Thomas Hobbes · Complete work
Part II, Chapter XXX, 2
Part II, Chapter XXX, 2 of 101. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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Again, every Soveraign Ought to cause Justice to be taught, which (consisting in taking from no man what is his) is as much as to say, to cause men to be taught not to deprive their Neighbour, by violence, or fraud, of any thing which by the Soveraign Authority is theirs. Of things held in propriety, those that are dearest to a man are his own life, & limbs; and in the next degree, (in most men,) those that concern conjugall affection; and after them riches and means of living. Therefore the People are to be taught, to abstain from violence to one anothers person, by private revenges; from violation of conjugall honour; and from forcibly rapine, and fraudulent surreption of one anothers goods. For which purpose also it is necessary they be shewed the evill consequences of false Judgement, by corruption either of Judges or Witnesses, whereby the distinction of propriety is taken away, and Justice becomes of no effect: all which things are intimated in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth Commandements.
Lastly, they are to be taught, that not onely the unjust facts, but the designes and intentions to do them, (though by accident hindred,) are Injustice; which consisteth in the pravity of the will, as well as in the irregularity of the act. And this is the intention of the tenth Commandement, and the summe of the Second Table; which is reduced all to this one Commandement of mutuall Charity, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe:” as the summe of the first Table is reduced to “the love of God;” whom they had then newly received as their King.
As for the Means, and Conduits, by which the people may receive this Instruction, wee are to search, by what means so may Opinions, contrary to the peace of Man-kind, upon weak and false Principles, have neverthelesse been so deeply rooted in them. I mean those, which I have in the precedent Chapter specified: as That men shall Judge of what is lawfull and unlawfull, not by the Law it selfe, but by their own private Judgements; That Subjects sinne in obeying the Commands of the Common-wealth, unlesse they themselves have first judged them to be lawfull: That their Propriety in their riches is such, as to exclude the Dominion, which the Common-wealth hath over the same: That it is lawfull for Subjects to kill such, as they call Tyrants: That the Soveraign Power may be divided, and the like; which come to be instilled into the People by this means. They whom necessity, or covetousnesse keepeth attent on their trades, and labour; and they, on the other side, whom superfluity, or sloth carrieth after their sensuall pleasures, (which two sorts of men take up the greatest part of Man-kind,) being diverted from the deep meditation, which the learning of truth, not onely in the matter of Naturall Justice, but also of all other Sciences necessarily requireth, receive the Notions of their duty, chiefly from Divines in the Pulpit, and partly from such of their Neighbours, or familiar acquaintance, as having the Faculty of discoursing readily, and plausibly, seem wiser and better learned in cases of Law, and Conscience, than themselves. And the Divines, and such others as make shew of Learning, derive their knowledge from the Universities, and from the Schooles of Law, or from the Books, which by men eminent in those Schooles, and Universities have been published. It is therefore manifest, that the Instruction of the people, dependeth wholly, on the right teaching of Youth in the Universities. But are not (may some men say) the Universities of England learned enough already to do that? or is it you will undertake to teach the Universities? Hard questions. Yet to the first, I doubt not to answer; that till towards the later end of Henry the Eighth, the Power of the Pope, was alwayes upheld against the Power of the Common-wealth, principally by the Universities; and that the doctrines maintained by so many Preachers, against the Soveraign Power of the King, and by so many Lawyers, and others, that had their education there, is a sufficient argument, that though the Universities were not authors of those false doctrines, yet they knew not how to plant the true. For in such a contradiction of Opinions, it is most certain, that they have not been sufficiently instructed; and ’tis no wonder, if they yet retain a relish of that subtile liquor, wherewith they were first seasoned, against the Civill Authority. But to the later question, it is not fit, nor needfull for me to say either I, or No: for any man that sees what I am doing, may easily perceive what I think.
The safety of the People, requireth further, from him, or them that have the Soveraign Power, that Justice be equally administred to all degrees of People; that is, that as well the rich, and mighty, as poor and obscure persons, may be righted of the injuries done them; so as the great, may have no greater hope of impunity, when they doe violence, dishonour, or any Injury to the meaner sort, than when one of these, does the like to one of them: For in this consisteth Equity; to which, as being a Precept of the Law of Nature, a Soveraign is as much subject, as any of the meanest of his People. All breaches of the Law, are offences against the Common-wealth: but there be some, that are also against private Persons. Those that concern the Common-wealth onely, may without breach of Equity be pardoned; for every man may pardon what is done against himselfe, according to his own discretion. But an offence against a private man, cannot in Equity be pardoned, without the consent of him that is injured; or reasonable satisfaction.
The Inequality of Subjects, proceedeth from the Acts of Soveraign Power; and therefore has no more place in the presence of the Soveraign; that is to say, in a Court of Justice, then the Inequality between Kings, and their Subjects, in the presence of the King of Kings. The honour of great Persons, is to be valued for their beneficence, and the aydes they give to men of inferiour rank, or not at all. And the violences, oppressions, and injuries they do, are not extenuated, but aggravated by the greatnesse of their persons; because they have least need to commit them. The consequences of this partiality towards the great, proceed in this manner. Impunity maketh Insolence; Insolence Hatred; and Hatred, an Endeavour to pull down all oppressing and contumelious greatnesse, though with the ruine of the Common-wealth.
To Equall Justice, appertaineth also the Equall imposition of Taxes; the equality whereof dependeth not on the Equality of riches, but on the Equality of the debt, that every man oweth to the Common-wealth for his defence. It is not enough, for a man to labour for the maintenance of his life; but also to fight, (if need be,) for the securing of his labour. They must either do as the Jewes did after their return from captivity, in re-edifying the Temple, build with one hand, and hold the Sword in the other; or else they must hire others to fight for them. For the Impositions that are layd on the People by the Soveraign Power, are nothing else but the Wages, due to them that hold the publique Sword, to defend private men in the exercise of severall Trades, and Callings. Seeing then the benefit that every one receiveth thereby, is the enjoyment of life, which is equally dear to poor, and rich; the debt which a poor man oweth them that defend his life, is the same which a rich man oweth for the defence of his; saving that the rich, who have the service of the poor, may be debtors not onely for their own persons, but for many more. Which considered, the Equality of Imposition, consisteth rather in the Equality of that which is consumed, than of the riches of the persons that consume the same. For what reason is there, that he which laboureth much, and sparing the fruits of his labour, consumeth little, should be more charged, then he that living idlely, getteth little, and spendeth all he gets; seeing the one hath no more protection from the Common-wealth, then the other? But when the Impositions, are layd upon those things which men consume, every man payeth Equally for what he useth: Nor is the Common-wealth defrauded, by the luxurious waste of private men.
And whereas many men, by accident unevitable, become unable to maintain themselves by their labour; they ought not to be left to the Charity of private persons; but to be provided for, (as far-forth as the necessities of Nature require,) by the Lawes of the Common-wealth. For as it is Uncharitablenesse in any man, to neglect the impotent; so it is in the Soveraign of a Common-wealth, to expose them to the hazard of such uncertain Charity.
But for such as have strong bodies, the case is otherwise: they are to be forced to work; and to avoyd the excuse of not finding employment, there ought to be such Lawes, as may encourage all manner of Arts; as Navigation, Agriculture, Fishing, and all manner of Manifacture that requires labour. The multitude of poor, and yet strong people still encreasing, they are to be transplanted into Countries not sufficiently inhabited: where neverthelesse, they are not to exterminate those they find there; but constrain them to inhabit closer together, and not range a great deal of ground, to snatch what they find; but to court each little Plot with art and labour, to give them their sustenance in due season. And when all the world is overchargd with Inhabitants, then the last remedy of all is Warre; which provideth for every man, by Victory, or Death.
To the care of the Soveraign, belongeth the making of Good Lawes. But what is a good Law? By a Good Law, I mean not a Just Law: for no Law can be Unjust. The Law is made by the Soveraign Power, and all that is done by such Power, is warranted, and owned by every one of the people; and that which every man will have so, no man can say is unjust. It is in the Lawes of a Common-wealth, as in the Lawes of Gaming: whatsoever the Gamesters all agree on, is Injustice to none of them. A good Law is that, which is Needfull, for the Good Of The People, and withall Perspicuous.
For the use of Lawes, (which are but Rules Authorised) is not to bind the People from all Voluntary actions; but to direct and keep them in such a motion, as not to hurt themselves by their own impetuous desires, rashnesse, or indiscretion, as Hedges are set, not to stop Travellers, but to keep them in the way. And therefore a Law that is not Needfull, having not the true End of a Law, is not Good. A Law may be conceived to be Good, when it is for the benefit of the Soveraign; though it be not Necessary for the People; but it is not so. For the good of the Soveraign and People, cannot be separated. It is a weak Soveraign, that has weak Subjects; and a weak People, whose Soveraign wanteth Power to rule them at his will. Unnecessary Lawes are not good Lawes; but trapps for Mony: which where the right of Soveraign Power is acknowledged, are superfluous; and where it is not acknowledged, unsufficient to defend the People.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete 1651 English text (introduction, forty-seven chapters, review and conclusion) for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity. Hobbes’s marginal summaries are omitted.
Again, every Sovereign ought to have justice taught. Since justice consists in taking from no one what belongs to him, this means teaching people not to deprive their neighbors, by force or fraud, of anything that is theirs by sovereign authority. Of things held as property, those dearest to a person are his own life and limbs; next, for most, come the matters of marital affection; and after these, wealth and the means of living. The people must therefore be taught to refrain from violence against one another's persons in private revenge, from violations of marital honor, and from forcibly plundering or fraudulently stealing one another's goods. For the same purpose they must be shown the harmful consequences of false judgment brought about by the corruption of judges or witnesses: it destroys the distinction between what belongs to different people and renders justice powerless. All these things are implied in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth Commandments.
Lastly, they must be taught that not only unjust acts but the designs and intentions to commit them, even if frustrated by chance, are injustice. It lies as much in the corruption of the will as in the disorder of the act. This is the meaning of the tenth Commandment and the sum of the Second Table, which is all gathered into the one commandment of mutual charity, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” just as the sum of the first Table is gathered into “the love of God,” whom they had then newly accepted as their King.
As for the means and channels by which the people may receive this instruction, we should ask how so many opinions opposed to the peace of mankind, based on weak and false principles, have nevertheless taken such deep root among them. I mean the opinions I named in the preceding Chapter: that people should judge what is lawful and unlawful by their own private judgments rather than by the law itself; that subjects sin when they obey the commands of the Common-wealth without first deciding for themselves that those commands are lawful; that their property rights in their wealth exclude the Common-wealth's dominion over it; that subjects may lawfully kill those they call tyrants; that sovereign power can be divided; and others like these. They are instilled in the people as follows. Those whom necessity or greed keeps intent on their trades and labor, and those whom excess wealth or idleness drives to sensual pleasures—two groups that make up most of humanity—are diverted from the sustained reflection required to learn the truth, not only about natural justice but about every other science. They get their ideas of duty mainly from theologians in the pulpit, and partly from neighbors and acquaintances whose ready and plausible speech makes them seem wiser and more learned in law and conscience than themselves. The theologians and others who make a show of learning, in turn, derive their knowledge from universities, law schools, or books published by distinguished men from those schools and universities. Evidently, then, the instruction of the people depends entirely on teaching the young correctly in the universities. But some may ask: are the universities of England not learned enough already to do this? Or do you intend to teach the universities yourself? Difficult questions. Yet I do not hesitate to answer the first: until near the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, the Pope's power against that of the Common-wealth was upheld chiefly by the universities. The doctrines maintained by so many preachers against the sovereign power of the king, and by so many lawyers and others educated there, are sufficient proof that, even if the universities did not originate these false doctrines, they did not know how to plant the true ones. With such a conflict of opinions, it is certain they have not been adequately instructed; no wonder they still retain the taste of the subtle liquor with which they were first seasoned against civil authority. As for the second question, it is neither fitting nor necessary for me to say yes or no. Anyone who sees what I am doing can readily see what I think.
The safety of the people further requires those who hold sovereign power to administer justice equally to every rank. The rich and powerful, no less than the poor and obscure, must receive redress for injuries done to them; and the great must have no greater hope of impunity when they use violence, dishonor, or otherwise injure the humble than the humble would have if they did the same to the great. This is equity, a precept of the Law of Nature that binds a Sovereign as fully as the humblest of his people. All breaches of law are offenses against the Common-wealth, but some are offenses against private individuals as well. Offenses against the Common-wealth alone can be pardoned without violating equity, for anyone may pardon a wrong done to himself as he sees fit. But equity does not permit the pardon of an offense against a private person without that person's consent or reasonable satisfaction.
Inequality among subjects arises from acts of sovereign power; it has no more place before the Sovereign, that is, in a court of justice, than inequality between kings and their subjects has before the King of Kings. Great persons should be honored for their beneficence and the aid they give people of lower rank, or not honored at all. Their violence, oppression, and injuries are not mitigated but made worse by their greatness, for they have the least need to commit them. Partiality toward the great has these consequences: impunity breeds insolence; insolence breeds hatred; and hatred breeds efforts to bring down every oppressive and arrogant greatness, even if the Common-wealth falls with it.
Equal taxation also belongs to equal justice. Its equality depends not on equal wealth, but on the equal debt each person owes the Common-wealth for his defense. It is not enough for a person to labor to support his life: he must also fight, if need be, to secure the fruits of his labor. People must either do as the Jews did when rebuilding the Temple after their return from captivity, building with one hand and holding a sword in the other, or hire others to fight on their behalf. Taxes imposed on the people by sovereign power are simply the wages owed to those who hold the public sword, defending private individuals as they practice their various trades and occupations. Since the benefit each receives is the enjoyment of life, which is equally dear to rich and poor, a poor person owes the defenders of his life the same debt a rich person owes for defense of his own—except that the rich, who have the service of the poor, may owe a debt for many persons besides themselves. Given this, equality of taxation consists rather in equality of consumption than in equality of the consumers' wealth. Why should a person who works hard and spends little of the fruits of his labor be taxed more than an idle person who earns little and spends everything he earns, when the Common-wealth protects the one no more than the other? But when taxes fall on what people consume, each pays equally for what he uses; nor is the Common-wealth deprived of revenue by the luxurious waste of individuals.
Many people, through unavoidable accident, become unable to maintain themselves by their labor. They should not be left to private charity, but provided for by the laws of the Common-wealth as far as their natural necessities require. Just as it is uncharitable for any individual to neglect those who cannot help themselves, so it is uncharitable for the Sovereign of a Common-wealth to expose them to the risks of such uncertain charity.
The case is different for those whose bodies are strong: they must be made to work. To prevent the excuse that no employment can be found, laws should encourage every kind of craft, including navigation, agriculture, fishing, and all forms of manufacturing that require labor. As the number of poor but able-bodied people continues to increase, they should be settled in countries that are not sufficiently inhabited. There they must not exterminate the inhabitants they find, but require them to live closer together and, rather than roam over a great stretch of land snatching whatever they find, to cultivate each small plot with skill and labor so that it feeds them in due season. When the whole world is overcrowded, the final remedy is war, which provides for everyone through victory or death.
The Sovereign's care includes making good laws. But what is a good law? By a good law I do not mean a just one, for no law can be unjust. Law is made by sovereign power, and everything that power does is authorized and owned by each member of the people; what everyone has willed, no one can call unjust. The laws of a Common-wealth are like the rules of a game: what all the players agree to is an injustice to none of them. A good law is one that is necessary for the good of the people and is also clear.
For laws are authorized rules, and their purpose is not to restrain the people from every voluntary action, but to guide their movement so they do not hurt themselves through the force of their desires, rashness, or poor judgment. Hedges are set up not to stop travelers but to keep them on the road. Thus a law that is unnecessary does not serve the true end of law and is not good. A law might be thought good if it benefits the Sovereign, even though it is not necessary for the people; but this is not so, since the good of Sovereign and people cannot be separated. A Sovereign with weak subjects is weak, and so are people whose Sovereign lacks power to govern them as he wills. Unnecessary laws are not good laws but traps for money: where the right of sovereign power is recognized they are superfluous, and where it is not recognized they are insufficient to defend the people.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the complete 1651 English text (introduction, forty-seven chapters, review and conclusion). Hobbes’s marginal summaries are omitted.
Every Sovereign must also ensure that people are taught justice. Justice means not taking what belongs to another person. So people must be taught not to take by force or fraud anything that belongs to their neighbor under sovereign authority. Of the things someone owns, his life and limbs are dearest to him. Next, for most people, come the things connected to marital affection, and after those come wealth and the means of living. People must therefore be taught not to attack one another in private acts of revenge, violate marital honor, or steal one another's goods through force or fraud. They must also be shown the harmful results of false judgments caused by corrupt judges or witnesses. Such judgments destroy the distinction between what belongs to different people and make justice ineffective. All these duties are suggested by the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth Commandments.
Finally, people must be taught that injustice includes not only unjust acts but also plans and intentions to commit them, even if chance prevents the acts. Injustice lies in a corrupt will as well as in a wrongful act. This is the meaning of the tenth Commandment and the sum of the second table of the Commandments. It all comes down to one command of mutual love: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Similarly, the first table comes down to "the love of God," whom the Jews had then newly accepted as their King.
To find the means and channels for teaching people, we must ask how beliefs opposed to human peace have become so firmly rooted in them despite resting on weak and false principles. I mean the beliefs I described in the preceding chapter: that people should decide what is lawful through their own private judgments rather than by the law; that subjects sin if they obey the Common-wealth's commands without first deciding for themselves that those commands are lawful; that their property rights in their wealth exclude the Common-wealth's authority over it; that subjects may lawfully kill those they call tyrants; that sovereign power can be divided; and similar beliefs. Here is how these ideas reach the people. Some people must focus on their work and trades because of necessity or greed. Others have enough to live on, or are idle, and pursue physical pleasures. Together these two groups make up most of humanity. Neither has time for the careful thought needed to learn the truth about natural justice or any other field of knowledge. They get their ideas about duty mostly from theologians preaching in pulpits. They also get them from neighbors or acquaintances who speak readily and persuasively, and so seem to know more about law and conscience than they do. The theologians and other people who appear learned, in turn, learn from universities, law schools, and books published by leading figures at those schools and universities. Clearly, then, teaching the people depends entirely on teaching young people correctly at the universities. Someone may ask: Are England's universities not learned enough already to do this? Or do you intend to teach the universities yourself? These are difficult questions. But I can answer the first without hesitation. Until near the end of Henry the Eighth's reign, the universities were the main supporters of the Pope's power against that of the Common-wealth. Many preachers, lawyers, and others educated there have since defended doctrines hostile to the King's sovereign power. This is sufficient evidence that, even if the universities did not invent those false doctrines, they did not know how to teach the true ones. These conflicting opinions make it certain that they have not been taught well enough. No wonder they still retain a taste of the subtle drink with which they were first seasoned against civil authority. As for the second question, it is neither appropriate nor necessary for me to answer yes or no. Anyone who sees what I am doing can easily tell what I think.
The people's safety also requires whoever holds sovereign power to administer justice equally to people of every rank. The rich and powerful must be able to obtain redress for injuries, and so must poor and unknown people. The powerful must have no more hope of escaping punishment when they use violence against, dishonor, or otherwise injure poorer people than when poorer people do the same to them. That is what equity requires. Since equity is a rule of the Law of Nature, a Sovereign is as bound by it as the poorest of his people. Every violation of law is an offense against the Common-wealth, but some violations are also offenses against private individuals. Offenses against only the Common-wealth can be pardoned without violating equity, because anyone may choose to pardon an offense against himself. An offense against a private individual cannot fairly be pardoned without the injured person's consent or reasonable compensation.
Differences in rank among subjects arise from acts of sovereign power. They therefore have no more place before the Sovereign, that is, in a court of justice, than the difference between kings and their subjects has before the King of Kings. Great people's honor should be valued according to the good they do and the help they give people of lower rank, or not valued at all. The violence, oppression, and injuries they commit are made worse, not excused, by their high position, because they have less need to commit them. Favoring the powerful has these consequences: escaping punishment makes them arrogant; arrogance breeds hatred; and hatred leads people to try to bring down everyone whose power oppresses and insults them, even if this destroys the Common-wealth.
Equal justice also requires taxes to be imposed equally. Equality here depends not on equal wealth but on the equal debt each person owes the Common-wealth for his defense. It is not enough to work for one's living. A person must also fight, if necessary, to protect the fruits of that work. People must either do what the Jews did when they rebuilt the Temple after returning from captivity, building with one hand and holding a sword in the other, or hire others to fight for them. Taxes imposed by sovereign power are simply wages owed to those who bear the public sword and defend private people as they work in their different trades and occupations. The benefit everyone receives is the enjoyment of life, which is just as dear to the poor as to the rich. A poor person therefore owes the defenders of his life as much as a rich person owes for the defense of his own. The exception is that rich people who employ poor people may owe for the defense of many others as well as themselves. Given this, equal taxation depends more on taxing what is consumed equally than on taxing the wealth of those who consume it. Why should someone who works hard, saves the fruits of his work, and consumes little pay more than someone who lives idly, earns little, and spends everything he earns? Both receive the same protection from the Common-wealth. But when taxes fall on what people consume, each person pays equally for what he uses. The Common-wealth also loses nothing because of extravagant private spending.
Some people are unable to support themselves by working because of circumstances they cannot avoid. They should not be left to private charity. The Common-wealth's laws should provide what their basic needs require. It is uncharitable for any person to neglect those unable to support themselves, and equally uncharitable for a Sovereign to leave them at the mercy of such uncertain charity.
People who are physically strong are a different matter: they should be required to work. To prevent them from claiming that they cannot find work, there should be laws encouraging every kind of productive activity, including navigation, farming, fishing, and all kinds of manufacturing that require labor. As the number of poor but able-bodied people keeps growing, they should be moved to countries that are not sufficiently populated. They must not wipe out the people they find there. Instead, they should make those people settle closer together. The inhabitants should stop ranging over large areas to grab what they find and instead carefully cultivate each small plot to provide food at the proper time. When the whole world has too many inhabitants, the last remedy is war, which provides for everyone through either victory or death.
The Sovereign must also make good laws. But what makes a law good? By a good law I do not mean a just law, since no law can be unjust. Sovereign power makes the law, and everyone among the people has authorized and accepted whatever that power does. No one can call unjust what everyone has chosen to have done. The laws of a Common-wealth resemble the rules of a game: rules on which all the players agree are unjust to none of them. A good law is necessary for the good of the people and is also clear.
Laws are authorized rules. Their purpose is not to prevent people from doing anything voluntarily. They should direct and guide people so that their strong desires, rashness, or poor judgment do not cause them harm. Hedges are placed beside a road not to stop travelers but to keep them on the road. An unnecessary law does not serve the real purpose of law and is therefore not good. One might think a law is good if it benefits the Sovereign even though the people do not need it. That is not so, for the Sovereign's good cannot be separated from the people's good. A Sovereign with weak subjects is weak himself, and people whose Sovereign lacks the power to govern them as he chooses are weak. Unnecessary laws are not good laws but traps to collect money. Where sovereign authority is recognized, such traps are unnecessary; where it is not, they cannot adequately defend the people.