The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Introduction
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• The Divine Feudal Law Represented
• §1.
• §2.
• §3
• §4
• §5
• §6
• §7
• §8
• §9
• §10
• §11
• §12
• §13
• §14.
• §15
• §16
• §17
• §18
• §19
• §20
• §21
• §22
• §23
• §24.
• §25
• §26
• §27
• §28
• §29
• §30
• §31
• §32
• §33
• §34
• §35
• §36
• §37
• §38
• §39.
• §40
• §41
• §42
• §43
• §44
• §45
• §46
• §47
• §48
• §49
• §50
• §51
• §52
• §53
• §54
• §55
• §56
• §57
• §58
• §59
• §60
• §61
• §62
• §63
• §64
• §65
• §66
• §67
• §68
• §69
• §70
• §71
• §72
• §73
• §74
• §75
• §76
• §77
• §78
• §79
• §80
• §81
• §82
• §83
• §84
• §85
• §86
• §87
• §88
• §89
• §90
• §91
• §92
• §93
• §94

§23

The Will of the first Man.The Will of the first Man was from the beginning upright, and void of all Fault and Sin, and so it shin’d with Righteousness and Holiness, Eph. 4:24. Which Affections of his Will, according to the State he was then in, may be reckon’d natural, because accompanying the Nature of Man, as it was made by God: But which now, after the Depravation that was contracted, must be reckon’d among the supernatural Goods. And in Truth, that the Will of the first Pair of Mankind was not so liable, and enclin’d to Evil from the beginning, may from thence be manifestly gather’d, that in the present Condition of Men, tho’ we would exclude from the Rank of Sins the first Motions of Concupiscence, and Concupiscence it self, and the Proclivity of Nature to what is Evil, (which cannot, and ought not, to be done) at least it is morally impossible, even to him that does most carefully observe his own Mind, not to fall sometimes into a Sin. But if from the beginning God had fram’d the Nature of Men so dispos’d, it does not appear how he could consistently with his Justice have appointed Punishment promiscuously to all Sorts of Wickedness, since ’tis an easie Step to go from those Faults which are almost Involuntary to more grievous Transgressions. But altho’ the Will was enclin’d to Good, and averse to Evil, as left to it self, yet it was capable of being drawn into Evil by the Seducement of Temptation from without, as the sad Event demonstrates.