the Gospel of Jesus Christ reducible to this one Proposition of Endeavouring the Common Good and that this was the great design of Christ's coming into the World § 17 18. A Conclusion of the whole § 19. TO THE BOOKSELLER THE Learned Authour of this Treatise sent it to me then being in a Private Station above a year ago but then concealed his Name from me either through his great Modesty or because in his Prudence he thought that if I knew him I might be biassed in my judgment by the Honour which I am obliged to have to his Family and especially to his Grandfather by his Mother's side the most Learned Primate of Ireland Wherefore I read the Book without any respect to the unknown Writer and considered only the Merits of the Performance Thus I found that he had not only well translated and epitomized in some places what I had written in Latin but had fully digested the chief things of my Design in a well-chosen Method of his own with great Perspicuity and had added some Illustrations of his own or from other Learned Authours with a Philosophical Liberty which I must needs allow For this Reason I judged that the then unknown Authour had given too low a Title to his Book and that I was to esteem him a good Hyperaspistes or able Second in this Combat for Truth and Justice rather than a Translater or Epitomizer of what I had written This obliged me to enquire diligently after the Authour's Name and Quality and then I soon obtained the Favour and Honour of a more intimate Conversation with him Hereby I soon found that I might safely leave the Maintenance of that good Cause in which I was engaged to his great Abilities and Diligence And I hope that since this Learned Gentleman hath conquer'd the Difficulties of the Search into the Rise of the Laws of Nature now many of our younger Gentry will be encouraged to follow him in the way which this his Treatise makes plain before them For from thence they may receive assistance not only to discern the Reasonableness of all Vertue and Morality which is their Duty and Ornament as they are Men but also they may here see the true Foundations of Civil Government and Property which they are most obliged to understand because as Gentlemen they are born to the greatest Interest in them both I need add no more to give you Assurance that I freely consent to your Printing of this Book and am Your affectionate Friend Ric. Peterborough OF THE Law of NATURE And its OBLIGATION CHAP. I. Of the first Means of discovering the Law of Nature viz. the Nature of Things § 1. HAving in the Introduction to this Discourse shewn you those several Methods by which divers Authors have endeavoured to prove a Law of Nature and having also given my Reasons tho' in short why I cannot acquiesce in any of them as laying too weak Foundations whereon to raise so great and weighty a Building and having likewise given you the only true Grounds by which it can as I suppose be made out viz. from the Existence of a GOD declaring his Will to us from the Frame of the World or by the Nature of all Things without us as also from our own Natures or that of Mankind in general we by the Power of our natural Faculties or Reasons drawing true Conclusions from all these This being premised I shall now proceed particularly to declare in the first place what I understand by the Frame of the World or Nature of Things in order to the proving the Existence and Obligation of the Law of Nature and that it is really and truly a Law obliging all Persons of Years of Discretion and sound Minds to its Observation Which being performed I shall then proceed to our own Nature as included in that of all Mankind § 2. But though the ancient as well as modern Scepticks and Epicureans have of old and do still at this day deny the Existence of any Law of Nature properly so called yet I suppose that we are both sufficiently agreed what we understand by this Term since we both thereby mean certain Principles of immutable Truth and Certainty which direct our voluntary Actions concerning the election of good and the avoiding of evil Things and so lay an Obligation as to our external Actions even in the state of Nature and out of a Civil Society or Common-weal That such eternal Truths are necessarily and unavoidably presented to and perceived by Men's Minds and retained in their Memories for the due ordering or governing of their Actions is what is here by us affirmed and by them as confidently denied And I farther conceive That the Actions so directed and chosen are first known to be naturally good as productive of the greatest publick Benefits and afterwards are called morally Good because they agree with those Dictates of Reason which are here proved to be the Laws or Rules of our Manners or voluntary Actions So also the Evil to be avoided is first the greatest natural Evil which afterwards for the like Reason is called Moral § 3. Therefore that the Existence of such Propositions may more plainly appear and be demonstrated to the Understandings of all indifferent Readers it is necessary that we first carefully consider the Nature of divers Things without us as also that of Mankind and what we mean by Good and Evil whether Natural or Moral Lastly we shall shew what those general Propositions are which we affirm carry with them the Force or Obligation of Natural Laws as declaring their Exercise or Performance necessary to the compassing of an End that ought to be endeavoured or sought after in order to our true and greatest Happiness § 4. Nor let it seem strange that I suppose the Nature of divers Things about which we are daily conversant ought first to be looked into and considered For I will here suppose the Soul or Mind of Man to be at first rasa Tabula like fair Paper that hath no connate Character or Idea's imprinted upon it as that noble Theorist Mr. Lock hath I suppose fully proved and that it is not sensible of any thing at its coming into the World but it s own Existence and Action but receives all its Idea's afterwards from such Objects as it hath received in by the Senses So that our Understandings being naturally destitute of all Notions or Idea's we cannot comprehend how they can operate unless they be first excited by outward Objects And indeed how can we understand what may be helpful and agreeable or else hurtful and destructive to Men's Minds and Bodies unless we first consider as far as we are able all the Causes as well near as remote which have made constitute and still preserve Mankind or else may tend to its destruction either for the time present or to come Nor indeed can it be understood what is the fittest and best Thing or Action any Person can perform in a
their natures § 11. All Creatures express a delight in the society of others of the same kind some cases or intervals wherein Nature seems to act otherwise no contradiction to this general Rule § 12. All Animals impelled by the natural Constitution of their parts to a Love of those of a different Sex and to a natural Affection to their Offspring § 13. All Animals take delight in the sweeter Passions of Love Ioy Desire c. as helpfull to their natural Constitution whereas the contrary Passions when inordinate are highly destructive to it § 14. Mr. H. cannot deny these natural Propensions and therefore is forced to suppose somewhat in Man's nature that renders him more unsociable than Brutes § 15. Other peculiar Observations relating to Man whereby he is made more capable of promoting the common good as first from the greater quantity of Brains in Men than in Brutes § 16. 2. From the natural Constitution of their Bloud and Spermatick Vessels from whence arises a Necessity of Marriage and of a more constant and lasting Love to their Offspring § 17. 3. From the wonderfull structure of Men's hands it is proved that this Instrument was given us for some more noble use than bare self-preservation § 18. Lastly From the upright posture of Men's bodies and way of motion § 19. The next Set of Observations tending to prove Men more fitted for the promoting of this common good is taken from the natural and peculiar faculties of Men's Souls above those of Brutes And 1. from that of deducing effects from their Causes and vice versa especially in that of distinguishing of real or natural from apparent Goods § 20. What is understood by us by a natural or moral Good or Evil. Certain Axioms for the plainer understanding their Nature and Degrees § 21. How we arrive to an Idea of a species or kind of Creatures and also to a notion of the general or common good of Mankind § 22. Speech and the Invention of Letters peculiar faculties of Man's nature § 23. And the great Benefits arising from thence in order to the common good § 24. Men do infinitely exceed Beasts in their discursive Faculties as also in the knowledge and use of Numbers § 25. As also in the Power of Vnderstanding the different Quantities and Proportions between Bodies which we call Geometry § 26. The two great remaining Prerogatives of humane Souls Freedom of Will as to moral Actions and the Knowledge of a God § 27 28. What knowledge we can have of his Attributes which can never be truly understood but with respect to their great End the Prosecution of the common good of the Vniverse § 29. The Contents of the Third Chapter A Brief recapitulation of the former Chapters and a summing up all those Observations into a general Proposition of God's Willing and Commanding the Common Good of rational Beings as the main End of all our Actions § 1. A brief Explanation of the Terms of our Description of the Law of Nature and that words are not always essential to Laws § 2. That all moral Truths or Duties as declared by God are contained in this one Proposition of Endeavouring the common good certain Principles laid down for the proving it § 3 4 5 6. That this being once discovered to us we lie under a sufficient Obligation to observe this Proposition as a natural Law with the Explanation of the Term Obligation and who hath Authority to oblige us § 7 8 9. Yet that this Obligation may well consist with the freedom of our wills the difference between a mere animal and a rational or natural Good the neglect of which distinction is the Cause of Epicurus and Mr. H's Errors § 10. The last part of the Obligation to this Law viz. its Sanction by Rewards and Punishments certain Axioms necessary to be known in order to the right understanding the true nature of a moral Good or Evil and of Man's true happiness and perfection with its difference from that of other Beings § 11. That though all moral Obligation does not consist in Rewards or Punishments Yet that by reason of the weakness of humane Nature it is insignificant without them with a Scale of Nature shewing the difference between Vegetables and inanimate Bodies and between Men and Brutes § 12. The strictest Sanction and consequently Obligation to all Laws consists in Rewards and Punishments duly distributed God's right of Dominion not to be resolved into his irresistible Power § 13. The internal Rewards ordained by God in Nature are first the inward satisfaction of the Soul and also the pleasure all men take in the exercise of the sweeter passions of Love c. § 14 15. The external Rewards are all the like returns of this Benevolence from others with the praise or commendation of all good men together with the peace and protection of the civil Government § 16 17. Lastly from God Soundness of mind and body with all those outward blessings he usually bestows on the peaceable and vertuous with a Solution to the difficulty why God often afflicts Good men § 18. The internal Punishments ordained by God for the transgression of this Law are the absence or privation of the former good things which is an Evil and a Punishment § 19. Errour and being governed by the Passions a real Evil and an internal Punishment § 20. 3. That such evil Actions cannot but be often displeasing to the Person that doth them § 21. 4. That Vices and Crimes seldom come alone but let in a train of others of the same kind or worse along with them § 22. 5. That such an Offender cannot get out of this state when he will at least not without the trouble of Repentance § 23. 6. The fear of Punishment both from God and Man § 24. The external Punishments are 1. The Evils thot happen to the body from violent and unsociable Passions § 25. The 2d Those returns of hatred or contempt which all such men must expect from others § 26. The 3d. Returns of revenge from those they have injured § 27. Lastly Those Punishments which are often inflicted by the civil Powers all which natural Punishments Mr. H. himself acknowledges to be ordained by God § 28. That where these Punishments fail in this Life they will be supplied by others infinitely more grievous and durable in that to come § 29. A brief recapitulation of this Chapter that this Proposition of our Endeavouring the common good c. is truly a Law as containing all the Conditions requisite thereunto § 30. The Contents of the Fourth Chapter A Brief repetition of what hath been said in the first Chapter That no man can have a right to preserve his own Life but as it conduces to the common good c. That in all Societies the good of the lesser part must give place and be subordinate to that of the greater § 1. That a due consideration of this Law will lead us to a
knowledge of the reason and grounds of all the particular Laws of nature § 2. And also that all moral Vertues are contained under this one Law of endeavouring the common good That Prudence is nothing but the knowledge of our duty in order to the graet End the Common Good as Constancy in the prosecution of it is therefore true fortitude § 3. That Temperance or Moderation in all corporeal Pleasures is no otherwise a Vertue than as it conduces to the happiness and preservation of Mankind That under Love and Benevolence are contained the Vertues of Innocence Meekness c. § 4 5. Equity a Vertue as it promotes the common good of mankind § 6. The same proved likewise of Iustice since nothing can be called ours either by natural or civil Laws but as it conduces to this great End and a natural and civil Property necessary thereunto the one in a natural state the other in a civil society § 7. From Property arises the necessity of Contracts Promises Gifts c. all which are still to be governed by this great Law § 8. From this natural Property arises the Vertue of Moderation setting bounds to inordinate self-love in order to the common good Frugality no otherwise a Vertue than as it renders us not burthensome not injurious to others § 9. The natural Love of Parents to their Children to be exercised and limitted with respect to the common good § 10. All the rest of the moral Vertues such as Temperance Frugality c. more particularly explained to proceed from the same original and not to be understood without it § 11. The same more particularly applyed and made out in every particular Vertue which constitutes Iustice § 12. All the homolitical Vertues i. e. such as respect conversation or the due use of speech explained after the same manner with a like respect to the common good § 13 14 15. Self-love and Self-preservation only lawfull in order to this End § 16. Some farther Explanations of the nature of Temperance and wherein it consists § 17. That part of it called Chastity a Vertue only as it tends to the good and propagation of mankind § 18. Another part of it viz. Modesty in seeking of riches honour c. Vertues only as they limit our self-love from pretending to more than we have need of or deserve in order to the common good § 19. That a regard to this great Rule runs through all the moral Vertues which are all of them contained under the most diffusive Benevolence towards rational Beings § 20. Right Reason explained to be only a due consideration of this End in all moral actions towards God or Men and that the knowledge of these moral rules is as certain as that of the knowledge of any other natural causes and effects concerning the preservation of Animals § 21. And that from their true understanding proceeds all the certainty we can have of natural Laws notwithstanding there may be a sufficient latitude left us for indifferent actions § 22. The Common Good as it is a collection of all other goods so it is a true standard or measure of them as shewing what goods are to be sought for or desired before others § 23. It is only to be learnt from hence what degrees of passions or affections are lawfull that is consistent with the Common Good and consequently thereby to judge of the several degrees and proportions of goodness and happiness § 24. Piety towards God a Vertue as it conduces to the common good and happiness of rational Beings § 25. Nothing a Good but as it contributes to this great End § 26. The reason of this disquisition into the true grounds of Good and Evil as being that which makes all moral Philosophy a practical Science and not merely speculative like that of the Stoicks § 27. A brief Conclusion out of Dr. Parker's Demonstration of the Laws of Nature § 28. The Contents of the Fifth Chapter THE Objections of two sorts of Men Platonists and Epicureans against this Notion of the Common Good the Objections of the former to be first considered their first Objection That it is more suitable to God's goodness to imprint certain Innate Idea's of good and evil on our minds § 1. Answer thereunto out of Mr. Lock 's Essay c. § 2. A farther Answer from St. Paul That the visible things of the Creation are a sufficient proof of the Being of a God and of the Laws of Nature § 3. The laboriousness of our Method no material Objection § 4. An explicit Idea of this Common Good not always necessary to its observation § 5. Another Objection against our Method That it makes every man's obligation to endeavour this Common Good to arise from its being chiefly good to himself Answer That this if it be considered will prove a mistake though I grant our Obligation to it as a Law cannot extend farther than as it concerns our happiness or misery § 6 7. A Reply to the Objections of the Epicureans The first Objection That it seems not suitable to God's goodness c. to permit this great End of the Common Good to depend upon the unreasonable Passions and Lusts of mankind Answ. That God intended Man for a voluntary Creature to be moved by moral Evil as well as Good and that God notwithstanding all this restrains his Actions by his infinite Power and Providence § 8 9. Second Objection If this Law of Nature is so easie to be known how comes it to pass that so many Nations seem wholly ignorant of it many living without any knowledge of a God or of a moral Good or Evil § 10. Answer This Objection is of no more weight against the Certainty of this Law than it is against that of Arithmetick and Geometry but that if they are guilty of this ignorance it proceeds either from the Loss of the Tradition of the Creation or else from want of time or opportunities to consider these things § 11. Men's not making a due use of their faculties in discovering these Truths no objection against their certainty § 12. The last Objection That this Notion of the Common Good is a mere Platonick Idea without any reality in Nature § 13. This Objection in vain if it be considered That this Notion of the Common Good is made up of particulars and that from thence arises an Idea of a common or general Good which though a complex one is as true and real as any other and as agreeable to the Nature of things farther proved from Lock 's Essay and that Mr. H. himself cannot deny the Truth of this Notion § 14. Mr. H's great Rule of doing as you would be done by signifies nothing without respect to the Common Good of Mankind § 15. So neither that of preserving a Man's self or any other innocent person unless as it conduces to the Common Good of Mankind § 16. Not only the whole Law of Nature but the revealed Law of Moses and
Occupancy or Possession since it is evident That this more exact Property or Dominion consisting in a stricter and more limitted use of these Things hath a greater efficacy in order to the Happiness and Preservation of that Nation or part of Mankind which have thus agreed to it than the bare Occupancy or Possession of these Things had before such a Division made or agreed upon nor can it now be altered however perhaps hard and unequal it may prove to some particular Persons since it will always conduce to the Happiness and Tranquility of each particular Civil Society or Commonweal that it should continue as it doth than it should be still altered according to every Man 's particular Fancy or Interest since such a Change can never be made without inconceivable Discontents and Civil Dissentions which would quickly end in open Violence and Hostility § 30. So that from these Principles here laid down there is no Right conferred upon any Man of doing whatever his own wild Fancy or unbounded Appetite may prompt him to but only what he shall according to right Reason truly judge necessary to his own or Family's Happiness and Preservation in order to the Common Good of Mankind Therefore I here desire you to take notice that whatever Right we enjoy even to the things most necessary for our Preservation it is founded if not in the Precept yet at least permission of this great Law of Nature of endeavouring the Common Good of Rational Beings when we truly judge according to the Nature of things concerning the means necessary and conducing to this great End so that it can never be proved that any one hath a right of Preserving himself unless it be first made out how this Right of Self-preservation conduces to or at least consists with this Common Good Since no Rational Man can ever believe that God intended the Preservation much less the Sensual Pleasures of any one Man as the Sole End of His Creation Which Principle being once established as the Foundation and Original of all the Natural or Civil Rights we enjoy our own natural Powers and Rights will appear so limitted thereby that we cannot without injury and injustice violate or invade the Rights of others much less break out into open War against them without just Cause nay all those Arguments by which any one Man can assume a Right to Preserve himself by the Law of Nature will likewise be of the same force to prove that he ought to Preserve others also and that it can never become lawful for us in any State to rob Innocent Persons of what is necessary for their Well-being and Preservation but rather on the contrary that all Men's natural Rights should be secured from the mischiefs of unreasonable Violence and War and Contention which natural Security in a Civil State or Commonweal is highly improved and encreased by the Assistance of Humane Skill and Industry according to the established Laws of Property or Dominion § 31. I have spoken thus much concerning the necessary Connexion between the particular Actions above mentioned and the Common Good of Mankind that by considering their relation to this Great End the Nature of all Humane Actions may more certainly be known and predetermined Since the Dependance of natural Effects on their Causes are absolutely necessary and immutable for as well in the state of Nature or Community as of Civil Society or separate Property those Humane Actions which cause or procure that the minds of all other Persons should not be prejudiced by Errors Lyes or Perfidiousness nor their Bodies hurt nor their Lives Goods Fames and Chastities violated or taken away and also by which a grateful return is rendred to those that have done us good or in short all those Actions by which the true happiness of any one Man or more is procured without injury to others as they always were so they ever will be the certain Causes of the Common Good and Happiness of Mankind and are therefore distinguished by the Titles of moral Vertues as I shall more at large demonstrate in this Discourse when I come to shew how all moral Vertues are derived from and at last resolved into this Principle of the Common Good of Rational Beings But least the variousness of the Observations treated of in this Chapter and their Independance upon each other should render them perplext and consequently unconvincing to Common Readers who may not be able to carry so long a train of consequences in their minds I shall contract what hath been now said into these few plain Propositions 1. That though all particular men are mortal and but of a short duration yet that God hath still preserved mankind without any sensible failure or decay 2. That in Order to this God hath made man to be propagated by Generation and also to be preserved by divers outward means which we call necessaries of Life 3. That these Natural means can no way answer this End but as they are allowed or appropriated to the uses and occasions of particular Persons during the time they stand in need of them and so cannot at the same time answer the different or contrary desires and necessities of divers men endeavouring to use these things after contrary or different manner 4. That the taking away those necessaries of Life which another is rightly possessed of doth not only cause the ruine and destruction of that Person and his Family who were thus possessed of them but by causing a perpetual strife among Mankind will render these things uncapable of being made use of at all for their Common Good and Preservation 5. That such a Strife if prosecuted to the utmost will certainly end in the destruction not only of particular Persons and Nations but of all mankind contrary to God's design 6. From all which we may Rationally collect that God designs the Preservation and Happiness of Mankind as also of all Individual Persons as parts of it as far as their frail and mortal Natures will permit and in subordination to the good of the whole body thereof 7. That therefore there are no surer means to procure this great End of the Common Good of Mankind than an Universal Benevolence towards Rational Beings consisting First in Divine Love or Piety towards God and in Respect of Men not only in permitting each other quietly to enjoy all the necessaries of Life but also in making a settled division of them to others so as to be appropriated to several mens uses or occasions which dictates being given us by God as a rule of all our moral Actions in the exercise of which is contained our truest Happiness as in its violation our greatest Misery is therefore truly and properly a Law and indeed the Summ of all the Laws of Nature CHAP. II. Observations and Conclusions drawn from the consideration of Humane Nature and Right Reason as also from the Nature of God § 1. HAving in the former Chapter drawn such easie
is not needful for themselves § 10. The next Observation we make is from the Effects of the Senses as also the Imagination and Memory in Animals when they are taken up and employed about others of the same kind For since from the Impressions made on their Organs of Sense they cannot but perceive that such Creatures are of the same Nature with themselves such Notions must from the Constitution of their Nature move them to somewhat a like affection towards them as towards themselves But I shall here avoid all Controversies concerning the Knowledge of Brutes or which way their Affections are moved by their Imaginations and shall only suppose That their Imagination excites their Passions and that these Passions do likewise often produce the like Motions or Inclinations in their fellow Animals From whence I collect That this Similitude of Nature does highly conduce to the procuring of Benevolence or Concord amongst those of the same kind unless there be some unaccountable Antipathy or Dissimilitude of Disposition which may happen to excite Enmity or Discord between them which yet not often happens Whence it follows That Animals as long as they are in their Right Senses and are mindful of themselves cannot forget others of the same kind since under the same Idea's by which they conceive their own Nature and the Necessities thereof they cannot but have an Idea of that of others of the same Species with themselves and must also be sensible that such Animals being urged by the like Appetites of Hunger and Thirst as themselves are thereby moved to seek Food when hungry or thirsty and cannot but be also sensible that it is highly grateful to them when the use of these Necessaries is left free and undisturbed or else is administred to them by others or that they are any ways assisted by them in the obtaining them § 11. But since Idea's of this sort do constantly spring in the Minds of Animals as also produce perpetual motions to love or Good-will arising necessarily from this similitude of Nature it also follows that they never so far deviate from their natural state as when through Madness or any other violent Appetite or Passion they act contrary to these first and most natural Dictates as all Men grant it to be a preternatural Disease in a Dog when seized with Madness he bites all other Dogs he meets with or when a Sow through a depraved Appetite eats her own Pigs Nor indeed can I see any reason why all other kinds of inordinate Passions which disturb the natural Disposition of an Animal so as to make it do extravagant Actions and hurtful to its own Species without any just Cause such as Anger and vehement Envy often times produce may not be justly esteemed as preternatural Distempers of the Blood or Brain very like to that of a mad Dog for there often appears in those that are transported with these Passions all the Symptoms of those Diseases that proceed from an overflowing of Choler or a violent effervescence of the Blood such as an icterial blackness of the Face paralytick Tremblings and other Signs well enough known to Physicians Nor is an immoderate needless Fear of Animals of the same kind to be less reckoned among such Diseases since it is not only preternatural or besides their Constitution when in Health but doth likewise as well as other Diseases destroy the Body by driving them into an immoderate Sadness unseasonable Solitude and Watchings with other Symptoms of predominant Melancholy whence an untimely Death is often accelerated Neither can there be any Mean or End put to this unreasonable Fear when once the Mind is touch'd and infected with a false Imagination that all other Men design to kill and destroy them which Madness is very like that of those who being bitten by a mad Dog are afraid of Water and all Liquids though they cannot live without them of which I have met with a famous Example in the French Chronicles of King Charles VI. who being seized with a violent apprehension that all his Servants were bribed by his Son the Dauphin to poison him did quite abstain from all Food 'till at last he died as truly of Hunger as Fear § 12. And it is evident and Mr. H. himself confesses it that Men as well as other sociable Animals do more or less delight in the society of each other of the same kind as may be observed from those signs of Joy and Satisfaction which they express when they meet after any long absence But since it is as plain that the Causes of this Association and Agreement proceed from the intrinseck Nature of the Creatures and are no other than those by which the Blood Spirits and Nerves are continued and preserved in a due and healthy state it as evidently follows That the Safety and Preservation of each of them cannot be separated from a Propension at least to a friendly Association with those of their own kind so that though they sometimes quarrel about the same Meat or Female yet this does not any ways cross or contradict this great End of Nature of procuring the Common Good of the Universe but is rather in order to it viz. when the Desire of Food in order to their own Preservation or Lust to propagate their Species prompts them to fight and sometimes to destroy each other the time of which Contention is yet but small in comparison of the greater part of their Lives in which they are observed to live in peace And that all Animals are determin'd by Nature to prosecute and endeavour the Common Good of their own Species by the same Causes that preserve the Lives of each of them in particular appears from the great Love and Kindness which Creatures of the same Species but of different Sexes express towards each other and by virtue of which they perform the Act of Generation so highly grateful and pleasing to each other and thereby propagate their Off-spring which when brought forth they love and defend as part of themselves unless some unusual Distemper intervene which may sometimes disturb or change these natural Propensions as when Sows or Rabbets eat or destroy their young ones which happening but seldom is rather to be accounted among the Diseases of the Brain or Distempers of the Appetite than to be ascribed to their natural State or Constitution and does no more contradict this general Law of Nature than the ascent of Water in a Pump does oppose that general Rule of the constant descent of heavy Bodies So that we may for all that affirm That the Procreation of their young and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or natural Affection they have for them and desire of breeding them up 'till they are able to shift for themselves are seldom or never separated for Preservation is but as it were the Generation of the same Creature still continued So that the same natural Causes excite Animals to the one as well as the other But
of an ordinary Humane Body does seldom exceed above a fourth part of that of a Horse or Bull yet for the motion and government of so much a smaller Body Nature hath allowed him near double the quantity of brains viz. about the weight of four or five pounds so that there is eight times as much brains appointed for the government of the like bulk in a Man as in an Ox or Horse And though the Carcases of the largest Sheep and Hogs do often weigh near as much as a Humane Body yet their brain is not above an eighth part of the weight in proportion to ours which seems to be thus ordain'd by Nature that by reason of the greater largeness of the Vessels the Animal Spirits should be prepared in greater plenty and also have more room to work and so should become more lively and vigorous in Man than in other Creatures since all the Nerves do either spring from the brain or else from the Spinal Marrow which is continuous and of the same substance with it whence it may follow that this larger quantity and consequently greater strength of brain in a Man above other Creatures was intended to serve him to direct and govern that greater variety of Motions and Actions depending thereupon with a more exact care and deliberation § 17. A second Observation to prove that Man is a Creature ordained by God for a fuller and more constant Association with those of his own Kind which also tends to the promoting of the Common Good of his Species than other Creatures may be taken from the natural Constitution of his Blood and Spermatick Vessels by which his Appetite to Copulation is not confined as in most other Creatures to some certain times but are equally the same at all seasons of the Year from whence proceeds a desire of Marriage or a constant Cohabitation with one or more Women from whence must likewise follow a more constant generation of their Off-spring and a more lasting care of them when generated and brought forth For whereas Brutes quit the care of their Young and drive them away from them as soon as ever they are able to shift for themselves Man alone loves and cherishes his Off-spring and continues his love and care of them as long as they Live and still loves them the more the longer they have continued with them and the more care and pains they have bestowed on their Education and so likewise Man is the only Creature we know of that makes any returns for this care by Acts of Duty and Gratitude towards his Parents for as for the Gratitude of Storks to their Sires or Dams when old I look upon it as an old Fable § 18. Lastly I shall consider the wonderful Frame and Structure of the Hand in Man which though I grant it not peculiar to him alone all Creatures of the Ape or Monky kind having their fore-paws very like it and in many Actions using them to the same ends both in feeding themselves and carrying their Young ones yet since we see our Hands were not given us instead of Feet to go upon as in them we may justly conclude that they were Fram'd for some Higher and Nobler Use than our bare Preservation or the hurting or destroying of others Since if God had ordained them only for this end sharp Teeth Claws and Horns would have done much better and would have saved us the trouble of making Swords Spears and such like Instruments not only of self-preservation but destruction whereas we find that by the help of our Hands directed by our reason we are able to do much more than any of those weak silly Animals can do with their Paws since they cannot serve them to make any of those ordinary Instruments or Utensils of Life which even the most Barbarous Nations cannot be without or so much as to administer to each other many of those ordinary helps and assistances which Men by means of their Hands do daily afford each other So that if we consider the Ordinary use of these Members especially in labouring Men and Mechanicks we shall find that they do not only serve for their own Sustenance and Preservation but also for the benefit and maintenance of many others of their own kind who cannot well Subsist without the manual Labour of others And though I grant this noble Instrument the Hand is often abused by wicked and violent Men to make unjust Wars and commits Murders and Robberies and by lesser Thieves to pick Pockets Pilfer c. and that without this they could never commit such Villainies yet doth it not follow that their Hands were bestowed upon them by God for that end Since if He intended the Common Good and Happiness of Mankind as His great end He never could intend that these Instruments should be made use of to a quite contrary design viz. their Ruine and Destruction So that whoever will but strictly consider all this cannot but confess that we are made and ordained to depend upon each others assistance and that Man was Created for a higher purpose than his own single Self-preservation § 19. Which may be farther made out from the natural Constitution of Humane Nature as that no Man is born Self-sufficient or able to procure all things necessary for his bare Subsistence much less for a quiet or pleasant Life but needs the Assistance of others to breed him up whilst an Infant or to tend him when he is sick old or unable to help himself or if it be sometimes possible for a time yet it must be with great hardship and scantiness that any Man 's own single Labour unassisted with the Help of others can provide himself all the Necessaries of Life Whence first arises another necessity of Marriage in the state of Nature which is the Contract of a Man and a Woman to live together for the propagation of their Species and breeding up of their Off-springs and also for mutual Help and a joint Provision of the Necessaries of Life for themselves and them And secondly a necessity of a Man's living in concord or society with all other Men especially those of his own Nation or Commonwealth So that it is evident the chief Happiness and Well-being of Mankind depends upon their mutual administration of these Things as often as need shall require that is upon Acts of the highest Love and Benevolence in order to the Common Good To all which may be added another Observation of the great difference in the Frame of Men's Bodies from those of Brutes in the upright posture of their progressive motion Man alone going upon two Legs whereas most other terrestrial Animals go upon all four whereby Men have the constant use of their Hands both to help and assist themselves and others to a much greater degree and in a much more powerful manner than what Brutes are able to perform But whereas some Atheists have alledged That this Posture proceeds rather from Custom and
Example than Nature I desire them to shew me any Nation in the World so barbarous that doth not go upon two Legs as well as we And though Children 't is true before they can go must crawl yet it is not upon their Hands and Feet but Knees For a Man's Legs as is notorious to Anatomists are so much longer than his Arms and are likewise so set on that they cannot be brought to move in Right-Angles with the Arms or Fore-legs as in Brutes And though I grant that some Beasts as Apes Monkeys and Bears can sometimes go upon their Hind-feet yet is not this constant but as soon as the present Necessity is over they soon return to their natural posture To conclude I think I may leave it to any indifferent Reader to judge whether from all these natural Observations from the Frame of Humane Bodies and the Nature of their Passions it doth not evidently appear That Man's Happiness and Subsistence in this Life was not designed by GOD to depend upon his own particular sensual Pleasure or the meer satisfaction of his present Appetites and Passions restrained to himself without any Consideration of others of his own Kind but was rather intended for the Common Good and Preservation of the whole Species of Mankind § 20. Having now dispatched those natural Observations that may be drawn from the Constitution or Frame of Man's Body in order to the rendring him capable of serving the Common Good in the propagation of his Species I shall proceed to the next Head before laid down viz. those Excellencies or Prerogatives of the Humane Soul or Mind and in which he excels all other Creatures And in the first place Mr. H. very well observes That it is peculiar to the Nature of Man to be inquisitive into the Causes of the Events they see and that upon the sight of any thing that hath a beginning to judge also that it had a Cause which determined the same to begin when it did And also whereas there is no other Felicity amongst Beasts but the enjoying their daily Food Ease and Lust as having little or no foresight of the time to come for want of Observation and Memory of the Order Consequence and Dependance of the Things they see Man alone observes how one Event hath been produced by another and therein remembers the Antecedence and Consequence Whence he certainly must be endued with a larger Capacity for observing the natures of Things without himself and is also able to make more curious and exact Searches into their Causes and Effects than the most sagacious Brutes who though they are endued with some few Appetites or Inclinations towards those Things that are necessary for their Preservation and an Aversion for others that are hurtful to them yet this seems to proceed from some natural instinct or impression stampt by GOD on their very Natures and not from Reason or Deliberation As young Wild-Ducks they say will run away from a Man as soon as they are hatch'd and Chickens know the Kite though they never saw her before and this not from any Experience or Rational Deduction But as for Man it is his Faculty alone to proceed from some known Principles to draw Rational Deductions or Conclusions which were not known before The exercise of which Faculty we call Right Reason or Ratiocination which though I grant is not born with him and so is not a Property belonging to him as a meer Animal since we see Children 'till they come to some Years and Fools and mad Folks act without it so long as they live yet is it not therefore Artificial as some would have it since all Persons of Years of Discretion and who will give themselves leisure to think may attain to a sufficient degree of it for the well-Government of their Actions in order to their own Preservation and the discovering that Duty they owe to GOD and the rest of Mankind Which Notions being peculiar to Man and also common to the greater part of Mankind either from Men's own particular Observations or Rational Deductions or else from the Instructions of others who themselves first found out such Rational Conclusions and taught them to their Children or Scholars with their first Elements of Speech come in process of time having forgot when those early Notions were first instill'd into them to be taken for connate Idea's So that I doubt they have been by too many who have not well considered their Original mistaken for Idea's or Notions impressed by GOD upon their Souls But leaving this of which others have said enough it cannot be denied but that from this Faculty of deducing Effects from their Causes Man hath been always able to find out sufficient Remedies for his own natural Weakness by the Invention of several Arts such as Physick and Chyrurgery for his Preservation and Cure when sick or hurt And also those of a more publick Nature such are the Knowledge of Policies or the well-Government of Common-weals of Navigation Warfare or the Art Military for his Happiness and defence as a Sociable Creature So that though Man is born naked and without those natural defences and Weapons with which divers Brutes are furnished by Nature yet by the power of this Faculty he is able not only much better to secure himself from the violence and injury of the Weather by providing himself with Cloths Houses and Victuals before-hand since Nature hath not made him to live like Beasts upon those Fruits of the Earth which it spontaneously produces but can also tame subdue and kill the strongest fiercest and cunningest Brutes and make them subservient to those Ends and Designs for which he pleases to employ them So likewise from this Faculty of Judging of Consequences from their Antecedents and foreseeing the Probability or Improbability of future Events he thereby distinguishes between real and apparent Goods that is between such Things that may please for the present and do afterwards hurt him and those which though they may seem displeasing for a time yet may after do him a greater Benefit which Principles since they contain Foundations of all Morality and the Laws of Nature which we now treat of it will not be amiss here particularly to set down as the Grounds of what I have to say on this Subject § 21. First It hath been already proved That every Animal is endued with a Natural Principle whereby it is necessarily inclined to promote his own Preservation and Well-being yet not excluding that of others of their own Kind that therefore which most conduces to this end is called a natural Good and on the contrary that which is apt to obstruct and hinder it is evil Among which Goods and Evils there are several kinds or degrees according as Things are endued with more or less fitness or power to promote or hinder this End All which may be reduced to these plain Maxims or Propositions as I have taken them out of Dr. Moor's Enchiridion
Subject of the Law of Nature The first is freedom in Actions or the power of doing or forbearing any Action which does not only consist in indifferent things as when a Man of two different Objects chuses which of them he pleases but is also able to chuse a greater Good before a less and does likewise often preferr though unjustly a present less Good grateful to his Senses before a greater Good approved of by his Reason yet however it cannot be denyed but that Man by the power of his Reason is able to move and excite his Passions of Love and Pity when he sees Objects that require his help and assistance Nay can also by deliberation command and over-rule those domineering Passions of Lust Anger and Revenge c. When they happen to prompt him to Actions that are contrary to his own true Good and that of the rest of Mankind And lastly Man being capable to comprehend all particular goods and to add them together into one Sum viz. the Common and General Good of Rationals as the best and most noble End he can imploy himself about is also able to divert his thoughts from his own private pleasure and profit alone and fix them upon the care of his Relations and Friends or the more publick Good of his Country And though I grant it is difficult exactly to explain after what manner we exert this Faculty since the Nature and Actings of the Rational Soul are very abstruse yet I appeal to every Man 's own Heart whether he does not find in himself not only a Liberty to do or forbear indifferent Actions such as going abroad or staying at home but likewise such as are certainly better by a Rational estimate if he will but give himself time to consider and weigh the Nature and Consequence of them or else to what purpose is he sorry Or why does he repent the having done any foolish wicked or rash Action Since if all Actions were absolutely necessary it were as idle and insignificant as if he should be sorry that he were not made a Prince rather than a private Person or instead of a Prince that he was not an Angel So that certainly God would not then have endued Man with these two Properties peculiar to him viz. That of Conscience or a Reflection upon the Good or Evil of his own Actions and that of Repentance or Sorrow for having done amiss altogether in vain since both were needless if all Actions were a-like necessitated § 28. But the last and highest Faculty and whereby Man's Nature is chiefly distinguished from that of Brutes is when by the force of his Reason acting by the method and means here describ'd he becomes sensible of the existence Providence and other Perfections of the Deity from whence we may inferr that it is highly improbable if not impossible that this most Wise and Powerful Being which we call God should have Ordained any Power or Faculty in Man's Soul to no purpose If therefore He hath Endued Man alone of all his Creatures with the Knowledge of his own Existence and Attributes as far as is necessary for us Finite Creatures to conceive of them since I grant we are not able to comprehend Infinite Perfections it is not likely that God should endue Man alone with this so excellent a Knowledge for so useless an End as bare Speculation which alone is of no great Use or Benefit either to himself or the rest of Mankind whose Good and Happiness God chiefly intended in their Creation So that indeed we cannot apprehend any End more worthy his Divine Wisdom and Goodness in Creating us capable of these Idea's than what is Practical that is as it some way serves to direct our Actions as free and voluntary Agents towards the obtaining our own Good and Happiness Conjoyn'd with that of other Rational Beings Nor can any Actions render us more Happy than those that testifie our high Veneration of God's Infinite Perfections and a deep Sense of his Goodness towards us and whereby we may be disposed to an entire Obedience to his Laws whether Natural or Reveal'd whenever they are made known to us so that if it can be prov'd that these Dictates of right reason called the Laws of Nature derive their Authority from God as a Law-giver and were intended by Him for the Happiness and Preservation of Mankind and as Rules whereby he would have us direct all our Actions to this great End there can be no doubt but we lie under a sufficient Obligation to observe them and to prove this will be the next and greatest part of our task § 29. But before I undertake this it will not be amiss to Treat a little concerning those Attributes of the Deity as far as we can have any Idea's of them since from the consideration of the Nature of things and also of our own Humane Nature we cannot but be carry'd on to consider the Nature of God Himself and if from the Creation of the Universe we cannot but conceive Him of Infinite Power so from His Acting and Ordaining all things for the best and Worthiest End we may likewise affirm Him to be also Infinitely Wise and Good so that His Infinite Power always Acting for the best and wisest Ends is still so limitted by His Infinite Wisdom and Goodness that it cannot Act any thing destructive to the Common Good of Rational Beings of which Himself is the chief and from hence proceeds the certainty of the Law of Nature as also our perpetual Obligation to it For as I will not affirm that God could not have made the World and the Things therein after another manner than He hath done so since He hath made it in the Order we now find it this great Law of Nature of endeavouring and procuring the Common Good of Rational Beings is of the same Duration with that of the Universe it self and so consequently of constant and perpetual Obligation in respect of Himself and all those whom He hath Ordained to be His Subordinate means or Instruments to procure it especially as Men whom He hath made Conscious of our Duty and able to Co-operate with Him for this Great and Excellent End CHAP. III. Of the Law of NATURE and that it is reducible to one single Proposition which is Truly and Properly a LAW as containing all things necessary thereunto § 1. HAving already in the Two former Chapters from the Great Book of Nature that is as well that of things without us as of our selves in particular and of Mankind in general made several Observations for the proving of this Proposition That Man was Ordain'd by God for a Sociable Creature whose Being Preservation and Happiness was to depend upon the Assistance and Good-will of God his Creator as also those of his own kind I come in the next place to shew That every one is oblig'd to a return of the like Benevolence to others for we can by no means be better assured of
me if I think fit unless he is endued with sufficient Power to vindicate the Neglect or Contempt of his Authority Therefore the strictest Sanction which any Soveraign Power can give unto its Laws is when it is not only able but hath also sufficiently declared That it will conferr a sufficient share of good Things or Rewards for so doing and of Evils or Punishments upon any breach or neglect of its Commands So though I grant the whole force of this Obligation is properly resolved into the Will of the Legislator or those to whom the Custody of these Laws are committed all which are included in this Law of Nature since we find God commanding it to whom we ought to yield absolute Obedience though not in Right of his irresistible Power alone but rather as he hath by his Eternal Wisdom and Goodness in his Creation and Preservation of us an absolute Dominion over and an undoubted Right to Command us and consequently we are obliged to yield Obedience to his Laws as they are not only highly reasonable being ordained for the Common Good of Rationals but are also established by sufficient Rewards and Punishments But since the former seem more plainly declared to Mankind and are likewise more agreeable to our Rational Nature which should rather delight to be allured by Rewards than terrified by Punishments I shall first begin with the natural Rewards annexed to the Observation of this great Law of Nature of endeavouring the Common Good Which may be divided into Internal or External that is either in relation to the Soul alone or to the Body and the Soul joyntly considered judice to his Health do so much indulge his Genius as to keep a Table above his Estate and thereby become unable to provide for his Family or to contribute to the publick charges of the Commonweal he is highly guilty of Intemperance though perhaps he may do it without any prejudice to his Health § 18. And as for that other sort of Temperance called Chastity or Continence I need not farther to declare how much the Common Good and Happiness of Mankind depend upon it having already shewn divers of those Evils and Inconveniencies that do necessarily follow the contrary Vices I shall only add That it is sufficient that the commission of this Offence of Incontinence makes a Man guilty of another's Sin as well as his own Therefore I define Chastity to be the abstaining from all inordinate or forbidden Lusts in order to the Common Good or for the propagation of Mankind and therefore is not only confined to the bare forbidding of Fornication but also extends it self to that moral Obligation or Contract which we call Marriage So that out of a consideration of this great End those promiscuous Copulations between Brothers and Sisters and divers other near Relations which upon the first Peopling of the World were lawful because then necessary for the propagation of Mankind are now for the same Reason become unlawful since without an abhorrence of this Copulation between Brothers and Sisters it were hard if not impossible that the Chastity of such young Persons conversing so constantly and intimately together from their youth should be otherwise preserved without an early prepossession of the horrour of such promiscuous Copulations And hence also I suppose That Natural Reason taught most Nations after Mankind began to be multiplied upon the Earth and the memory of their first original Relation they had to each other to be forgotten to prohibit Marriage between near Relations that by this means new Friendships and stricter Bonds of Amity should be contracted between Families and Persons not nearly related in Blood from whence a larger diffusion of Friendship and Kindness proceeding from this Relation might be spread amongst Persons not only of the same Commonweal but of divers Nations and also that those Factions and Enmities which would often happen between particular Men and Families were they only to marry into their own Clan or Tribe may be prevented or if begun may by fresh Alliances be reconciled and taken away So that it is evident That the Reason of this Vertue of Chastity or Continence can no way be truly explained or understood without a true knowledge of the End for which it was ordained viz. the Common Peace Happiness and Preservation of Mankind § 19. I shall only add somewhat more concerning that other sort of Temperance relating to our seeking after and acquiring those outward Goods often conducing though not absolutely necessary to our Well being viz. Riches and Honour and therefore the same general Law which limits our Love towards our selves in order to the Common Good ought also from the same Consideration to limit and regulate our Desires both in acquiring and keeping these Advantages and therefore they are to be sought for to no other End than as they may render us more capable of promoting the great End above-mentioned and to which they ought always to be subordinate The former of these Vertues relating to Riches is called Moderation which is a limitted Care in acquiring and keeping Riches of which I need speak no farther having sufficiently shewn the Measure and Reason of it when I defined Liberality and Frugality with their opposite Vices The other sort of Temperance relating to Honours is called Modesty and may be defined a Justice towards our selves in a reasonable Desire of Honours in order to the Common Good and therefore consists in a due Mediocrity as well in desiring Honours as avoiding Infamy and this Vertue as it curbs the Desire from seeking higher Things than the Person really deserves or may well pretend to in order to this great End is called Humility which is a low or true esteem of a Man's self or personal Merits But as this Desire of the Common Good often elevates the Mind to the performing of great and noble Actions whereby he may acquire the highest Honours it is then called Magnanimity and therefore the Magnanimous is still supposed to be endued with perfect Vertue and a most large Desire of the Common Good of Mankind as believing he hath reason to judge himself worthy of any Honour that he can justly pretend to And I suppose every Man is sensible That it is a part of the same Vertue not only to seek for true Honour but also to take care to preserve it when it is obtained And from the Consideration of these Vertues the contrary Vices are more easily understood for Pride is directly opposite both to Magnanimity and Humility shewing it self in a preposterous Ambition foolish Arrogance or Vain-glory and so Pusillanimity or meanness of Spirit is directly contrary to Magnanimity § 20. Thus we have run through almost all the particular Vertues and do still find in each of them a constant Respect or Tendency to the Common Good of Mankind So that whether they regard our selves or others the same great End is still intended by God the most Wife Legislator And this Law being thus
Health of the whole Body So from the knowledge of this Order of divers subordinate Goods and the proportion which any one of them bears to the Common or Greatest Good may easily be deduced how much the Well-being or Happiness of every single Person may contribute to that of the whole Family the Felicity of a Family to that of a Commonwealth that of a Common-weal to the Happiness of all Nations and of all these considered together what proportion they may bear to the Common Felicity of Mankind So that hence you may be easily satisfied how much the knowledge of this one Truth conduces to our right prosecution of this great End and indeed Sum of all the Laws of Nature § 25. Lastly which yet ought rather to have been put in the first place of all let us consider the chief and principal of all the moral Vertues Love or Piety towards God expressed in all the Acts of Divine Worship as Prayer Praise Thanksgiving c. This must needs be a Vertue since it does that which is highly grateful and pleasing to God the Head of all Rational Beings and speaking after the manner of us Men performing somewhat Good and agreeable to his Divine Nature and which also in respect of our selves makes us most happy not only by rendring the Deity propitious to us but also by a nearer spiritual approach and conversation with it in those holy Exercises it puts us in the happiest state we can be capable of in this mortal Life and so makes us more able to perform the great End of our Creation viz. Our contributing to the Common Good of Rational Beings § 26. I have been the larger in laying down and explaining this Law as a Measure or Standard of all good Actions to the end that we should esteem all Good or Evil not as it more or less profits or hurts our own particular Bodies alone but as it may more or less add to or detract from this Common Good So that in comparing of all Goods together whether Natural or Moral we ought still to look upon that as the greatest Good which conferrs most and that to be the least which contributes least to this great End which is therefore to be desired or prosecuted by us with proportionable Affections and Endeavours From whence also may be drawn a general and powerful Remedy against all those inordinate Passions proceeding from excessive Self-Love by which Men are most commonly drawn to hurt or injure others For a Man who thus governs himself will not extravagantly desire any of these outward Things nor suffer his Soul to be disturbed by the consciousness of any Crime who judges nothing truly Good but what really conduces to the common Good of Rationals § 27. Thus I hope I have demonstrated the true Reasons and Grounds of Moral Good and Evil or of Vertue and Vice and have endeavoured to render Moral Philosophy or the true Knowledge of the Laws of Nature a practical Science and not merely Speculative or Notional like that of the Stoicks who whilst they allowed nothing to be really good but Vertue or Evil except Vice and kept such a pother to extol the real Good of the former and declaim against the certain Evil of the latter yet by not giving us the true Reasons or Grounds why Vertue should be embraced and Vice avoided they rendred their Philosophy merely speculative and only fit for those idle Porches in which they declaimed scarce having any farther influence upon the Actions of Life when either their own Affections or any powerful outward Temptation did at any time prompt them to act contrary thereunto For Vertue is only to be esteemed as the highest or most perfect Good not as it is a well-sounding Word or that fills our Minds with some vain empty Notions but as it determines our Actions to their utmost influeence upon the Common Good of Rational Beings which is the only true Piety as consisting in the Performance of the Commands and Will of God by the imitation of his Divine Goodness and Beneficence § 28. So that I shall conclude this Chapter with Dr. Parker's excellent Consideration on this Subject and which being better than any thing that I can now think of I shall make bold to give it you almost in his own Words with a little alteration So that it is now demonstratively certain by induction of Particulars according to the method we have now taken that every Vertue hath some natural Efficacy to promote the Common Good of Rationals and is no otherwise a Vertue but as it contributes to this great End and that each Man 's true private Interest and Happiness is therein contained and inseparably connected with it by the necessary order of Nature i. e by the Contrivance and Wisdom of Divine Providence So that nothing can be more evident than that its Author commands all his Rational Creatures that are capable of any knowledge of his Will and sence of their Duty to act suitably to that Order of Things which he hath established in the World and to that Declaration of his Will which he hath made by that Establishment in order to the bringing about this great End of the Common Good of Rational Beings CHAP. V. Containing an Answer to such Objections as may be made against the Law of Nature thus explained and reduc'd into this Proposition Of Endeavouring the Common Good of Rational Beings with a Conclusion proving this to be the sum of all Laws whether Natural or Revealed § 1. SInce there are two sorts of men who according to their several Principles and Inclinations may make different Objections against this our Method of proving and deducing the Law of Nature and contracting it into this sing'e easie Proposition of our endeavouring the common good of Rational Beings I shall therefore divide them into Platonists or Epicureans Those who put the whole stress of their belief of the Laws of Nature upon innate Ideas or Principles of Moral Good and Evil imprest by God upon mens Souls and who I doubt not may have a true zeal though without knowledge for this Common Good which is more than I can promise for those who falâ—ing into the other extream will not acknowledge that we can have any true or certain notion or idea of this Common Good so as to make it the main end of all our Actions I shall therefore in the first place consider those Objections that may be made by the former sort of Men whose first Objection may be this That it is most suitable to the goodness of God to imprint upon the minds of men certain Characters and Notions of himself and also of those Moral Duties which he requires of them and not to leave them in the dark and in doubt about things of so great a Concernment to them since by that means he would not only have secured himself of that Worship and Veneration which is due from so Intelligent a Creature as Man
Imprimatur Guil. Lancaster R. P. D. Henrico Episc. Lond. Ã Sacris Domest Mar. 14. 1691 2. A BRIEF DISQUISITION OF THE Law of Nature According to the Principles and Method laid down in the Reverend Dr. Cumberland's now Lord Bishop of Peterborough s Latin Treatise on that Subject AS ALSO His Confutations of Mr. Hobbs's Principles put into another Method WITH THE Right Reverend Author's Approbation LONDON Printed and are to be sold by Richard Baldwin near the Oxford-Arms in Warwick-Lane 1692. TO THE Right Reverend Father in GOD RICHARD Lord Bishop of PETERBOROUGH My LORD HAving many Years agon when your Learned and Judicious Treatise of the Laws of Nature was first published carefully perused it to my great satisfaction I also thought it necessary to make an Epitome or Abridgment of it as well for my own better Remembrance as that I believed it might be also useful as an Introduction to Ethicks for some near Relations of mine for whom I then designed it These Papers after they had lain by me several Years I happened to shew to some Friends of mine and in particular to the Honourable Mr. Boyle who so well approved of the Undertaking that they encouraged me to make it publick as that which might give great satisfaction to those of the Nobility and Gentry of our own Nation as well as others of a lower rank who either do not understand Latin or else had rather read Epitomes of greater Works than take the Pains to peruse the Originals Which Task tho' not very grateful to me yet I was prevailed with to undertake and to look over those Papers again and add several considerable Passages out of the Treatise itself and this not for Fame's sake or the honour of being thought an Author since I was satisfied that nothing of that nature could be due to one who does not pretend to more than to Translate or Abridge another Man's Labours Yet I am willing in pursuance of your Lordship's Principle to sacrifice all these little private Considerations to the Publick Good as being sensible that in the Trade of Learning as in other Trades divers who cannot be Inventors or chief Merchants may yet do the Publick good service by venting other Mens Notions in a new dress especially since I have also observed that things of this kind if well done and with due acknowledgment to the Authors from whence they are borrowed as they have proved beneficial to those whose Education or constant Employments in their own Professions will not give them leave to peruse many Volumes written perhaps in a Language they are no great Masters of so also they have not failed of some Commendation from all Candid Readers Thus Monsieur Rohault's Abridgment of Des Cartes's Philosophy and Monsieur Bernier's of Gassendus's to mention no more have been received with general Applause not only by all Ingenious Men of the French but also of our own Nation who understand that Language And the Learned and Inquisitive Dr. Burnet hath thought an Undertaking of this kind so useful for our Nobility and Gentry as to give us his own elegant Translations or rather Abridgments in English of his two ingenious Treatises of the Theory of the Earth And I doubt not but your Lordship would have done somewhat in this kind with this admirable Work of yours had not the constant Employments of your Sacred Function as well as your other severe and useful Studies hindred you from it But perhaps it may be thought by some that this Task hath been very well performed already by Dr. Parker late Bishop of Oxford in his Treatise entituled A Demonstration of the Laws of Nature and therefore needs not be done over again But to this I shall only say that as he hath borrowed all that is new in that Work from your Lordship's Book so it is with so slight an acknowledgment of that Obligation that since he owns himself beholding to you for no more than the first Hint or main Notion no wonder if he hath fallen very short of the Original from whence he borrowed it both in the clearness as well as choice of the Arguments or Demonstrations and in the particular setting forth of those Rewards and Punishments derived by God's appointment from the Nature of Men and the Frame of Things which can only be done according to that exact Method your Lordship hath there laid down Tho' I confess there is one thing that is particular in that Authors Undertaking viz. That excellent Account he there gives us of the great Differences and Uncertainties among the most famous of the Heathen Philosophers concerning Mans Soveraign Good or Happiness chiefly for want of the certain belief of a future state and that clear conviction we now have that Mens chiefest Good or Happiness consists in God's Love and Favour towards them As also his observation That notwithstanding all that can be said of the Natural Rewards of Vertue and Punishments of Vice nothing but the reasonable hope and expectation of Happiness in a Life to come can in all Cases bear us up under all the Miseries Sorrows and Calamities of this And herein I must own I agree with him and therefore hope your Lordship will pardon me if I have in the ensuing Discourse insisted somewhat more particularly upon these future Rewards and Punishments which I doubt not may very well be proved from Reason and the necessity of supposing them in order to the asserting and vindicating God's Justice and Providence Tho' I grant that the Gospel or Divine Revelation hath given us more firm grounds for this our Belief than we had before by the mere light of Nature But supposing this Work of Bishop Parker never so well performed as I do not deny but it hath all the advantages of a Popular and Gentile Stile and that neat Turn he gives to all his Writings and therefore I have not scrupled to transcribe out of his Discourse one or two Passages where I thought either his way of urging your Lordship's Arguments or the close summing them up was not to be mended by any other Pen Yet since as I have already observed the whole is not done from your Lordship's Work and is also too concise and full of Digressions and besides wants your solid Confutations of Mr. H.'s Principles it seems necessary that another Treatise more exact in the kind should be published as more agreeable to your Lordship's Original Whether this which I now present you with be such I must submit to your Lordship's and the Reader 's judgment But since I have undertaken this difficult Province with your Lordships approbation it is fit that I give you as well as the Reader some account of the Method I have followed in this Treatise and wherein it differs from yours First then to begin with the Preface The substance of it is wholly yours except the Introduction concerning the usefulness of the Knowledge of the true Grounds of the Law of Nature in order to a
right understanding of Moral Philosophy nay Christianity itself But for a Conclusion to the Preface I have also made some Additions wherein I have shewn your Principle of Endeavouring the Common Good is not a new Invention but that which several Great Men had before delivered as the only firm Rule by which to try not only all our Moral Actions but all Civil Laws whether they are right and just that is agreeable to right Reason or not And I have also concluded it with a set of Principles very necessary to be understood for the proving the Truth of all Natural Religion and the Law of Nature tho' the two last alone are the Subject of your Lordship's Book as well as of my Abridgment of it But to speak more particularly of the Discourse itself since I here design no more than an Epitome I hope your Lordship will not take it ill if I have omitted most of your rare Instances and Parallels drawn from the Mathematicks many of which are above the capacity of common Readers tho' therein your Lordship hath shewn your self a Great Master and have confined my self only to such plain and easie Proofs and natural Observations as Men of all capacities may understand So also if in the Chapter of Humane Nature I have left out divers curious Anatomical Observations wherein the Structure of Mens Bodies differs from that of Beasts if I thought they were at all questionable or doubtful or such as did not directly tend to the proving that Mens Bodies are fitted and ordained by God for the Prosecution of the Common Good of others of their own Kind above all other Creatures I have also made bold to contract the Chapters in your Work into a lesser number having disposed the substance of them into other places or else quite omitted some as not so necessary to our purpose As for example I have placed most of the Matter of the third Chapter De bono naturali partly in the explanation of the word Good in our Description of the Law of Nature in the third Chapter reserving what remained of it to the second part for the Confutation of that Principle of Mr. H. That no Action is Good or Evil in the State of Nature So likewise for the fourth Chapter De Dictaminibus Practicis I have set down the Substance of it omitting the Mathematical Illustrations in our second Chapter of Humane Nature So also the sixth Chapter entituled De iis quae in Lege Naturali continentur And the seventh and eighth De Origine Dominii Virtutum Moralium I have partly disposed the substance of them into the first Chapter of the Nature of Things but chiefly into your fourth Chapter reducing all the Laws of Nature and Moral Vertues therein contained into this one Principle of Endeavouring the Common Good of Rational Beings But as for your last Chapter viz. that part of it which contains the Consectaria or Consequences deducible from the foregoing Chapters in relation to the Law of Moses and all Civil Laws I have made bold to omit since it is plain enough that all the Precepts of the Decalogue do tend either in the first Table to the Honour and Glory of God in his commanding himself to be the sole Object of our Worship and that without any Images of himself or else in the second Table to our Duties towards others wherein the highest Vertue and Innocence are prescribed And so likewise that all the Laws of the Supreme Civil Powers have no Authority but as they pursue this Great Rule or Law of Nature of procuring the Common Good of Rational Beings that is the Honour and Worship of God and the Peace and Happiness of their Subjects and of Mankind in general And whereas your Lordship hath here also solidly and briefly confuted many Gross Errors in Mr. H.'s Morals as well as Politicks some of those Confutations I have made use of in the second Part viz. those that relate to that Author 's Moral Principles which if they are false his Politick ones will fall of themselves To conclude I must beg your Lordships Pardon if I have made bold to alter your Method as to your Confutation of Mr. H.'s Principles For whereas you have thought fit to do it in the Body of your Work and as they occurred under the several Heads you treat of since I perceiv'd the placing your Answers after that manner did disturb the Connexion and Perspicuity of the Discourse I thought it better to cast those Answers into a distinct part digested under so many Heads or Propositions in the order in which they stand in Mr. H.'s Books de Cive and Leviathan where the Reader if he pleases may compare what I have quoted out of him And I hope your Lordship will not take it amiss in me if to render the Work more pleasant and grateful to common Readers and that it may not look like a bare Translation I have added several Notions and Observations some of my own knowledge and others out of History and the Relations of Modern Travellers concerning the Customs of those Nations commonly counted Barbarous who yet by their amicable living together without either Civil Magistrates or written Laws serve sufficiently to confute Mr. H.'s extravagant Opinion That all Men by Nature are in a State of War I have likewise presumed to add those Aphorisms of Good and Evil contained in Bishop Wilkins's Treatise of Natural Religion and Dr. Moor's Enchiridion Ethicum that the Reader may see them all at once tho' I confess they are most of them to be found tho' dispersedly in your Lordship's Work I have also inserted some things in answer to the Objections at the end of the first Part out of that noble contemplative Philosopher Mr. Lock 's Essay of Humane Vnderstanding since he proceeds upon the same Principles with your Lordship and hath divers very new and useful Notions concerning the Manner of Attaining the Knowledge of all Truths as well Natural as Divine and the Certainty we have of them But I fear I have trespass'd too much upon your Lordship's Patience by so long an Epistle and therefore shall conclude with my Prayers for your Lordship's Happiness and Health since I am confident you cannot but prove more useful for the common good of our Church and State in this high and publick Station to which Their Majesties have thought fit to call you than you could have been in a more private Condition And I hope your Lordship will look upon this Dedication as a small Tribute of Gratitude which all the World must owe you for your Learned and not Common Undertakings of which Obligation none ought to be or indeed is more sensible than My LORD Your Lordship 's most faithful and humble Servant JAMES TYRRELL THE PREFACE TO THE READER By way of INTRODUCTION I Suppose you are not ignorant that the Study of Moral Philosophy or the Laws of Nature was preferred by Plato Aristotle Socrates and Tully the wisest