&ually madde, &c. And as circumftance hath power to change the matter, fo in the forme or the adion, it leaves in the middle a latitude and extent, fometimes inclining to one extreme, iemetimes to another.
2. For example, betwixt that which by prsecept we are commanded ever to doe, and that which we are commanded never to doe, is plac'c That which is lawful for m now and, then to doe, or not to doet in mat- ters of our owns right, fofarre as they fe em expedient or not expedient for hs. Thus Jofeph is called a joft man,becaufe he thought of divorcing himfelfe from MArj,though upon circumftance he would not, &c. But that which perplexes all here is, that this Lieitum leans fometimes more to the ene hand, fometimes more to the other; fometimes more to that which is abfolutely good, fometimes more to that which is abfolutely bad ; from whence grow icmples, and doubtings, whether in luch twilights we really parti- cipate more of light then of darknetfe, that is} more of good then of bad.
3. Humane Laws grow mod out of thefe middle
B 4 things,
(8)
things, e*r mediis licitis : Anil upon fight examina* tion we (hall finde, that a man hath nothing elfe to difpofe of. For wee f poore fubordinate vaffals j can- not fo much as deliberate de abfolme deb it is & abfo- Imh i /licit is ,for they were in force before man, Prince ©r people were in being ; and God himfelfe cannot now alter them, they flowing intriniically either from his Sandity, Wifdome, and Juftice, as he is a Creator and a Govemour ; or elfe they flow from Nature, whole rule (according to Gods making of it by that which is in nimfelfej is right reafon and honefty .• This uprightneflfe of Nature, together with the obligation we have to be fubjeft to it, was not a moment after us, and therefore wee could not determine any thing about it ; therefore we have not a legiflative power to alter or diminifh any of Na- tures fcawes.
4. Saint Paul telsusof thofe who without any after-knowledge of Gods revealed will or laws to man, were condemnable by thofe of Nature alone: in punilhingthe breakers whereof, no man is naturally more a Magiltrate then an other : Otherwife what meant Cain, when after his murther he cried, Who- mever ftiall finde me will flay me ?
5. Though humane Lawes remember us of thefe things, yet it is not as if they gave them their origi- nall and Primary force of obliging t Yea, reafon of ftate is not bulled io much about inward piety and vertue, as it is about pubiique quiet and repole, or thofe anions which regard another mans receiving right or wrong ; and hence it is that great prodigali- ty is not fo levcrely puniiht, as a little robbery 5 and that mains homo fotefi ejfe bonus civts : The reafon isjtxaufe though hee may do hirnleife wrong in his
owne
(?)
owne rights, yet he may al wayes do other men right in theirs -.Neither is there any clearc reafon, where- fore thofe lefler finnes and impieties (hoald bee pu- nifbt by any bat God, who is wiieft to know them, jufteft to weigh the merit of them, and powerfullcft topuntfhthem.
This is the (late of Gods and of Natures fix* Laws, to which we are all equally obliged ; but our fioting and rircumftantiated Laws are only to give a rule for an equall and a mutual! community in thofe things which God and Nature gave us to difpofc of as wee would our felvess and no w the queftion is, Tirft, what right or liberty we have naturally in our owne actions, as alio how wee were originally inverted with lawfull pofleflion of the gifts of Nature. And Secondly, how our wills fince difpofed both of the one and of the other, or which is equivalent to both Queftions, That as originally we bad and did all by the Lowes of Nature % fo whether now our ft Ate and conditions be fueh, that we neither have nor c *n doe any thtng lawfully but by fermijfion of humane written Law f The following Chapters of this firft part treate Generally of this, as aground ©r introduction to the fecond, where the particular cafes of paying Taxes, ferving Perionally, Swearing, and finall Allegiance to the ufurping party, are more diftin&ly handled.
Chap
(x©;
Chap. III. Of what things we have a lawfull right to difpofe : Or what our originall rights in them may be before we dt fafto doe difpofe of them.
Si. Concerning our natur all fares in the earthy and whence came the Community of things at the Beginning .
3. Whence the ft par ate enjoyment of rights in frefent.
3. Concerning the right which men had to feizeon what they would at the beginning ,
4. Qf Pop/ion and its original right, and of Planters in Vacancies.
5. Of the Conditions of Plantations >and of Vacan- cies.
6. The n aim all rig ht of making lafi Wils and Tc- ftaments of what rvefoffejfe in our live*.
§ I. A s Heaven is inhabited by God and divine inspirits of inferiour degrees : fo is the earth to be inhabited by man and fcverall forts of creatures inferiour te him 3 and that in order to his ufe and do- minion. God twice gave us the earth as a common fiocke and fatrimony to live on^ after the Creation, and after the deluge,^?/ lj.v.iti. Men then lived at ea'e
enough,
(»)
enough , feeding only on herbes and thofe things which nature prepared for them, without their labour: And this Mate of Community might have iaftcd ftill, if we.hadhad but two qualities which were proper to thofe time$9Ckarity and Simflicity ; of which, naked- neffoand coverings of beafts skins was* and is ftill an Argument : Witncffe the inhabitants of the new World,and of the American Ifles.
2. But now our luxury and exceffeis fuch, that it takes up the imploiment of three parts of Rv§, both of men and time ; fo fmali a number are they who till the groundjioojke to pafturage, and things neceUary to the fubfiltence of our lives : Nay, 'tis impoffible almoft for thofe who are by profedion occupied in the ne- ceffary imploiments of life, ever to rife to the fortune and honour of thofe, whofe profeffions confift inland fubfift by luxury and exceiTe 5 for inftance, a Plow- man,Miller,Chandler or the like, never rife to the for- tune or efteemc of exquifite perfumers , Taverne- keepers,&c.
Out of this we may eafily difcoverthe occafion of mens receding from their originali community, both in movable and immovable goods, That when men were no longer content to feed on the fuperficiall bounty of the earth, ant de ffome natis^ nor to live in caves, nor to weare habits made of rude beafts skins, or of the barke of Trees, but fought a more delicate kinde of life, then there was need of much more in- dustry then before, which particular menapply'dto what they ieiz'd on in particular. An other occasion (as Grotitu hath obfervedj might be, the diftance of their habitations upon the peopling of the earth \ which might well hinder their laying up the fruits of the earth for a common ftock : As alio the defed of
,ftice
(11)
Juftice and L©ve, which occafion'd an inequality as welt in labour,as in fpending the fruits of labour.
3. Wherefore uponthefe occafions they began to divide : And tho they had no rules given them for the detaile, and laying out the parcels of this great Common,the eartfyyet the firft poffeflbrs might with- out fcruple ©f doing others wrong, place their bodies where they would, yea take what, and where they would to ferve their natures : And after their hands had once faftned on any particular thing , no man could take it from them againe, without doing them Baanifeft wrong. Thus an empty ftage is common in every particular part or place, till particular bodies have plac't themielves ; and then the maxime holds, In pari jure melior efi conditio poffidentis.
4.Po(Teffion therefore is the greatett Title, which is nothing elfe but pofoio pedis-, As if the Ancients had no other Seale to confirme their Tenures, but the prims &f their fee t-^nd good reafon too,fceing the minde is not able to take up a place fo well as the body : For many mens wils may concur in( wishing & liking)the fam^ thing, but many bodies cannot concurre to the poflef- fiag it, BefideSjthe minde cannot fet an outward mark on what it likes, that thereby others might be warned to abftaine from it : all which the body properly doth. Abraham and Lot going to plant, declared no more then this, That there was roomei or vacancy enottgh ; and therefore without further examination or fcruple, they knew they might turne to the right hand or to the left, to poffeffe what they would to themfelves.
5. This vacancy is twofold . i.Naturatt, 2.Civill: The firft is in things which may be potfeft, but adualiy are not, neither in property nor ufe. Such a vacancie which is nullms in bonU^ might be occupied by Swn -
z*crS}
(13)
*,«•/, who as Cafar faith, would faine have changed their rough hils for fomc neater Campania. CiviU vacancy is nbi nccfojfejjls eftflene m bomine, nee hem* fUne infejfejfiene ; that is where it is not abfolutely in- corporated, as among the roving Arabians, and many Africans, who pofieffe on© place to day, and another to morrow : Theie by their frequent returnes (hew that they abandon not the places they remove from, as dtreliUa qua quis in bonis amflius numerare non vult* We can only lay, that their natural and voluptuary in- ure ft in them is no way improved. But we muft preflTe this Argument very tenderly, left by the fame reafon others conclude, That thole Eftates which are not competently improved, are derelid and occupy able by others, which would introduce perpetual! confu- Cons ; and eadly perlwade every man that he could husband his neighbours eftate better then himfelfe. However this is a cieere cale for all Planters, that thofe waftes, or ajperi momes^ which the Natives make noufe of, nor can receive any damage by their being pofleft by others, may be lawfully impropriated by them : RcUc fatta eft cencefllo, qtt& eft fine damns a/te* r/#/,faith the Law.
6. Thus we fee how we originally impropriated to our ufes during our living here : but then fome may queftion thus, that when we can have nofurther ufe of thethings of the world, but are departed it ; whe- ther then we have a naturall right to difpofe of the parts of it to whom we pleafe ? For it feemes unna- turall and contradi&ory that a man Ihould aft any thing after his being ceafes ; which is realon enough .• but then one thing is forgotten, That the dead mans gift is made during his life, tho it have not any efTe& till death. And good reafon why it (houid not be
before i
(H)
before j for that Would be as the French fay, Ss def- f witter auam que de $%en aier concher, which is, for a man to put off all his clothes before he goes to bed.
Thus we fee how the Earth by originall right is en- tail'd ; now it will be neceflary to examine — -
Chap. IV. Whether the Property which we have in our Goods (wallows up all right.
%i.He who hath nothing by humantpfttive Law, may yet feeke his means of fubfiftence by the Law of Nature.
2. Wherfore one man may naturally have more then another.
3. Whence it is that then was at the beginnings andisftiH^a'Xzcitt condition of re-ajfuming our Original! Rights in cafe ofcxtreame or natu- ral/neccfity for a natural! community.
4. Of ChriHian Community.
5. Whether that which is Gods here ^ lyes under the fame exceptions of our mccfities, that our Properties doe }
§ 1 . /^Ur generall rights furely are not yet all loft,
Vw/though all the world be now trampled
over, and impropriated in particular pofleffions and
righw : there yet remaines feme common right, or
naturall
(15)
natural! community among all men, even in impro- priations; fo that that which is neceflary for my na- tural! fubfiftence and unneceflary to an other belongs juftly to sae, unleffe I have merited to loie the life which I (eek to prcfervc. There were a defe&in Gods creating ©f our Natures fach as they are, if he did net provide meanes to uphold their beings accor- ding to tae natural! faculties which hse hathgivea them.
PtA mater fanem inter Itbetts diftribuit ut fruftrum veniat fingnlis.
Let us judge this caie by thofe rules of Juftice, by which we judge other cafes. If a father in his Will palle by a Child, or name him, but upon falfe caufes leaves him nothing ; bee is notwithftanding fby the equity of the Civill Law,) admitted to a ehilds part, a Ugtt ima, and may forme his adion contra teflamen- turn inofficiefxm. Men are all akin, and as we derive one from another, fo we cannot expeft but to make room one for another, and to let others fettle in our places, who may juftly exped as much due to them for their naturail iubfiftence, as was t© thofe who be- fore went out of the world to make place for them, yca3 though they affigne them nothing at their de- parture.
Man were of all living creatures mod miferable, if he might not daring this life have that meafure which God would not have an Oxe defrauded of. Thus hath every dunghill Flie a right to live, and to remaine infe&ile, which betides exiftence hath fence, and may not juftly bee deprived of that its chiefeft felicity, wnleUe it be importunate to a nobler Crea- ture.
2, No man in reafon can pretend to fhare in the
£weafc
(t6)
fweat of smother mans brows, or that the paines and wafting of an other mans life, Should bee for the maintenance of any but his owne. Yet though it be granted, that they who entered the world before us, had the means (either by their owne induftry, or law full donation of the fruits of other mens industries ) to be poflfeft of fometing more then we might in rea- fon expe& at our entry, notwithstanding all that is not fo properly theirs, but if another by extreme neeefli- ty be perilling, and they have above what they can confume in a naturall way , then they have no fuller property in that plenty then ftewards have, and for this regard they are fo called in Scripture. The earth {till is the Lords, and thefulneffe of it: It is his, for hec made it out of his owne matter^ and for the fajhion of it he us'd not our aide : Yea, 'tis his Sunnc ftili which produces, and his Clouds which drop fat- neffe .• Wee can onely plead the contribution of a little paines j for that which is our naturall (hare 5 fa that in plaine reafon we may not expedt to be other- wife qualified then ftewards for all that which is not probably neceffary for our owne iubfiftence, or for theirs, who fubfift ©nely by us. Wherefore if Laza- rus ready to perifh (not by fault but misfortune) had taken Dives his crummcs contrary to his will, yet he had not finned 5 no more then he who takes femething which the Lord hath given him, though thefteward contradi^ it. But if it fo happen that they be in fart ftecejfitate, then nteltor eft conditio foflidentisi Or as Saint Pauls words were when he excited the Chur- ches charity andalmes/or the reliefe of the diftrefled members of Chrift ; Not (quoth he) thatjee Jhou/d btfircightned>and they abound.* Cor.8.13*
3 . The will of thote who firft conlented mutu- ally
(17)
ally to divide the earth into particular pofleflions, was certainly fuch as receded as little as might bee from naturali equity : For written Laws are even now as neer as may be to be interpreted ;by that 3 and from hence it is, that in extreme and de(pcrate neceffity, the ancient right of ufing of things, as though they had ftiliremaLi'd in common, is revived. Tis necel- fity which makes Lawes, and by confequence ought to bee the interpreter of them after they are made. Hence flowes this legiflative rule, Legtshnmana eb- ligant mi fattafunt, fctlicet^ cum fen fu humana im- becillttatis* Ail Admiralties judge this equall, That if provifions begin to faile in a (hip at Sea, every one may be forc't to bring out openly, what hee laid in for his paflage in particular, that i© all might be fpent in common : by which diftribution it may happen^ That they who laid m ten times more then any one elfe, (hall have but an equall fhire with the reft. In like manner when the Sea breaks in upon a Country, we may dig in the next grounds to make a bank, without ftayingfor the owners permifiion. In fuch cafes of necelTity, humane Laws doe not fe much permit, as expound their naturali equity : and that which men givetothofe who are to innocently diftreffed, who borrow life onely from the fhaddowes of death, Et pitlafe tempefiate tuemur, is not fo properly a chari- ty to them as a duty ; and if he bee a Chriftian who gives, perhaps he doth more-charity to himfel'e, then to the receiver.
§,4. Thereafbnof thisChritlian-charityorcom-* munion is as farre above the naturali, as Qfrift him- felfe was above nature This requires an equall bea* ting of all puifes, that as fellow members wee have a bomogenmll fence and paloitation. By the Rivers of C Babylon
Babylon every one fat downe and wept, and all their pleaiantlnftruments hung together on the fad Wil- fowes. Everv thing mourned alike bxOr{heus when his tome limbs and his harpe were throwne into the
River Hebre.
Qyy, Caput Bebre Ijramque
JExcipis, & medio mirum dum hiitur amne flebtle nefeio quid queritur Lyra^fiebile UngUA Murmur at exanimiSi refiondent fob He ripa. Wee are to divide a cruze of oyle and a few hand- falls of mcale with one of Chrifts flock, with an a- bandon'd creature , to whom Nequicqnam fun- do fufbirat nummus tn m>o. Pcrfius. And iurcly the violation of this Jus charitatis is noleffe then theft in thole who being of extended fortunes never defal- cate a Gibeonitscrufi perhaps for a wandring An- gell. Thefe fteale even the (hipwrackt mans pi&ure from him, which as his whole inheritance he carried at his back to move to compaffion, and by the infatia- ble Sea of their Avarice andlmury they wrack him o- ver again at Land. \ -
But thisiree Primitive communion had and hatn its bounds and its quantum in Contributions, as well as the Naiuruil ; otherwife it migt be fraudulent and theeving: Forihey who poflefle but a little would contribute it all, on purpofe to fliare equally with thofe who polktfe very much ; which would intro- duce a vifiaie decay and ruinc in all; as Tiberius rightly obferved upon M. Hortalus his petitioning the Senate for an almes for Augvfius Cafar's fake : Jmendetur tnquit [ocordia> languefeet induflria^ fi nullus ex fe metus aut fftst & fecuri omnes alien* fubfidt* exfeUabunt , fibi ignavi & nobis graves.
Tacit. „r.
Where-
(IP)
Wherefore in the midft of that Primitive Commu- nion we finde that the Apoftles went Domaiim from houfe to houfe breaking of bread, therefore they even then retain 'd their houfes in property: which property is iuppos'd by the Eighth Commandment, as well as it is by Chriftian charity : For no man can fteale, but by invading the right of another .• and as for charity it is neceffary hee have fomething of his o wae to be able to fulfill its commands, and to make a dole at his doore : And it is very convenient that he give it rather with his owne hand, then by fome pub- Jique colle#ours, Tor Charity is heated rncjtypith the fence of its owne aUion, Mat. 7. 1 1 . Moreover under the Law Jews were commanded to love one ano- ther as theinfelves, yet this command took not away property then.therfore it takes it not away now. Not- withstanding we owe the ufe or ufnfrmtt of our pro. perries to the diftrefled, though our felvesbee at the fame time indiftreffej / uft as we are comanded by the peril of our own lives to eadevor to fecureour Neigh- bours life; which is yet a charity more tranfeendent then the other, by how much life is above livelihood. Though ftates punifti thoia who out of mecr neceflity take fomething out of anothers plenty,yet that proves net the aft to bee a finnc , or repugnant to equity or con(cience,but gather repugnant to conveniency of ftate, left thereby a gap might be laid open to Liber- tinifme. Rcafon of ftate wee know confidcrs not vertue, fo much as publique quiet and conveniency, or that right which is ad alternm.
5. Wee will now confider thofe things which are
Gods 1 which yet are not his in iuch a ftri& rigorous
fence, but that they lie open to the exceptions of
our juft necetfuies. Hence that which is devoted as
Cz a
f20)
atarincetohim, mcafeef neceffity may bee made Si witneffe Bawds »a « Wherefore the Sequence of our Saviours anlwer was very ttrong, whSee defended his pulling the eares of come jStbSrsfcM;T^if«»'«'«f«*> Davids
th"tadefGod,tk<?tho» mmh mf»«« Uf*.
nfrOHKr wt ef tUt which UUngi f *»**> The SSn Lv fak That if noother meanscan bee found, the F#tf »/ «*• -<«'*• «»y ^e fold tb redeem Sfata who are inthral'd in mifery ^captm- ty : and is there not good reafon for it ? feing they gtvebut for the fata of men, and therefore he foulesot men are precioufer then tney •• Yea the hcrifice it telle to what end is it, bat to obteine a ftate or piety for US? Sed mfi vivamus pie vtvtre mnfofftuuHt. Eraf.
Chap
(21)
4hap, V.
Concerning the parties ( juft or unjuft) which by the variety offiiccefle in Civill Warre command us and our fubllftence* and reduce us to thefe extreme necefsities.
Whether for a juftifiable obedience to them, it be neceflfary for us to allure. ourfelves; that thofe parties have a juftifiable caufe of Warre, or right to command us?
§ i. Wherefore difficult for us to affur sour con- sciences in the pints of right ,
2. Whether Prescription make aright?
3. ^A caufe of Warre defending on a matter vf f&B^ not a cert aim way of confirming us that ive lawfully ohef,
4. Warre for dominion andforpoffcfiion.
THefe things being thus dated concerning our owne perions, the lawfulness and traufcendent rights which we have both by God and nature in our lelves;and that which is ours,yea & in caie of extreme mifery in others things al(o, above all thofe rights, C3 privi-
(*2)
priviledges and obligations which others "may pre* tend upon us; I may the eafiiier defcend now into the bottome of the queftion, andfpeak tothemaine parties whether Juft or un juft, who by the variety of fucceffe, may one after another command us and oureftates,and in both reduce us to the forementio- ned extreme neceffity .• In which condition or con- fufionthe queftion is what is lawrull for us to doe? Ifiadethatmoftherefeek to fatisfie their icruples infearching, Pirft, Whether thofe forties JoAve law- full power over us or no ? That fo finding the lawfttl- neffeof their right* they may be eafiiier aftured of the Uwftilnejfe of their owne obedience. Secondly, In ex* ^mining the can ft of their JVarres, whether it be ) ufti- fiableor no? They fuppofing, that if the caufe bee bad, all effe&s which have any dependancc on it, muft needs be fo too. I conceive that thele two con- federations ferveonlyto adde to the perplexity of a jnans conscience, and are not neceffary at all for us to be informed of.
§ i. As for the point ©f Right, it is a thing al- wayes doubtfull, and would be ever dilutable in all Kingdomes,if thofe Governors who are in polTeffi- on ftaould freely permit ail men to examine their Ti- tles, and thofe large pretended lights which they ex- ercife over the people : And though this parties Title may be as good or a little better then that parties, yet a man in confcicnce may (till doubt, whether he have Limpdim titulum, a juft title or cleare right, efpe- cially in thofe things which are constituted by fo va- rious and equivocall a principle as the will of man
*Befides,moft Governours on purpofe take away from us the meanes of difcovering how they come
by
(*3) by their rights: Infomucb, that though they may re* aly have that right to which they pretend, yet through the ignorance we are in, of what may bee o- mitted in their hiftory, either through f eare, flattery, negligence or ignorance, it is dangerous for us upon probable humane grounds onely, to iweare their in- fallible right, as is (hewed in the following treatife of Oaths. Upon this ground Tacitus iaith well, Tiberij Cajque & CUudij acNeronis res, fiorentibus :p/ts9 ol met urn fa/fa ; fofiquam occiderant recentibus *d*js comfoJittfHnt, And if the parties rights bee but one as good as anothers, then his is thebeft who hath pofleflion : which generally is the (Irongeft title that Princes have. A whole Kingdome may be laid wafte, before it can bee infallibly inform'd concerning the parties true rights which they require men to die for, and to avow by oath.
2. As for prefcription of long time, every mans conlcience is not fatisfied, That that added to pof- ielTion makes a true right. This we know, that it conduces much tojpublique quiet ; but the Canonifts maintaine it againft tiie Civilians, That prefenption upon an unjufi beginning dc ex titulo inhabili, doth by its continuance of time^ inereafe And not dimimjh the injtifiice andfaultineft of the Aft : For the lapte of time cannot change the morality of an KQl: It is no plea in Divinity to argue the prefcription which finne hath on us, as an excufe : A Lie is almofi as old as Truth ; but there is no prefcription again ft- God and Truth. This concerning the point of Right.
3 . As for the point of Fact on which wee would ground matter of right , or a juftifiable caufe (viz,. that (uch or fuch things have been done, or plotted, or advis'd, therefore the other party may lawfully do
C 4 this
(14)
fhis or thatj that we know is without end 5 and ever is perplext and difficult to have pet fed Intelligence of, eipecially fuch, as a man may fafely venture his owne life;©rtake away anothers upon it. Wherefore if wee may reafonabiy doubt of the point of Right (which yet is a more cleare an i uniform thing) then wee may be more reasonably perplext in the ttory of Pad:, which depends on io many Accidents, fo vari- ous circurnftances, both in its principle (the will,) in its exiftence, and in evidence for the infallible know- ledge of it.
From hence therefore I conclude, That wee may in this great cafe eafe our (elves of this vaft perplexi- ty in examining Whether or no the invading party have a juft title, or caufe, or no? or, Whether he have a jufter then he whom he oppofes ? But here I de- fire to be rightly underftood : For I arBrme this, not as if the knowledge of all this were not very conve- nient, and much to be defired, but that (as it is almofl: impoflible for us to have, io) it is not neceffary for us to iearch after ; except in one cafe fwhich comes not out of thehiftoricalloccafionof this difcourfe) with In afliftingto the beginning of a Warre. Theie Ne- gatives ihewonety what wee need not ground our coniciences on,in order to a lawfull obedience; but it mult be apofttive an-i a clear principle which wemuft ground on, it we would be warranted of a juft fub- ininion to the orders of one who commands us per- haps unjuftly. Pork is a matter which concernes the miiery of others who never did us wrong.
4. There is a Warre for Dominion, and a Warre for PofTefsion. If it be for Dominion, wee may con- tribute our Money, Armes and Oathes, to the expel- ling perhaps of an innocent Family : If it bee for
Pofleffien
Poffeffion (which is the worft)then ft is for the flave- ry of thousands of Innocent Families : And before cither can be compaffd, wee may allure our felves, that thoufands may bee as innocently kuTd by the meanes of them who contribute to the ftrengthning of anunjuft party. But becaufe I ftate this queftion in a Warre already form'd3and aflually introduc'd up- on the people, therefore in anfwer to this pofitive demand, I as potitively (ay, That for a ]ufti fable obe- dience jt is be ft i and enough for us to conjiderjvkether the invadtng forty have hs And the meanes of our fab- fiftence m his foffeffion or no ?
Chap. VI. To allure our consciences of a Iuftifia- ble obe ience during the confufions or revolutions of Warre, ic is beft and enough for us to confider^ffo- ther the invading party (jufl or unjufl) have us or the means of our fubfiftence intbeirpojjejfionor no.
§ r. Princes them [elves ^ notwithflanding their fwome Leaguts one with another \ ground their obligations on the tacit e condition of their f of fifing what they had when theyfwore.
FOr entry to the proofe of this Chapter, I {hall briefly (as a (taring of the queftion) ietdownca pertinent difcourfe which Cardinal d'O far {Henry
the
the Fourth of Ft Ana his great Agent at Rome) held with the Pope, upon this following occafion, as him- felfe relates it in his letter to the King his Matter.
The Duke of Gnifr ( as is commonly knowne ) form'd a League or Covenant againft K. Henry the Third, which moft of the Kingdome of France took, and it was to this purpofe : That the King was fo cold in the Profeffion of the Romilh Faith, that it was in danger to be extinguiiht by the increaic which he permitted of the reformed Religion ; cfpecially fcing Henry the Fourth (then King of Navarr* ) was of that Religion, and was to iucceed to the Crowne : Wherefore by the mediation of Philip the fecond of Spain*, the Pope qualifi'd the Duke of Gmf«t Head of that Catholique League, and ( which in point of Government was to fct him above the King) avo wd him Protcftottrof the Catholique Faith in the Ktng- dome of France* When Henry the Fourth (ucceeded to the Crowne, then this League for fecurity of Reli- gion was moft violent ; and the Spaniard without, hop'd, by nourifhing thus the divifion within, to car- ry all for himfelfeat laft. To avoi'd which gin, and to anfwer all, the King chang'd his Religion, and ne- gotiated by d'Ofat to be received by the Pope as a dutiful! Sonne of the Church of Rome, demanding Abfoiution for what was paft, and making large pro- miles of due obedience for the time to come. The King of Spaine's intereft was, that hee fhould not be received , and thereupon he indeavored to perf wade the Pope, That Henry did but dilfemble with him, and that under this difguife hee would eafiliell ruine the Romifii Religion. Notwithstanding ail this, JOftt obtained his Reception, Abfoiution and Bene- didion3 through the many ptoteftations, promises
and
and prcfents which he made to his Holineffe. Where- upon the Spaniard's defignes were in a moment all blowne over from France, but fell heavilier upon tha united Provinces ; which were fo forely prcft, that they apprehended the lofle and ruine of their Coun- try ,and thereupon implor'd affiftance from KingH<r#- r/, who received their Ambafladours very gracioufly, and gave them aflurance of reliefe.The King of Spain , who wanted no good intelligence in the Court of France, immediatelie remonftrates to the Pope, That his former intimations concerning Henry's diflimu- lation, did now appeare in the face of all the world ; and that feeing his Holynefle had been io credulous, he knew not now whether they foould be able to fave the Catholique Faith from being iubjeded to the Reformed Religion or no. For whereas the Holland- ers had revolted fiora him,only becaufe he refolved to ufe the true meanes for the eftablifhing the Romifo faith among them, and that now he was in a f aire way of reducing them, (which conduced fo much (by his Holynefle his owne opinion) to the eftablifament of the Romifh FaittOi/w/ had taken their party againft him in that worke ; and that at Paris he had received their Emhajfadors to that yurpofe, although he k&ev* they were his lawfull fnhjeftsficz*
This ftartled^the Pope not a little, who immedi- ately charg'd d* bfat tor having betray 'd him, and put the Church in danger.This argument was as fubtill on the Spaniards fide,as changing Religion was on Hen- rfs> and therefore d* Offat was not a little perplext how to anfwer it to the advantage of his Matter ; as aifo coherently to the considerations of his former reception into the Church: but at laft he replyed, That his Holyneife needed not wonder how in reafon of
State
(2%)
State thofe of different Religions might jbyne toge- ther for Political ends, without hazard of altering Re- ligion : Thusl^/^foughtprote&ionof thePhilif- thines,and Abram redeemed the finncfuU Sodomites. That he tooke it to be upon the lame ground, that his Holyneffe himfelfe not long before received a Perfian Embaflador,who was io farre from being a heretick, that he never pretended to the name ©f a Chriftian, That it was but a plaufible argument which the King of Spaine ufed, in complaining of Henry s receiving and avowing their EmbafTador, especially knowing at the fame time that they were Rebels, and could pre- tend no right nor title feparate from his Crowne : * For Princes (quoth he) when Embajfadors are ad- " dreftto them^never informe themselves of the rights u and titles of thofe P rinses frsm whom they are fent : *: But whether they have poffeffion of the force and po- <c wer of thofe places, from whence the Embaffadors are "imployed* For it would be an endUffe taske%a?<dre- cc quire an infallible true Hifiory of the World (whtch <( is not to be made by man} if all the Embaffadors>be- Cifore their receptions, (hiuld be obliged firft to prove u clearly to$ the world the jufi right by which their 14 Maffers derive thofe Titles and jurisdictions which " they ajfame to themfelves. This reply as it fetled the Popes mwd^fo thereafon of it may well fettle ours ; And in the firft place it may not be amilTe to fee what the opinion o£ Princes themfelves may be concerning it,
i. It is evident thatmoft Contra&s and Oathes made betwixt Politically Publique perfons,are made in this Poiiticall fence, viz,. with a tacit condition of holding their poffelTions. And therefore the world wonders not that the King of England having fworne
a league
(29)
a league with the King of SpainCj exprefly alfo as he wasKingofPortugall, did not withstanding fince re- ceive two Embafladors from this new King of Por- tugall 5 and that without being judged either in Eng- land or Spaine to have broken his former Oath and League. But not to ground too much on matter of h&,Grotim in his Treatife de legatis Judges the point of right ; Where, after he hath ihewne how they wh© are partly fub jeds and partly not, have a right of Em- baffy for that part fey which they are not fubj eels, he ddcends to thofe places which are divided by Civil! warre ; in which as it is naturall for each party to prefer ve it felfe by all meanes it can, fo ufually cor- refpondence abroad by Embaflle is one means which is not omitted : and the rale which States have for this cafe is, That in regno divifo^gens una fro tempore quad du& gentes habetur. The ground and tacite condition wherfore feverall States contract one with the other, is (according to that Author,) the confideration of the fewer which each Kingdome hath to afford benefit one to the other : fo that the contrail is rather with the places,then with the perfbns.HeRce the fame Au- thor faith, Reges qm regnis exutifanxycum diis regni bonis etiamjus legavdi ferdiderunt. As ..this fcay found harfhly, fo it ought to have good reafon atidauthority to countenance it. It is not enough toobje&, That fuch tacite conditions are not proper to,nor confiftent with the nature of Oaths (which afterwards is refu- ted) For they who confider thofe admirable Chapters of the iZ^oijeremte.v.jS&io. £^^.33.^,13,14. will find the fame in. Gods declared will, though pofi- tively expreft, which is argument enough for us, as is largelier proved hereafter : vid.f. 2.0.3, §-2, Thus we f$e by what ground of right or def e& m
pot
f3*)
poffeflion Princes difavow ©ne another,, though they be mutually obliged by folemne oaths, which is the greateft tye that Princes or j uft Governours can have upon their fubje&s. Now I conceive I may aptly ipeak to fubjefts obeying an ufurping power, after an obli- gation of Allegiance to another Power.
The fecond Part
Wherein is examined:
WHETHER,
u A man may lawfully pay duties or
Taxes to an ufurping or unjuft
Party ? 2. Or whether he may lawfully ferve
fuch a Party pcrfbnally ? JJ 3. Or whether he may lawfully fwear
fidclitie to fuch a Party during the
Warre ? 4. Or whether he may lawfully (wear
a finall Allegiance and fubjc&ion to
fuch a Barty after the Warre ?
CHAP.
(30
Chap. I. Whether a man may lawfully rand with a good confeience pay Taxes to an ufurpingor an unjuft party du- ring the Warre ?
5 i. What was meant by paying Tribute t$ Ca-
far. 2 . In what cafe a man at the beginning of a Warn
may contribute to it> though be finds not its caufc
3. Themauner of a Livie.
4. We cannot properly fir ufle at that which is out of our power.
5. Qf the condition of thofe who live upon fron- tiers.
6. What liberty have we^ when the right Govcr- nour declares \ that he will not have, us pay Any thing to the invading party j Likewife^ whether Any Law but' that which derives immediately from God doth indifpenceably oblige the confi ;- tnce f
IN the firfl: part, the ground for all the particular questions in this,is laid and treated Generally, but here we come to clofer and more particular preofes: and firft, of tribute and Taxes.
Tfacrt
cm
There are many who not finding this liberty in their conferences, unneceflarily choofe rather to give their bodies up to reftraint, and to abandon their whole meanes of fnfefiftence in this world, both for themielvesand their children, which ought not fond- ly to be done, unleffe we would be worfe then Infi- dels as Saint paul faith.
Ob. They object, that they know not whether the monies they give, may not furnifti to the deftruclion of many Innocents, and perhaps of the juft Magi- strate himfeife $ That though a man may give away his owne as he pleaies, yet not in this cafe, when it is to the prejudice of another, &c.
They who thus fcruple are in conference obliged thus to fuffer, becauie they have not faith to doe other- wife ; But the queftion now to be examined, is Whe- ther thefe be Kecejfitrj ferufles in thewfelves, and fetch as admit of no exception or liberty} Perhaps upon exa- mination we may rinde thefe ferufles to be like [can* dalsy whereof fome are rather taken then given : And therefore to ftate the queftion aright,! fhailpara- phrafe a little upon another queftion which was pro- pounded to our Saviour ; It maypoITibly appeareto be the fame withihis, though propounded with more fubtiltie and malice.
The Scribes and Pharires fought two wayes to en- trap out Saviour ; One was, as if hce had blafphe- moufly taught a new Religion, and a new God {viz*. himfeife^ They hop't the people would be provokt toftone him tor this, according to the 13 or Dent. The other was to bring his actions into the compaffe of Trealon, as if hee could not lead great multitude? after him without traiteious defignes; but this gin faii'd too, becauie the multitude which follow'dhim
was
C33-)
was alwayes ready to defend him : However, wheri he was at Jemfitlem, where the Roian Troopes and Pr#tor were, they thought they ha&rim fure, by pro- pounding this fubtilty to him.
§. I. Is it I aw full for us to fay tibute t§ Cafar ? which was as much as to fay $ We who are descen- ded from Abraham, and are the pculiar people, to whom God hath given the largcprivileges of the earth, at home to bathe our felvesn Rivers of milke and hony;to have full barns & man children; yea that God himfelfe will be ador'd in nother place of the world, but at this our Jerufklem ;nd that abroad we fliould triumph over the barbarouand uncircunicifed World, by vertue of that Militia hich he never or- der'd for any but our felves \ Hoiare we then in du- ty or conference to fubmit now t the Ordnances of the uncircumcifed Roman ? Orrhat right can hee have to exercife fupreme Jurildlion over us the privileged feed of Abraham^ laying Taxes on our Eftates and Land ? (which Goctafelfe laid out for us ) by which meanes hee holdsiis very Temple in flavery, and infults over our Con ences and Religi- on, by defyling our very Sacrres with the mix- ture of impure bloud ; which aaey are the price of our foules, and a tribute farre aire Oc/&r>,(payable in no other place but this Templvhich God himfelf built J fo our bloud ought not to |m too deare to bee 1 acrirked for the liberty ©f thefdtars. And though the Roman State could pretendght, yet what can this Cafar pretend ? Every maiconicience knows, that it was but the other day hefurp't over the Se- nate, in which refides the true Jfdiction of Kemo : And if that were otherwife, yhow can hee pre- tend to a title, unlelle poyfon b< Pedegree, or vio-
» lent
(34)
lent usurpation a'uft ele&ion ; by which hee who is but the greateft tleefe in the world, would palTe now for the moft Sovcaign and Legillative Prince ? How then are we incomience eihligdto pay Tribute to this i'dpir? Though We Lawyers thought in their con- fcieaces, that thy were not truly obliged to pay it, and that our Savmr likewise as a Jew' thought fo too, yet they fupps'd hee durft not iay (o much ia the crowd, nor yedeny it, by ihiftitig it orTin filence, left the Roman Oicers fhould apprehend him. But when our Saviourhew'd them Ctfars face upon the Coine, and bad thn render to Cafar that which was Cafars, and to Gothat which was Gods, his anfwer ran quite otherw* : Not as fome would have it, that by a fubtiltyle anfwGred sothing t© the point propofed : for th the fenfe of the whole text would found verili in fuch termes, viz,. That if there be any thingie to Cafar, pay him it 5 and if a- ny thing be due fro you to God, then pay it likewife. This had been a wkning of Gods right, for Cafars$ and to have left aefperate doubting in a neceffary Truth. 'TisbeyorallCavill, that our Saviours opi- nion was pofitive r paying of Tribute to that very Cafar, becaufe dutto he did pay it ; And the plain reafon of it appes evidently in this his anfwer: Cafars face was un tfie Coine ; that is to fay, Cafar bj conqueft was iwffeffion of that Coine, by fojfejfmg the f lace where hoblig'dthem to take it- coining of Money being>ne Prerogative of Soveraigne power.
And now to ai/er more particularly to the fore- mentioned objects at the beginning of the Chap- ter. A. In the firftxc I diftingaiftx betwixt Pcrferre,
&
(3J)
& infeyre btUum ; The one is active and properly at the beginning of a Warre, and in a place where yet no Warre is, and where its caufe onely and not its effects can bee confider'd : In this cafe every thing ought to be very cleare for warrant of a mans con- fidence, becaufe of the calamities which he helps to introduce, and is in'fome manner Authour of. The other is Paffive, and there where War or the power of Warre is actually formed, which is the cafe of this difcourfe.
Secondly I diftinguifh betwixt that which cannot be had, nor the value ©f it, unleiTe I actually give it ; and that which may be taken whether I contribute it or no : In the force of this fecond diftindion lies the reafon wherefore I have lo much examined the na- ture of Toffeffion in the former part. To apply all this to the Objections, I (ay, That if a man fcruple, he may not inferrc helium by any acl: which may be properly his owne ; I fay, property his owne*
§ 2. Becaufe though Warre bee not yet actually form'd in a place, yet a fcrupling confeience which likes not the caufe may be excus'd in contributing to it^in this one cafe,w'~.It forae number of men able to take what they aske,demand{^with an armed power,) the payment of a certaine funime to bee imploy'd in Warre, then in men a cafe, the man of whom wee {peak may pay it, as a ranfome for his life $ cr give it as a man doth his purfe when he is furpriz'd in the high-way : The reafbn is, Becaufe to this man it is as much as if the who Is County ej were poffefi by an armed power.
§ 3. The manner of the Levie is here Principally
to be considered. For if the perfon taxed be not for
the time in the full pofejfion of him whole caufe hee
D 2 (cruples
fcruples at, and that he have not a probable feare of extreme danger, nor as probable ajfurance that with- out his helpe, the thing demanded nor its value can be taken hem him, then there's little excufe remains for the Ad, hecaufe the (aid kdt (which his confer- ence diflikesj participates more of Aftion thea of <P4ffu*.
Bet in the cafe of this dilcourfe, where a man isfuHy p-tfeftby an unjuft invading power (from whom whole Countries cannot poiTIbly flie, nor make away a!) their Goods and Eftates^ there I fay a mans pay- ingvf Taxes is no gift * which ifprov'd, takes away tire nafier-fcriiple. Let us judge of this by that cafe which Kre all grant ; If a man fail into the hands of mam defperate theeves who alTault him for his Mo- ney ; though with his owne hand he put his purfe in- to their hands, yet the Lawcals not that a gift, nor excufes the theefe from taking it, but all con- trary.
§ 4. By this it's apparent what a groundlefle fchi- pleit is for a man thus taxt, to fay, Hee knows not to vehat ev til they may imploy the money fo put into their defperate hands 1 For this fuppofes a gift, and a mans proper voluntary, Acl: 5 or which indeed he is alwaies to be fcrupuloas, becauf e it proceeds from that Prin- ciple wich is totally in his owne power : whereas other mens adtions are as farre out of our power as winds and tempefis are 5 to which two as wee contri- bute nothing, fo we cannot properly be fcrupulousin our confeiences concerning their bad efFe&s*
For further proof e I might aptly refiefr on thofe arguments which were difcuft at the beginning of the rirfl part, concerning the tranfeendent right which wee naturally have in the prefervationofour
felves,
(37) felres, smd of thofc things without which wee oan- not be prefcrved : As alfo on the high privilege of extreme necefficy^ nature it felfe being morejn- tent to the prefervation of particular then of publike bodies, which are made out of particulars, and as much as may bee for the particular ends and preserva- tion of each Angular, no man obliging himfelfe to any particular focietyof this or that Couatrey, without the confederation of felfe-prefervation, accortfibgto therightof the more gencrall (ociety of manKnde.
§ 5. Thus much concerning thofe who are fully po/Tcil by the unjuft invading power : Now J (nail fpeake to the condition of thole who live upon fron- tiers ; whole condition is more ticklith and deplora- ble, beoaufe they are not fully poffeft nor taken into the line of either party. Thefe live as it were in the Suburbs of a Kingdoms and enj oy not the fecurity or priviledges of others. Though they can owe true Allegiance but to oae party, yet they may lawfully contribute to both : For though they bee but partly poffeft by one and by the other, in refpect of their iuddain abandoning them, yet both fames have the ■power of defer oyingthem wholly. Wherefore thofe for- mer reafons which jaftifie thole fully poffeft, doe alfo acquit the payments of thefe; for their condition here is more calamitous, leing they are really but Te* nants at will, expos'd to aperpetuall Allarme, and that both parties wound one the other onely through their (ides.
6* The laft confideration in this Scruple, is of the mils of them -whom wee acknowledge our law full Go- vernottrs, viz.
Obj. When they declare to us that they will D 3 not
not permit us to pay any thing to their Enemies^ Anf. To this I anfwer, That the declared wills of Governours cannot make all thole our ads finnes, when wee obey that power which againft our wills fas much as againft theirs, and it may bee with more of oar miferyj hath devefted them of the power of their rights, and depriv'd us of the comfort of their Governments.
Que ft * I would not here willingly difpute whe- ther any Law but that -which derives immediately from G'oddoth indifpenfably oblige the confidence ? For there is but one Lawgiver who can faveand deftroy the Soule for the ebfervation or violation of Lawes, and that is God ; who therefore hath the fole power of obliging eonfeiences to Laws as the Lord of them, through his creating governing and moving them. ^.35.22. James^.12, There is one Lawgiver who is able to fave and deftroy : who art thou that judgeft another f Princes cannot by their commands change the nature ©f humane condition, which is fub jeft na- turally to thole forementioned changes : This were to pretend to a power of obliging us to morall irnpof- fibilities, and repugnances in the reafon of govern- ment. And though thofe political! commands were as Lawes, yet they ought not to be made nor to bee obliging, but according to the Legifiative rule, which -is cumfenfu human* imbeciUitatis. This is that which ufuallyis called the frefxmttve wiU of a Governour, ©rthemindeof a Law: Tor in extreme neceffityit is to be prefum'd, that both their wills recede from the rigour of what they have declared, rather then by holding to that which is their right, introduce all jnifery and eonfufion, without receiving any benefit thereby themfelves. Neither are fuch commands
With'
(39)
mthottt their fenfe*nd?rc fit though they he net pef- tivelyebey'L For thereby Covemours (hew to all the world, that they renounce no part of their right, no though it be there where they cannot ererciie any part of Their jift power : Secondly, they may there- by help to retard their fubjefls from being forward in giving admittance to their Enemies, or in j>emg actively affixing to them, but rather to themkives ; befides which fenfe there can be no fenfe. for it they meane by tbofe commands, That they would not have their Enemies ftrengthned or advantag'd by them, and withall, meane that they would not .that their fubjedts ftiouid mbmit themfelves at all to thofe uinr- pers. though it were then when they and ail their iub- fiftence are abfoiutely poffeft by them ; 1 fay then that thefe are commands which da§i agamft themfelves, and the one countermands the other. Tor if they re- fute to fubmit in fetch a caie, then they do that which advantages their Enemies : Becaufe at that time they will take all, whereas in cafeof iubmiiTion they aske bu* a parl.In al wars there are alwaies fome by whafe difafrediens Enemies gain more, then by their com- pliance ; juft as Phylitians do by diftempers. Though by after variety of fucceffcs the juft tfovernours (houid recover that place which fo iubmitted totlie power of their Enemies, and for that reafon (hould punifti thofe who were ploy able to extreme neceflity5 Yet it follows not upon that, That they who fo con- formed, finned, or did that which was ablelutelyun- iawfuil. Tor wee know reafon of State oft calsfor facriftces, where there is no fault to expiate: Oftro-r ciime and jealoufie make away with thofe who are knownetodefervemoft: In republic*, idem eft vir/ii' urn & nihil mereri ; But in right ( which is the terras
D* of
C4©)
ofthisqueftionj the jufl: Governour ought to looke upon them, as more unfortunate then faulty: And perr haps in equity he ought to confider, that the originall fault of all might poflibly be on his part ; Godfome- times puaifliing the people for the Prince, and fome- times the Prince for the people. But of this more (hall be laid in the following Treatjfe of New- Allegiance, and of oppofite Oaths.
Ch ap. II.
Whether we may lawfully ferve an un- juft Party in ourPerfbns or no ?
THe anfwer to this queftion is very prefent, and Negative : For here aclion is required to an end which our confeiences allow not. Our eftates are fe- parate from us, and therefore may be had without us, or without our wils .• Butourperfonsareourfelves, and therefore cannot be had nor ad without us, and therefore a man hath not the fame liberty iii the one as in the other.
But yet there are two cafes wherein a man may lawfully ferve an un jufl: party in his perfon.
Firft, when it is in order to a jufl: and neceffary a&ion, which coacernes not the oppofing of the jult party at all,but only our owne neceffary prefervation : in which cafe we Confider* the un jufl: Governour ab- ftra&ively,not as a Governour,but as a man. Suppofe the cafe were fuch, that if the lawfuil Governour him- felfe were with us, he would probably command us the fame thing : and though perhaps he would not
com-
(40
command it,yet we might lawfully put our felves into that a&ion againft his will;as if the Turke,or any other common enemy ftiould invade thofe Provinces,which the unjuft Party hath divefted the juft of: Tor fuch an enemy would deprive one as well as the other; Wherefore betwixt two unjuft Parties, it's better to folio w him who is in poffeflion, efpecially if his Go- vernment be probably better for the fociety and Re- ligion of mankinde : and as for the j uft Governour^he mud confider that fuch actions are not fo much contra &j>r<tterfmm Volant at cm.
The fecond cafe relates in fome manner to the ©p- pofingof our Lawfull Magistrate, but not by a direft intention. For example, when wee fee much cruelty exercifed upon the continuance of a warre, and pro- bable ruine of thofe Places where the Armies feeke one another,- then if the faid Armies fall into our quar- ters, and we be fummon'd to afiift the unlawfull Party, we may then arme our felves, not for him, but for our felves.not in any regard of the caufeof the warre, but of its effects, which are Deftruttton of life \or of 'lively hood. In this cafe Nature helps us to put on our armes, and (hews us the way to the place where we may re- deeme our lives^nd find a remedy> though it be in our very difeafe.
Ob. But is nor, this to doe evill to advance our own good, to cut the throats of thofe whole innocency our owne confciences abfolves ? Can our f eares warrant us to take away other mens rights ? Cato habet yotius qua exeat. Sen. How then can any of this be law- full?
A«f. Here I confeffe lyes the knot of the fcrupie ,• but yet by the third Treatife of the Lawfnlntfe of fome Warr^-Chaf.2% It is clearly cvinc'd,//^ Innocents may
be
be inn$eently kjl'd, and this obj eftion goes no farther, nay not fo farre as that which is there cleared : For children and babes could never threaten ns with th« fad effects of warre, yet we fee how they may be in- nocently defttoyedbythecourfe of warre. For Na- ture commends me to my felfe for my owne prote- &ion,aad prefervation,and that,not as if I had not that right of defending my felfe, unleffe they were firft faulty who threaten me the danger. For though they fight bona fide on their fide, and ignorantly take me to be another kind of perfoii then I really amfjuft as men. paflionately idilt racked and in dreames ufe to doz) yet I am not for this reafon necetfarily oblig'd to defert my felfe, nor to fuffer all which they prepare probably to inflict upon me, no more then I am when another mans irrational! bead or dog fals upon me. Governors ef men are like keepers of beafis ; Every man as he is an Animal, participating halfe with the brute. Alte- ram nobis cum Diis, alteram cum befiiu commune efty faith Salufi. When an irregular palfion breaks out in a date, an irrationall bead hath broke out of his grate or cave, and puts the Keeper to a great deale of trou- ble, and thofe whom he meets with in the way in a great deale of danger. If he invade any one he may be kil'd whether the Keeper pleafe or no, although whilft he kept his cave quietly he might not be ftirr'd without his permiflion. It is a knowne cafe, that if a man unjuftly affault another,and be fiaine in the aft by the other,this other (hall not futfer for it.
But in this cafe we mud be certaine of two things t Firft,that we have try'd all other meanes of laving our feives and our livelihood : Secondly,that we enter not the Army with an offcnlive minie, bat cum modera- min: incubate tuttU : not with a direct defigne to
kill,
(43)
kill, bat rather to fright, weakcn,and to drive away ttfc cnsell enemy: Before we may ftrike,we muft fee our danger imminent, and in ipfo pene puncfo;then it is that we may occuparef acinus, prevent our owne deaths by the Invadors deaths : For when lives are to be loft, then the pofleflion which we have of our owne, is to be preferr'd by as before our enemies lives.
The rule of defence is very dirficult,becaufe on eve- ry hand it is full of Circumftance : Yet a point in Mo- ratt actions (even as in Mechanic all, not in Euclidian Geometry) is not without fome breadth. Hence the Law faith, Potentia froxima aUui% pro ipfo acku habe- tur. Thereafon wherefore the Law ( which juftly is fo favourable to life) takes that for killing which im- mediately goes before the blow,is> Becaule if it (kould not be favourable to us before the blow or ad, it would not be favourable to us at all ; A mans life is that which can be lofl: but once, and after that,nothing can make it good to us againe, wherefore we are ob- lig'd to a perpetuall guard of it : if not for our owne fakes,yet at leaft for theirs whole life it may be as well as ours.
Ch a p. III.
Whether we may lawfully take new Oaths for the intereft of the unjuft Party, efpecially after former Oaths of Allegiance to an other Party ?
§.i. vrh&
C44) Si. What an Oath is.
2. The matter of the Oaths here mentioned is the fame with that of a Promt fe. Of Affertory and Promifory Oaths. <^A 11 Contracts andOathes^ though in abfolute termes^havefome tacit c condi- tions adhering tothem^and fo are mutable .Whe- ther aS Oaths be now unlaw full ? Two cafes con- cerning the qualities of the per fons giving oaths.
3. The cafes wherein the matter of a Promifeand tf our forts of Oaths dae agree.
4. In matters of Virtue and Piety.
5. In Popbilities.
6. In transferring a right on him who will receive it : Whence di^en fat ions arife.
yt In things whereof we have infallible certainty . 8« Concerning a mans (wearing that fuch or Juch
opinions are true. p. Of Oaths made to Pyrats and Tyrants.
IN the firft queftion the invading party demands our goods, in the fecond our bodies, and in this our very foules, fo farre as a man can make an other fare of them. »
But as they are precioufer then the other two put together, fo we ought to be more advifed in the laying or them out : Furor eft poft omnia ferdsre naulum^ and to erre in this is to erre in all And feeing we here contract with God hirntelfe (who is alwayes the Ju» fteft Party) and doe folemnly invoke his juftice and vengeance upon the breakers of fo high a ContraS, we ought therefore to invoke his Grace more ear- nestly,
(4j;
ncftly, that by the dire&ion of his holy Spirit, we may not precipitate our felves, either through feare, faith- kfneflfe, or avarice, into the forfeit of iuch a religious Ad : left whiles we runne to fave our momentary goods,our iuimortall foules fall from us into Hell-fire : but rather that wee elteeme it no loffe with Elias to drop a Mantle in the way to Heaven, or for a (cratch to get a Cro wne .•
—•AttL ideo intrefidi qu&cunq^ altaria tangunt,l\xv. Though in this particular cafe our condition be ren- dred molt miferable by the extravagancies of ambiti- ous aipirers to Government, yet we fee nothing new pra&is'd in it : Tor all this naturally forts with the de- praved condition of mankinde. And though we can findc little to juftifie the Ufurpers actions, yet we may finde realon enough, why after his engagement he fhould advife of aii meanes for f ecuring himfelfe both at home and abroad in the field : of which meanes this of obliging by Oath is a principal! one. Through this jealoufie the Roman La wes permitted not a man to be a Citizen of Rttne, and of another Provincial! City together ; for in time of warre and divifion fuch a perfon would be open to fecret attempts and pra- &ices. The Cbimifts fay thofe mettals fooneft dif- folve, in which the elements are moft unequally fixt ; Et inter fjmboU fact lis eft tr an fit us i fo.iurely muft thofe men be moil volatile, who have notfome thing faftened on them to render their indifferencies more determinate. The extremity of this prefent cafe, as of the reft is, That as a man may fucceffively be under oppofite parties,and (o for oppofite ends be taxt in his goods, and fummon'd to ferve in perfon, even fo he may be commanded to fweare oppolitely to what he fwore before.But before I fpeake to this difficulty , and .
the
(40 the cafes depending on it j I (hall fet downe what I conceive of the nature of an Oath in general!*
§ i . An Oath is a religious atteftation of God with an imprecation of his wrath when we affert or pro- file that which is lawfull and in our power; Some ad this to the reft, That it maft be of that which cannot be cleared otherwife, £*W.22.i©. a CV.1.2 3 .
§ 2. That which diftingui(heth it ia futures froaa aPromife, is theattejtationof God and the impreca- tion which we make on our fouls if we be not faith-* fa\\3Heh.6.i6. God is here in the Contrad oncly ut tefiis 5 beeaufe he is the only univerfall true witneffe, who by right of government, hath alio a right of pu-* Bifhing alwayes, and every where.
In a vow there cannot be lefl'e then two, and they are enough, beeaufe God is both fufficient witneffe and party. In other diftratts or contrasts we think it beft to have at lead three, the party contradttng, hee with whom it is contra&ed, and a witneffe j and all under a legal! penalty. In the contrafrs which wee make by oath one with another, God (lands as the witneffe, and is to require the forfeit by our owne confents.
All Oaths are beft divided In AJfertoria & Pro- of Afscrcory mijforia 5 tor in order to the time prefent, ana promtfso- p^} or fame, wee religioufly affent or promiie fomething to be or not to bee ; to have been, or not to have beene 5 that it (hall bee, or (hall not bee. The Affertingoathis of fomething paft, ©r prefent ; the Promifing is of fomething to be done or omitted in the future. Truth ought to be in both, but with this difference, that in the former it is but Jing/e, beeaufe it relates onely to the time prefent, and to the Adt of fwearing : In the latter it is double;
Firft,
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Firft, in regard rf the time prefent, or the acT: of fwearing , viz,. That then the fwearers minde and words go eongruoufiy together, with a true intention to obferve what he then promifes : And becaule up- on the very a& of (wearing hee hath either fworne trueorfaKe in order to his intentions, therefore in that part there lies an immediate obligation on him : The latter truth relates to the fffeU find the time te come, that is, That the fwearerwill have his attions go along -with hi* words, and that hee will make them good. But becaule the matter of this oath ( which is a thing to bee fttlffll'd in the future,) is naturally ( and whether the f wearer faill or ne^ obnoxious to change and uncertainty, therefore the obligation which tou- cheth this matter , and which the Au p&ivc m- fwearer bound himfelfe afterward to "aas °J j"utur«* fulfillj u mutable and fef arable from his w y mtt%a oath. It was in his owne power to make the firft truth good, which was3that his minde (hould be bona fide like his words ; but unlefie he were a controaier of natare, he may faile of making good the fecond, which was, that his deeds fhould be like his words. Hee is forlworne who intends not what hee by oath promifes, but he is not alwayes io who effects not what he fo promifes. The right apprehending of this Diftin&ion will much facilitate the difficulties of the folio wing cafes.
Becaufe an oath is a tie to the greatcft of Con- tracts, therefore there are three things efpecially pras- requifitetoit. i. Judgement, left we be irreparably ininar'd, as Jo fat and the Ifraelites were in fwearing with the Gtbeenits* 2. Truth, left God be invoked to a lie. 3. Equity, left we make God a countenan- cer of wickednefle, and of things unlawful! 5 as Saul
would
C4«)
would have done in his fentence given againft Jona- thany when with the tip of his rod he had taftcd hon- ny$ And David when we fworehaftilytolay Na* hals houfe wafte. Or thefe three conditions every man is obiig'd to the two latter, before he [wearer w ... ,. them , but not fo folemnly as after-
Wc areobljgdto , c ~ i • « -
the mattei ei fomc wards; The nrll may be in things pro- ajjj Wo! pa »y Jn Gur ° wne right of difpofing as thcrs eoe tin wc we pleafe, before we fweare, but that *weare. obligation comming, we have after-
wards no liberty in them at alhln this, there u no Ali- gation till we fweare, and when we have done fo, then we are bound at all hazards to our felves,to make the Oath good, but not alwayes the other, when we fweare contrary to our antecedent obligation to the matter of the Oath.j^ya frjor obligatioprajudicat ps- fteriori, and obliges only to repentance for our ra&- neffe or ignorance.
Obj, But againft all Oaths in generall it may be ob-
Levh 19.12. jeded, Matj.il&c. In Mofes his Law
it was fufficient that they were not fori worne 5 but
Chrift faith, we may not fweare at all j
Some Oiths law- - - • n t_
foil under the that our communication muft be yea Gofpcii. yeaaand no no -, Two Affirmations j and
two Negations ought now to f atisfie as well as an Af- firmative or a Negative Oath.
Anf But we aniwer, that Mofes permitted vo- luntary or unneceffary Oaths, and thefe only were by Chrift abfolutely forbid ; For if other wife, then we fhould not have had fo many of Saint Pauls Oaths recorded by the Holy-Gheft ; as Rom, 1.9. &p.2. 2Or.L25.6c 11.31. In ail which places Saint Paul uled molt religious affeverations and attestations of God for amplifying his glory: and therefore when it
may
may reach that end, we may dill fweare as warran* tably as he did.
The difficulties of all affertory Oaths are Thecafcs of not very implicate, becaufe their whole afsenory ° truths are immediately fulfil'd in the ad of .°!.chc,s noc
r • t n /■ , ' / c , A , . . difficult.
lwearing,/#/?4//.4.m.i&.$ 6. Con&ttl@n€S qua Ad fr&ftns vel fr Merit urn temfxs referuntur, aut ftatim informant; $bligationem^ am omnino nondiffe- rnnt, indeq^ obligationonefi infendenti : Qua. enimyer rerum naturam [tint certain morantur obligationem, licet apud nos tncertajtnt* For example,If Tttitts hath been in Spaine, or if Semf renins be now alive, I will give you ioo li. This is immediately fulfil'd, becaufe it is concerning the time pad and prefent, which are both really fulfil'd.
The acts of Governours relate mod to the edablifh- ment of the time prefent and future : wherefore the nature of Promiffory Oaths will here ^ molt concerne us, In clearing whereof it oachs,& of a ?«»- is mod neceS'ary to confider, that the mlfc thc rame- matter and conditions of a Proinife are the fame with thofe of this fort of Oath. jj*Thdr matter and conditions therfore are of 3 forts :
Tird Necejfary ; When the- effect hath an infallible caufe;as Ipromife Titim ioo, if the Sunne rife to morrow.
Secondly Imfdffible, cither in Nature^ as I promife Titius 100, if he touch the skie with his finger ; or imfoffihle in equity ; as I promife Titim 100, if he murther Semfrenius: This being repugnant to honedy and piety, obliges not no more then the other, and thc third prac-rcquifite to all Oathes, excepts againd it.
Thirdly, Poffible, in things which may happen or not happen, becaufe depending fimply on our gwrc E 01
( 5° )
or others wils, ©r mtxtly ©f both, ©r elfe of chance or fortune, which cannot be determine by our ml§9Nam emnis flatus humanus ex mfidiis fortune depended & inperpetuo motu cenfislit >Li. §.fedqu?a»C.devet.jur* enucL This third branch is that which affords moft matter for perplexing of Oaths and Promifes,becaufe it relates not to one uniforme principle, nor to fuch things as depend on our felves. Wherefore it is to be carefully obferv'd, That as there are no contracts, and confequently no Oaths (o cenditionall in their begin- ,X7L c . nings, but they are fuppos'd to end po-
Whypofmve pro- r • * \-r i i i
mi^oryOaihsmu- ntive ana abioiute ones ; even fo there table» are none io pofitive and abioiute in
their beginnings but are fuppos'd to have fogae tacite conditions adhering to them. Jnpura obligatione dies tacit us five Legalis fubinte&igitur. I* inter dum'j^ /. c&ntinms 137. § cum it a* Le urn qui calen. 4 §. qm- tiemjf.de ver.obli : All our engagements and actions lye open to the controulement and exceptions which may be made by Law, equity jhe right of a thtrk pet" fox, the permiffion of God, and the like. For example, King Solomon forgave Adomjah his ufurping the Crowne from him, on condition that wickedneffe iK&g* '***' A*00^ not ke afterwards found in him : after this Bathjheba came to petition Solomon in his behalfe, and he pofitivelj promis'd her that he would i %k%t 2, not fay ber nay : (he upon th1$,demands Ado- 20,21,22. nijaf0 might marry utbifhag, one of K.Vavids concabines: Solomon inftead of making good his abfo- lutepromife, fwore A donijah Cnonld dyt. Although there was an evident contradiction betwixt the termes o£ Selcmens Jtromite and his Oath,yet he broke not his Promife ; becaufe in his pefttve grant there was in- cluded a tacite €ondition> which onght to be as valuable
a$
(50
as any thing e xpr eft jbiz,. that Adoxijah /hould attempt nothing unlawful! according to his former pardon : But it was trcafon for any man to attempt the Concu- bines of the deceafed King, befides the fucceflbur, for feare of occafioning dividers, 2 Sam.iz.B. 16. 21. David fwore, and with an obligation of a curfeon himfelfe, That he would deftroy ' *"5Si Nabals houfe, which Osth as he kept it not, fo he did not breake it, becauie it had never any ty e on him, for equity made juft exception againft it. The fame is to be faid of thofe who vow or iweare fomething but are not any wayes in their owne powerSjandconfequent- ly pofTeffe nothing for themf elves, as the wife or the daughter, whofe Oaths ate juftly rcclaim'd by husband or father, Ate. 30.4, &c. But above all it is obfer- vable, that God himfelfe doth oft contrary to what he abfolutely declares, yet without infringing either his conftancy or his verity ; becaufe in all peremptory comminations there is yet a fuppofition of his grace and favour. Hence Abrahams f'ervant, (y^.24. 27. faid,God had not left his Matter defiitute of his mercy and truth, which ufually in God goe together.
Obj. But out of the words of Balaam its N objected, that God is not as man, that he fhould lye, nor as the fonire of man, that he fbculd change or repent. Therefore hath the Lord faid it,and foall he not doc ft ? Hath he ipoke it, and (hall he not make it good ?
Anf. I anfwer, that God is not as man, that he fnould lightly change, no nor change at. ail, if it cer- tainly appeare that his decree be abfolute 5 but that doth not alwayes (o, if we will judge by his words. God declared to Adam, that the day he fhould eat of the forbidden fruit he ftiould furely dye, and yet after
E 2 he
f50
he had eaten of it, God permitted him to live almofl: tooo years. But here fome reply sThat by the words, The tt (halt fare ly dye that d*y> God. under flood that Adam that day fhould begin to be mortall, but not afiually dye. To which I anfwer,that this is or no ne-
ceflary confequence:Tor God threarned Abi-
i0> 3* melech and E&echiah in the fame manner*
but no wayes in that fence, as being pet fans as much
naturally mortall before Gods threat as they were af-
ter wards. To Hezekjah God fa:d, that he a'1 M fhould dye of his prefent ficknefk, yet God afterwards affured him that he would adde yet fifteen yeares to his life, becaufe he had feenhis teares, and heard his prayer, which it feems by the e& ed was the tacite condition prevailing withGod,to alter his pofi- tive refolution and threat. The like alfo is obfervable imA 10 m Gods decree againfti\T/>wc£, which was aj 3'10' not deflroyed after forty dayes ; For God re- pented of what he had faid,becaufe they repented.
They who wrought in the Vineyard but one houre, received as much as they who wrought all day ; for in that unequal! diftribution, the Lord did no wrong to any other in giving what he would only out or his owne:Inlike manner, God in remitting a forfeit or a punifhment due to himfelfe from another, doth not an ad of inj uftice, becaufe he ftill difpofes of his owne. Punifnment is not a debt from the pasty injured to the party injuring, but quite contrary from the injuring to the injured as a fatisf adion, in which fence the offen- der when he is punifhed, is rightly faid, Dare f&nas falicet injuriam fajfo. If this were otherwife, then there were no place at all for Clemency in Janice : Clement ia emm non c o git tir y& fine cejf aria ylane efttclc- menu* ejfe definit: And if there were no clemency af-
ter
<53)
ter we have forfeited our felves, then confequently were there no place for Prayer in Kelp- _
J *v /• l 1- • v 1 J • 1_ EXOJ2.IO.I4.
en 1 and^^/hadinvainkrugled with God, that he would not eonfuoie the Ifraelites after he had declared fo to doe. Mercy therefore is not op- polite to juftice but a part of it, 1 John 1.9. God is ikichf till and JuU to forgive,/^/. 71. 1,2. In rhee,0 Lord, have I put my truft, deliver me in thy righteoui- neffe. Ail which appeares mofl clearly, Jer. 1 8. 7, 8, 9,10. £*»<??. 3 3. 13, 14. Thus Princes by theirprero- gatives pardon criminals, and like God here preferve tnofe whom they might juftly deftroy.
3. Oat of all this therefore it follows, That as promifes may be abfolute or upon fuppofition (in which the obligation is founded on a condition) io may oathes be.
4. Asa promife is not alwayes of thofe things to wch we were oblig'd before the promife,but of thcie things onely which may be done without (inne, viz,. of things lawfull and in our right of diipofing, or of things which hinder not our enervate in piety and goodnelfe (to which we are in a higher obligation bound to God both body and ionic} even fo oaths may be.of ailthele, other wife ftetus effetfides^ as He- rods was, tokillj^tf Baftifi,
5. As we cannot effe<5-,fo we cannot pofitively pro- mile nor iwear impoflibilities ; Things which though they may be done, yet 12 ot by us ; or things which are in a future uncertainty.
6. Hee who fulfils not his promife to him, who will not have it fulfiii'd, breaks it not.- fo in the like cafe he breaks not his oath. The ground of this is, becauie we have not a right of making others keep what is their own in property, longer then they will
E 3 them-
C54)
themfelves: This is the foundation ©f the difpenfa- tion of oaths .* which the Dolours even of oar U- niverfities (as well as others elfe where ) give every yeareto thofe who receive their degrees. To pay a debt is al waves a duty in thedebtour fo long as the creditour will have it a debt ; but it is not a duty al- wayes in the creditour to received from the debtour: For acceptiiation is equivalent to payment. As in the others breaking a conditionate promife or league, a man is freed from the obligations on his part; fo in the fame cafe a man is freed from his oath.
7. As a man cannot peremptorily promife a fu- ture uncertainty, (o neither can he aflure himf elfe of that which pad before he was extant in nature ; and' therefore cannot fafely adert or fwearethe evidence, or certainty of that which was before hee had any knowledge or being. Hence though poflibly the Ca- tholique Religion was not long agoe eitabliftit and profeft in EngUnd, yet I cannot f wcare it was fo, without finning, becaut'e I have onely a morall or pro- bable certainty of it (not an infallible one) viz,, the
^ Tradition of man. And ( to prevent an obje&i- ^ on) though none of this age law Chrift or any of his Miracles, yet the certainty of them is not to be doubted of, as of the other ; becaufe even at this day we have Gods infallible fpirit, which ft ill gives teftimony both of him and of his miracles, ac- cording as they are fet downe in his word.
8. This cafe fhewes us the dangeroufneffe of thofe affertory oaths, which require us to f wear that fuch or fuch a thing or opinion is true, which may feem clear- ly io to the learned contrivers of thofe oaths,fcut not to others. The thought of the mind is only refer ved to God, who only can be fure of it : It is that which etoth
another
(55) another man neither good nor harm,unleffe it be com- municated* wch indeed may be forbid by oath, becaufe in the communication of it there is externail action. •Twere happy we had as infallible means for our opini- ons in all divine and civill matters, as we have in our own matters of fadhbut if we think not aright in thole matters, it is no fault in us ; it is a defect of our un- derftandings, which wee cannot poffibly help* not an ad: of our wills.
9. In an oath made to a Pirate or a Tyrant wee contract with God himfelfe like wile. And ii it bee concerning things in our power and lawfull (that is in things which no man hath (o much right to dilpofe of, as our felves) then we are bound to make the oath good, by realon of our obligation to God. Neither is it difficult for us to comprehend, how there may be an obligation in us to give that to another, which hee may have no drift right to demand, as in deb no gra- tia, in doing one good office for another. And if this were otherwife, then the moft folemn and religioufefi: thing in the world, would have nofenfe nor effect. Namutnontenearis, nifi ipfs nolis ? non eft de n&iurk Jxramentu
Out of this we may examine and conclude two things concerning the perfons who give the oathes.
Que ft* l. Whether they hee our Uw full Super tours erno} foribme fiiink no oath can be lawfully taken, but from a lawfull power. To this I anfwer,
dnf. That Saint Panlm the forementioned chap- ters fwore, not conftrain'd by anylegali formal! pow- er, juft or unjuft, but mov'dby the juftnefle of the matter which he afferted. If there be a peccancy in the matter contrary to the right of a third perlon, the Magiftrates title and fupremacy cannot warrant
E4 i
(SO
it $ , and if there be no peccancy in the matter, but on- ly in the title of the Magiftrate, then neceflity whick is the Cafar of Cafars, and which admits an appeal above them fas hath been largely proved in the firft part) is our magiftrate, and warrants ©ur oathes as well as fuch promifes.
Que ft. 2. What if the powers above us fwear us to fuch things as may be good, but which afterwards we eannot adlually accornpllfa ? > Anf. If the deficiencie proceed from a decay of thofe powers, and that we contributed nothing to it, then wee are free : nam qui non eft cAufa cauf&jton eft caufacaufati. Secondly, If the good things fworne be of Religion and the promoting of piety, and that by the meanes of the power which fwore us, then if that authority faile, wee are freed from lb much as concerns our effe&ing of it that way, and wee are left onely to that obligation which tied us fufficiently to advance piety and Gods worfhip, before wee fwore. In this cafe we owe nothing to the Magiftrate for the matter of the oath, but to God who hath here Jus %ertia perfon& ut fart is & teftis* For we are original- ly bound in all things to ferve him with all our hearts and foules to our lives end. In modo yromovtndifie- tatemt we are more intenfively oblig'd by oath to co. operate with the magiftt ate, and if hee on his part faile wilfully or negligently, athiscwne perillbeit, for we are thereby difpenc't from the tie of the oath that condition failing.
CH A P
(57)
Chap. IV.
In whofe fenfe is an oath to be taken and kept, either in the givers or ta- kers fenfe?
IAnfwer that is to be taken and made good in the Adminiftrers fenfe ( whofe oath I fuppofe it to be^ or as the fwearer conceives it underftood commonly by others/ For it is a Promife or contract of transfer- ring fomething to another, viz,, to the firft propoun- der ; and therefore in it we do but follow his will or minde as the principle, to which the words relate. Sappofe I voluntarily promife a man fomething abfo- lutely or without delay, and he conceives but upon condition, I am not withftanding obliged to give it him immediately ; Becaufe all the Obligation which is, comes from my mind, of which the declared fenfe was, to give without delay •. So if I promife 20. and he conceives but 10. I am by my owne will, and the faith of a man,obliged to 20. which was the principal! and declared fenfe.
In like manners if I know the Propoundersmind and and meaning in his Oath, and fweare in thofe words WThich properly fignifie his mind, I ftand bound to his fenfe; becaufe my fenfe tells me, that fuch orfuch was his fenfe. It is a mans thought within,more then his words without, which are to be considered :
Dcos qui rogat illefacit. Mart.
Becaufe intcrnall Afts (fuch as are the thought and
will
(S8>
will of the mindjare not vifible by the eye ; Yet Tome- thing is certainly to be determined, that fo the religi- eufeft and ftri&eft Obligation in the world might not be without its effe&.
The meafure of interpreting, is the Collection of a mans mind by probable (ignes; which fignes are either words,or other probable con jectures.In cafe there be no figne which might (hew us the contrary, then words are to be taken in a plaine common feafe,& not too much Grammatically : And therfore the Romans fas others likewile have obferved)dealt treacheroufly with AntiochHs, to whom when they were to give halfe fuch a number of Ships, they divided each Ship in two ; In which, tho pars dimidia mvium were true Grammar Latine in that divided fenfe 5 yet all the world could not underftand it, bat or whole Ships.
Thus when we fpeake of Law, we ufe the termes of Mens Legis, though indeed it have nothing but Words - And wee fay, Summum )m may btfumma injur**, which is impoflible according to its words. All this Siews, that it is the meaning of the Princi- palis mind, and not bare words which fpecifie the things in queftion. And feeing all Oaths are compo- sed of words, and that we have found what mufr be the fence of them ; I (hall examine what Obligation thjey have in the Societies of men.
Chap.
(5*) ChaP. V.
Of the Obligation of. Words:
HEaven and Earth (hall patfe away (ooner then Gods Wordj the reaCon is, becauie It made both Heaven & Earth, and the caufe is always nobler than its efTe&s. All change argues imperfection, and ther- fore Gods Language is alwaies t&e lame : But man is imperfect both in his underftanding and will, and fo coniequently in the fignes of both : His habit, man- ners, Lawes and Words derive his Pedegree from Babetfand confufion. However, though all Countries vaftly differ in the exprerfions or (ignes (which are the ugnificatians ) of their minds, yet they ail agree in the fame fence of the fame thing : Two and two in all Ceuntries make foure, though two and two fignifie foure but in one Country. Wherefere every Country is obliged to communicate in its own words, according as they are popularly, not privately under- ftood by them.
Queft. Mm how are they obliged to that ? Arfw. I anfwer by Contract, even as they are to their particular Lawes. For that power which makes a Law, makes' a Word, and that which abrogates a Law, takes away a Word : Cuftome makes a Law, and Cuttome makes a Word .• Yea, Laws themfelves are the vaineft ehings in the world for Government, if we have, not an Obligation one upon another, whereby we areafiured of the publique fence of the words, which every one is to practice thole Lawes in.
If
(6o)
If words change, we are t« accompany their change, as we would accompany the Society in which, and by whichthey are changed : But yet we are alwaies to keepe to the fame fence, which is the end of all words : Infomuch that if by old Tenure my Anceftours were obliged to furnifia to the Land-Lord fo many Oxen yearly, and that by change of time the word Oxe fhould now fignifie perhaps a Fly, yet I am obliged to ps^jn that which was meant by a Fly at fuch a time,which was then an Oxe : I put this plaine cafejbecauie in other Tongues there hath defatlo been ss ftrange, yea ftranger changes of words, witneffe Lufa & lupxnar,8cce
It were needlefie to fpeake further concerning the Legi/lative power of making Werds, the reafon of it is focieare,and every where in pra&ice: I fhall only ob- ferve that the Romans, even out of Italy obliged the Countries where they had their Legions, to foliicite their affaires, and communicate with them i» the Latine Tongue which gave them their Lawes : For it feemedfome kind of fubjettiox for the Governing party to apply it felfe to thofe whom it Commanded. Hence French, Sfamjh, and Englifh alfo, retaine a mixture of Latine words to this very day. Thus the Pope pre- tending now to the Supreame Power and Jurisdicti- on in Religion, fets thofe of his Jurisdiction fin ieve- rall Countnesjthe Language of their Religion : And were it not, but that I confider Horace lived when all this was pracTifed, I fhould much more have admired his profound determination of this Queftion in his jirs Poetica,
Quern penes Arbitriumefi, &]m& norma loquendi.
The confequence of ail this fhewes us what an un- naturalland uniawfull thing it is for a man to falfifie
his
feis words, to tell a lye, to ufe mentall refervations, ex fifbticentia$QV equivocations/* jimfhtbohgia^^xch makes martyrdome folly , and leagues and contracts of no aflurance. This therefore was originally the aft of the firft Law-breaker, who therefore is called the fa- ther of lyes,as God xscalled/*«z that Iamfhc Father of Trutb,in all his words.
Levit. 19, 1 1 . Te (hall not deaJefalflj, neither lye one to Another ; for (Eph.^ 2$»)Te are members one of an- other. GaL 2.1 i,i 2,1 3. Peter is feverely reprehended by Paul fa diffembling, out of a feare of thofe of the Circumcifion. Here he who was at all perils to pro- feffe truth, profeft lying, for he intended to deceive.
Ob. It is objected, That he who equivocates tells an untruth, not to deceive another, but to preferve himfclfe.
Anf. I anfwer,That he who thinks *0fE Bi . btherwife then he ipeakes., deceiyes,and intends to deceive. For he tells his thought to another, different from what his owne heart tells it him, that fo he might beget that opinion in the mind of ano- ther, which is to deceive, and to elude : To fay he doth it only to preferve himfelfe, reaches not the dif- ficulty 5 for though that be his primary end, yet his Intermediate end, is to do it by deceiving. Let him al- low the fame liberty of plea to one who hath robbed him, and he (hall jprefently heare the Theefe fay, That his end in that Action was only to preferve himfelfe, not to wrong him : Which yet he his Adverfary will not take for a juftification. No evill therefore is to be done, that any good may come of it. Rom.2.$. other- wife the Devil would be co-operative with God, and collaterall,notoppo(ite, to him. Truth and Faljbood are farts of Jufttcc andinjuflice, which have relation
to
( 6l )
to our Neighbour ad extra ; and therefore are not to be eftimated according to that which is feigned, reti- redly within in the mind, but which flowes from the Tongue in kno wne and intelligible words;
« — —"Pofteffen animi mot us inter f re l e lingua, Tor the mouth of anftoneft man is in his heart,aad the heart of a knave is in his mouth. But it is to be weilobferved* That ne who tels not all the truth tels not a lye 5 which was Abrahams cafe, @en.2Q*2. when he faid no more oft Sara to Ahimelech but that ftie was his Sifter. That of St Paul's pretending to be a Phariiee, ^#.23. 6,7, after his being an Apoftle, is a little more intricate, becaufe in executing an Office, efpecially fuch a one as confilts in an upright witnef- fing a Truth, and fuch a Truth as immediately relates to the Intereft; of Gods glory, and not of our owne, and which etight to be done in feafon ancLoutoffeafon% (as St Paul himfelfe faith J there we ought to be mod: peremptory andunmaskt»£^i*.23. 13. Elijha permitted Naaman to live in an Idolatrous country,on condition that he teft ified his diflike. iKing.y 18,1 9. However St Paul ftruck not in with the Pharifees againft the Sadduces wpon a Contradi&ion, though in that dangerous Riot he would not declare upon what ground he beleeved the Refurre&ion. To paffe a dangerous Wood fafely, it is fometimes lawfnll to put on fuch skins as the Beafts have which haunt thofe Woods ; but not fuch as Afuletus his Theefe put on to deceive and rob men. Nay, thofe -words which are not in themselves true, are not alwaies lies ; For they are direded to a Morall and to a pious end, and therefore by that intention are not contrived to deceive or abule. Of this fort were our Saviours di- vine Parables, the Story of Dives and Lazarus ( for
fingers
fingers are not in Heaven, ner tongues in Hell,) atnj of the Prodigall Child. Likewife of Jothams Trce$ going to chufe a King, Jttdg. 9. 8. And of the poore mans only Ewe, which the Prophet Nathan *Q\x?,& King David was forcibly killed by a rich man.
Having therefore thus throughly (as I c®nceive)ex- arnined the nature of Oaths, I fliall fpeake to the par- ticular cafes wherein they are or may bepra&ifed : and in the firft place,I lhall fpeake of the Leagues and Oaths which pafie betwixt Prince and Prince ; that fb we feeing how farre they conceive themfelves mu°* tuaily oblig'd by Oaths, may the eafilier guetTe at the Nature and obligation of our ©wne Oaths to them.
Ch Ap, VI.
Concerning thofe Oaths which paflc betwixt Prince and Prince
SOme difpute, Whether as Kings can abfolve their fubje&s from their oaths to them, 10 whether they can abfolve themfelves from their owne oaths. The grand fubtilty of this is, becaufc the ads of fupreme Princes are not 'contrary to, but above all Law : and they are do«e in places where they are not fubjed to any fupcriour jurisdiction. For if they be ads done at home, then it is cleare they are above their fob/ ects : If abroad by any Proxies, then its clearer that their perfons are lefle fubjecl:. But becaufe God is in the obltgation,and that all perfons and places are alike fub- jecl unto him, as he i$ King of Kings j therefore fuch
Princes
(H)
Princes arc ©blig'd as much as others, in foro intern?* (of which jarisdi&ion all Oaths arc) though not in foY9 sxterno. The former defcnptions of the nature of oaths are fufficient for the further proofe of this, and therefore it would be needlefle to enlarge upon it.
If oaths be made by Princes t© Princes in their Princely capacities, but that thofe Princes are in their Principalities oblig'd to Lawes, then their Lawes be- ing above them(in regard they (land obliged to them) their perfoas are only conditions of their oaths, wher- by it is manif efted, only with whom they contracted, viz,, with the communities whereof they are the firft and fupreameft Officers.
If Oaths and Leagues be made betwixt Princes Who were above their Lawes, but that the qualities of their perfons be afterwards changed, which quali- tiesformerly were as conditions moving to the Oaths and Contracts, then(according to many learned mens opinions,) the whole obligation ceafes betwixt them. This cafe is fpecified above, in the Oaths and Treaties which lately paft betwixt our King,the King of Spain, and the now King of Portugall ; as if our King Hood obliged to the King of Spaine, only for fo much as he fhouldbe able to hold in his Pofleffion.
Thus much briefly concerning Oaths betwixt Prince and Prince. Now I ftiall fpeake concerning Princes Oaths to the People, efpecially concerning Coronation-oaths : and afterwards I fliall ipeake con- cerning fubje&s Oaths to their Princes.
Chap*
r*5)
Chap. VII.
Concerning Princes Oaths to the Peo- ple, and of Coronation-Oaths.
S r. Hew Princes thinking to keep thofe 0athsy may breake them.
2. Of State Oaths.
3, The Oaths and Statt-aBs of Communities in Arespafl, arethsacls oftheprefent Cemnwni- ties, if there were no intervening fmiame^tall Change.
4 • How a man may jaftlj t hang e his will. 5 . In what fence Communities change net.
VSually in all places Kings at their Coronations fweare, That they will keep, and iee kept ail the Lawes which they finde at their entrance, and that they will not innovate nor change any thing in them. I. Though this feeme very candid, yet I fay there is nothing which can looner ruine a State, then Prin- ces rigid keeping, or careleflfe breaking fuch Oaths. If they hold to their naked ternies, then there can never be any good reformation:For that ufually requires the taking away or ibme Lawes : And a power of aboli(h-» ingiome old jLawes, is as etfentiall to Government, as the making of new. Thus alio if they care not for keeping their i-awes at all, then they may take away the good Lawes, as well as the bad 5 and Co there is
F tyranny
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tyranny in both. What i$ then to be done ?
§. 2. I conceive that all fuch Oathes as they are of matter of State and Government 3 f© "They are to be interpreted according to the Ta- '* cite Coaditions and foundations of Government, tC of which. The preservation »f the community is the •*chiefeft» And becaufe the dangers of a State can never be allforeieen by any company of men, by rea- fon of the infinite circumstances of humane adions and accidents, therefore the> cannot be allcaution'd in Pofitive Lawes ; Nam optmis rebus fna femper adfcant fericula ant adnafcuntnr, which as Plautus faith., nobis anciHant quafi fcafha* Thofe Lawes for this reafon, are faid to be made cum fenfu human a imbectllttatis, and to laft no longer then they may bee for the good of the community who gave them their being to no other end. So that we may well fay,thofe Magiftrates whs cbftinately bold thus to their oaths, breakjhem. For thinking to f ave the Law in its let- ter and words, they may lofe and ruine their ftatcs and lawes, by not keeping to the originall fenfe of them, further then which they cannot goe: Where- fore each Community hath a liberty of excepting thofe future cafes from the rigour of their laws, which in all probability they who firft made the laws would have excepted,if they could have had certaine know- ledge of them,when they were maCing the laid laws.
0b). But it may be objeded, That wee have not fuch a liberty in others ads as in ourowne, nor yet have we liberty in all our own. For an ad once paftf is in faith to be kept, Specially if an oath bee faftned toit,&c.
* ^Anf. §3. To thislanfwer, That it is ill fappo- fed that tne Legiflative ads of former ages are n*t
ours:
(*7)
ours: For we are dill the fame fociety or body poli- tique, which dies not, no fundamentall change inter- vening : Though the particular perfons of pafV-ages benoaaore, yet the iociety is the lame 5 juft as the Rhine is the fame river it was at the beginning, though its waters (till runne away, and are every moment buried in the Sea.
When our actions are for our felves ( and not in making over fome rights to others ) then wee have alwayesa Naturall liberty to dilpofe of our actions for our felves, as we fhall at anytime flnde fitting. The body Politique can be confidered but as one particu- lar perfon, and what it adts is ufually for it (elfe s and fo in that confequence hath a liberty of doing or un- doing what it (hall find e belt correfponding with its particular intereft,
4. Every particular man hath liberty to change his will in the difpofing of what is his owne, fo long as hee lives : and hath not a body Politique as large a privilege, which is the fountain© of all privileges ? And indeed how is it imaginable that a man hath power to bindcordiackle himlelfe, cr that a Commu- nity can force an obligation upon it fejfe ? feeing it is neither fuperiour nor inferiour to it ftlfe. Surely there is a better way for remedying an inconvenience, then for a man to oblige himfelfe to continue in it.
5. Neither can a Community be properly laid to change.- Becaufeitftill holds to the fame end, viz.. The prefervation of the whole. 'Tis a true maxim, qn& adfinem ducttnt in materia moralt ctfi.mationem habem a fine 5 take the cafe thus : The geneiall end of a Pilate is to fave, not to call away the Ihip com- mitted to him : his obligation is to bring it lately into fucborfucha port : If the fands change the chanelf,
F 2 then
cm
then he is oblig'd to quit his old courfe, and to change a it according to the change of the lands; but yet all thisf is rv t with the change of the generall end. Thus though he be oblig'd to prelerve the goods for the be- nefit of thofe who committed the ftiip to him, yet ini atsmpeS, t© fave the (hip, hee may not throw ovec' his men. but the faid goods, not withffonding his ob- ligation to lave them. Anrum non valet tcmflumy faith our Saviour, becaufe it ferves it : Wherfore the old Prieft did very prudently, when hee faw his Tem- ple on fire, to throw all his holy water on it ; and when that would not doe, to crie for helpe to this his laft remedy, cum aqnk non pojfum ru/na extingnam* Though in this neceility hee pluckt downe the Tem- ple which hee was bound to prelerve, yet by this meanes he fav'd lome of the ftatues of the Gods, for whom the Temple was built
Chap. VIII.
Concerning (iibjcdts Oathes to their Princes;
i • Wherfore danger em to examine fapreme rights?
2. Of LMonarch^ Arijlocracy, & Democracy. No fort of Government which cm give alwaies a certaine remedy for an inconvenience of Hate.
3 . Why fome Countries more incli&d geographi- cal) to one particular fort of government then to
9 another \ 4 Where-
(*)
f. Wherefore we Are abusdfo much in diflributive Ittftiee, (Rewards and Pwi foments) as alfo in thepleafures of fenfe, riches and honour^ for iht enjoyments whereof wee fo vainly torment our felves. Of the power of dominion, and the right ofex- ercifing itfptcifcally in this or thofe hands.
5. Foure cafes wherein fubj eels are freed from
former ^Allegiance.
7. How a man may take an oath from an unjufl in- vading party, contrary to thofe oaths which per- haps he took firff from the jitfl party, wb& pofsi- bly brake no conditions with him.
8. Some Kingdomes for tbs Prince alone and his benefit.
Of the Harmony of Oathes. I o . Two wajes of taking oppofitt oathes . 11. Of theprtfumptive will of the Prince. * 2 « Of the conditions of thofe oaths whereby wee
arejworne to lofe our lives for our Prince. 13. In what fenfe may a manfweare that hee hath
the right, whom hee knows is in the wrop? ? Of
fubfertptton in the Church 0/' England. 1 4.. Why Penalties better fecmities for Princes
Rights then Oaths.
1 . ¥ N government it ought to be moft prudently cau-
1 tioned, that a Society or State raffle not out into
a dillolute multitude. For in confufion there is a rage
which reafon cannot reclame, and which maft be
F3 vlc«
(7o)
left to calme and fettle, as waves doe after a tempeB* both upon themfelves and of themfelves.
This confufion arifes moft out of the reflexion which particular men may make on their particular- rights and liberties , which perhaps may lawfully belong to them, but are not alwayes convenient fbif thern to have, no more then knives and daggarsare tor young children or diftra&ed perfons. Libertas enim fingulerum erit fer Vitus omnium* Befides it takes away all future intelligence, and breaks a Chri-'l ftallglaife which can never be peec't againe fo finely as it was, but ever after will (hew broken and angry Faces.
2. Wee think our fervice here very hard, beingjj on every hand expos'd to perp-etuall combats, and faine wc would meliorate our condition by experi- menting whatfoever Prefents it felre firft to our pref- fures, but in vainc : for like men in Feavours we may change the fides of the bed, but not our temper. The (late of Monarchy is of all the reft moft ex - c v' cellent, efpecially when it reprefents Gods dominion, more in the Juftice, then in the fingularity of the Governour. But btcaufe there is no Prince who is inabled with prudence and goodnefle any way fo great and foveraigne as is his power, therefore he cannot but commit great errours ; and [landing on the peoples (houlders, he e makes them at lalt complaine of his weight, and of the loffe of their liberty which is ahvayes their dtfired end. Ariftocracy (lands like a modcratour betwixt the excel- fes of Kingly and popular power ; but this mixture oftentimes produces moniters. The bloudiefl com- \ motions that are,happen in this ftate,though eiteem'd moft temperate, ;uft as the greateft ftorms are form'4 I in
(70
,;n the middle region of the Aire, and in thofc feafons sf the yeare which are leaft foarpe. No one part ot i ftate can be ftrengthned, but by cutting the fine ws ot mother. Sed ffoliatis arm* faprfr* I J uvc. *»d tm- potencyretrefenting at the fame time both mtjery and Lr^akeslife even in difpaire, and if it cannot be beholden to the reliefe of an Enemy, will make the publique ruines of a Kingdome its grave. Tak* *»*7 Armes and Liberty, and every man ts without interefi andafetlionforhis Country: Invade his goods, and thefountaiaeof atreafury is immediatly dried, and hee as foon made a beggar ; and after thefe diftrcfles M Machiavell tilth, Hee will not Ument fo much the loffe of his fublique Parent, as of his frigate Patrimo- ny. Democracy reduces all to equality,and DcnioCracy. favours the Liberty of the people in every thing : but withall it obliges every man to hold his neighbours hands, it is very {hort fighted, permits e- very one in the ihip to pretend to the helme, yea m a tempeftj through policy it is oft conftrain'd to intro- duce all thofe deflations which ought to bee feared onelyfrom envy, andatlaft blindfoldediy getstucn falls, that it fcarce hath force enough remaining to raife it felfe on its legs againe. It hath fwing of Liber- ty large enough, butfuch, as is not proper to cure its owne dlfcttvpers, fee ing it is vtry dangerous for* man (whn he may have other choice) to bee both fan- tnt andPhyfitiantohtmftlfe. \ ,
Pinally, If this fupreme power fall into the hands of a heady and of an unconfeam multitude, it is lodg'd in a great animall, which cannst bee better then in ch*mes\ This is the circle which we fo painfully move in without (atisfying our defires : And no won- der (ceing Nature in every fart is [ick^and diftemperd,
P 4 and
(70
and therefore can finde reft in no pofture* Humane laws grow out of vices, which makes all government carry with them the caufes of their Corruption, an a complication of their Infirmities; and for this rea ion they are ever deftitute of vertue, proportionabl to the deviations of our crazie complexions ; juft a the ftatues of Trajan's gods were dilproportion'd to the gate of his Temple, ©ut of whichfas Afolodorus told him,) they would not be able to get, if hee ftiould at any time ftand in need of their afiiftance.
3. Yet in the midft of theie our fhif tings and changings we are naturally inclin'd to one fort of go- vernment more then to another, and it is obfervable, both out of the Hiltories of the former Monarchies, and out of the Moderne ftate of the world, That the Eaftern and hot Countries wch lie under the coude of the Sun, are moft difpos'd to the fiate of lv-onaichy,as in the large extents of Perfia, Tnrkte, Africa, Pew, and Mexico, in which latter quarter of the world, the people who have experimented both, are gover^ ned better and more contentedly by the Spaniard or Tortugmfe, then by the Hollander, who are by. fits in the exceflfes of kindnefie and of cruelty ; But in Eu- rope and fo neerer the Pole, Countries are difpos'd more to Republiques and popular mixtures, tempered according to fundamental! laws, and the authority of Diets and Senats. Nee totamfervitutem pati poffnnt% nee totam /tbertatem.TaciVoT this reafon iome vainly fay, that the Northern quarter of the world is al- wayes more imbroil'd in Civili Warre then the Ea- fterne. For though (uch fundamental! parties in their focieties, ieem to confine as it were on a battable ground, where a gap is open to uiurpations, and to ^atfrhings one from another, yetthefupremacy and
ultimate
(73)
ultimate refiilt of power in fuch Gates is fo defin'd andlodg'd, that they provide more effect ually for the ftiflingjthenfor the growth of ambition and tyranny. Seing therefore this tempeft which we live in is like- ly to be perpetuall, the beft way to fleep in it, as our Saviour did in his, is to quiet all within, rather then unneceflarily to diiputeany thing without : and to confider that we are now tnf<ue mwdiy that wee can turne to no fort of government which hath not in the very conftitution of it a power to wrong us in all the parts of Distributive Juftice, Reward, and Punifh- nient. 4. Fortobeabletopunilbthofewho ,_■ .„
« r u Of Pumfhmcat.
may wrong us, the power or the govern- ment (whacfocvcr it bee) muft bee above all other powers, and confequently ablolqte without redrefte or appeale. Magiih ates are they ©f whom it may be
rightly (aid Qu^ noluvt oc cider e quen-
quam -Pojfe volunt* As for Rewards, ofRewazds.
though the Governours were all like O- /^r, and had his Kingdoms and generous minde, Gravis mcunqueerit a/ijsipfa bene- ficiorumfotemta. Bcfides all this wee doe but abufe ourklvesinprdumingcf a pleafant condition to6e recovered in this lire, bee it either in Senfe, Riches, or Honour.- For really pleaiure is here ofthc lcz^xc Unattainable, net io much through a Ci- 0f senfc!" vill, as through a Naturall defed, in the difproportions which are betwixt our Appetites, our Senfes, and their obje&s.
As for that which we fopompoully ftile the ravish- ment of the Sentes, or fenfible Pleaiure, it is onely a prefent being out of that paine, which troubled us immediatly beforejand when that is over,then another
presently
C74) prelently begins to enter in the place of it* Befides no caanyet ever was in the a&uall enjoyment of fo high a content, but he could at the lame inftanc have imagined to himf eUe fomething of the fame kind a degree higher ; and his mifsing of this (which in right realon he ftiould not have expe&ed^ indilcree^y breeds his anxiety. The paines of hunger and of Re- pletion fpurre us on to the fun&ionsofLife, and Na- ture accompanying all our painfull adions with (ome fecret promiie of joy, under that charme hides from us what ihe intends we (hall afterwards fuff er in our fenfes.
ofRches. As ^or Ricnwkey confift in things with- out us, and were to be fought after above a I things if they brought content, as well as content brings them. If they be for reall ufes, then it followes that he who hath not need of fo many things as ano- ther, is richeft of the two : and the fewer things they be which relate to and concerne a man, the leffe trou- ble afflicts him. Upon the whole we may fay of them With Seneca ; acctpmns fertturAferituri.
of Honour ^s rea*on ab&tcs much iikewife of the price of Honour ; which indeed even in Princes is no better then an abandoning the dominion of their owne perfons, to take the care of thoufands of others: For the wretchedeft children in their Nations exped ftrength and remedies from them in their un- juft fufferings 5 jail as the weake Infant doth phyficke in the milke i uckt from the Narfes body, which is weakened thereby : Nemo eodem tempore afiequi fotefi magnamftmam &
magnum quiet em : Qmnitil. Meane people lye all at the roots of Trees, and enjoy that quiet there, which they who (it aloft in the bo wes
cannot.
(75)
capnot. This tmdcCtferfemPempe/s fate, when he had got his power and became what Pompey was. Jam cinis efit& de tarn magno rejlat AehiUe ISTefeio qui d par v am quodnon bene compleat urnam. TheoldPhilofophers confidering this over-richneffe in our fancies and appetites, yet concluding that God and Nature made no faculties in vaine, rightly fought for felicity and pleafure out of Nature, and beyond the bounds of this jarring world :they were only unhappy in not difcerning the right Ob jedc, Chrifl: Jefus \ he hath iliewne us that which willfatis fie, becaufenot fubjcft to change,nor any way elementary. They who have faith to embrace it, fee the world immediately beneath them, and the confiderableft commotions in it ordinarily to be but as a wind's blowing of leaves up and downe, in which ftuffle it matters not which tri- umphs over the other. In the examination therefore of Rights, and of the caufes how they are forfeited, The familiar canvafing of thefe fupreme Rights ap- peares (by what is proved before) to be the dange- roufeft. For it unloofens the very pinnsof Govern- ment, and fo lets all the I rame fall into confufion, and by that into the extremity of dangers. However, be- caufe there may be juft caufe of canvafing the forfei- ture of thofe Right sy according to thofe tacite conditi- ons, which are the ground of the peoples Oaths, as well as of the. Princes , therefore I fliall briefly fee downe what they, who are for ftrid: obedience to Governours, have declared long agoe upon the cafe, together with their reafons.
But as a ground to all their following fuppofitions, it will not be amifle to agree firft in the competency of the Tribunall from whence their determinations itlue.They who derive neither from Prince nor people,
but
C7<0
bat from Jefcs Chrift, as the immediate difpenclrs ©f his myfteries,interpofe with greater affurance then any ©f another Robe. But becaufe they hitherto have in this differ'd among themfelves as much as any Profeflion 5 S.Tfeerfore they have caufed feme to look for another Tribunall to jadg of them,and before an intire resigna- tion, to make ule of private reafons, to fee whether there cannot be a diftin&ion betwixt the Power of de- minion&x\& the right of exercifing it ffiecific'ally by this or thofe hands,.
The Pmers which are, derive folely from God,by whom all things live,move,and have their being: And becaulethisis afacred theame, therefore many Di- vines(or rather Minifters of the holy Order)thinke the whole queliion is to be defuYd at their Tribunall by the text of the Bible. But according to Saint Paul out of Aratus and Hefiod, the Scrip- tures doe not folely difcover this power of God, but only the power of the new Creation : If it had been other wile, Saint Paul in (lead of appealing to Cafar, would have appeai'd to hirnfelfe,or to his owne order. Therefore the Miniftry is not the lole Judge even of this firft part of the diftindh'on. The Lawyer he only ipeaks properly to the latter, becaufe it is in jure ad rem, and confiits in .and is (perilled by Contraband in thofe tacite conditions which are cleared by the rules of naturall Equity. Our Druids therefore are not utn- ufqus fori $ neither are they as the Z^/w,Keepers of thofe arcana Judicu & Imperii, whxh God iolely or- dered for the J ewes Common- wealth . The Law- yers therefore be ft finds out the right, and the Minifiry befi perfwade us to makg confeience of it. Thus there- fore I enter upon the particular cafes.
§ 6. He who hath fworne Allegiance and fidelity
to
<77) to bis Prince,is abfolved,and fet at liberty, if his Prince abandon his Kingdome. tor upon his own a&,he hath and will have no right to it ; and fo farre as he hath no right, his fubj e# can doe him no wrong. He who tfarowes away money (ut injattn mijjilmm) is no lon- ger owner of it. But it is to be noted, that he who ufes not his ©wne well, is not to be iuppof ed to have abandon'd it,as is larglier prov'd in the firft part/. 3 .§ 5.
Secondly, If a Prince give away, or fubjecl: his Kingdome to another Crowne,then he may be refitted in it,notwithftanding any oath: Becaufe the alienation of a Kingdome, is not comprehended in the govern- ment of it, and it is his government which is the ground of the oath.
Thirdly 3If a Prince through mad fury or folly, feeke inahoftile way the deftruftion of his whole King- dome, then we owe him nothing by oath. For the will of governing and destroying a Kingdome, is in- confident with it feife. Nero virtually declared he would not governs Rome, when he was letting it on fire. Thus the Civill Law permits fathers to disinherit their children, and children to disinherit their fathers, ('which the Cafuifts permit though they fwore before never to disinherit one theother)if they have attemp- ted to deftroy one the other: for thereby they become unnaturall, and confequently ceafe to be either father or ionne. San.prs&.j.Sefl-.'j.
And this is that which the Law and the Cafuifts ClMyfoluth vinculi per cejfaticnem materia, tint mnta- tionem aliquam wtakiltm fa&am circa caufam jura* menti principalem : Sanderfon'm his Pra/ec.y^ec.j. (aith, That the matter of an oath ceafeth, and is con- fumed, when the ftate of things isio chang'd betwixt the time of fwcaringand fulfilling, that if at the time
cf
(78)' of taking the oath, the date and change of things which afterwards followM, could have beene then forefeen, the oath would not have been taken at all. It fhouldfeeme that this is one Tacite Condition, which is afterwards as eflfe&uail, as if it had been at firft expreft, although the oath at the beginning might have been only in pofitive termes.
Fourthly, if the Prince have part of the fupreme right,& the People the other part, then notwithstand- ing an oath of Allegiance to him,he may beoppofed if he invade the other part of fupreme right. And this . Grotius faith holds though fuch a Prince have the power and right of Warre alone; for that is to bee underfteod iaith he of forraigne Warre onely : Nor can we conceive how that party which ftiares in the fupreme right, can be without the right of defending it, infomuch that if the Prince invade the others right, he may (faith he) lofe his right by the law of Warr? . Supreme right (as is largelier let downe in the firft part) confifts in a capacity of making and abolifhing laws,in levying generall Taxes, &c.
7. But all thele cafes onely fhew how wee are abf olved in our owne confeiences from all oath and contrad, when one party forfeits his conditions firft, in which the difficulties are not very profound, wherfore now I Ihall endeavour to (hew, How a man may take an oath from an unjufi invaAfngyany, contra" ry to thofe oathes which ftrhafs he tooke firfi from the jfifi Party, who fejfibly brake m conditions with him. This cafe I take to be almoft the utmoft of that which can be put ; However I fhall fee what wee may fay for our f elves in it.
8. There are fome Kingdoms which are confide- red for the King and his benefit alene : and wee can- not
(79) not properly call fuch, Common~Wealtbs> becaufc there is no Community, neither of Law, nor of any other right, betwixt Prince and People: But as the old Roman (laves, (o thoie iubjeds Non habent capita injure $ or as thofe who were anciently excommu- nicated , of whom it was laid, That they had Wolves heads, that is, men might kill them as pardonably as they might Wolves : 1 hefe like wile had no commu- nity or participation of right $ Excommunication then being more then a bare putting out of table- commons. Such iubje&s as thofe, though they bee gnaw d to the bones, and that their bookes of Lawes be but books or account for the Princes demanding their whole fortunes, yet they have not the right fcaiceof align; Thefe mull: bring their Tributes to their Cdfar, like the mute fifh in the Gofpell, and af- terwards are as fure as it to pay their lives into the Contribution. For God many times finding fome na- tions groffely peccant and obnoxious to his fevered Juftice, inltead of deftroying them, gives them up as a prey to another Crowne : Thus were the feven nations ; And afterwards Ifrael it felfe was thus in the hands of Nebuchadnezzar : for repining at whole rigour they were exprelly reprehended by God : which particular cafe is not a generall Argument or conlequence fas lome argue \x) for the manner ©f Government, and the duty or latitude of fubje&ion in all Kingdomes. The relation betwixt luch lubje&s and luch Princes, comes not properly into thelcope of this difcourle : for (he more immediate entry of which it is to considered by way of objection. Objt § 9. That as contradictions are not verifiable,fo God who is truth it felfe, cannot bee awitnefeto them, unlelTe it be to punilh them. But leing in luch
.©aths
(8o)
oathes there is contradi&ion, How then can we hope to be justified by God in taking them ?
Anf. All that which hath beene cleared above, ferves mainly to helpe us in this difficulties and to lead us to a true harmony of oaths 5 which fome ftretch wildly to finde even in the very termes of oppofite oaths, at leaftby afecret fenfe which they fay the f wearer hath liberty to put on them for himielfe, Quafi frofofitio mixta ex mem alt & vocdi ejfet legi- time 5 which opinion is in fome manner perhaps re- futed above.
10. I conceive but two wayes of taking (uch op- pofite Oathes.
Firftj When it is in a thing wherein a man may juftly prefume that the right fArtj/ fir a time releafes him of his former oath or duty to him. This is meant during the Warre onely, at which time Ufurpers ne- ver declare their full intentions, becaufe they are not as yet certaine whether they (hall finally pofiefle the power whereby they may be enabled to make good what they pretend; neither can they forefee what their after necefiities may be.
11. Secondly, A man cannot by oath, or any other way be obliged further to any power, then to do his utmott in the behalfe thereof : And though the oath for the right magiftrate be taken in the ftrifteft terms of un- dergoing death and danger, yet it isdo be underflood alwayes conditionally, as moft promifes are, viz,. If the a&ionor paflion may be for that Powers or Prin- ces advantage. Let us take the cafe as we fee it pra- dtiz'd. In an Army each man is or may be oblig'd by oath to loie his life for the Prince whole Army it is, rather then c urne back or avoid any dapger $ iuch an oath is caUM Sacramentum mtlitarc : This Army af- ter
(Bi)
ter having done its utrnoft, is beaten, and now the Souldiers can do no more for their Prince then die, which indeed is to do nothing at all, but to ceafe from ever doing any thing, either for him or themfelves. In thefe (freights therefore it is not repugnant to their oath to aske quarter or a new life^and having taken it, they are bound in a new,& a juft obligation of fidelity to thofe whom they were bound to kill few hours be- fore : neither can the Prince expect that by vertue of their former oath to him, they fhouM kill any in the place where their quarter was given than. They who live under the full power of the unjuifc party* may be faid to take quarter, and to be in the fame condition with the former : and fc have the liberty to oblige themfelves to that which the Princ^ now cannot but expeft from them* viz,, to fwear to thofe under whole power they live, that they will not at- tempt any thing againft them.
All that this amounts to,is, That it is Prater ^ox con~ trafrtus JHramentum^nA as the condition which was the groud of ihispromiffary oath is fuck, that it is irn* poflible for a man in it to advance his parties caufe,fo is it iaapoffible for him to be boii i to an impofllbility. 13, But what if the ufurping power Ihoiild exaft an oath in termes more repugnant to a mans consci- ence ? as, That he ftiall now iweare not only not to doe any thing againft him, but to do all ^ he can tor him, and befides will have him fweare, That the very right of the caufe belongs to him, and not to the other party, as in Edward the Fourth, and Richard the Thirds cafes, &c In aafwer f to this I tint fay, That probably the man call'd to Iweare nere, formerly oblig'd himfclfe to the other party by oatii, Dut not as if that party pofitively
G had
(9i)
had a clearc right, but that fee knew none who had a clearer, and therefore upon the fame ground he may neither iweare action nor pofitive right to this party j Though my hand trembles to write further or this cafe , perhaps as much as his would, w ho fhuuld cometofweare it tatti* Ev*ngctiU> yet I rind great Dodors who favour oathes in inch tei ms ; Not as it they had a Poiitive or Grammatical! ienle in them, but that they require onely thrive ftiould do nothing contrarv to the termesof the oa hs,or of their leule, which is as much as to lay, 1 hat though wee know not wherem that parties rights pofitively confilt, yet We take our oathes that we will not do any thing to Weaken his pretentions. This is the fente which they lay we may iweare, when an oath is given us in terms which we corceive falie. As for iwearwg wet w;li be active for that party for which our confeitnees will not let us doe any thing at all; They fay we may Iweare it alio ; becauie the ground of the oath re- quires no more, but that we be not adivetotraverfe any of his o'efignes, or actions ; and that th< ugh wc aft not any thing for him in his Armies abroad, yet that wee will not attempt any thing diretf ly or indi- rectly at home, that might tend to the putting of our felves or others out ©f his poffeflion, or to the weak- ningof his iecunty. Though this fenfe fausfie not the termes or the oath in their* rigour, yet thole Doctors lay it fatis lies the lcopeof it, beyond which a man is notobiig'd unltfle he will himleife. For in ftance 5 No man could formerly bee admitted to the Miniftry in our Church, unlefle he fubferibed firft to the Articles, Liturgie, Canons, and Jarifdiction of our Church : And though there were a great contra- diction betwixt the Arminian, Epilcopall and Calvi-
niftl
(*3)
nifts opinions in the matter to be fubfcribcd ; yet they all concurred in this,that they might fubfcnbe in this fenfe, Firft that they meant not to difturbe the peace of the Church for any thing contained either in the Articles, Canons, or Epifcopall Government, what- ever their pofitive opinions about them might bee. Secondly , That they thought thofe in a faveable con. dition who conform'd to the ftria fenfe of them. And this they conceived was all that was meant by fub- fcription ; Witneffe Mafter Chittmgwsnh, who onely writes fo much, but the Doctors and Divinity Profef- fors at Oxford licenfed the Printing of it, and the Arch-Bifhop prefented it to his Ma/efty, fo that it pafTed an avowd fenfe both in Church and State. But as I conceive this one the moft perplext cafe that can poffibly be put in oathes, and which hath not yet been examined by any that I know of, fo I recommend it to the further difqurttion both of the Cafuift and of the Lawyer, who yet is not fo well fitted for the Vo- rnm internum as the other. This we know, that our Ancettors, wholiv'd in that age, whole confuflons gareoccafionto thefc difcourfes, were dc fatto feve- rall times preft to this fort of oath.
14. And were it not, but that afpiring Princes have fo much of the C afar in them, that being once by their ufurpations ingaged, they cannot ftop till they have acquired all they aimed B£S. at (as he did who becaufe Rubicon was «cs%Prwc« paffc, Et quia jafta erat alea, could not r^ reft till he had iupt in the Capitol ) they would finde it a greater fecurity to put a penalty upon thofe who (hould queftion their rights, then to force their fub- jeflsto acknowledge their pretentions by this oath. for fuch an oath may be broke in the- very taking of
G2 it
r84)
it • and he who fcraples not to forfeit his oath fot feareorintereft.wiU difavow any pretended right, when foever he Qull/*" in Lnhrif.
Thos much concerning the nature and ^harmony of Mtto Now it remaines onelytofpcakctothelaft difficuty of this fccond part, which is-—
Chap. IX. Whether upon the iffueof a war and the expulfion of ajuft party a man may lawfully give himfelf up to the finall Allegeanceof the unjuft party or no ? ■
S i. The troubles of Wane end net prefentlj with
the Wane . ^ .
2. Wherefore a ftrtf goverwent tsnecejjary for the[e mho conquer tn a CtviU Wane.
3. Wherefore Wet unmet ftveare to obey none but f«eh er fitch Geverneurs.
fy When may a man judge fuck a party tr place t$
he cwquertdi .
$Wh*t conqucfi er acquifition cat never bejujttjtod
6. o/Tereimand JO»<r«/Naples htsCefion.
7. oft he Soctetyofmar.ktnde.
8. The cafe of places taken on Frontiers.
BY a reflexion en that which hath been already ex- amined, this laft Option may ftem»b™j*«
catting ap into t fumme ail that which i$ gone before* Phyfitians to adjuft their remedies aright, coniult the time paft, pr tfenc and future ; and fo ihouid we in ad, thefc cafes, if that which is CiviM had but as Uniform Principles as that which u Natural For if a peremp- tory aflent be demanded of us in a matter which hath connexion with the time paft,the evidence of that de- pends oaely on the credit of ignorant or diiguifed Hiftories, and not on any which we durft peremptot- rily fay cannot mifinforme us.
Segnins irritant anirnos dew/fa fcr aurem Quans qua f pint o cm lis fubjeStafidclihtn^t qua Iffeftbi tradit fpeEtator. Hor.
The time prefent is governed by the wils of men* which are myfterious one to another, & are fo covert and terpentine, that they who fit in Cennctil together, rarely penetrate themfelvcs ; As for the future which relates mainly to this Qndtion, that depends ioiely on his Providence, who never tooke humane reafons into his Counfell, and for the moftpart produces e- vents contrary to, or beyond our hopes and machi- nations.
Here therefore we mail: fuppofe an unhappy War, [as unhappily ended, and according to the variety of ifeumane condition , that the usurping Prince rides now in his Triumph, and that they who follower they idoebutfigh, Pnallbepunifht, as if they intended to betray their Countrey ^ fo that now there remaines nothing to be done, lave that ^u* dandum efi fceleru |AU the Ufurpers pretentions are to bee avow'd, and I nothing is conceal'd which the power of the place is able to make good.
i . But though the Warre be. ended, y et its trou- bles and miferies doe not fo foone ceaie with it :
G 3 Bella
(8*)
Bella movet clip us, deq^ armis arma feruntar* Ovid* Waves after a temp eft are obferv'd to rage, though the wind which raifed them be do wne, and thole re- > fractions do not fo quickly unite in a calm peace,as to make the Sea prefently become Heavens looking- glaffe : InterfettoVmUiobelltm magus befierMflukn* fax edperat, Tac
The Ufurpers refolutions towards the winding up of all, are naturally furioufeft ; and good reafon too ; for juftice here allows him to be feyert r for peace, then he was for Warre. That his dangers might not be infinite, hee is obltg'd to pull up the feeds of War 5 otherwife inftead of taking it away, hee would but deferre it.
2. Civill Warre is naturally more fubjecl to tbefe rigours, then other Warres : Becaufe they who ye- fterday were Enemies, would be inhabitants alwaies. The conquerour fufpecls that theie will bee the firft infringers of his new Lawes ; the violation of which ought at the beginning to be feverelieft cenfured, as of dangeroufeft confequence : according to which reafon, God himfelfe gave fentence of no kite then death on a gatherer onely of flicks, immediatiy after the promulgation of the Sabbath ; and Anamat and Sapbira's firft hypocrifies and mockings of the Holy- Ghoft were rewarded with no leffe then fuddain death ; though now adayes the like bee ordinarily done without immediate fentence. Wherefore for tfaefe reafons though the Ufurper thought not of e- ftablifhing himfelfe in an abfolute JarifdicTion, yet at kft he will finde himfelfe oblig'd to fecuiehis con- queft by the lame means he obtained it. Qui mlunt
occidere quenquam Pejfe volnnt. And Dido gave
^neas the true reafon of the fame cafe.
Res
Res Jtrd & rfgni novitas me talis cogunt Molin9 & Ute fines cufiode tueri. Virg. |. Wee (hould bee exceeding happy, if in the midil of thefe iinbroylcments we could now know Gods decree concerning the Princes and Governours which he would haveraigne ovcruSj as certainly as the ancients did by his revelation and Prophets. Yet thougn we know not (6 much, this we keow aflured- ly, I hat the great changes of Government happen pot by chance, but by order of the moft univerfall caule, which is the foumaine of Dominion. God's Image in Ada, -» by many Divines is underftood to have bet n his Dominion over the Inferiour Crea- tures of the world, and rince him we finde that none are cali'd uod's but Magilirates; For they like God are mod knowne by Commanding. It's oliferVed that Moyfes'mxht i or Gen. names God (imply without anyamibute, but in the 2 Ch pt. after the Creation was rinithr, alwayes calls him Demmus Dens • here- by expr^fling his right to order, what before hee had produced by hisetiicacy. From hence wee can well conceive why God fayes By me Prsxfes raigne ; For the governing Powers w^tch are, are of God* God hath declared that hee will ftiilchaitize and change Princes and Governors ; and though now wee may doubt of their Families and '*$$£ perfons, yet when wee fee the changes and cnatUfements, we may be fure they are by Gods order, yea though the invading or iucceeding Gover- nours belike Jshu^Nebuchadyez^^ar^ov thofe who by cruelty (hew us nothing but Gods wrath. Where- fore it can be no ieflethenfinne in us, orTieaiona- gainft God to fweare we will never obey any but this ©r that Prince, or State, or any but of inch a Family,
G4 or
<8S)
or to thiak that none other (hall raigneever us but iuch. Tor this depends on God's Providence and Juftice, which fets the bounds to the duration of' Go- vernors and Governments.
— * — -fuperat quern am fortunate quamur9
Q**oq> vocat vertamus iter. Yirg.
jQuidftttfj; vitet nunquam hominifatu
Cantum efirtn HorAi—Sed improvipt
Vis rapKtt mptetqs gentes* Hor. Wee are bound to o'wne Princes fo long as it plea- fesGod re give them the power to command us, and when we fee others poireft of their powers, we may then fay, That the King of Kings hath chang'd our Vice-Roys : but then the difficultie will be this.
4. When may a man rightly judge the tnvadour to be in afuH pojfejfion of his con que ft }
This is considerable in regard of the time when we are to give our felves upt© a new Allegiance: Tor an Army in a Countrey doth not ftill poflefle it> becaufe in few dayes it may be repuls'd againe. Thus Havmball though he quarter'd about Rome, yet the fields wherein he quarter'd were fold in the Towne at as high a price as before.
A place therfore is judg'd to be in full pofTeflion, Tirft, When it's fo held that am other power as great as that which holds it,cannor approach it with- out great danger.
Secondly, When there is no probable hopes of recovering it. Thus of a (hip (which is a moveable) the polfeffion of twenty foure houres is a Title in all Admiralties ; becaufe of the improbability of reco- vering a thing fo hard to meet with. Ea definunt no fir a ejfe qua noftramperfecutienem & recuperation nem effugiunt, & qua ex feipfis non habent animum
rede-
redcHndi,ff. dc acqui. rer. dom% /*44. Thus the Jewes were to ©bey and pay tribute to the Romans when Jerusalem was taken.
Thirdly, when the party overcome doth by fome t a&s acknowledge the Invador for the iupreme. Thus the Senate could plead no excufe for Cdfars murther, whom themfelves acknowledged fupreme after the fucceiTe or his araaes.
5. Yet there is one kind cf ufurpation, which by //« no pofleflion or prefcription can ever become lawful!, and a Chriftian can never fubrait himfeife to it, with- out wounding his confcience and faith. For it is that which is founded in impiety and blafphemy 3 and yet would be forc't upon us, as by Gods order, and by title of his true Religion. Such Invaders as thefe though they may fucceed one another.yet their fucceflion and pofleflion cannot legitimate any s becaule no proscrip- tion can run againft God. As this authority is groun- ded in the depth of ail impiety, it pretending a juril- di&ion both in heaven and hell, body and foule, fpiri- tuall and temporall rights ; fo to aflift to introduce it into any place, can be no lefle then the height of trea- fon, both againft God in heaven, and his Vice-gerents on earth t for thereby it is endeavoured indiredly,and by juft confequence to alienate and transferre all So- yeraignty to an Idolatrous Prieft ; and an ailifting to the maffacring of thofe who are not of his Idolatry.
Fourthly, a place is fully potted from the juft Prince or State, when they become private perfons, and fo, fubje&ed to the power of another Magistracy, which the Civill Law cals, dtminutie capitis % or a civill death. In this cafe they who were formerly their fubjeds, need not now fcruple as if they durft not doe this or that, as being ignorant whether their wils difpence
them
(po)
them of fuch or fuch duties in order to their rights^ for it is to be prelumed,that the expelTd Princes or Senats wiis are,That they woald not have them hope-* lefly begin the miferies of a new confufion for them 5 It is a bad way of remedying an evill, by renewing it Without any hope of recovery. When the cafe is thus, they ought to let the people enjoy, Tut a & prdfe'»tia9 and forget vetera & fenenlofa If their fubjedts were fore of their wiis, and as fare* that by their owne por wers they could reftore them withjut an univeriall calamity or their Kingdomes, then their endeavours Were more reafonably due to them. We have noi now Gods revelation for the particular events of things, wherefore we arc exculaDle if we confider the pro- baaihtie of the imanes : Our Saviour would not have a Prince begin a war with i ooo :> men againlt ^oo a, BeiTdes every thing is more favorable for peace then for warre s And to what purpofe is it to take part withthofe who are as it were dead, againft them who are alive? The Law (appoles a woman? husband to be dead, quando mortuaefl: §e$ enm revtfendt> and for that rcafon (he may then tranfire ad alia vota% though he be not then naturally dead. And if polleflion was reaHy the truelt evidence to us or their rights, then it is equitable to follow it ft ill, though it be perhaps in a perfon of more injuiltccthen they were.
6. As the goodneffe and prudence of Ftrdmand King of Naples was admirable in this cafe, folfhall faithfully tianflate it, as guieciardtn lets it downe.
Charles the eighth of trance invaded Italy upon a pretence to the Cro wne of Naples ; Ferdinand was newly come to the Cro wne, but unhappily (ucceeded two, who by excelle of tyranny utterly dsfobliged the people, fo that though he was a Prince very debonair
of
(*0
of himfclfe, yet the remembrance the people had of the former mis-governments, together with the co- wardifeof his Captaines,affordcd him no other news, then the daily ioffe of Armies/Iowaes* and of whole Provinces,even to the gates of Naples it felfe ; whe- ther Charles was now advanc't without having fo machasdifcharg'daPiftoli. And becaufe Ferdinand. found Naples, and the Countrey behind it, halte dead already with feare, and ready to revolt , he refolved therefore not to expofe them to mine, by (landing out perhaps only a little while for him : Wherefore he fommon'dali the Nobility ,Gentry,and prime Citizens cs to wait on him at his Pallace;to whom when he had te bewaii'd firft his own undeferved calamities.and pi- Ce tying thoieof his fubje&s, who let themfelves be f* defeated fo ealily by their own fears; he then advis'd €t them to fend to theFrench King for the beft conditi- €c ons they might get for their own prefervations. And " that they might doe it without any ftain of honour, <che abfolv'd them freely of all oath and homage: And $ for his own part told them, that he was refolv'd not a to wraftle without to yeeld to his fate,rather then by *< trying to ft and out after Co many lodes and misfor- " tunes,to be an occanon of the ruine and pillage of his <c Kingdome, which was an effecl: contrary to that end p for which he defired to be their King. But if the rnif- * government ofthe French (hould make them defirc <c his return, that he would endeavor to preferve him- s< klfc in Sicily, whence he would willingly return to <c expofe his life for their better condition.
Here was the true duty both of a man and of a King •, yea th? A&ion was more then Kingly : For to lay do wfle a Crowns is more Majefticall then to wcare it. It is only from glittering Thrones, whence
the
tfceeiefcentisnoteaiie: Reges emm de tmoculmi** mn defeendnnty imo detmbantun Though other places in the like or worfe condition have not fo clearc a De- claration of their Princes and Governors wils, yet the fame is to he pre fumed from them, rather then that they Should eccafion a fruitlefle and a calamitous conrafion in their behalfs : For he who fpits againfl: the wind, fpits in his owneface.
7. We fpeake fometimes of the fociety of man- kinde, and of a morall continuity., as it all the world were to be considered but as one Common- wealth, as indeed it ought fo to be : but our practice in this be- lyes our rcafon, especially when we reflect on the di- ftinftions or reparations of Kingdomes, and examine by what ground ©r realon Princes pleafures flionld oblige thofe who live oneachfideofafircple River (which divides two Crownes) to doe no adls of hu- manitie one for the other. We know there is a con- fanguinitie betwixt all men, by which we are bound to keep the faith of men even with heathens as well as with others, moralta enim non tofLnnt naturalitt : fo that it is pitty to fee fome lo much libertines.that they thinke they cannot doe a Turke, Jew* Infidell, or any one of a Nation, againft which warre is declared, any wrong: whereas the mettali of the coine is the fame, though the infeription differ.
8. But to approach nearer to this particular cafe : Upon frontiers all men are molt ftridly oblig'd to the deftru iion one of another, according to their feverall Allegiances : yet it happens daily, that by lieges and other extremities, Townes are reduced tothe jurif- di&ion of thofe to whom they were fworne not to fubrait, but to deftroy : This is not all ^ far upon their furrender they muft fweare to deftroy thofe whom
the
(n)
the day before they were fwome to preferve. In fuch dies the Prince to whom they were firft obliged, releases them of all imaginable duty to him. For he cannot exped that which is impoflible for them to doe, */* a&s of former Allegiance to him. If after- wards he take any of them, he looks upon them not as traitors or re volters, but fuch as by the Law and neceffitie of warre, are of the fame condition with the reft of his enemies fub/ eels. The reafons which j u- ftifie fuch particular places, /uftifie amore univerM ; fuch as a& e whole Kingdomes, which are made out of fnch pat ticular places, and arc fubjed to the fame fate wad neccHityof warre, to the fame confufion£.and re- rolutions of Government$,and io to the fame ©ppofite Allegiances.
The
The third Part:
Wherein it is examined :
WHETHER
The nature of Warre be inconfiftent with the nature of the Chriftian Re- ligion ?
OR,
Whether fome Warre may not now be lawfull in the State of the Gofpell ?
ChaP. I.
§ I. The defeription of Warre.
2. Belluin quaredieiturabelluis.
3 . What it is to be unjufl^ or unkwfull.
4. Society twofold.
{Hilft all the Chriftian world is imbroyl'd in Warre, and that the very ftate of man- kinde is nothing elfe but Status belli ^ ; yet w not a few perhaps of the beft Chriftians Sid^theirConfciences eheckt, as if they had and In-
terdidt
(90
tcrdicT-from Heaven retraining them (even in the exu earned: neceffities) from defending their Perfons and temporall Rights by the effufion of humane bloud. They conceive iuch an exa^nefle of Chriluan patience and charity is now reqirred of us in rtgaid of thofc excellent promifcs of raigning with Cbnft in Heaven, that all fort of Warre rights now againft him and his Religion. This made an eminent Stated man pleading for Toleration of tveligion in France fay, Ouilvdoii mieux avoir ttnc pax on I y avoient deux religions , ^h* une guerre oh* il ny en avoit faint \ 1 hat it was better to have a Peace with two Religi- ons then a Warre with none at all.
1 hele Chriftians of whom wee now fpeak aflure themielves, That if they wallow in one anothers bloud here, they cannot aft.rwards tumble together in Abr. hams bofome $ their heavenly Shepheard drives them through a narrow way full of thornes and briars , lo that they expect neceflarily to lofe locks of Wool in their eiiates, and to feele pricks in their perfons. But in the midlt of all this they take unexprcflable comfort inChnft, knowing well that they who touch them now in this new Creation, touch a new forbidden fruit, even the. apples of Gods eyes.
But we are borne to two Worlds, and are made of matter proportionable to both, and therefore cannot but naturally have fomc kinde of affecTion for both ; Yet iuch, that ieeing two collateral! powers cannot ftand together, our affection to the firft and worft, ob- lige us not to any thing which might traverfe our happinefk in the other ; And feeing without our will or knowledge wc are (and ail they who come after las arc likely to be} borne into a world of mifcries,
the
the grcateft of which is perpctuall Warre, I fhali therefore efteein it worthy my re-fearch to fee Whe* ther Warre be one condition excteftve of Salvation ?
i . In the firft place I aske What ts Warre ? Too many can anfwer loud enough to this Queftion, by its mil eries and fad effects : But I finde that Mellum dtci- mr a bellms, from Beafts.
a. In the firft peopling of the world, after the deluge, men UVd fcatter'dup anddowne, andmoft in woods : And ambition not having place in a time of fuch fimpiicity, they liv'd in a Community free from all Alarms, lave of the Beafts of the field : Wherefore their War then was totally againft them; and hence we fee the heads ©f Lyons, Bears, Bores* &c. for the ancient markes of our A iceftors honours: And when men came to be more ovill by living nea- rer together in Cities(for Civility is deriv'd k Civitate, as Urbanns ab Urbe and Rnfticna* a rare) they ftill kept thofe Armes, which now wee hold derived
from them. . . _ • n . c
Warre therefore was firft againft Bealts, and af- terwards againft thofe who were like to Beads, in bringing the lame effeas of mifery on us which Beafts did; in destroying our fubfiftence, in devour- ing us and our children, in chafing us from our habi- tations, in keeping us in perpetuali frights, and in ta- king the Iweat or our browes from us. They there- fere who knewGed and nature, permitted them to deftroy deftroying Beafts, thought they had a larger Commjffion to deftroy (uch kinde of men 5 who though they were of their owne kinde , yet they were worfe then Beafts, and did that harme which the Beaft of the field knew not how to doe i So that the Proverb of this malicious vermin is not im- pertinent
(97) pertinent, Homo homint ( non LufHs fed ) Damon*
3. But to fpeak nearer to the definition of War, It is not Jus d^tum feeler i ; But a fublique frofecuti- ok of Juftice by force, even to the ejfufion of humane blouL The better to underftand it, wee are to con- ceive, that there Where a Court of Juftice ends, and is not able to put us inpoffefTion or our rights by its paper-power, there the law of Warre begins, and makes every Souldier a Sergeant : and hencg it is cbngruoufly faid, that Inter arma neeejfario filevt le- ges : For in naturail reafbn, what can be oppofed to force but force ? Yet Juftice and Equity may be con' fiftent with force : Hence the Athenians acknow- ledged Mars the Founder of their famous Senate, and from him call'd it Areopagus*
4 What is it to be unjuft or unla wfull ? That is properly unjuft, which hath a repugnancy, a difcon- venience, or iacon(iftcncy with the nature of humane Society and Communion ; as for a man to take from an other to enrich himfelfe.
5. But Society is twofold. Firft, Equall, where both are in equall partnerftiip of gain and lofle, and as is betwixt Brothers, Friends, Citizens.&c. Secondly, Unequally as betwixt a Father and his Children, Ma- tters and Servants, Magiftrates and People, God and man .* Betwixt whom there is fomethjng mutually due upon fuppofition of, and the latitude of there* lation to, lbciety. The ufe of this diftinclion will ap- peare in the following dilcourfes.
H Chap.
(98)
Chap. II.
Whether all Warrc be imlawfull in or- der to the Lawes of nature ?
S, i V fen what matters law faS Warre is groun- ded.
2 . What things are equivalent to life.
3 . Three conditions frarequifite u a jafl Warre.
4. How Innocents may be innocently flame.
5. Wherein Gods Dominion over us con f ft s.
6. Concerning Geds deftroyingof Innocents. j. Concerning Abrahams Wanes.
8. All cafes of Wane not written with the Israe- lites Militia.
THe Anfwer to the Qgeftionof this Chapter it Negative : Becaufe nature recommends us to an internall honefty and equity ; as alfo to our own pre- fervation, and the acquifition of thole things with- out which we cannot be preferved 5 Provided they be not unjuftly taken away from the due prefervatioa of others.
1. I fay in profecution of that without which we cannot bee preferved. For as Warre introduces the greateft of evils, viz,, the taking away ©f mens lives, and that which is equivalent to life : io right reafon and equity tells us, that it ought not to be un- dertaken without the greateft caufe , which is the
keeping
(99)
keeping of our lives, and that without which one lives cannot be kept, or if they could bee kept, yet they would not bee of any value to us, feeing there may be a lire worfe then death. Wherefore as we are forbid to goe to law for a little occafion, fo wee are not to goe to Warre hist for the greateft*
2» But what are thofs things which are equiva- lent to a mans If fe} Thofe things may be beft collected' out of the cafes wherein God himfelfe(intheLaw he gave the Israelites) pronounc't fentence of death ; They are many and different, and I fhall only point at a few of them. Gods indifputabie Juftice therefore inflicted the fame punifonmt on breakers into houfes, beakers of marriage fidelity y publifhers of a fails Religion, and on ragers in unnaturall iufts, together with many others : I fay he inflicted the fame Cstpi- tall punifhment on them which bee did on murthe- rers, Therefore they are cafes equivalent to a: mans life.
3. 1 fay moreover, That it muftbefo, that for our owne preservation we take net unjuftly horn the due prefervation of others. That we might lawfully invade mens perfons or goods by Warre, one of thefe three conditions is requifite. 1. Noceifity, according to the tacite contract iri the firft dividing of goods, as is fhew'd in the firft part. 2. A debt. 3. A rnans ill merit; as wfien heedoth great wrong, or takes part with thofe who doe it, as the reft of the Benja- mttes did with thofe who forc'tthe Concubine. Many things may be absolutely necetlary for our fubfiftence, which yet we may not t-ake from the right of others, especially if thev be in the like calamity ; for then the rule holds, that In pari jure p&tt&r eft conditio fof- fidemi*. Thus no Admiralty judges it theft; if adi-
H a flxeffed
(ioo)
ftreffed fiiip forceably takes water from an other, which hath more then in humane probability will ferveit to another watering. If one weald afflict my perfon, Nature (he ws me the way how I may defend my (elfr, andreafonfetsthe meafurc. God and natu- ral! equity required eye for eye, and tooth for tooth, but no more : becaufe all paine above, was but fatis- fa&ion in opinon, and confer'd no reall advantage to the firft fuffercr : Wherefore God might juftly fay Revenge was his, and he would repay it. When a lifi Hiufi: be loft Fav rab titer eft mihi pojfeffi* & prefer- vatio anim* me a qudm alien*.
Ohj. It is ob jeded, That in naturall reafon and c- qaity, the punifhment ought to bee no greater then the ogence,nor the payment greater then the debt ; Iifdem modi* in deltU't partem qnis venit, quitn d*m- »i d*ti 3 For one houfe pillaged, or a few cattcll dri- ven away, a whole Kingdorae is not to be laid deiert. Though in Civill caules Children ought to pay their Parents reallobligations, yet in Criminall caufes they ought not to be charged with their pcrfonall engage- ments ; To cut off a few nocent, wee are not to cut off multitudes of Innocents, fuch as ire Weomen and Children fas in ficges, and other depopulations^ of whom the one is to be fpared for f ex, the other for want of age.
Hetter ode ft fec»mq-$ Deos in pvtlia duett, Quaq\ YHit mors eft , tantum trahit Me timori* But what is there to bee feared from them who know not what Armes are ? Gods juftice would not that in Sodoms the juft fhould perifti with the un- juft 5 nor thole in Ninevj who knew not their right hand from their left. A woman with-chiid con- demn^ to die,iuffers not till ftice bee brought te bed :
Armies
(101)
Armies come actually refolv'd, yea oblig'd, to cut ofT each the other 3 but the fame is not to be apprehen- ded in women and children, though they be never Co great a multitude together. Warreis alwayes a Phy- tic k too ttrong, which entring the body with a force greater then the infirmity, muft needs increafe the diftemper, and like thunder purging the bad quali- ties, corrupt the good. Therefore by all this its evi- dent, that Warreis againft equity and nature.
Anf* To ail this Ianfwer, That innocents are not directly defigned to panifhment , nor to pay that which they doe not owe. But if the cafe be fuch, that they who are innocent muft perifb, or live a life worle then death by the crueltie of an Enemy, then to protect their innocency, all may bee done by thofe innocents that extreme neceflity permits ; and if their guilty Enemy obftinately refuting to do them right in fuchacalc, involve innocents iikewife on their fide, and in their dangers, then they (their guilty Enemies) are to anfwer for the effects of their© wne ads. And ccrtainc it is. that the right whereby a man may de- fend his life by killing him who would take it from him, is not alwayes becaufe the invadour is faulty, but by reaion of that right which nature hath given every man in preferving himlelfe ; as islargelier pro- ved in the firft part, and bythsfecond, cap.i. They therefore who thus innocently take up armes,are as little guilty of their evill effects, asheeis of the ill fmell. wnich followes his cleanting a channell. Wee know that a Chirurgion in drefTing a wound, puts a man oft to greater paine, then the aflatfinate did who gave it : yea, we know no evill which can bee cut'd, but by another ; and thus it is that by peril! we efcape perill. That C^ierie which fervesto guide us in o*
H 3 thcr
(10 2)
ther cafes, will ferveaswellinthis,^/^. Qnk can*. [am dederit I And if they who ©creation fo many e- vills would prefentthemf elves to Juftice, then thofe would be all avoided : But there are few Jonas' es now adayes^ and too many Bexjamites,wh© chufe to fee all rain'd with themfelves, rather then give up thofe to Juftice who are guilty.
£..^-Asf©r God's Juftice in Warre, ©r other pu- nifhments of his Enemies, I anf wer, That though he have more right byathoufand times to kill us, then we have to kill dunghill Flies, in refped of his abfo- lute dominion, yet he never doth the leaft act of inju- ftice. True it is, that hee made us out of his ownc matter, and at his owne coft and paines ; Is mtem qui non folam oferam frdftitit, Jed & partem folum- modo materia dedit,fpeciei deminus eft ; fo that being of God's intire fpeciftcation we can claime no right at ail in our (elves ; and having no right he can do us no wrong. Notwithstanding by his free goodnefle hee hath invefted us in fome right, both by Promife, Oath and Covenant, by which it is imporTible, as Saint JPaul faith, that he fhould play falfe with us ; fo that though he may feem to treat us unjuftly here, yet hee can and will recompence it happilier to us in an other world, whereas dunghill Flies by his holy will are not capable of another life : But the queftion '^Whether God before the Law of t/?e G of pell did not the fame thing which is here @bje$ed as myuft ?
6*. It is evident that God fpared not the very Infants of the ftubborne Nat'ons : and though hee faid he would not punifti thofe who were innocent in Sodome together with the nocent, yet he flew the children ; and ft ill punilhes the parents in their coil* dren to the third and fourth generation : Yea, David
pronoun-
(io3)
pronounces a bleffing on them who (hall take the young children of Babylon, and dafb their braines a- gainft the ftones. Wherefore out of that which God ic'fi&o hath done, wee may fafely conclude, That though God hadflaine thofe ' in J\7iww> who knew net the right hand from the left, yet hee would not have been unjuft for that.
7 Arg. § 7. Abraham received no expreffe Com- mand to fight with the foure Kings : yet God ex- preily approved of it after the battell, and bleft him (Brit9byJMeIckifedeci It remains then that Abra- ham arm'd himfelfe by the CemmiiHon of Nature,or by the light of naturall Equiry : Therefore all Warre is not repugnant to the La wes of Nature.
Arg. 8. Ecele.%. Salomon faith there is a lea-- fon fit for every thing. A time to kill, and a time f heale ; a time to love, and a time to hate $ a time of Warre, and a time of Peace. Therefore Warre is not limply bad, nor contrary to the love which wee natu- rally owe to our neighbour, no more then a fathers beating his child is ajwayes an argument of an alie- nated affection, or that a man abhorres himfelfe be- caufe he now and then difmembers himfelfe Ne fays facer a trahatur.
9. Arg. §8. God let the Ifraeittesz Militia, yet numbers not up ail the occafions and caules which might juftly move them to wage Warre. Therefore itremaines that in naturall rex fon the caufes maj bee eafily comprehended and found out by our felves. Such as was ( according to Grains) Jepthes Warre for maintaining his frontiers againft the Amonites, and D«vidsiorhis Ambalfadours being abufed. It is not againft naturall equity that a man Chould furler as much as he made an other fufTer: Cain out of this
fenfe
fence,gavc fentenee of death againft himfelfe, He yvho jbaM find me mHfity me.
Seeing therefore warre was lawful! in Nature, and under the Law, the maine difficulty now will be to
know— -*
Chap. II L
Whether all Warre be unlawfull by the Law of the Golpell ?
§ r* The Law of Nature how fare milter Able. Why difficult to find out what the Law of 2^4- ture u.
2 . CapitaUlnfiicefiill Uwfall.
3. How the UWagriflrate carries not thefword in vaine.
4. 7 he durance of the judical! Law >in Judaea, tiff Jerufaletn was destroyed.
5 • The Indict all haw not yet totally aboltfyt.
a. Whether they who have committed (ingle theft and without violence ought tofuffer death? which vtofi puni[habU)Adulteryfr fimple theft £
7. Of the pure UWonarchies.
8. Th$necefity of^Magipacy% Whether Magi- flracy fbould have been f hough man hadnotfaln} tJSjnefifit to be a Magifirate as a Cbriftian,
1 1.
O°0
i. T dare not be fo hardy as feme who fay, That the 1 Law of Nature is to intrinfically good, right and reafonable, that it is immutable : io that as if warre were once lawfull by the Law ©f Nature, for that reafon it (hould of abfolute neceflitie fee (till under the Law of the Goipell. For the Law ©f Nature is unalterable only in what it com- Thc L»w of n«- mands to be omitted or committed, not ««« how fat uu- in what it permitted,that is ia Pr*ceptu & vet it is , mn in medtis Ileitis. Thofe Pracepta & ve~ tttA relate moft to the firft Table (and to the ninth Commandement againft lying; where warre hath not its place. For as there are many things relating to God, which he cannot dif pence hi mi elf e from, io there are many things relating to himf elfe, which he cannot difpence us from. Thus we rauft ever worfhip God in Spirit and Truth, becaufe he ever is both fpirit and truth. But we know not what the wh dffi ufc ^ Law of Nature is, becaufe we cannot find out whaAhc benetrare reft am rationem. God at the f *w of NatnrC aeginning nhed light into the world without a Sunne ; but after deriv'd it from the gro/Te- lefle of that Planet, perhaps totypific tw© things to is:
Firify£<r Sabbath, that man fhould obfeive the firft lay and light holily to his Creator abftra&ed and free rom all fenfible actions , according to that Light vhich derives not from Nature.
Secondly/^/ Light might fignifie the light of mans nderftanding, which at firft was fill'd with inmied nowlcdge only , and acquired or derived nothing om fence, or from any created thing. For Adam y fome of his firft afts, in the firft Sabbath day, chri-
ftened
ftened (as I may fo fay) all the creatures with proper and Significant names, as the true Godfather brought them to him in their infancies : But when the Devils ill breath had fullyed that cleare mirrour, then this fupernaturall light was intercepted, and he left for kalfe his time in night and darkneffe, and to begin his fcience at fenle ; which is fo clouded and rounded with mequatt medium's 9 that we rarely difcover ftreight things other wife then in refra&ion, as O wers in water, according to thedifteoiperjas^fd/fpeaks of:
— Cum jam vertigine teftum
Ambulat, & geminU exfurgtt menfa Lucernis* Every thing therefore fports with us now, as the Phi- lifthims boyes and girles did with Sampfin after his eyes were out : And as Noahs children had their Ma- terials wip't out of their mouths, fo had we Natures firft leflfcnsout of our memories, and lofing right rea- fon,we loft the rules of our Aftions. Our Lawes de- fine that of Nature thus ; Jus natura eft quodnatura tmnia animalia docuit : But this is extreamly faulty 5 for it is hoth too large, and too narrow : It is too large y in refpeft of the fubjett, becaufe it takes in irrational! creatures, and too narrow, in refped: of the object, be- caufe it comprehends only thofe ads which we have in common with bealls, and not thofe which we have properly as men. The modus cohndi Deum3 or the fever allwayes of dang homage or vajfalage to our Lord, is a thing which God held alterable, and fo alwayes did Nature : For God and Nature commanded the fame thingsjthe Gentils who had not the 9w.z. 14, 15. Law, doing by Nature the things contai ned in the Law. So that Schlicktingitu faith ill, that Lex Keligionis tollit legem nature* For though our
Re-
<i°7)
Religion hath in it many things above Nature, yet it hath nothing in it properly fo contrary to it, as to take it away. What Nature faith concerning the Lawes of the fecond Table is muchaltercable; "For if they be ac- cording to Nature unalterable, and that God and Na- ture goe together, then we fee evident contradiction. God commanding Abraham to kill his innocent fon,
Si nm ut fmtem fait em ut vittimamy and the Ifraelites to carry away, not the King of jfcgypts goods, who had lo much wrong'd them (for its likely they were not fo familiar as to borrow of him) but the peoples. Thus therefore I prove that fome warre is frill permitted under the Gofpell.
1 Arg> § 2. Gods primary interdict of fhedding humane bloud,and his requi- cTpfcaiV iuiticc ring it againe, is no more then what was ftlU lawf uil* expreflely enjoyned in the fixth Commandement af- terwards ; which Commandement after it was given, was no impediment either to capitall punifhments, or to warre : But that Commandement is not abrogated, nor capital! J uftice now interdicted either by it or any other injunction of charity, as afterwards will more evidently appears. Therefore fome warre is (till lawfc- full,which is nothing elfe but Capitall JultiCe ; and is not the lefTe unlawfull, becaufe others forcibly oppofe it, and make it calamitous thereby , But on the con- trary.
2 Arg. Gods J uftice muft (till have controverfies with the unrighteous ; and by the fame reafon that he (till continues exterminating Angels, he continues the power of the f word in the hands of Princes and Go- vernors, for the vindication of that which was ever morally binding, and by Gods approbation occ.alion'd cruell warres even betwixt Jew and Jew. And if any
Ana-
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Analogicall collefticm be of force,we may coherently inferre,That if God placed fire and fword at the entry ei the earthly Paradife, to repulfe their entry who would prophane it by adoring a falfe Deity > why then may not his Church now be defended by the fame neanes ? Chrifts hand lo accuftomed to give bleflings and healings, was never arm'd to give ftripes but in order to this. Not as if his intent was to force his Re- ligioner any then to the Altars,but rather to fegragate the impure Profcflbur from difturbing the pure *, for they all profeft the fame God. All the twords and whips in the world cannot conftraine a man to pre- fent God the pure (acrifice of the heart ; Its Gods re- served prerogative to move that by his fpirit in the new Creation, as well as he did the indifpofed matfe by it in the old. Freemen were never dragg'd to the Altars, neither were thofe vi&ims 1 acrificed, which led unquietly to the Temple.
3 ^rl J*A.i8. 35>3&*. Pylate anfwered, thine
owne Nation and the chiefe Priefts have delivered
thee unto me; what haft thou done ? Jefes anfwered,
MyKingdome is not of this world : if my Kingdome
were of this world, then would my fervants fight,that
Jfhould not be delivered to the Jewcs. Chrift whofc
Lawes fymboliz'd not at all with thofe which relate
to the meum and tuum of this world, would not ieeke
the protection of them from earthly force. But withall
he clearly denotes this to us, That they
H'15' whofe rights and Kingdomes are of this
W©rld,may defend themfelves by this right of warre.
4 4rg* § 3. Kingly power is ftill lawfull, for Saint
„ ■ %M .. .Paul invited Nero and Kins^j 'frtppa How the Magjft: a c , -« .„. , , . . & * rr
ca»»ics»otihc fword to the Chnltian raita3 without any m- invamc. timation that they ought thereby to
derelinquifh their Crowns 5 but on the contrary that they carried not the fword in vaine, which yet were in vaine if they might not therewith have puniftitca- pitall offences with death 5 and if fe, then by juft couiequence profecute Juftice by War, om'13' in which the worft is but death.
Ohj. To this argument there are two anfwers.- Firit, that though execution be not done by the Ma- gistrates (word at all, yet it may not be (aid to be car- ried in vaine -, for it may be carried ad terror ens. Se- condly, That Saint Paul tacitly diflwaded King A- wrippa from exercifing any fan&ien of bloud [in wiftiing him altogether fuch as himfelf e 3 '79' was faving being in his bonds.
Anf To the firft I reply, that if all men certainly <new that theMagiftrate would not,& durft not make ife of his fword, then it would never be ad terrorem o any j except to himfelre, becaufe according t© this -aw any Rogue might take it from him, and execute »im therwith mod fecurely. To the Second I anfwer, hat that elegant piece of Saint Pauls Rhetorickis to >e understood with a temper and according to his cope, which was to perfwade King Agr/ppa to em- race the Chriftian Faith. Otherwife it to be a Chri- :ian were to be like Saint Paul in all things fave his ©nds, then it were neceffary to bee of his Country, is Towne, his Fam^ly,not married, and the like.
Arg. 5^4f-£hrift or his Apoftles by him, would ave introdue'd fuch a ltrange Hate of living, as was ever heard of before, undoubtedly he or they would ave told us in exprcfle manner, That it wot now na nger lawfull for any goverttours to judge of other tns ItveS) and that upon paine of damnation art*es
wert
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were no longer to bee borne. If Chrift among other Myfteries brought from the bofome of the father, fead commiflionto deliver this, furely he would have fpoke boldly of it even to the faces or the Potentates of the earth, and without mincing it, or of leaving it to each mass particular logick to be deduced out ©f the Analogy ©f1tisileiigion#e(pecially when there arefuchftrong prefumtionsagainft fuch a dedu&ioa. God put the rules of Religion and ©f Government into Moyfes his hand at the fame time, and yet wic- kedneffe could not then be reftrain'd by force, much lefle can it be now without it. Here Schlichtingins replieSjThat wickedneffe is beft reftrain'd by theLaws ©f Chrift.
I anfwer, this is very true, but it falves not the doubt. For it is here queftion'd what may bee done by Governours, when de facto wickedneiTe is neither reftrain'd by Chrifts Law'es, nor by any other confor- mable to Chrifts.
■Arg. 6. Paul fought a guard of Souldiers ; and -^#.25.11. he faith of himfelfe, If I have commit- ted any thing worthy of death, I refufe not to dieJ Therefore Saint Paul thought, even after the Gofpellj publiiht, that there were fosne crimes which might yet be punilht by the Magiftrate with death. And it hee had commiflion to declarehell to thofe whd fliould doe capitall Juftice according to a law but im- mediately before lawfull, then he would not have faid that which was quite contrary to it, and fo have con- firmed them in a damnable errour, at leaft by his fi- lence when he was bound openly to fpeake the con- trary.
-^rg-7* §.4. It cannot be (he wed by any indu&ton
oui
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out of the Scripture,That the Judiciall taw of the Jewes Common- Wealth T^Suf^ fwhich contained capital Punishments Iude» ** i<rufa. md Warre) did actually ceafe till Jtm- lcm was dcftro^- &/<?/» was deftroyed: And it was not cquall that it Inould be in force with the Jews, after they ceas'd to ilea people and (being made a Roman Province) were without hope of freeing themf elves from that government. Neither did Morfes, who wrote thofe Lawes, prefix a terme of time to the durance or ex- piring ©f them; Neither did Chrift or his Apoftles (whofe very office it was to tell us all that would ex- clude us from falvation ) ever ipeak of the expiring of iucha Law; unlefle it were implicitly compre- hended in Chnfts prophefie of the deftrudtion of >- *mfrtem ; which was the expiring of the Jews Corn- men wealth onely. But the quite contrary is moft ap- parent : for after Chrift was afcended, and the Ho- y-Ghoftwasdefcended, and that the Apoftles were lent with fufficient inftrudions to teach all Nations ill that which was fufficient to bring them to Hea- ven I lay after all this, Saint Paul avowed the Tu- diciall Law. For in his plea for his life3he irgued, that he had done nothing againft Aa.**.*,*. *e Law of the Jews, which was the Tti- Aa iicialL And in another place he laid, the High Pricft was then to give judgemeat according to the Law of Moyfis, which ftill was the Judicial!, in the difpenfation whereof the High Prieft was as a Livill Judge. And Chrift came not to take away the Law, but to fulfill iu by filling onely the Ritusll (bad- do wes with his fubftance: A miracle which no bo- dy but his could doc, to take away and not make a maddo w. So that if their Law of government lafted
unblame-
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anblameable folong as their Commoa.Wealthftood, aodthat theChriftian Religion « « was profeft by the Apeules, after the defcentof the Holy-Gho.ftwas as fufficient tobring men to Heaven asitis now.then 3am converted needed not at that time to have quit their Magiftracy, neither ought they to have judged otherwtfe then according tc ,tne Law o :*•&*> which iwdgd of life and death, and or Wane.
©V 3utitisobieaed,thatthe JfidiciaULawwas ; abrogated by Chrift.becaufe he forbad thatwhichbe- fore was lawfull by it; as in matter of divorce in the number of Wives, in revenge or a tooth for a tooth, in forbidding them to go to Law, &c.
AnC. Grottos thinks it enough to anfwer here/That betwixtthofe Precepts andthe Law, there is no con- tradiftion, no not contrariety, but onely a difference. Tor hethat abfteinestrom divorce and revenge, and the like, doth nothing againft the Law.nayfaee doth that which the Law chiefly defires, in taking away and reconciling differences : And thus it is that the ftate of health is not repugnant to the nature or Phy- Cck, But if Chria had faid, * u now n, longer l*»- fuUtopmifhammhercr, then hee had (poke lorn- {hing contrary to the Law, which faith, the Magi- fS bound to punilh a murthercr, otherwife that heisguihybroreGo^^ ftrengtfening ^principal!
Argument I conceive we may go a little farther then
£:fandiay with fome other Doftors (whofe argu- this,and laywj^ ^ ^ .^^ ^ ^ ^
Theiadiciaii verjettotaHr aMJht the JudtctM Lmt; S;0^" but onely in thofe parts which were pro- Mi*. pertothcJ<rn'«Comraon-Wealth>asthe
ex04».». fteeing ot Hebrew Servants in the fe- ° venth
f«3) Venthyear; The marriage of a Brothers &«**&#.' Widow in cafe hee died without fonnes ; Numb. 3<f.^ And of maftriage betwixt thofe alwayes who were ©f the fame Tribe. But it was not abo- fifht in thoie things which are immutable and con- cerne all Nations, and by reafon of the equity of them, many learned men conceive that the Grxcian Lawes were derived from thence, as from them the 1 2 Tables, and thence the Civill Law was deduced. The reaian of the former is, Becaufe thofe things which were peculiar to the Jewes cannot bee faid common to the Government of all Chriftian people. The reafon of the latter is,
Pirtt, Becaufe if all thofe Judiciall Lawes were abrogated, then there are none left in the? word of God; and if fo ; How then is it true that the word of God contains perfectly the precepts of all Moral I vermes ? "For according to this it would be deftitute of ditlributive Juftice, andfobeimperfecT.
Secondly, it all Judiciall Lawes be aboliftit uni- verfally, then there will be no certaine rule for pu- nifhment, but according as each Magiftrate (hall judge it juft or unjuft, lb he (bail doe and it will bea juft ; So that if Adultery ftiaii be death in