Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: againft God and his law would do when-they mould have the power in their hands: and I leave fuch as have the underftandings of men, and are not abandoned by God, to judge what influence this ought to have upon other nations, either as to obligation or imitation. SECT. IV. No people can be obliged to fujfer from their kings what they have not a right to do. OU R author's next work is to tell us, that the fcope of Samuel was to teach the people a dutiful obedience to their king, even in the tc things that they think mifchievous or inconvenient: for by telling them what the king would do, he indeed inftructs them what a fubjecl: muft fuffer: yet not fo that it is right for kings to do injury, but it is right for them to go unpunimed by the people if they do it j fo that in this point it is all one whether Samuel defcribe a king or a tyrant. This is hard, but the conclufion is grounded upon nothing. There is no relation between a prediction that a thing mall be attempted or done to me, and a precept that I mall not defend my felf, or punifli the perfon that attempts or does it. If a prophet mould fay that a thief lay in the way to kill nle, it might reafonably perfuade me not to go, or to go in fuch a manner as to be able to defend myfelf j but can no way oblige me to fubmit to the violence that mall be offer'd, or my friends and children not to avenge my death if I fall; much lefs can other men be deprived of the natural right of defending themfelves by my imprudence or obftinacy in not taking the warning given, whereby I might have eferved my life. For every man has a right of refill- refifting fome way or other that which ought not to be done to him; and tho' human laws do not in all cafes make men judges and avengers of the injuries offer'd to them...