Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/64

48 in the very act of aociating together: namely, that the whole hould protect all it’s parts, and that every part hould pay obedience to the will of the whole; or, in other words, that the community hould guard the rights of each individual member, and that (in return for this protection) each individual hould ubmit to the laws of the community; without which ubmiion of all it was impoible that protection could be certainly extended to any. when ociety is once formed, government reults of coure, as neceary to preerve and to keep that ociety in order. Unles ome uperior were contituted, whoe commands and deciions all the members are bound to obey, they would till remain as in a tate of nature, without any judge upon earth to define their everal rights, and redres their everal wrongs. But, as all the members of ociety are naturally equal, it may be aked, in whoe hands are the reins of government to be entruted? To this the general anwer is eay; but the application of it to particular caes has occaioned one half of thoe michiefs which are apt to proceed from miguided political zeal. In general, all mankind will agree that government hould be repoed in uch perons, in whom thoe qualities are mot likely to be found, the perfection of which are among the attributes of him who is emphatically tiled the upreme being; the three grand requiites, I mean, of widom, of goodnes, and of power: widom, to dicern the real interet of the community; goodnes, to endeavour always to purue that real interet; and trength, or power, to carry this knowlege and intention into action. Thee are the natural foundations of overeignty, and thee are the requiites that ought to be found in every well contituted frame of government. the everal forms of government we now ee in the world at firt actually began, is matter of great uncertainty, and has occaioned infinite diputes. It is not my buines or intention to enter into any of them. However they began, or by what