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第37章

concerning civil government-第37章

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that levels the parties; cancels all former relation of reverence;

respect; and superiority; and then the odds that remains is… that he

who opposes the unjust aggressor has this superiority over him; that

he has a right; when he prevails; to punish the offender; both for the

breach of the peace and all the evils that followed upon it。

Barclay; therefore; in another place; more coherently to himself;

denies it to be lawful to resist a king in any case。 But he there

assigns two cases whereby a king may unking himself。 His words are:

  〃Quid ergo; nulline casus incidere possunt quibus populo sese

erigere atque in regem impotentius dominantem arma capere et

invadere jure suo suaque authoritate liceat? Nulli certe quamdiu rex

manet。 Semper enim ex divinis id obstat; Regem honorificato; et qui

potestati resistit; Dei ordinationi resistit; non alias igitur in

eum populo potestas est quam si id committat propter quod ipso jure

rex esse desinat。 Tunc enim se ipse principatu exuit atque in privatis

constituit liber; hoc modo populus et superior efficitur; reverso ad

eum scilicet jure illo quod ante regem inauguratum in interregno

habuit。 At sunt paucorum generum commissa ejusmodi quae hunc

effectum pariunt。 At ego cum plurima animo perlustrem; duo tantum

invenio; duos; inquam; casus quibus rex ipso facto ex rege non regem

se facit et omni honore et dignitate regali atque in subditos

potestate destituit; quorum etiam meminit Winzerus。 Horum unus est; si

regnum disperdat; quemadmodum de Nerone fertur; quod is nempe

senatum populumque Romanum atque adeo urbem ipsam ferro flammaque

vastare; ac novas sibi sedes quaerere decrevisset。 Et de Caligula;

quod palam denunciarit se neque civem neque principem senatui

amplius fore; inque animo habuerit; interempto utriusque ordinis

electissimo; quoque Alexandriam commigrare; ac ut populum uno ictu

interimeret; unam ei cervicem optavit。 Talia cum rex aliquis meditatur

et molitur serio; omnem regnandi curam et animum ilico abjicit; ac

proinde imperium in subditos amittit; ut dominus servi pro derelicto

habiti; dominium。

  236。 〃Arlter casus est; si rex in alicujus clientelam se contulit;

ac regnum quod liberum a majoribus et populo traditum accepit; alienae

ditioni mancipavit。 Nam tunc quamvis forte non ea mente id agit populo

plane ut incommodet; tamen quia quod praecipuum est regiae

dignitatis amisit; ut summus scilicet in regno secundum Deum sit; et

solo Deo inferior; atque populum etiam totum ignorantem vel invitum;

cujus libertatem sartam et tectam conservare debuit; in alterius

gentis ditionem et potestatem dedidit; hac velut quadam rengi

abalienatione effecit; ut nec quod ipse in regno imperium habuit

retineat; nec in eum cui collatum voluit; juris quicquam transferat;

atque ita eo facto liberum jam et suae potestatis populum relinquit;

cujus rei exemplum unum annales Scotici suppeditant。〃… Barclay; Contra

Monarchomachos; I。 iii。; c。 16。

  Which may be thus Englished:

  237。 〃What; then; can there no case happen wherein the people may of

right; and by their own authority; help themselves; take arms; and set

upon their king; imperiously domineering over them? None at all whilst

he remains a king。 'Honour the king;' and 'he that resists the

power; resists the ordinance of God;' are Divine oracles that will

never permit it。 The people; therefore; can never come by a power over

him unless he does something that makes him cease to be a king; for

then he divests himself of his crown and dignity; and returns to the

state of a private man; and the people become free and superior; the

power which they had in the interregnum; before they crowned him king;

devolving to them again。 But there are but few miscarriages which

bring the matter to this state。 After considering it well on all

sides; I can find but two。 Two cases there are; I say; whereby a king;

ipso facto; becomes no king; and loses all power and regal authority

over his people; which are also taken notice of by Winzerus。 The first

is; if he endeavour to overturn the government… that is; if he have

a purpose and design to ruin the kingdom and commonwealth; as it is

recorded of Nero that he resolved to cut off the senate and people

of Rome; lay the city waste with fire and sword; and then remove to

some other place; and of Caligula; that he openly declared that he

would be no longer a head to the people or senate; and that he had

it in his thoughts to cut off the worthiest men of both ranks; and

then retire to Alexandria; and he wished that the people had but one

neck that he might dispatch them all at a blow。 Such designs as these;

when any king harbours in his thoughts; and seriously promotes; he

immediately gives up all care and thought of the commonwealth; and;

consequently; forfeits the power of governing his subjects; as a

master does the dominion over his slaves whom he hath abandoned。

  238。 〃The other case is; when a king makes himself the dependent

of another; and subjects his kingdom; which his ancestors left him;

and the people put free into his hands; to the dominion of another。

For however; perhaps; it may not be his intention to prejudice the

people; yet because he has hereby lost the principal part of regal

dignity… viz。; to be next and immediately under God; supreme in his

kingdom; and also because he betrayed or forced his people; whose

liberty he ought to have carefully preserved; into the power and

dominion of a foreign nation。 By this; as it were; alienation of his

kingdom; he himself loses the power he had in it before; without

transferring any the least right to those on whom he would have

bestowed it; and so by this act sets the people free; and leaves

them at their own disposal。 One example of this is to be found in

the Scotch annals。〃

  239。 In these cases Barclay; the great champion of absolute

monarchy; is forced to allow that a king may be resisted; and ceases

to be a king。 That is in short… not to multiply cases… in whatsoever

he has no authority; there he is no king; and may be resisted: for

wheresoever the authority ceases; the king ceases too; and becomes

like other men who have no authority。 And these two cases that he

instances differ little from those above mentioned; to be

destructive to governments; only that he has omitted the principle

from which his doctrine flows; and that is the breach of trust in

not preserving the form of government agreed on; and in not

intending the end of government itself; which is the public good and

preservation of property。 When a king has dethroned himself; and put

himself in a state of war with his people; what shall hinder them from

prosecuting him who is no king; as they would any other man; who has

put himself into a state of war with them; Barclay; and those of his

opinion; would do well to tell us。 Bilson; a bishop of our Church; and

a great stickler for the power and prerogative of princes; does; if

I mistake not; in his treatise of 〃Christian Subjection;〃

acknowledge that princes may forfeit their power and their title to

the obedience of their subjects; and if there needed authority in a

case where reason is so plain; I could send my reader to Bracton;

Fortescue; and the author of the 〃Mirror;〃 and others; writers that

cannot be suspected to be ignorant of our government; or enemies to

it。 But I thought Hooker alone might be enough to satisfy those men

who; relying on him for their ecclesiastical polity; are by a

strange fate carried to deny those principles upon which he builds it。

Whether they are herein made the tools of cunninger workmen; to pull

down their own fabric; they were best look。 This I am sure; their

civil policy is so new; so dangerous; and so destructive to both

rulers and people; that as former ages never could bear the

broaching of it; so it may be hoped those to come; redeemed from the

impositions of these Egyptian under…taskmasters; will abhor the memory

of such servile flatterers; who; whilst it seemed to serve their turn;

resolved all government into absolute tyranny; and would have all

men born to what their mean s

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