Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/140

124 idered as a mere individual, it is not to be expected that any human municipal laws hould at all explain or enforce them. For the end and intent of uch laws being only to regulate the behaviour of mankind, as they are members of ociety, and tand in various relations to each other, they have conequently no buines or concern with any but ocial or relative duties. Let a man therefore be ever o abandoned in his principles, or vitious in his practice, provided he keeps his wickednes to himelf, and does not offend againt the rules of public decency, he is out of the reach of human laws. But if he makes his vices public, though they be uch as eem principally to affect himelf, (as drunkennes, or the like) they then become, by the bad example they et, of pernicious effects to ociety; and therefore it is then the buines of human laws to correct them. Here the circumtance of publication is what alters the nature of the cae. Public obriety is a relative duty, and therefore enjoined by our laws; private obriety is an abolute duty, which, whether it be performed or not, human tribunals can never know; and therefore they can never enforce it by any civil anction. But, with repect to rights, the cae is different. Human laws define and enforce as well thoe rights which belong to a man conidered as an individual, as thoe which belong to him conidered as related to others.

the principal aim of ociety is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of thoe abolute rights, which were veted in them by the immutable laws of nature; but which could not be preerved in peace without that mutual aitance and intercoure, which is gained by the intitution of friendly and ocial communities. Hence it follows, that the firt and primary end of human laws is to maintain and regulate thee abolute rights of individuals. Such rights as are ocial and relative reult from, and are poterior to, the formation of tates and ocieties: o that to maintain and regulate thee is clearly a ubequent conideration. And therefore the principal view of human laws is, or ought always to be, to explain, protect, and enforce uch rights as are abolute,