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SECOND TREATISE OF GOVERNMENT by JOHN LOCKE




             TWO TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT

                   BY IOHN LOCKE


            SALUS POPULI SUPREMA LEX ESTO




              LONDON PRINTED MDCLXXXVIIII

      REPRINTED; THE SIXTH TIME; BY A。 MILLAR; H。
      WOODFALL; 1。  WHISTON AND  B。 WHITE; 1。 RI…
      VINGTON; L。 DAVIS AND  C。 REYMERS; R。 BALD…
      WIN;  HAWES  CLARKE  AND  COLLINS; W。 IOHN…
      STON;  W。 OWEN; 1。  RICHARDSON; S。 CROWDER;
      T。  LONGMAN;  B。  LAW;   C。  RIVINGTON;  E。
      DILLY;  R。 WITHY; C。 AND R。 WARE; S; BAKER;
         T。 PAYNE; A。 SHUCKBURGH; 1。 HINXMAN

                     MDCCLXIIII






 
           TWO  TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT。
           IN THE FORMER THE FALSE PRIN…
           CIPLES AND  FOUNDATION OF SIR
           ROBERT  FILMER  AND  HIS FOL…
           LOWERS   ARE   DETECTED   AND
                    OVERTHROWN。
           THE  LATTER IS  AN ESSAY CON…
           CERNING  THE  TRUE  ORIGINAL
           EXTENT  AND  END  OF  CIVIL
                    GOVERNMENT。




                1764 EDITOR'S NOTE

The present Edition of this Book has not only been collated with  the first three Editions; which were published during the  Author's Life; but also has the Advantage of his last Corrections  and  Improvements; from a Copy delivered by him to Mr。 Peter  Coste; communicated  to  the  Editor;  and  now lodged in Christ  College; Cambridge。




                             PREFACE

Reader; thou hast here the beginning and end of a discourse  concerning government; what fate has otherwise disposed of the  papers that should have filled up the middle; and were more than  all the rest; it is not worth while to tell thee。  These; which  remain; I hope are sufficient to establish the throne of our  great restorer; our present King William; to make good his title;  in the consent of the people; which being the only one of all  lawful governments; he has more fully and clearly; than any  prince in Christendom; and to justify to the world the people of  England; whose love of their just and natural rights; with their  resolution to preserve them; saved the nation when it was on the  very brink of slavery and ruin。  If these papers have that  evidence; I flatter myself is to be found in them; there will be  no great miss of those which are lost; and my reader may be  satisfied without them: for I imagine; I shall have neither the  time; nor inclination to repeat my pains; and fill up the wanting  part of my answer; by tracing Sir Robert again; through all the  windings and obscurities; which are to be met with in the several  branches of his wonderful system。  The king; and body of the  nation; have since so thoroughly confuted his Hypothesis; that I  suppose no body hereafter will have either the confidence to  appear against our common safety; and be again an advocate for  slavery; or the weakness to be deceived with contradictions  dressed up in a popular stile; and well…turned periods: for if  any one will be at the pains; himself; in those parts; which are  here untouched; to strip Sir Robert's discourses of the flourish  of doubtful expressions; and endeavour to reduce his words to  direct; positive; intelligible propositions; and then compare  them one with another; he will quickly be satisfied; there was  never so much glib nonsense put together in well…sounding  English。  If he think it not worth while to examine his works all  thro'; let him make an experiment in that part; where he treats  of usurpation; and let him try; whether he can; with all his  skill; make Sir Robert intelligible; and consistent with himself;  or common sense。  I should not speak so plainly of a gentleman;  long since past answering; had not the pulpit; of late years;  publicly owned his doctrine; and made it the current divinity of  the times。  It is necessary those men; who taking on them to be  teachers; have so dangerously misled others; should  be  openly   shewed  of  what authority this their Patriarch is; whom they  have so blindly followed; that so they may either retract what  upon so ill grounds they have vented; and cannot be maintained;  or else justify those principles which they preached up for  gospel; though they had no better an author than an English  courtier: for I should not have writ against Sir Robert; or taken  the pains to shew his mistakes; inconsistencies; and want of  (what he so much boasts of; and pretends wholly to build on)  scripture…proofs; were there not men amongst us; who; by crying  up his books; and espousing his doctrine; save me from the  reproach of writing against a dead adversary。  They have been so  zealous in this point; that; if I have done him any wrong; I  cannot hope they should spare me。  I wish; where they have done  the truth and the public wrong; they would be as ready to redress  it; and allow its just weight to this reflection; viz。 that there  cannot be done a greater mischief to prince and people; than the  propagating wrong notions concerning government; that so at last  all times might not have reason to complain of the Drum  Ecclesiastic。  If any one; concerned really for truth; undertake  the confutation of my Hypothesis; I promise him either to recant   my mistake; upon fair conviction; or to answer his difficulties。   But he must remember two things。

     First; That cavilling here and there; at some expression; or  little incident of my discourse; is not an answer to my book。

     Secondly; That I shall not take railing for arguments; nor  think either of these worth my notice; though I shall always look  on myself as bound to give satisfaction to any one; who shall  appear to be conscientiously scrupulous in the point; and shall  shew any just grounds for his scruples。

     I have nothing more; but to advertise the reader; that  Observations stands for Observations on Hobbs; Milton; &c。 and  that a bare quotation of pages always means pages of his  Patriarcha; Edition 1680。



                        OF CIVIL…GOVERNMENT

                             Book II

Chap。 I。 Sect。 1。 It having been shewn in the foregoing  discourse;      1。 That Adam had not; either by natural right of  fatherhood; or by positive donation from God; any  such   authority  over  his children; or dominion over the world; as is  pretended:      2。 That if he had; his heirs; yet; had no right to it:      3。 That if his heirs had; there being no law of nature nor  positive law of God that determines which is the right heir in  all cases that may arise; the right of succession; and  consequently of bearing rule; could not have been certainly  determined:      4。 That if even that had been determined; yet the knowledge  of which is the eldest line of Adam's posterity; being so long  since utterly lost; that in the races of mankind and families of  the world; there remains not to one above another; the least  pretence to be the eldest house; and to have the right of  inheritance:     All these premises having; as I think; been clearly made out;  it is impossible that the rulers now on earth should make any  benefit; or derive any the least shadow of authority from that;  which is held to be the fountain of all power; Adam's private  dominion and paternal jurisdiction; so that he that will not  give just occasion to think that all government in the world is  the product only of force and violence; and that men live  together by no other rules but that of beasts; where the  strongest carries it; and so lay a foundation for perpetual  disorder and mischief; tumult; sedition and rebellion; (things  that the followers of that hypothesis so loudly cry out against)  must of necessity find out another rise of government; another  original of political power; and another way of designing and  knowing the persons that have it; than what Sir Robert Filmer  hath taught us。      Sect。 2。 To this purpose; I think it may not be amiss; to  set down what I take to be political power; that the power of a  MAGISTRATE over a subject may be distinguished from that of a  FATHER over his children; a MASTER over his servant; a HUSBAND  over his wife; and a LORD over his slave。  All which distinct  powers happening sometimes

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