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Show Mt: l.‘ of MA NC‘lmpiia. dm'vn any Rightand therefore the pr'ornife ofnot refilling forplenn no may Covenant thus,Mwlc[]é I dofo,orfa, [all me, he cannot Covenznt Part I.‘ of MA N. ' Claasz. betwi'm two men not hibjeetto Civill Power, is to put one another to {wear by the God he feareth I: WhiChdmnrmg, or Oarri,isa Tire form: of I'ormr of Speech, addedtoa Promzfe 5 by Ira/m}; lie that promfithfig- an Oar/6. thus, unleffe Idafo, ar/o, [will not reftfl you,- when flatware to . 14 yifierlzm'ut rmlrfse be pcrforme, 11c rmounreth the mercy 0f by God, Covenant transferreth any right -, nor is obligrng. For t roug a man me. For man by nature choofeth the leifer evrll, which is danger of death in refifiino - rather than the greater, which is certain and prefent death in nofiiefifling. And this is granted to be true by all men, in that they lead Criminals to Execution, and Prifon, wrth armed men, notwithi'randing that {rich Criminals have confented to the Law, by which they are condemned. _ ‘ . NMW 06- A Covenant to accufe ones lelfe,without afTurance of pardon, 13 11M ,0 ac, likewifc rnvalrde. For inthe condition of Nature, where'every man Cir/c Imp/f, is Jud e, there is no place for Accuiatron : and in the Crvrll State,the Acculagrtion is followed With Punilbment -, which being Force, a man "-1-..---._,-‘ ‘.,-v"_--‘ i Yorme,or Rite, then his, that fivear'eth, is 111'an ; and no oath; a} God, And that there is no Swearing by any thing which the Sweater thinks not God. For though men have fometimes ufed to {wear by their Rings, for feare, or flattery ; yet‘they would have it thereby under~ is not obliged not to refill. The fame is alfo true, of the Accufation itood,rhey attributed to them Divme honour. And that Swearing rinneceffarily by God, is but prophanrng of his name : and Swearing is not to be credited, he is not bound to give it. Alfo Accufations upon Torture, are not to be reputed as Tefiiinonies. For Torture is to be ufed but as means of conjecture, and light, in the further examination, and fearch of truth: and what is in that cafe confelfed, i Bites and Ceremonies, which every one ufeth in his own Religi. on that the fcarc of breaking faith might be the greater. 'By this it appears, that an Oath take-n according to any other No 0.43515," of thofe, by whole Condemnation a man falls into mrfery; as of a Father, Wife, or Benefaetor. For the Tefiimony of fuch an Accu‘ fer, if it be not willingly given, is praefumed to be corrupted by Na-‘ ture ,and therefore not to be received: and where a mans Teflimony ,. » (iaf ii r or cadet}; to bimfor vengeance m bimfelfe. . Such was the Heathen Forme, Lct Jupiter kill me elfc, 4/: I kzll t/m Begfl. .So is our F01mg, 1 [ball do t/zm,andtbm, fa help me Gad, An _ this, wrth'the by other things, as men do in common drfcourfe, is not Swearing,but an impions Curtome, gotten b too much vehemence of talking. It appears alfo, that the Car addes nothing to the Obligation. For A." 0,3,3 :1 Covenant, if lawfull,binds in the fr ht of God, Without the Oath, adder 710- as much as with it: if unlawfull, bin eth not at all 5 though it be Con- wag lathe Oélxgmm. firmed with an Oath. tendeth to the cafe of him that is Tortured ; not to the informing of the Torturers : and therefore ought not to have the credit of a fuffici‘ ent Teflimony : for whether he deliver himfelfe by true, or falfc Ac= cufation, he does it by the Right of preferving his own life. .1 ,7, Emi of The force of Words, being ( as I have formerly noted) too weak M OWL . to hold men to the performance of their Covenants; there are in mans nature, but two imaginable helps to firengthen it. And thofe are either a Feare of the confequence of breaking their word; or Glory, or Pride in appearing not to need to breake it. This later is :1 Generofrty too rarely found to be prefumed on, efpecially in thea purfuers ofWealth, Command, or l‘enfuall Pleafure a, which are the greater} part ofMankind. The Pailion to be reckoned upon, is Fear; whereof there be two very enerall Objefls: one, The Power of Spi- rits lnvifrble -, the other, The Power of thofe men they ihall therein Offend. Of thefe two, though the former be the greater Power, yet the feait of the later is commonly the greater Feare. The Feare of the formeris in every man, his own Religion : which hath place in the nature of man btfore Civill Society. The later hath not fo; at lcafl not place enough, to keep men to their promifes -, becaufe in the condition of nit-er Nature, the inequality of Power is not difcerned, but by the event or Bartell. Sothar before the time of Civill Society,or in the interruption thereof by Warre, there is nothing can firengthenaCovenantot Peacea reed of Avarree, Ambition, Lufl, or or rer on, againfi the temptations {trong defrre, but the feare of that lnvrhble Power, which they ever r one VVorlhiD as God ; and ltCtll‘C as a Revenger of their perfidy. C H A P. XV. 0f other Larva of Nature, Rom that law of Nature, by which we are obliged to transferre The third F to another, fuch Rights, as being retained, hinder the peace of Law of A11- Mankind, there followeth a Third 5 which is this, 7/14! mm W") 7" We per/brine r/m'r Cowman made : Without which, Covenants are in vain,and but Empty words-,and the Right of all men to all things . rerrmining,wee are Hill in the condition of Warre. . Andin this law of Nature, confifleth the Fountain and Originall 74%;" mi of j u s t r c r . For where no Covenant hath preceded, there hath no j'zzfgfiice Right been transferred, and every man has riOht to every thing-7 and what. i‘<>nIE<irieirtlyv,no action can be Unjuft. But when a Covenant is made, then to break it is unfit/l : And the definition of IN 1 u s TIC a, is no other than the mt Performance of Covenant. And whatfoever is not Uirjiill, is fit/1'. But became Covenants of mutuall trufi,where there is a feare ofnot jlr/im- and performance on either part, ( as hath been faicl in the former Chap- PM)???" 5"" ter,) are invalid; though the Originall of juflice be the makin gm "Wig/'4‘ or Covenants, yet Injuihce aétually there can be none, till the can e 09%;;to of r‘uchfeare be taken away -, which while men are in the naturall ,m/rha condition of Waite, cannot be done. Therefore before the names of jirit, and Unjul‘t can have place, there innit be fome coercive Power, to compell men equally to the performance of their Covenants, by ll therefore that can be done the ten-out of forne puniihment, greater than the benefit they expect between by |