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refpects grieve them as much as mes fo that if I do harm, I must look to fuffer, there being no reason that others should fhew greater meafure of love to me, than they have by me fhewed unto them: my defire therefore to be loved of my equals in nature, as much as poffible may be, impofeth upon me a natural duty of bearing to them-ward fully the like affection; from which relation of equality between ourselves and them that are as ourselves, what feveral rules and canons natural reafon hath drawn, for direction of life, no man is ignorant. Eccl. Pol. Lib. 1.

§. 6. But though this be a fate of liberty, yet it is not a state of licence: though man in that ftate have an uncontroulable liberty to dispose of his perfon or poffeffions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his poffeffion, but where some nobler ufe than its bare preservation calls for it. The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one : and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but confult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or poffeffions for men being all the workmanThip of one omnipotent, and infinitely wife maker; all the fervants of one fovereign master, sent into the world by his order, and about his business; they are his property, whose workmanship they are, made to laft during

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during his, not one another's pleasure: and being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature, there cannot be fuppofed any fuch fubordination among us, that may authorize us to deftroy one another, as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for our's. Every one, as he is bound to preferve himself, and not to quit his station wilfully, fo by the like reason, when his own prefervation comes not in competition, ought he, as much as he can, to preferve the rest of mankind, and may not, unless it be to do juftice on an offender, take away, or impair the life, or what tends to the prefervation of the life, the liberty, health, limb, or goods of another.

§. 7. And that all men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, and the law of nature be obferved, which willeth the peace and prefervation of all mankind, the execution of the law of nature is, in that state, put into every man's hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the tranfgreffors of that law to fuch a degree, as may hinder its violation : for the law of nature would, as all other laws that concern men in this world, be in vain, if there were no body that in the ftate of nature had a power to execute that law, and thereby preferve the innocent and restrain offenders. And if any one in the state of nature may punish another for any evil he has done,

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done, every one may do fo: for in that ftate of perfect equality, where naturally there is no fuperiority or jurifdiction of one over another, what any may do in profecution of that law, every one must needs have a right to do.

§. 8. And thus, in the ftate of nature, one man comes by a power over another; but yet no abfolute or arbitrary power, to ufe a criminal, when he has got him in his hands, according to the paffionate heats, or boundless extravagancy of his own will; but only to retribute to him, fo far as calm reafon and confcience dictate, what is proportionate to his tranfgreffion, which is fo much as may ferve for reparation and restraint: for thefe two are the only reafons, why one man may lawfully do harm to another, which is that we call punishment. In tranfgreffing the law of nature, the offender declares himself to live by another rule than that of reason and common equity, which is that measure God has fet to the actions of men, for their mutual fecurity; and fo he becomes dangerous to mankind, the tye, which is to fecure them from injury and violence, being flighted and broken by him. Which being a trespass against the whole fpecies, and the peace and fafety of it, provided for by the law of nature, every man upon this fcore, by the right he hath to preferve mankind in general, may reftrain, or where it is neceffary,

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fary, deftroy things noxious to them, and fo may bring fuch evil on any one, who hath tranfgreffed that law, as may make him repent the doing of it, and thereby deter him, and by his example others, from doing the like mischief. And in this cafe, and upon this ground, every man bath a right to punish the offender, and be executioner of the law of

nature.

§. 9. I doubt not but this will feem a very ftrange doctrine to fome men but before they condemn it, I defire them to refolve me, by what right any prince or state can put to death, or punish an alien, for any crime he commits in their country. It is certain their laws, by virtue of any fanction they receive from the promulgated will of the legiflative, reach not a ftranger: they speak not to him, nor, if they did, is he bound to hearken to them. The legiflative authority, by which they are in force over the fubjects of that common-wealth, hath no power over him. Those who have the fupreme power of making laws in England, France or Holland, are to an Indian, but like the rest of the world, men without authority: and therefore, if by the law of nature every man hath not a power to punish offences against it, as he foberly judges the cafe to require, I fee not how the magiftrates of any community can punish an alien of another country; fince, in reference to him, they can have

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no more power than what every man naturally may have over another.

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§. 10. Befides the crime which confifts in violating the law, and varying from the right rule of reason, whereby a man fo far becomes degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done to fome person or other, and fome other man receives damage by his tranfgreffion: in which cafe he who hath received any damage, has, befides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a particular right to feek reparation from him that has done it: and any other person, who finds it just, may also join with him that is injured, and affift him in recovering from the offender so much as may make fatisfaction for the harm he has fuffered.

§. 11. From these two diftinct rights, the one of punishing the crime for restraint, and preventing the like offence, which right of punishing is in every body; the other of taking reparation, which belongs only to the injured party, comes it to pafs that the magiftrate, who by being magiftrate hath the common right of punishing put into his hands, can often, where the public good demands not the execution of the law, remit the punishment of criminal offences by his own authority, but yet cannot remit the fatisfaction due to any private man for the

damage

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