men may be drawn to agreement. These articles, are they, which otherwise are called the Laws of Nature: whereof I shall speak more particularly, in the two following chapters.

CHAPTER XIV.

Of the First and Second Natural Laws, and of Contracts.

"THE right of nature," which writers commonly call jus naturale, is the liberty each man hath, to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life; and consequently, of doing anything, which in his own judgment, and reason, he shall conceive to be the aptest means thereunto.

By "liberty," is understood, according to the proper signification of the word, the absence of external impediments: which impediments, may oft take away part of a man's power to do what he would; but cannot hinder him from using the power left him, according as his judgment, and reason shall dictate to him.

A "law of nature," lex naturalis, is a precept or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that, which is destructive of his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved. For though they that speak of this subject, use to confound jus, and lex, "right" and "law": yet they ought to be distinguished; because "right," consisteth in liberty to do, or to forbear; whereas "law," determineth, and bindeth to one of them; so that law, and right, differ as much as obligation, and liberty; which in one and the same matter are inconsistent.

And because the condition of man, as hath been declared in the precedent chapter, is a condition of war of every one against every one; in which case every one is governed by his own reason; and there is nothing he can make use

of, that may not be a help unto him, in preserving his life against his enemies; it followeth, that in such a condition, every man has a right to everything; even to one another's body. And therefore, as long as this natural right of every man to everything endureth, there can be no security to any man, how strong or wise soever he be, of living out the time, which nature ordinarily alloweth men to live. And consequently it is a precept, or general rule of reason, "that every man, ought to endeavour peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek, and use, all helps, and advantages of war.” The first branch of which rule, containeth the first, and fundamental law of nature; which is, "to seek peace, and follow it." The second, the sum of the right of nature: which is, "by all means we can, to defend ourselves."

From this fundamental law of nature, by which men are commanded to endeavour peace, is derived this second law; "that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far-forth, as for peace, and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself." For as long as every man holdeth this right, of doing anything he liketh; so long are all men in the condition of war. But if other men will not lay down their right, as well as he; then there is no reason for any one, to divest himself of his : for that were to expose himself to prey, which no man is bound to, rather than to dispose himself to peace. This is the law of the Gospel; "whatsoever you require that others should do to you, that do ye to them.” And that law of all men, quod tibi fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris.

To lay down" a man's "right" to anything, is to "divest" himself of the "liberty," of hindering another of the benefit of his own right to the same. For he that renounceth, or passeth away his right, giveth not to any

other man a right which he had not before; because there is nothing to which every man had not right by nature: but only standeth out of his way, that he may enjoy his own original right, without hindrance from him; not without hindrance from another. So that the effect which redoundeth to one man, by another man's defect of right, is but so much diminution of impediments to the use of his own right original.

Right is laid aside, either by simply renouncing it; or by transferring it to another. By "simply renouncing"; when he cares not to whom the benefit thereof redoundeth. By "transferring"; when he intendeth the benefit thereof to some certain person, or persons. And when a man hath in either manner abandoned, or granted away his right; then is he said to be "obliged," or "bound," not to hinder those, to whom such right is granted, or abandoned, from the benefit of it: and that he "ought,” and it is his "duty," not to make void that voluntary act of his own: and that such hindrance is "injustice," and "injury," as being sine jure; the right being before renounced, or transferred. So that "injury," or "injustice," in the controversies of the world, is somewhat like to that, which in the disputations of scholars is called "absurdity." For as it is there called an absurdity, to contradict what one maintained in the beginning: so in the world, it is called injustice, and injury voluntarily to undo, that from the beginning he had voluntarily done. The way by which a man either simply renounceth, or transferreth his right, is a declaration, or signification, by some voluntary and sufficient sign, or signs, that he doth so renounce, or transfer; or hath so renounced, or transferred the same, to him that accepteth

it.

And these signs are either words only, or actions only; or, as it happeneth most often, both words, and actions. And the same are the "bonds," by which men are bound, and obliged: bonds, that have their strength, not from their own

nature, for nothing is more easily broken than a man's word, but from fear of some evil consequence upon the rupture.

Whensoever a man transferreth his right, or renounceth it; it is either in consideration of some right reciprocally transferred to himself; or for some other good he hopeth for thereby. For it is a voluntary act and of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some "good to himself." And therefore there be some rights, which no man can be understood by any words, or other signs, to have abandoned, or transferred. As first a man cannot lay down the right of resisting them, that assault him by force, to take away his life; because he cannot be understood to aim thereby, at any good to himself. The same may be said of wounds, and chains, and imprisonment; both because there is no benefit consequent to such patience; as there is to the patience of suffering another to be wounded, or imprisoned as also because a man cannot tell, when he seeth men proceed against him by violence, whether they intend his death or not. And lastly the motive, and end for which this renouncing, and transferring of right is introduced, is nothing else but the security of a man's person, in his life, and in the means of so preserving life, as not to be weary of it. And therefore if a man by words, or other signs, seem to despoil himself of the end, for which those signs were intended; he is not to be understood as if he meant it, or that it was his will; but that he was ignorant of how such words and actions were to be interpreted.

The mutual transferring of right, is that which men call "contract."

There is difference between transferring of right to the thing; and transferring, or tradition, that is delivery of the thing itself. For the thing may be delivered together with the translation of the right; as in buying and selling with ready money; or exchange of goods, or lands: and it may be delivered some time after.

Again, one of the contractors, may deliver the thing contracted for on his part, and leave the other to perform his part at some determinate time after, and in the meantime be trusted; and then the contract on his part, is called "pact," or "covenant": or both parts may contract now, to perform hereafter; in which cases, he that is to perform in time to come, being trusted, his performance is called keeping of promise,” or faith; and the failing of performance, if it be voluntary, "violation of faith."

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When the transferring of right, is not mutual: but one of the parties transferreth, in hope to gain thereby friendship, or service from another, or from his friends; or in hope to gain the reputation of charity, or magnanimity; or to deliver his mind from the pain of compassion; or in hope of reward in heaven; this is not contract, but "gift," "free gift," "grace": which words signify one and the same thing.

Signs of contract, are either "express," or "by inference." Express, are words spoken with understanding of what they signify and such words are either of the time " present," or "past "; as, "I give," "I grant," "I have given," "I have granted," "I will that this be yours": or of the future, as, "I will give," "I will grant"; which words of the future are called ". "promise."

Signs by inference, are sometimes the consequence of words; sometimes the consequence of silence; sometimes the consequence of actions; sometimes the consequence of forbearing an action: and generally a sign by inference, of any contract, is whatsoever sufficiently argues the will of the

contractor.

Words alone, if they be of the time to come, and contain a bare promise, are an insufficient sign of a free gift, and therefore not obligatory. For if they be of the time to come, as "to-morrow I will give," they are a sign I have not given yet, and consequently that my right is not transferred, but remaineth till I transfer it by some other act.