And so, by this their own principle, either all men,
however born, are free, or else there is but one lawful prince, one
lawful government in the world; and then they have nothing to do but
barely to show us which that is, which, when they have done, I doubt
not but all mankind will easily agree to pay obedience to him.
114. Though it be a sufficient answer to their objection to show
that it involves them in the same difficulties that it doth those they
use it against, yet I shall endeavour to discover the weakness of this
argument a little farther.
"All men," say they, "are born under government, and therefore
they cannot be at liberty to begin a new one. Every one is born a
subject to his father or his prince, and is therefore under the
perpetual tie of subjection and allegiance." It is plain mankind never
owned nor considered any such natural subjection that they were born
in, to one or to the other, that tied them, without their own
consents, to a subjection to them and their heirs.
115. For there are no examples so frequent in history, both sacred
and profane, as those of men withdrawing themselves and their
obedience from the jurisdiction they were born under, and the family
or community they were bred up in, and setting up new governments in
other places, from whence sprang all that number of petty
commonwealths in the beginning of ages, and which always multiplied as
long as there was room enough, till the stronger or more fortunate
swallowed the weaker; and those great ones, again breaking to
pieces, dissolved into lesser dominions; all which are so many
testimonies against paternal sovereignty, and plainly prove that it
was not the natural right of the father descending to his heirs that
made governments in the beginning; since it was impossible, upon
that ground, there should have been so many little kingdoms but only
one universal monarchy if men had not been at liberty to separate
themselves from their families and their government, be it what it
will that was set up in it, and go and make distinct commonwealths and
other governments as they thought fit.
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