Natural Law and Enlightenment Series

About this Collection

The intellectual struggle to articulate the theory of classical liberalism was often as hard fought as the physical battle for its political realization. The Natural Law and Enlightenment Classics Series presents not only some of the most famous figures from this history but also the lesser-known theorists who contributed their part to the contest of ideas. Through some of the Enlightenment’s most significant and most unusual works on natural law, moral philosophy, political theory, jurisprudence, and theology, this series offers readers a deep and nuanced understanding of classical liberal ideas and their development.

Western Europe Natural Law Schools of Thought 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century Philosophy (General) Doctrinal theology Ethics Political Science Law

Key People

Titles & Essays

Commentary on the Law of Prize and Booty

Hugo Grotius (author)

Commentary on the Law of Prize and Booty was written in justification of the capture of the Portuguese merchantman Santa Catarina in the Strait of Singapore in February 1603. The Liberty Fund edition is based on the one prepared by…

The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government

Jean Louis De Lolme (author)

The Constitution of England is one of the most distinguished eighteenth-century treatises on English political liberty. Like Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws (1748) and Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), De…

The Divine Feudal Law: Or, Covenants with Mankind, Represented

Samuel von Pufendorf (author)

The Divine Feudal Law sets forth Pufendorf’s basis for the reunion of the Lutheran and Calvinist confessions. This attempt to seek a “conciliation” between the confessions complements the concept of toleration discussed in Of the…

An Elegant and Learned Discourse of the Light of Nature

Nathaniel Culverwell (author)

An Elegant and Learned Discourse of the Light of Nature is a concerted effort to find a middle way between the two extremes that dominated the religious dispute of the English civil war in the seventeenth century. Nathaniel…

Elements of Criticism, 2 vols.

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

A two volume work on the “science of criticism” by one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. Kames argues that criticism of art and literature is a rational science as well as a matter of taste. In volume 1 he…

Elements of Criticism, vol. 1

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

Volume 1 of a two volume work on the “science of criticism” by one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. Kames argues that criticism of art and literature is a rational science as well as a matter of taste. In volume…

Elements of Criticism, vol. 2

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

Volume 2 of a two volume work on the “science of criticism” by one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. Kames argues that criticism of art and literature is a rational science as well as a matter of taste. In volume…

The Elements of Moral Philosophy

David Fordyce (author)

Fordyce’s Elements of Moral Philosophy was a notable contribution to the curriculum in moral philosophy and was one of the most widely circulated texts in moral philosophy in the second half of the eighteenth century.

An Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections (1742, 2002)

Francis Hutcheson (author)

The first half of the work presents a rich moral psychology built on a theory of the passions and an account of motivation deepening and augmenting the doctrine of moral sense developed in the Inquiry. The second half of the work is…

Essays on Church, State, and Politics

Christian Thomasius (author)

The essays selected here for translation derive largely from Thomasius’s work on Staatskirchenrecht, or the political jurisprudence of church law. These works, originating as disputations, theses, and pamphlets, were direct…

Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

The Essays is commonly considered Kames’s most important philosophical work. In the first part, he sets forth the principles and foundations of morality and justice, attacking Hume’s moral skepticism and addressing the controversial…

The Free Sea (Hakluyt trans.)

Hugo Grotius (author)

Grotius’s influential argument in favor of freedom of navigation, trade, and fishing in Richard Hakluyt’s translation. The book also contains William Welwod’s critque and Grotius’s reply to Welwod.

Historical Law-Tracts

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

An Historical View of the English Government

John Millar (author)

An Historical View of the English Government consists of three parts, concerned with the most substantive revolutions in English government and manners: from the Saxon settlement to the Norman Conquest, from the Norman Conquest to…

An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1726, 2004)

Francis Hutcheson (author)

A seminal text of the Scottish Enlightenment which was written as a critical response to the work of Bernard Mandeville and as a defense of the ideas of Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury. It consists of two treatises exploring…

Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence. With Selections from Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations

Christian Thomasius (author)

First published in 1688, Thomasius’s Institutes attempted to draw a clear distinction between natural and revealed law and to emphasize that human reason was able to know the precepts of natural law without the aid of Scripture. His…

The Law of Nations (LF ed.)

Emer de Vattel (author)

A republication of the 1797 translation of Vattel’s work, along with new English translations of 3 early essays.

Read the Liberty Classic on this title from Law & Liberty

Logic, Metaphysics, and the Natural Sociability of Mankind

Francis Hutcheson (author)

Until the publication of this Liberty Fund edition, all but one of the works contained in Logic, Metaphysics, and the Natural Sociability of Mankind were available only in Latin. In the words of the editors: “Hutcheson’s Latin texts…

The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (2008)

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (author)

This influential classical work offers a vision of a universe governed by a natural law that obliges us to love mankind and to govern our lives in accordance with the natural order of things. Editors Hutcheson and Moor contrasted the…

A Methodical System of Universal Law: Or, the Laws of Nature and Nations

Johann Gottlieb Heineccius (author)

The natural law theory of Johann Gottlieb Heineccius was one of the most influential to emerge from the early German Enlightenment. Heineccius continued and, in important respects, modified the ideas of his predecessors, Samuel…

The Writings of Gershom Carmichael

Gershom Carmichael (author)

Carmichael was a Scottish jurist and philosopher who became the first Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow in 1727. His writings on natural rights theory, theology, and logic were very influential.

Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion, in Reference to Civil Society

Samuel von Pufendorf (author)

In this work Pufendorf argues for the separation of politics and religion. Written in response to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the French king, Louis XIV, Pufendorf contests the right of the sovereign to control the…

Observations upon Liberal Education, in All its Branches

George Turnbull (author)

Turnbull was the first member of the Scottish Enlightenment to provide a formal treatise on the theory and practice of education. He applied his ideas on the moral sense to the education of youth. Turnbull showed how a liberal…

The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks

John Millar (author)

The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks is one of the major products of the Scottish Enlightenment and a masterpiece of jurisprudence and social theory. Millar developed a progressive account of the nature of authority in society by…

A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel

Pierre Bayle (author)

In this defence of religious toleration, Bayle discusses the words attributed to Jesus Christ in Luke 14:23, “And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be…

The Present State of Germany

Samuel von Pufendorf (author)

The editor of this volume, Michael J. Seidler, describes this work of Pufendorf as “an account of German constitutional law detailing the historical relations between the Emperor and the Estates as well as an examination of the…

Principles of Equity

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

Principles of Equity is Kames’s most lasting contribution to jurisprudence. He sought to explain the distinction between the nature of equity and common law and to address related questions, such as whether equity should be bound by…

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy, 2 vols.

George Turnbull (author)

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy presents the first masterpiece of Scottish Common Sense philosophy. This two-volume treatise is important for its wide range of insights about the nature of the human mind, the…

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy. Vol. 1

George Turnbull (author)

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy presents the first masterpiece of Scottish Common Sense philosophy. This two-volume treatise is important for its wide range of insights about the nature of the human mind, the…

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy. Vol. 2: Christian Philosophy

George Turnbull (author)

The Principles of Moral and Christian Philosophy presents the first masterpiece of Scottish Common Sense philosophy. This two-volume treatise is important for its wide range of insights about the nature of the human mind, the…

The Principles of Natural and Politic Law

Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui (author)

The basis of this version of The Principles of Natural and Politic Law is Thomas Nugent’s 1763 English translation. The first scholarly work on Burlamaqui was written by an American, M. Ray Forrest Harvey, who in 1937 argued that…

The Rights of War and Peace (2005 ed.) 3 vols

Hugo Grotius (author)

Grotius’s Rights of War and Peace is a classic of modern public international law which lays the foundation for a universal code of law and which strongly defends the rights of individual agents - states as well as private persons -…

The Rights of War and Peace (2005 ed.) vol. 1 (Book I)

Hugo Grotius (author)

Grotius’s Rights of War and Peace is a classic of modern public international law which lays the foundation for a universal code of law and which strongly defends the rights of individual agents - states as well as private persons -…

The Rights of War and Peace (2005 ed.) vol. 2 (Book II)

Hugo Grotius (author)

Grotius’s Rights of War and Peace is a classic of modern public international law which lays the foundation for a universal code of law and which strongly defends the rights of individual agents - states as well as private persons -…

The Rights of War and Peace (2005 ed.) vol. 3 (Book III)

Hugo Grotius (author)

Grotius’s Rights of War and Peace is a classic of modern public international law which lays the foundation for a universal code of law and which strongly defends the rights of individual agents - states as well as private persons -…

Selections from Three Works

Francisco Suárez (author)

The bulk of the selections in this volume are from A Treatise on Laws and God the Lawgiver (1612). In the Treatise Suárez presented a systematic account of human moral activity in all its dimensions, synthesizing the entire…

A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy (LF bi-lingual ed.) (1747)

Francis Hutcheson (author)

This Liberty Fund publication of Philosophiae Moralis Institutio Compendiaria is a parallel edition of the English and Latin versions of a book designed by Hutcheson for use in the classroom.

Sketches of the History of Man, 3 vols.

Henry Home, Lord Kames (author)

Written late in his life, this 3 volume work deals with the idea of human progress. Vol. 1 deals with progress in property law, commerce, the treatment of women, and luxury. Vol. 2 deals with the development of states, government,…

Sketches of the History of Man, vol. 1

James A. Harris (editor)

Written late in his life, this 3 volume work deals with the idea of human progress. Vol. 1 deals with progress in property law, commerce, the treatment of women, and luxury. Vol. 2 deals with the development of states, government,…

Sketches of the History of Man, vol. 2

James A. Harris (editor)

Written late in his life, this 3 volume work deals with the idea of human progress. Vol. 1 deals with progress in property law, commerce, the treatment of women, and luxury. Vol. 2 deals with the development of states, government,…

Sketches of the History of Man, vol. 3

James A. Harris (editor)

Written late in his life, this 3 volume work deals with the idea of human progress. Vol. 1 deals with progress in property law, commerce, the treatment of women, and luxury. Vol. 2 deals with the development of states, government,…

On Temporal and Spiritual Authority

Robert Bellarmine (author)

The political thought of Bellarmine was at the center of post-Reformation debates on the relationship between state and church; on the nature, aim, and limits of temporal government; and on the relation between religion and natural…

THE READING ROOM

The Enlightenment as Methodology (Part One)

By: Walter Donway

I wish that it were a “cliché” that the European movement called the “Enlightenment” (1650–1815) created the modern world. If that were universally acknowledged, then it would be a commonplace that the human faculty of reason must…
A Treatise of the Laws of Nature

Richard Cumberland (author)

A Treatise of the Laws of Nature, first appeared in 1672 as a theoretical response to a range of issues that came together during the late 1660s. It argued that science might offer an effective means of demonstrating the contents and…

Two Books of the Elements of Universal Jurisprudence

Samuel von Pufendorf (author)

This was Pufendorf’s first work, published in 1660. Its appearance inaugurated the modern natural-law movement in the German-speaking world. The work also established Pufendorf as a key figure and laid the foundations for his major…

Vindiciae Gallicae and Other Writings on the French Revolution

Sir James Mackintosh (author)

Vindiciae Gallicae was Mackintosh’s contribution to the debate begun by Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. A Discourse on the Law of Nature and Nations was the introduction to a popular course of public lectures at…

The Whole Duty of Man According to the Law of Nature (1673, 2003)

Samuel von Pufendorf (author)

The Whole Duty of Man (first published in Latin in 1673), was among the first works to suggest a purely conventional basis for natural law. Rejecting scholasticism’s metaphysical theories, Pufendorf found the source of natural law in…

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Quotes

Natural Rights

Francis Hutcheson on the difference between “perfect” and “imperfect” rights (1725)

Francis Hutcheson

War & Peace

Grotius on Moderation in Despoiling the Country of one’s Enemies (1625)

Hugo Grotius

Natural Rights

Heineccius argues that no man should be deprived of anything which he has received by nature, or has justly acquired (1738)

Johann Gottlieb Heineccius

War & Peace

Hugo Grotius discusses the just causes of going to war, especially the idea that the capacity to wage war must be matched by the intent to do so (1625)

Hugo Grotius

War & Peace

Hugo Grotius on civil right being derived from civil power

Hugo Grotius

War & Peace

Hugo Grotius on sparing Civilian Property from Destruction in Time of War (1625)

Hugo Grotius

Property Rights

Hugo Grotius on the natural sociability of humans (1625)

Hugo Grotius

War & Peace

Hugo Grotius states that in an unjust war any acts of hostility done in that war are “unjust in themselves” (1625)

Hugo Grotius

Law

James Mackintosh on how constitutions grow and are not made (1799)

Sir James Mackintosh

Justice

James Mackintosh on the relationship between justice and utility (1791)

Sir James Mackintosh

Justice

Jean Barbeyrac on the need to disobey unjust laws (1715)

Jean Barbeyrac

Philosophy

Jean Barbeyrac on the Virtues which all free Men should have (1718)

Jean Barbeyrac

Liberty

John Millar on liberty as an unintended consequence of a struggle between tyrants (1787)

John Millar

Free Trade

Lord Kames argued that neither the King nor Parliament had the right to grant monopolies because they harmed the interests of the people (1778)

Henry Home, Lord Kames

Property Rights

Lord Kames states that the “hoarding appetite” is part of human nature and that it is the foundation of our notion of property rights (1779)

Henry Home, Lord Kames

Philosophy

Marcus Aurelius on using reason to live one’s life “straight and right” (170)

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Notes About This Collection

See the listing of current and proposed titles in the Series with the expected date of publication.

For additional information about the Natural Law and Enlightenment Series see in the Forum: Timeline on Natural Law and Enlightenment.