Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/257

Ch. 7. authority: or, in other words, his dignity and regal power; to which lat the name of prerogative is frequently narrowed and confined. The other diviion, which forms the royal revenue, will require a ditinct examination; according to the known ditribution of the feodal writers, who ditinguih the royal prerogatives into the  and , in the latter of which claes the rights of the revenue are ranked. For, to ue their own words, “ .”

, then, of the royal dignity. Under every monarchical etablihment, it is neceary to ditinguih the prince from his ubjects, not only by the outward pomp and decorations of majety, but alo by acribing to him certain qualities, as inherent in his royal capacity, ditinct from and uperior to thoe of any other individual in the nation. For, though a philoophical mind will conider the royal peron merely as one man appointed by mutual conent to preide over many others, and will pay him that reverence and duty which the principles of ociety demand, yet the mas of mankind will be apt to grow inolent and refractory, if taught to conider their prince as a man of no greater perfection than themelves. The law therefore acribes to the king, in his high political character, not only large powers and emoluments which form his prerogative and revenue, but likewie certain attributes of a great and trancendent nature; by which the people are led to conider him in the light of a uperior being, and to pay him that awful repect, which may enable him with greater cae to carry on the buines of government. This is what I undertand by the royal dignity, the everal branches of which we will now proceed to examine.

I.&ensp;, firt, the law acribes to the king the attribute of overeignty, or pre-eminence. “Rex et vicarius,” ays Bracton, “et miniter Dei in terra: omnis quidem ub eo et, et ipe ub nullo, Rh