rebel, in beguiling his father, and fupplanting his brother. The bleffing of being lord over his brethren could not have taken place. Or if Ifaac had power, and his act was good, the prerogative of the elder is not rooted in the law of God or nature, but is a matter of conveniency only, which may be changed at the will of the father, whether he know what he does or not. But if this paternal right to dominion were of any value, or dominion over men were a thing to be defired, why did Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, content themselves with fuch a narrow territory, when, after the death of their ancestors, they ought, according to that rule, to have been lords of the world? All authors conclude, that Shem was the eldest by birth, or preferred by the appointment of God, fo as the right must have been in him, and from him tranf mitted to Abraham and Ifaac; but if they were fo poffeffed with the contemplation of a heavenly kingdom, as not to care for the greatest on earth, it is ftrange, that Efau, whofe modefty is not much commended, fhould fo far forget his intereft, as neither to lay claim to the empire of the world, nor difpute with his brother the poffeffion of the field and cave bought by Abraham, but rather to fight for a dwelling upon mount Seir, that was neither poffeffed by, nor promised to his fathers. If he was fallen from his right, Jacob might have claimed it: but God was his inheritance; and, being affured of his bleffing, he contented himself with what he could gain by his induftry, in a way that was not at all fuitable to the pomp and majesty of a king. Which way foever therefore the bufinefs be turned, whether, according to Ifaac's bleffing, Efau should ferve Jacob, or our author's opinion, J cob must serve Efau; neither of the two was effected in their perfons: and the kingdom of two being divided into two, each of them remained lord of himself. SECT. IX. The power of a father belongs only to a father, THIS leads us to an eafy determination of the queftion, which our author thinks infoluble. "If Adam was "lord of his children, he doth not fee how any can be "free from the fubjection of his parents.". For as no good man will ever defire to be free from the refpect that is due to his father, who did beget and educate him, no wife man will ever think the like to be due to his brother or nephew, that did neither. If Efau and Jacob were equally free; if Noah, as our author affirms, divided Europe,. Afia, and Africa, amongst his three fons, though he cannot prove it; and if feventy-two nations under fo many heads or kings went from Babylon to people the earth, about a hundred and thirty years after the flood, I know not why, according to the fame rule and propor tion, it may not be fafely concluded, that in four thou fand years kings are fo multiplied, as to be in number equal to the men, that are in the world; that is to fay, they are, according to the laws of God and nature, all fres, and independent upon each other, as Shem, Ham, and Japhet were. And therefore, though Adam and Noah Noah had reigned alone, when there were no men in the world, except fuch as iffued from them, that is no reafon why any other fhould reign over thofe that he hath not begotten. As the right of Noah was divided amongst the children he left, and when he was dead, no one of them depended on the other, because no one of them was father of the other; and the right of a father can only belong to Kim that is fo; the like muft for ever attend every other father in the world. This paternal power muft neceffarily accrue to every father: he is a king by the fame right as the fons of Noah; and how numerous foever families may be upon the increase of mankind, they are all free,' till they agree to recede from their own right, and join together in or under one government, according to fuch laws as beft plcafe themselves, SECT. X. Euch as enter into Jociety, must in fome degree diminish their liberty. REASON leads them to this: no one man or family is able to provide that which is requifite for their convenience or fecurity, whilft every one has an equal right to every thing, and none acknowledges a fuperior to determine the controverfics, that upon fuch occafions muft confinually arife, and will probably be fo many and great, that mankind cannot bear them. Therefore, though I do not believe, that Bellarmine faid, a commonwealth could mot exercife its power; for he could not be ignorant, that Rome Bb 3 Rome and Athens did exercife theirs, and that all the regular kingdoms in the world are commonwealths; yet there is nothing of abfurdity in saying, that man cannot continue in the perpetual and entire fruition of the liberty that God hath given him. The liberty of one is thwarted by that of another; and whilst they are all equal, none will yield to any, otherwife than by a general confent, This is the ground of all juft governments; for violence or fraud can create no right; and the fame confent gives the form to them all, how much foever they differ from cach other. Some fmall numbers of men, living within the precincts of one city, have, as it were, caft into a common stock, the right which they had of governing themselves and children, and by common confent joining in one body, exercifed fuch power over every single perfon as fed beneficial to the whole; and this men call perfect "democracy." Others chofe rather to be governed by a select number of fuch as excelled most in wisdom and virtue; and this, according to the fignification of the word, was called "ariftocracy" or when one man excelled all others, the government was put into his hands under the name of "monarchy." But the wifeft, best, and far the greatest part of mankind, rejecting these fimple fpecies, did form governments mixed or compofed of the three, as fhall be proved hereafter, which commonly received their refpective denomination from the part that prevailed, and did deferve praife or blame, as they were well or ill proportioned. It were a folly hereupon to fay, that the liberty for which we contend, is of no ufe to us, fince we cannot endure endure the folitude, barbarity, weaknefs, want, mifery and dangers, that accompany it whilft we live alone, nor can enter into a fociety without refigning it for the choice of that fociety, and the liberty of framing it according to our own wills, for our own good, is all we feck This remains to us whilst we form governments, that we ourfelves are judges how far it is good for us to recede from our natural liberty: which is of fo great importance, that from thence only we can know whether we are freemen or flaves; and the difference between the best government and the worst, doth wholly depend upon a right or wrong exercife of that power. If men are naturally free, fuch as have wisdom and understanding will always frame good governments: but if they are born under the neceffity of a perpetual flavery, no wifdom can be of ufe to them, but all muft for ever depend on the will of their lords, how cruel, mad, proud, or wicked, foever they be. SECT. XI. No man comes to command many, unless by confent or by force. BUT because I cannot believe God hath created mån in such a state of mifery and flavery as I juft now mentioned; by discovering the vanity of our author's whimfical patriarchial kingdom, I am led to a certain conclufion, that every father of a family is free and exempt Bb4 from the |