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Show fm,‘ ofcoMMoN-WEALTH. chaps; . Dreams and Viiions; and thereby be made believe they will hurt him, for doing Part1; of COMMON-WEALTH. C5427. _I$7_ If a man b the terrour ofprefent death, be compelled to doe a fat} againlt t e Law, he is totally Excufed; becaufe no Law can oblige a man to abandon his own prefervation. And fuppofing fuch a { as I have (hewn before in the fecond Chapter) Dreams be natural. Law were obligatory; yet a man would reafon thus, If I Joe 1: not, , or omittin divers things, which neverthelell do, or omit, is contrary to t e Lawes -, And that which is {o 'e to dam or omitted, is not to be Excufed by this fear; but is a Crim e, F0; but the fancies remaining in ileep, after the impreflions out Sen. es had fonnerly received waking ; and when men are by any acd. dent unaifured they have flept, feem to be reall Vifions; and then. fore he that prefumes to break the Law upon his own, or another: Drea m, or pretended Vifion , or upon other FanCy of Invifible Spirits, than is permitted by the Common-w the power of ealth, leaverh the Law of Nature, which is a certain offen ce, and followeth the imageryof his own, or another private mans brain, never know whether it fignifieth any thing, or norhi which he can he that tells his Dream, fay true, or lye ; which if ng, nor Whether private man {hould have leave to do, ( as they mutt by the Lawevery of Nature, if an one have it ) there could no Law be made to hold, and fo all Com- Crime: not equal]. Tom" Extic/er. mon-wealth would be diifolved. From thefe different fources of C rimes, it appea res already that all Crimes are not (as the Stoicks ofold time maintained )ofthe, fame allay. There is place, not only for Excus E, b which that which fiemeda Crime, is proved to be none at all; n u A 1 ION, by which the Crime, that feemed but alfo for EXTE' For though all Crimes doe equally deferve thegreat, is made lellt. as all deviation from a {trait line is equally crook name of Injultiee ednelfe, which (h; Steicks rightly obferved; yet it does not follo are equally unjufl, no more than that all crook w that all Crimes ed lines are equally crooked 5 which the Stoicks not obfetving, held itas great a Crime to kill a Hen,againfl the Law, as to kill ones Fathe 1 That which totally ExcufethaFatft, and take r. nature of a Crime, canbe none but that, whic s awa from it the ‘ h at t e fame timt takcth awa the obligation of the Law. For the fact committed, Once again the Law,if he that committed it be obli ged to the Law can be no Other than a Crime. , The want of means to know the Law, totall Excufcth: For the Law whereofa man has no means to enfo ligatory. But the want of diligence to enqu rme imfelf is not obdered as awant ofmeans; Nor {hall any ire, {hall no; be confi‘ man, that pretendeth to reafon enough for the Gove rnment ofhis own affairs,be fuppofed to CT'ldurc ; becaufe they are known : ii . ‘ fed from offences againfl the Law Natur ren a dM all.) n admen are Ewu Where a man is captive, or in the powe then in the power of t eenemy, when r of the enem , (and he is his perfon, or '5 means of livmg,is {0,} ifit be Without its own Law ceafeth; becaufe he muft obey fault, the Oblioation of thC the enemy, or dye; and cone (Egucylyafuch obedience is no Crim e : for no man is obliged (when bettpmfins 1;:ng Law faileth,) not to protect himfelf, by rh‘ It I die prcfmtly; if I 40: it, I die afterwards; therefore by flaring it, time z‘s'time of life gained, Nature therefore compells him to the fact. . When a man is defiitute of food, or other thing neceifary for his life, and cannot prefetve himfelfe any other way, but by fome £28; againlt the Law ; as if in a great famine he take the food by force, or flealth, which he cannot obtaine for mony,nor charity ; or in defence of his life, fnatch away another mans Sword, he is totally Excufed, for the reaion next before alledged. Again, Facts done againfi the Law, by the authority of another, Emmy" a, are by that authority Excufed againl't the Author; becaufe no man gamfl 2/2: ought to accufe his own fast in another, that is but his lnflrumcnt‘: Amber. but it is not Excufed againft a third perfon thereby injured ; becaule in the violation of the Law, both the Author, and Ae‘tor are Criminalls. From hence it followeth that when that Man, or Alfembly, that hath the Sovcraign Power, commandetha man to do that which is contrary to a former Law, the doing of it is totall Excufed : For he ought not to condemn it himfclfe, becaufe he is t e Author; and what cannot juftly be condemned by the Soveraign, cannot juflly be puniihed by any other. Befides, when the Soveraign commandeth any thing to be done a ainft his own former Law, the Command, as to that particular fae‘t, is an abrogation ofthe Law. Ifthat Man, or Alfembly, that hath the Soveraign Power, difclaime any Right eifentiall to the Sovcraignty, whereby there accru- eth tothe Subject, anyliberty inconfiltent withthc Soveraign Power, that is to fry, with the very being of a Common-wealth, if the Submit iliall refule to obey the Command in any thing, contrary to the liberty granted, this is neverthelefle a Sinne, and contrary to the duty of the Subject : for he ought to take notice of what is inconfi{tent with the Soveraignty,becaulc it was erected by his own confent, and for his own defence ; and that fuch liberty as is inconfifient with it, was granted through ignorance of the evill confequence thereof. But it he not onely difobey, but alfo refifl a ubliqiie Minif‘terin the execution of it, then it is a Crime -, becaufe i'ie might have bleen righted, (without any breach of the Peace, ) upon comp aim. The Degrees of Crime are taken on divers Scales, and meafured, Fir-ft, by the malignity of the Source, or Caufe : Secondly, by the contagion of the Example : Thirdly, by the mifchiefe of thc Ef- fect , and Fourthly, by the concurrence of Times , Places, and I'erfons. _ The fame Faét done againfi the Law, if it proceed from PrefumpTrfi'WP‘fl‘ifi tion of firength, riches, or friends to rciilt thofe that are to execute "f 7)"?er h, the Law , isagreater Crime, than if it proceed from hope of not "WWM‘" bemg dlfcovered, or ofcfcape by flight : For Pre fiimption of impuX z nity |