A92147:813
A treatise of civil policy
A treatise of civil policy: being a resolution of forty three questions concerning prerogative, right and privilege, in reference to the supreme prince and the people. / By Samuel Rutherford professor of divinity of St Andrews in Scotland.A treatise of civil policy: being a resolution of forty three questions concerning prerogative, right and priviledge, in reference to the supream prince and the people. / By Samuel Rutherford professor of divintiy of St Andrews in Scotland.
London, : Printed and are to be sold by Simon Miller at the Star in St Pauls Church-yard near the West end., 1657 i.e. 1656
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
4. The advancing of any man to the Throne and Royal dignity, putteth not the man above the number of rational men: But no rational man can create, by any act of power, never so transcendent or boundless, a sense to a Law, contrary to the Law. Nay, give me leave to doubt if Omnipotency can make a just Law to have an unjust and bloody sense, aut contra: because it involveth a contradiction; the true meaning of a Law, being the essential form of the Law. Hence judge what brutish, swinish flatterers they are, who say, That it is the true meaning of the Law, which the King, the only supreme and independent expositor of the Law, saith is the true sense of the Law. There was once an Animal, a Fool of the first magnitude, who said, He could demonstrate by invincible reasons, that the Kings dung was more nourishing food, then bread of the floor of the finest wheat. For my part, I could wish it were the Demonstrators only food for seven days; and that should be the best demonstration he could make for his proof.
4. The advancing of any man to the Throne and Royall dignitie, putteth not the man above the number of rationall men: But no rationall man can create, by any act of power, never so transcendent or boundlesse, a sense to a Law, contrary to the Law. Nay, give me leave to doubt if Omnipotencie can make a just Law to have an unjust and bloody sense, aut contra: because it involveth a contradiction; the true meaning of a Law, being the essentiall forme of the Law. Hence judge what bruitish, swinish flatterers they are, who say, That it is the true meaning of the Law, which the King, the only supreme and independent expositor of the Law, saith is the true sense of the Law. There was once an Animal, a Foole of the first magnitude, who said, He could demonstrate by invincible reasons, that the Kings dung was more nourishing food, then bread of the floore of the finest wheat. For my part, I could wish it were the Demonstrators only food for seven dayes; and that should be the best demonstration he could make for his proofe.
5. It must follow, that there can be no necessity of written laws1 to the Subjects; against Scripture, and natural reason, and the law of Nations, in which all accord, That Laws not promulgated and published, cannot oblige as Laws: Yea, Adam, in his innocency, was not obliged to obey a Law not written in his heart by Nature, except God had made known the Law; as is clear,