For no one by the law of
nature is bound to please another, unless he chooses, nor to hold
anything to be good or evil, but what he himself, according to his own
temperament, pronounces to be so; and, to speak generally, nothing is
forbidden by the law of nature, except what is beyond everyone's power
(Secs. 5 and 8). But wrongdoing is action, which cannot lawfully be
committed. But if men by the ordinance of nature were bound to be led by
reason, then all of necessity would be so led. For the ordinances of
nature are the ordinances of God (Secs. 2, 3), which God has instituted
by the liberty, whereby he exists, and they follow, therefore, from the
necessity of the divine nature (Sec. 7), and, consequently, are eternal,
and cannot be broken. But men are chiefly guided by appetite, without
reason; yet for all this they do not disturb the course of nature, but
follow it of necessity. And, therefore, a man ignorant and weak of mind,
is no more bound by natural law to order his life wisely, than a sick
man is bound to be sound of body.
19. Therefore wrong-doing cannot be conceived of, but under dominion --
that is, where, by the general right of the whole dominion, it is
decided what is good and what evil, and where no one does anything
rightfully, save what he does in accordance with the general decree or
consent (Sec. 16). For that, as we said in the last section, is
wrong-doing, which cannot lawfully be committed, or is by law forbidden.
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