ufeth it; who, being regarded as a hater of mankind, is accordingly hated by mankind, and one way or other fails not to be fhrewdly requited by them in the end.

With regard to the examples fometimes alledged of the prophets, Apostles, and our Saviour Chrift himself, it is to be confidered, that they had a fpecial commiffion, and a special illumination to discern the proper objects on which to exercife it. The whole tenour of their lives and actions demonftrated, that they fpake upon fuch occafions, as moved not, by prejudice, pique, and paffion, but by a view to the glory of God, the good of men, and the neceffity of the cafe. And whenever only their own pri vate credit and intereft were concerned, they opened not their mouths, unless to bless their perfecutors.

When the crimes of men are fuch as call for a feverity of language, it may be ufed by him who is commiffioned for that purpose, upon a juft caufe and clear evidence, for the fervice of God, the maintenance of truth, the vindication of innocence, the preservation of public justice and peace, the amendment of our neighbour himself, or the prefervation of others from contagion. And then we must be careful to obferve the measures prefcribed by truth, equity, and humanity; fpeaking no worse of a man than his actions, according to the most favourable conftruction of them, deferve, and the caufe abfolutely requireth.

See an excellent chapter in Taylor's Worthy Communicant, on Speaking Good of our Neighbour, p. 194. See also a Sermon of Dr. Jortin.

Non amo eorum indolem, qui nec in laudibus nec in probris modum ullum fervant. Laudanda, fine invidiâ, quæ laudibus digna funt; im probanda, fine malignitate, quæ a verò diffentiunt. Le Clerc Art Crit. Vol. III. p. 274.

Some Confiderations on Mr. LOCKE's Scheme of deriving Government from an Original Compact,

1. HOOKER allows, that "to fathers within their private families, nature hath given a fupreme power; for which caufe," faith he, "we fee throughout the world, even from the foundation thereof, all men have been taken as lords and lawful kings in their own houfes *." He also thinks it probable, with Ariftotle, that" as the chiefeft perfon in every household was always as it were a king; fo when numbers of households joined together in civil focieties, kings were the first kind of governors amongst them." The question is, how these civil governors çame by their power over a number of families difperfed, as mankind increased, and independent of one another? Here is fuppofed to be a neceffity for compact to take place, in the appointment of one common head; and the chiefs of the several families are the peers between whom it is imagined to have been made, for their :nutual interest and welfare,

As mankind multiplied, they were obliged to feparate and difperfe; which they did under their natural rulers the heads of families, clans, or tribes. This would fill the earth with little governments; and as there was land enough for them, who needed only to till the ground, and feed their flocks, thus they would continue, till quarrels arofe, and one clan fubdued others by force, and the larger governments arofe by conqueft, fwallowed up the leffer into themfelves, and then contended with and overthrew each other. In the Xth chapter of Genefis, we have an account of the families, clans, or leffer governments with which the earth was overspread, by the defcendents of the fons of Noah and at ver. 8, 9, 10, we find the kingdom or larger government of Babel arifing by means of Nimrod, a mighty one, i. e, a fub

*The fame fentiment is expreffed by Mr. Addison with his ufual accuracy and ele gance. "The obedience of children to their parents is the bafis of all government, and is fet forth as the measure of that obedience which we owe to those whom Provi dence hath placed over us," Spect. No. 189.

VOL. II.

duer, a conqueror, a hunter, or perfecutor and oppreffor. Soon after arose Ashur, the founder of the Affyrian monarchy, which afterwards fell into that of Babylon, and became univerfal: thence it paffed to the Perfians, Grecians, and Romans; and fo down to the 'prefent ftate of things in this world. And all this without any neceffity of fuppofing an original compact, and without any fign of fuch compact appearing in history.

Mr. Locke afferts the free confent of every individual neceffary to be had in founding governments; but foon after tells us, fuch confent is "next to impoffible to be had." So that, according to his own account, his hypothefis ftands on a supposition "next to impoffible" to be realized; indeed, we may venture to say, altogether impoffible, for the reafons he himself affigns. B. II.

ch. 8.

.

The original compact being fuppofed to be made, each individual confents from thenceforth to be determined by the majority of the fociety. But as the majority may exceed the minority only by a single vote, confequently half the fociety may be enslaved by the other half, (that is, in fact, by the will of a fingle person, the cafting voter) which feems to be an infringement on liberty, to which men born free and equal might fcruple to fubmit.

Mr. Locke fays, no man can fubmit himself to the arbitrary power of another." B. II. ch. 11. Then can he not fubmit himself to any government whatsoever: for in every government the legislature is arbitrary, and is not bound by its own laws, which it can repeal, alter, difpenfe with, deny the benefit of habeas corpus, keep a man in Newgate, take his life by act of attainder, &c.

His farther reafon (why no man can fubmit himself to the arbitrary power of another) is, that no man can give what he hath not, viz. a power over his own life. How then came any government poffeffed of a power of life and death? furely must come in here: what elfe can give to power over my life, which I have not in myself * ?

Divine right

another that

* The author of an Essay on Crimes and Punishments, (one of the first pieces in which the politics now prevailing in France were published to the world) feeing that no government can exist without a power of life and death, fuppofes, that though one man has no power over his life, the aggregate of fociety may have it; which is the fame as to fay, that though one cypher does not make a fum, a multitude cyphers, may.

According to the plain ftate of this cafe, Gen. ix. 6. the taking away of man's life without law, is an act of rebellion against God, who is the giver of life, and made

He farther afferteth, that abfolute fubjection to any form of government is worfe than anarchy, or a state of nature," as he is in a much worfe condition who is exposed to the arbitrary will of one man, who has the command of 10,000, than he who is expofed to the arbitaary power of 100,000 fingle men." But which is best for the whole 100,000, that their general or king fhould now and then command or do an hard thing by one of them, or that they should all be turned loose to devour each other, a fortiori, with regard to a nation, or the whole world, which, in fuch a cafe, would be an aceldama.

He tells us, (B. II. ch. 19) that if a government become ar bitrary, it is diffolved; the people are again in a state of nature, and may again proceed to election. 1. Government may pafs from one contending party to another, but its diffolution is a whim and a dream. 2. Diffolve it in England and Scotland, and fee when the individuals would agree on another form * ?

It is obfervable, that among the inftances of mal-administration which diffolve government, Mr. Locke reckons that of corrupting the reprefentatives, or their electors. "This," he fays, "is to cut up government by the roots, and poifon the very fountain of public fecurity: it is a great breach of truft, and as perfect a declaration of a defign to fubvert the government as is poffibly to be met with. To which if one fhall add rewards and punishments vifibly employed to the fame end, and all the arts of perverted law made ufe of to take off and deftroy all that ftand in the way of fuch a defign, and will not comply and confent to deftroy the liberties of their country, it will be paft doubt what is doing—and one cannot but fee, that he who has once attempted any fuch thing, cannot any longer be trufted." B. II. ch. 19. p. 338. Now had Mr. Locke's principles been univerfally received, and had the good people

man in his own image. By himfelf, therefore, power is given to every government to take away the life of man by an act of justice, in virtue of a divine law: for the fame authority which ordains the law, doth in fo doing ordain power to execute the law, without which the law is nothing; and this we call the power of the ford, This power being original in God, the Apoftie, Rom. xiii. 6. confiders the civil magistrate as the minifter of God for the execution of the divine law; and that to refift him is to refift the ordinance of God: therefore government is the ordinance of God. The argument is plain, and can never be anfwered. In the work above-men, tioned, fuicide is confidered as a voluntary migration; as when a man by choice leaves. his parish, and goes to feek his fortune in another!

Late events have taught us, that when the regular establishment of govern ment is deftroyed, factions arife in its ftead, who murder and plunder one ano her.

of England acted up to them, in the days of Sir Robert Walpole, the nation had been a fcene of confufion from that time to this*.

Mr. Locke fays farther, that "till mischiefs are grown general, &c. the people who are more difpofed to fuffer than right themfelves by refiftance, are not apt to ftir." Ibid. p. 345, "There is a flownefs and averfion in people to quit their old conftitution-and whatever provocations have made the crown to be taken from fome of our princes' heads, they never carried the people fo far as to place it in another line." p. 340. Here it is curious to fee how great men differ. Mr. Hume thinks paffive obedience should be preached, without mentioning any cafe wherein it is to give way to resistance; because the people are far more likely to rebel in the wrong place, than to omit doing it in the right; the bias of human nature being, in the judgment of that acute obferver of it, towards rebellion. See his reflections on the reign of Charles I. at the clofe of his hiftory of that reign. The fame inference, by the way, follows from what Mr. Locke fays, p. 340, that when people are oppreffed, preach jure divino, and paffive obedience, as much as you please, they will rebel. If this be fo, we may very fafely preach it; it can do no hart to civil liberty. But furely confcrence is fome restraint; and if people will rebel as foon as rebellion is proper, though you preach obedience, they are in great danger of doing it before it is proper, if you preach resistance.

In the next page, Mr. Locke is again of opinion, that the people are not difpofed to rebellion. "Great mistakes in the

* When the order of the conftitution is violated, and bad principles are intro duced, the government does not fall to pieces, but the different parts of it maintain themfelves as well as they can by mutual encroachments; the commons,, by taking fomething from the crown, and the crown, by fubftituting pecuniary influence, to fupply what it lofes of its lawful power.. "We may give (fays Mr. Hume) to this influence what name we pleafe; we may call it by the invidious name of corruption and dependence: but some degree, and some kind of it, are infeparable frem the very natura of the Conftitution, and neceffary to the preservation of our own mixed government.” I. 67► This feems to be the true account of the matter: and it hath appeared in fact, that when the crown hath thought proper to exert itself, it has carried every question in the house of commons. Mr. Hume was of opinion, that if ever the power should de volve to the commons, and a popular government be erected, we shall be overwhelmed with faction or tyranny, and "fuch a violent government cannet long fubfift, but we shall at last, after infinite convulfions and civil wars, find repofe in abfolute monarchy, which it would have been happier for us to have established more peaceably from the beginning. Abfolute monarchy is therefore the eafieft death, the true euthanasa at the British conftitution." I. 78.