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SECT. V. Law of Nations.
What is a state of nature? The State men are in
or supposed to be in, before there are any such things
made for them as Laws. This, is it I take it is
what a man means by a state of nature who knows
what he means by it. For I am speaking of politicians. For
Divines have their state of nature; with which [It
have no design is not our business here to meddle] it is no concern of ours to
meddle.
Our Author [mean time] however, has got scent it should
seem of some other meaning for it. Not but that he
is ready enough to tell us as a fact that there are no such things as Laws in
a state of nature. Nay f so certain is he of it, that he says, there can be none. But he gives it as a discovery
of his own, which for fear your should be impertinent and offer to dispute it with him he will needs prove to you by
a medium of his own contrivance. Tis as if a
man were to prove that in a triangle there are
three angles.
"If men were to live in a state of Nature", says
he [p.42] "unconnected with other individuals" [individuals
other than man?) "there would be no occasion
"for any other Laws, than those of Nature the Law of Nature", (which
now is not God's it seems, but somebody else's) "and
"the Law of God. Neither could any other Law possibly
exist; for a Law always supposes some
superior who is to make it; and in a state of nature
we are all equal, (which is more, I prophecy
for this once, than we shall continue must expect to continue [to be] for twelve
pages)
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sect. v law of nations |
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jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::[gr with crown motif] propatria [britannia motif]]] |
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