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Show I'm 1. of t: a into N-WE .4 1'. TH. Chap." voided, Fourthly, in Deliberations that ought to be kept fccm Swhereof there be many occafions‘ in Publique Bufinefl'e,) the Coun.' ells of many,and efpeeially in Aifemblies,are dangerous-,And there‘ fore great Aifemblies are neceffitated to commit fuch affaires to lefl'er numbers, and of fuch perfons as are mofi verfed, and in whofe _ fidelity they have mofi confidence. To conclude, who is there that fo far approVes the taking of Counfel‘l from a great Affembly of Counfellours, that wiiheth for, in would acce t of their pains, when there is a queltion of mar. tying his Chil ten, difpofing of his Lands, ‘overnir‘ig his Houfehold, or managing his rivate Eflate,efpecia yif there be amongfi them fuch as wifh not is profperity t‘ A man that doth his bufi- neife by the help ofmany and prudent Counfellours, with chry one confulting apart in his proper element, daes it belt, as he that ukth able Seconds at Tennis play,placed in their proper nations. He does next befl,that ufeth his own Judgement only;as he that has no Second at all. But he that is carried up and down to his bufinelfe in a fra- med Counfell, which cannOt moire but by the plurality of confenting o inions, the execution whereofis commonly (out of <3an or a. El intere )retatdedby the art diffenting, does it wort! of all, ,and like one thatiscarried tot e ball, though by good Players, yet in aWheele-barrough, or other frame, heavy ofvit (elf, and retarded alfoby the inconcurrentjudgements, and endeavours of them that "31:1 drive It; and fo much the more,asthey be more that fer their hands tort-,and moftof all when there is one- , or more amongfi them that defire to have him lofe. And though it be true that many" e sfee more then one; yet it is nor to be underflood of many Coun- ‘ E 2;»; E :1 ellours; but then only, when the finall Refolution is in one man. 0therwrfe,becaufe many eyes fee the fame thing in divers lines, andareapttolook afquint towards their rivate benefit- the that defire not to nufl'e their marke, though t ey look aboui wit two eyeps‘lyet they never ayme but with one; And therefore no great Po ar Common-wealth was ever kept up; but either by a form nEnemythatunitedthem; or b the reputation of fome one eminent Man amon it them 501' by the fecret Counfell of a fer or by the mutuall care of eq‘ua‘li faétions; and not by the open Confultations of the Affembly. And as for ve little Commonwealths, be they Pofiular, or Monarehicall, t ere is no humane 3:213:11::fé‘h‘bgllfilsdt em,- longer then the Jealoufy lafteth oftheir ii; k C H A P. XXVI. OfCiv ILL Lawns. M"; of COMMON-WEALTH, awe. '37 belonoeth to them , that rofeffc the {tudy of the Lawes of ]. their éverall COUHU‘lCSSbut t e knowledge of Civill Law in generalom to any man.The antient Law of Rama was called their Cit/ilLam,fr the word Civitnt, which fignifies a Common-wealth: And thofe Countries, which having been under the Roman Empire, and go- verned by that Law, tetaine {tillfuch part thereof as t ey think fit, call that part the Civill Law,to dii'tinguiih it from the reft of their own Civill Lawes. But that is not it lintend to fpeak of here, my defigne being not to ihew what is Law here, and there, but what is LEW-,as Plato, Arijtotle, Cicero, and divers others have done, without taking upon them the profeffion ofthe ftudy ofthe Law. And firftit is manifeft, that Law in generall, is not COunfell, but Command 5 nor a Command of any man to any man 5 but only of him,whofe Command is addr-efled to one formerly obliged to obey him. And as for Civill Law, it addeth only the name of the etion Commanding, which is Perfona Civitatts, the Perfon ofthe Common-wealth. Which confidered,l define Civill Law in this manner. CIVI I. r. LAwJ: to every Suhjet't', thofe Rules, which the Cnmmon-tvealth hath Commanded him, hy Word,Writing, or otherfltflcient Sign ofthe Will, to melee nfe afifor the Diflinc‘fian of Right, and Wrong 5 that in to fly, . ofrvhat u'r contrary, and what is not contrary to the Rule. In which definition, there is nothing that is not at firi't fight evident. For every man feeth, that fome Lawes are addreffed to all the Subieéts in generall, fome to particular Provinces, fome to particular Vocations; and fome to particular Men; and are there~ fore Lawes, to every ofthofe to whom the Command is diree‘ted ; and to none elfe. As alfo, that Lawes are the Rules of Jufl, and Du- juit; nothing being reputed Unjuft, that is not contrary to fome Law. Likewife, t at none can make Lawes but the Common-wealth -, be~ eaufe our Subjeétion is to the Common-wealth only: and that Commands,are tobe fignified by fuihcient Signs -, becaufe a man knows not otherwife how to obey them. And therefore, whatfoever can from this definition by necefl'ary confequence be deduced, ought tobe acknowledged for truth. Now I deduce from it this that followeth. r The Legiilator in all Common-wealths, is only the Soveraign, The Sovev ‘ rtzign it La. be he one Man, as in a Monarchy, orone Ail'embly of men, as in a g/flntar: h maket Democracy, or Ariflocracy. For the Legiflator, is he that the Law. And the Common-wealth only, prcefcribes, and com- mandeth the obfei'vation of thofe rules , which we call Law : Therefore the Common-wealth is the LeaiflatorB‘ut the Common- wealth is no Perfon, nor has capacity to daoe any thing, but by the Reprefentative,(that is, the Soverai n;) and therefore the Sovei'aignis the fole Legiflator. For the amt: reafon, none can abrogatc YCIVILL Lawns Iundcrf?and I the L, h t Bmen are therefore bound ,to obferve, becaufe the;::€es MEN: i bets ,' not \ of this , or that Common -wealth in articu ' ' lar, but of a Common-wealth. For the knowledge of pfrtieular Lanes bdongeeh aLaw made, but the Soveraigngbecaufe a Law is not abrogated, but by another Law,that forbiddeth it to be put in execution. 2 The Soveraign of a Common-wealth, be it an Aflembly, or one Man, is not Subject tothe Civill Lawes. For having power to make; And he: St: fed!" to C1251 Lari |