money, is a new way of proving one had it by descent and inheritance.

§. 131. But making war and peace are marks of fevereignty. Let it be fo in politic focities may not therefore a man in the Weft Indies, who hath with him fons of his own, friends, or companions, foldiers under pay, or flaves bought with money, or perhaps a band made up of all thefe, make war and peace, if there fhould be occafion, and ratify the articles too with an oath, without being a fovereign, an abfolute king over those who went with him? He that fays he cannot, must then allow many mafters of fhips, many private planters, to be abfolute monarchs, for as much as this they have done. War and

peace cannot be made for politic focieties, but by the fupreme power of fuch focieties; because war and peace, giving a different motion to the force of fuch a politic body, none can make war or peace, but that which has the direction of the force of the whole body, and that in politic focieties is only the fupreme power. In voluntary focieties

for the time, he that has fuch a power by confent, may make war and peace, and fo may a fingle man for himself, the ftate of war not confifting in the number of parti fans, but the enmity of the parties, where they have no fuperior to appeal to.

§. 132. The actual making of war or peace is no proof of any other power, but only

of difpofing those to exercife or ceafe acts of enmity for whom he makes it; and this power in many cafes any one may have without any politic fupremacy and therefore the making of war or peace will not prove that every one that does fo is a politic ruler, much lefs a king; for then common-wealths must be kings too, for they do as certainly make war and peace as monarchical govern

ment.

§. 133. But granting this a mark of fovereignty in Abraham, is it a proof of the defcent to him of Adam's fovereignty over the whole world? If it be, it will furely be as good a proof of the defcent of Adam's lordship to others too. And then common-wealths, as well as Abraham, will be heirs of Adam, for they make war and peace, as well as he. If you say, that the lordship of Adam doth not by right defcend to common-wealths, though they make war and peace, the fame fay I of Abraham, and then there is an end of your argument: if you stand to your argument, and fay thofe that do make war and peace, as common-wealths do without doubt, do inherit Adam's lordship, there is an end of your monarchy, unless you will fay, that commonwealths by defcent enjoying Adam's lordship are monarchies; and that indeed would be a new way of making all the governments in the world monarchical.

§. 134.

§. 134. To give our author the honour of this new invention, for I confefs it is not I have first found it out by tracing his principles, and fo charged it on him, it is fit my readers know that (as abfurd as it may feem) he teaches it himself, p. 23. where he ingenuously fays, In all kingdoms and commonwealths in the world, whether the prince be the Supreme father of the people, or but the true heir to fuch a father, or come to the crown by ufurpation or election, or whether fome few or a multitude govern the common-wealth; yet ftill the authority that is in any one, or in many, or in all thefe, is the only right, and natural authority of a fupreme father; which right of fatherhood, he often tells us, is regal and royal authority; as particularly, p. 12. the page immediately preceding this inftance of Abrabam. This regal authority, he says, thofe that govern common-wealths have; and if it be true, that regal and royal authority be in those that govern common-wealths, it is as true that common-wealths are governed by kings; for if regal authority be in him that governs, he that governs must needs be a king, and fo all common-wealths are nothing but down-right monarchies; and then what need any more ado about the matter? The governments of the world are as they fhould be, there is nothing but monarchy in it. This, without doubt, was the fureft way our author could have found, to turn all

other.

other governments, but monarchical, out of the world.

§. 135. But all this fcarce proves Abraham to have been a king as heir to Adam. If by inheritance he had been king, Lot, who was of the fame family, must needs have been his fubject, by that title, before the fervants in his family; but we fee they lived as friends. and equals, and when their herdsmen could not agree, there was no pretence of jurifdiction or fuperiority between them, but they parted by confent, Gen. xiii. hence he is called both by Abraham, and by the text, Abraham's brother, the name of friendship and equality, and not of jurisdiction and authority, though he were really but his nephew. And if our author knows that Abraham was Adam's heir, and a king, it was more, it seems, than Abraham himself knew, or his fervant whom he fent a wooing for his fon; for when he fets out the advantages of the match, xxiv. Gen. 35. thereby to prevail with the young woman and her friends, he fays, I am Abraham's fervant, and the lord bath bleffed my mafter greatly, and he is become great; and he hath given him flocks and berds, and filver and gold, and men-fervants and maidfervants, and camels and affes; and Sarah, my mafter's wife, bare a fon to my master when She was old, and unto him hath he given all he hath. Can one think that a discreet servant, that was thus particular to set out his master's greatness,

greatness, would have omitted the crown Ifaac was to have, if he had known of any fuch? Can it be imagined he should have neglected to have told them on such an occafion as this, that Abraham was a king, a name well known at that time, for he had nine of them his neighbours, if he or his mafter had thought any fuch thing, the likelieft matter of all the reft, to make his errand fuccessful?

§. 136. But this discovery it seems was referved for our author to make 2 or 3000 years after, and let him enjoy the credit of it; only he should have taken care that some of Adam's land fhould have defcended to this his heir, as well as all Adam's lordship for though this lordship which Abraham, (if we may believe our author) as well as the other patriarchs, by right defcending to him, did enjoy, was as large and ample as the abfoluteft dominion of any monarch which hath been fince the creation; yet his eftate, his territories, his dominions were very narrow and scanty, for he had not the poffeffion of a foot of land, till he bought a field and a cave of the fons of Heth to bury Sarab in.

§. 137. The inftance of Efau joined with this of Abraham, to prove that the lordship which Adam had over the whole world, by right defcending from him, the patriarchs did enjoy, is yet more pleasant than the former. Efau met bis brother Jacob with 400 men at arms; he therefore