Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/59

§. 2. uperadd any freh obligation to abtain from it’s perpetration. Nay, if any human law hould allow or injoin us to commit it, we are bound to trangres that human law, or ele we mut offend both the natural and the divine. But with regard to matters that are in themelves indifferent, and are not commanded or forbidden by thoe uperior laws; uch, for intance, as exporting of wool into foreign countries; here the inferior legilature has cope and opportunity to interpoe, and to make that action unlawful which before was not o.

man were to live in a tate of nature, unconnected with other individuals, there would be no occaion for any other laws, than the law of nature, and the law of God. Neither could any other law poibly exit; for a law always uppoes ome uperior who is to make it; and in a tate of nature we are all equal, without any other uperior but him who is the author of our being. But man was formed for ociety; and, as is demontrated by the writers on this ubject, is neither capable of living alone, nor indeed has the courage to do it. However, as it is impoible for the whole race of mankind to be united in one great ociety, they mut necearily divide into many; and form eparate tates, commonwealths, and nations; entirely independent of each other, and yet liable to a mutual intercoure. Hence aries a third kind of law to regulate this mutual intercoure, called “the law of nations;” which, as none of thee tates will acknowlege a uperiority in the other, cannot be dictated by either; but depends entirely upon the rules of natural law, or upon mutual compacts, treaties, leagues, and agreements between thee everal communities: in the contruction alo of which compacts we have no other rule to reort to, but the law of nature; being the only one to which both communities are equally ubject: and therefore the civil law very jutly oberves, that. Rh