The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Preface.
• Part I.: The Notions of Mr. Locke, &c.
• Chap. I.: Quotations From Mr. Locke.
• Chap. IX.: Of the Ends of Political Society and Government.
• Chap. XI.: Of the Extent of the Legislative Power.
• Chap. XVII.: Extracts From Mr. Molyneux’s Case of Ireland Being Bound By Acts of Parliament In England. Dublin, Printed 1698, and Dedicated to King William: and Lately Reprinted By Mr. Almon, With a Long Preface, Exciting the Irish to Rebel
• Extracts From Dr. Priestly’s Essay On the First Principles of Government. Second Edition. London, Printed For J. Johnson, 1771.
• Section I.: Of the First Principles of Government, and the Different Kinds of Liberty.
• Section II.: Of Political Liberty.
• Extracts From Dr. Price ’s Famous Treatise, Observations On the Nature of Civil Liberty, &c. a New Edition, 12 Mo. Corrected By the Author, Price Three-pence, Or One Guinea Per Hundred.
• Preface to the Fifth Edition.
• Section I.: Of the Nature of Liberty In General.
• Section II.: Of Civil Liberty, and the Principles of Government.
• Section III.: Of the Authority of One Country Over Another.
• Observations On the Foregoing Extracts.
• Chap II.: Several Very Gross Errors and Absurdities Chargeable On the Lockian System.
• Chap. III.: An Enquiry How Far Either the Revolution In England,— Or the Reduction of Ireland,— Or the Present Proceedings of the Congress In America, Can Or May Be Justified According to the Leading Principles of Mr. Locke, and His Followers.
• I.: Of the Revolution In England.
• II.: The Reduction of Ireland.
• III.: The Cafe of the Present Congress In America.
• Chap. IV.: On the Abuse of Words, and the Perversion of Language, Chargeable On the Lockian System.
• Conclusion.
• Part II.: Containing the True Basis of Civil Government, In Opposition to the System of Mr. Locke and His Followers, By Josiah Tucker, D. D. Dean of Glocester.
• The Preface to the Second Part.
• Chap. I.: Concerning Those Principles In Human Nature, Which May Serve As a Basis For Any Species of Civil Government to Stand Upon, Without the Actual Choice, Or Personal Election of Every Member of the Community Either Towards the First Erection, Or the
• Chap. II.: Objections Answered.
• Objection I.
• Objection II.
• Objection III.
• Objection IV.
• Chap. III.: A Comparison of the Different Forms of Government With Each Other,—a Preference Given to the Mixt, and the Reasons Why,—the Republics of Sparta, Athens, and Rome, Proved to Be Improper Models For a Commercial State,—the Supp
• I.: Monarchy.
• II.: On Aristocracy.
• III.: A Mere Democracy.
• Chap. IV.: Of a Limited Monarchy, and Mixt Government. Its Component Parts, Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy. of the Comparative Influence of Each:—on Which Side the Greatest Danger Is Now to Be Apprehended.—the Remedy Proposed, and Proper Regulations
• The Qualifications of Voters.
• The Qualification of Candidates.
• Part III.: Divers Collateral Circumstances Corroborating the Foregoing System, and Confuting the Lockian
• Chap. I.: The General Nature of the Gothic Constitution Described, Which the Barbarous Nations Introduced and Settled In Every Part of Europe, and Particularly In England.—various Antiquated Customs and Laws Explained Relative Thereto.—these Laws Either N
• Chap. II.: Certain Objections and Cavils Answered and Confuted.
• Chap. III.: An Enquiry How Far the Authorities of Great Names, and Particularly How Far the Opinions of Aristotle, Cicero, Grotius, and Hooker Can Be Serviceable to the Lockian Cause.
• Chap. IV.: The Doctrine of Scripture Relative to the Obedience Due From Subjects to Their Sovereigns; Together With the Grounds Of, and Reasons For the Duty.

Prefaceto theFifth Edition.

“The Principles on which I have argued, form the Foundation of every State, as far as it is free; and are the same with those taught by Mr. Locke.

“Page 1. Our Colonies in North-America appear to be now determined to risque, and suffer every Thing, under the Persuasion, that Great-Britain is attempting to rob them of that Liberty, to which every Member of Society, and all civil Communities, have a natural, and an unalienable Right.

Section I.

Of the Nature of Liberty in general.

“Page 1. In order to obtain a more distinct and accurate View of the Nature of Liberty as such, it will be useful to consider it under the four following general Divisions.

[It is hard to say, what could have been the Doctor’s Motive for dividing Human Liberty into four Parts; for, in reality, there are either not so many Sorts of Liberty, or a great many more. “Physical Liberty, which is the Foundation of the rest, is, as the Doctor well observes, that Principle of Spontaneity, or Self-Determination, which constitutes us Agents; or which gives us a Command over our Actions, rendering them properly ours, and not Effects of the Operation of any foreign Cause.” Therefore possessing, or enjoying this Power within ourselves, we apply it to various Purposes, according as Duty, Interest, or Inclination call it forth: Consequently if every distinct, or possible Application of it is to be considered as the Exertion of a distinct Species of Liberty, we may be said to have Sorts without Number. But the Doctor himself, as will be seen below, joins Religious and Civil Liberty in the same Class. And he also observes, that there is one general Idea that runs through them all, the Idea of Self-Direction, or Self-Government.]

“First, Physical Liberty,—Secondly, Moral Liberty,—Thirdly, Religious Liberty,—and, Fourthly, Civil Liberty.

“Page 3. As far as in any Instance, the Operation of any Power comes in to restrain the Power of Self-Government, so far Slavery is introduced: Nor do I think that a preciser Idea than this of Liberty, and Slavery, can be given.

Section II.

Of Civil Liberty, and the Principles of Government.

“Page 4. In every free State every Man is his own Legislator.—All Taxes are free Gifts for public Services.—All Laws are particular Provisions or Regulations established by common Consent for gaining Protection and Safety.

“From hence it is obvious, that Civil Liberty, in its most perfect Degree, can be enjoyed only in small States, where every Member is capable of giving his Suffrage in Person; and of being chosen into public Offices. When a State becomes so numerous, or when the different Parts of it are removed to such Distances from one another, as to render this impracticable, a Diminution of Liberty necessarily arises.—Though all the Members of a State should not be capable of giving their Suffrages on public Measures individually and personally, they may do this by the Appointment of Substitutes or Representatives.

“Page 7. In general, to be free is to be guided by one’s own Will; and to be guided by the Will of another is the Characteristic of Servitude. This is particularly applicable to political Liberty.

Section III.

Of the Authority of one Country over another.

“Page 15. As no People [either individually, or collectively] can lawfully surrender their religious Liberty, by giving up their Right of judging for themselves in Religion, or by allowing any human Being to prescribe to them, what Faith they shall embrace or what Mode of Worship they shall practice; so neither can any civil Societies [* either individually, or collectively] lawfully surrender their civil Liberty, by giving up to any extraneous Jurisdiction their Power of legislating for themselves, and disposing of their Property. Such a Cession, being inconsistent with the unalienable Rights of Human Nature, would either not bind at all, or bind only the Individuals who made it. This is a Blessing, which no Generation of Men can give up for another; and which, when lost, a People have always a Right to resume.

[* ]I have added the Words individually, or collectively, as being Terms absolutely necessary for making the Cases of Religious, and Civil Liberty to tally with each other, according to the Doctor’s System. In the Concerns of Religion, every Man must act for himself, and not by a Deputy: He has a Conscience of his own, which he cannot delegate to, or entrust with any Proxy or Representative whatsoever. If therefore the Cases are parallel, as the Doctor supposes them, there can be no such Thing allowed as Representatives in Parliament; but every Voter must attend in Person,—This is an important Point; therefore more of this hereafter.