The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland

If you consider the Prince, and people committed to his Charge, as having relation one to another, I say, they are both bound one to another by Duty; the Prince first bound ⟨image 35⟩to rule and govern according to the Law of God, of Nature, of Nations, and Municipal Laws of the Country and the People is bound to obey him accordingly: but if the Prince command any thing against these, his commands are not to be obeyed, God being only he, to whose commands Obedience is simply due, and to be given; but to men, only obedience with limitation, and in external things, according to the Laws so oft above named, at the least not against them, or opposite to them. The Chimaera, or rather Solecism in reason of passive Obedience, is not to be thought on among rational men, it being the invention of Court-parasites, a mere nothing, or non ens, for Obedience consisteth in action, as all other virtues do, and not is suffering. Farther, whosoever, for not obeying a wicked command of a Superior, suffereth, if he can stop it, or shun it, is an enemy to his own being, wherein he offends against nature; for you see every natural thing striveth to conserve it self against what annoyeth it; then he sins against the Order of God, who in vain hath ordained us so many lawful Means for the preservation of our Being, if we suffer it to be destroyed, having power to help it. But then it will be demanded; What, is there no absoluteness in humane Authority? I answer, simple absoluteness there is none under God; For all humane Authority is limited by the Laws aforesaid, and extends to farther then external things; yet comparatively humane Authority is said to be absolute,¹ when it is free from any Foreign Superior Power. So when Henry the eighth, having cast off the Romish yoke, and putting down the vassalage of these his Dominions unto the Pope, caused divers Books to be written of the absolute Empire or Authority of the Prince; although, after the freeing himself from the Pope, he had not, nor did not pretend to have any more absolute power over the people, then he had before;

If you consider the Prince, and people committed to his Charge, as having relation one to another, I say, they are both bound one to another by Duty; the Prince first bound ⟨image 35⟩to rule and govern according to the Law of God, of Nature, of Nations, and Municipall Laws of the Countrey and the People is bound to obey him accordingly: but if the Prince command any thing against these, his commands are not to be obeyed, God being onely he, to whose commands Obedience is simply due, and to be given; but to men, onely obedience with limitation, and in externall things, according to the Laws so oft above named, at the least not against them, or opposite to them. The Chimaera, or rather Solaecisme in reason of passive Obedience, is not to be thought on among rationall men, it being the invention of Court-parasites, a meer nothing, or non ens, for Obedience consisteth in action, as all other vertues do, and not is suffering. Farther, whosoever, for not obeying a wicked command of a Superiour, suffereth, if he can stop it, or shun it, is an enemy to his own being, wherein he offends against nature; for you see every naturall thing striveth to conserve it self against what annoyeth it; then he sins against the Order of God, who in vain hath ordained us so many lawfull Means for the preservation of our Being, if we suffer it to be destroyed, having power to help it. But then it will be demanded; What, is there no absolutenesse in humane Authority? I answer, simple absolutenesse there is none under God; For all humane Authority is limited by the Laws aforesaid, and extends to farther then externall things; yet comparatively humane Authority is said to be absolute,