Treatise of Moral and Intellectual Virtues, Treatise on ethics · Part 12
Of JUSTICE.
HITHERTO we have handled Virtues, which concern us privately, and as we are alone; But it is noted by learned Men; Virtue is diſtinguiſhed either as it is our Duty in all our private Capacities; or as it is in Relation, and carries with it ſome reſpect unto others: What we have hitherto aſſerted concerning the Rules and Maxims of Virtue, they are all deſigned for the ſolitary and retired State of Man, and would bind him up to the ways of Goodneſs, if there were none in the World, but himſelf. But Virtue, as we are now to conſider it, is of a very large extent, and reaches to all the Families, and Commonwealths in the World: This preſcribes 'em their Laws, this upholds their Order, and their Safety.
There is an eſſential Juſtice in the frame of Human Nature.FOR Man by Nature is a Sociable Creature and delights in Company; ſo that in the very frame of Human Nature there is an eſſential Juſtice, that demands of every man Offices of Love and Kindneſs to others as well as himſelf; in that without this that common welfare, and happineſs, which the Divine Providence, that made Nature, deſigned for all and every individual of mankind, muſt become utterly unattainable; Hence it is, that few men care to live alone, and thoſe, that do it, are either Savage People, or they are diſcontented, and the humorous: But men generally are gathered into Commonwealths, and the leſſer Companies of them are divided into Towns or Cities; who are all thus met to comfort one another with mutual Society and mutual Help.
NOW the Virtue,Juſtice keeps all things even and true. which fits and compoſes us for ſo excellent an End, as is common Society, that holds the Scales, and keeps the ballances of all things even and true, is Juſtice; accordingly it is ſaid by Euripides foreign; a juſt Man is made for his Neighbours; For if Men ſhould promote the good of Society, ſubmit to Laws, practiſe Juſtice, and refrain from Cruelty, only to ſecure their own perſonal ſafety and intereſt; then whenever this Obligation ceaſes, all the Ties to Juſtice muſt ceaſe alſo; and when any ſingle perſon can hope to advance his own Intereſt by the ruin of the publick, it will be lawful for him to effect it: But the just Man, that God hath made ſo, is one, who thinks himſelf bound to maintain the common Right of all, and to ſecure his Neighbours happineſs, as well as his own; For if Juſtice be not ſuppoſed to be the Law of our Natures, no Covenants can be of power enough to bring us under any Obligation to it; But this is a moſt certain Truth, that all men have a natural Right to Happineſs from the very deſign of their Creation; that this cannot be acquired without mutual Aids and Friendſhips; and therefore right Reaſon dictates, that every man ſhould have ſome concern for his Neighbour, as well as himſelf; becauſe this is made neceſſary to the welfare of the World, by the natural ſtate of Things, and by this mutual Exchange of Love and Kindneſs men ſupport one another in the comforts of Human Life.
Ʋniverſal Juſtice.NOW Juſtice conſidered thus, as it ſtands in relation to others, hath a double ſignification; either it is Univerſal, and contains in it all Uprightneſs, Integrity, and obedience to all Laws, that are wiſely Enacted; For ſometimes it falls out, that even multitudes of men have conſpired in making unjuſt and wicked Laws, as might be proved by ſeveral Inſtances in ſome unfortunate Times.
OR elſe Juſtice is particular,Particular Juſtice. and conſiſts in two words Suum cuique; in giving every man his Due, and this is that Virtue, the nature of which we now enquire into; For though Juſtice be a prime and natural Virtue, yet its particular caſes depend upon human Laws, that determine the bounds of Meum and Tuum; Indeed, the Divine Law reſtrains Titius from invading Caius his Right and Property; but what that is, and when it is invaded, only the Laws of this Society or Country they live in, can determine; For Nature doth not aſſign this Moiety to Titius, and that to Caius, but leaves us to ſhare the Earth among our ſelves, and to encloſe, what ſhe had left in common, into particular properties, as we ſhall agree among our ſelves; And there are ſome caſes, that are Acts of injuſtice in England, that are not ſo in Italy; otherwiſe all places muſt be governed by the ſame Laws, and what is a Law to one Nation, muſt be ſo to all the World: whereas it is evident, that neither the Law of God, nor of Nature do determine the particular Inſtances of moſt Virtues, but for the moſt part leave that to the Conſtitutions of National Laws; As for Example, Theft and Murther, Inceſt and Adultery are forbid in General, but what theſe crimes are, they determine not in all Caſes, and whatſoever the Law of the Land reckons for ſuch Crimes, That the Law of God prohibits.
Juſtice conſidered in oppoſition to Mercy.BUT before we proceed on the Point of particular Juſtice; we muſt obſerve, that Juſtice commonly ſtands in oppoſition to Mercy; as St. James tells us, when he ſaith, mercy rejoyceth againſt Judgment, or as the Pſalmiſt, my ſong ſhall be of mercy and judgment, which may be better tranſlated thus, be it Mercy, be it Judgment, yet will I Sing, in which ſenſe Mercy is oppoſed not to Juſtice; for God and good men are juſt both in Mercy and Judgment; but to ſeverity; in which Senſe civil Officers are ſaid to do Juſtice, when they Fine, Impriſon, and Hang Malefactors.
OUT of this confuſed Maſs of Juſtice taken univerſally, we are to treat of particular Juſtice; which, as we have obſerved, is fully ſet forth in thoſe two Words Suum cuique: Now if I ſhould undertake to define this Virtue, as we have done others, by the Paſſion, it governs, which I cannot eaſily name, or by giving you the two extremes, which it moderates, and brings to the middle way; I ſhould do more, than either Ariſtotle himſelf, or the reſt of the Lawyers, who call themſelves Sacerdotes Juſtitiae, have done in thoſe infinite and immenſe Volumes, which they have written de juſtitiâ et jure againſt the expreſs charge and command of Juſtinian their Original and prime Author.
IF we conſult Ariſtotle, he tells us, that Juſtice is the Habit, quô juſta volumus; and we are much as wiſe for this, as we are for that itinerant and riding definition, which he hath left us of Quality, Qualitas eſt à quâ denominamur quales, and more than this we ſhall not be able to extract out of all the Cart-loads of Law-books: Out of all the endeavours of their exacteſt Penmen. I remember well, that Ariſtotle hath taught us, that ſome Virtues conſiſt in the Moderation of our Actions, and for the Midiocrity it is in this, that we give not to any Man more or leſs, than his due, and this is the moderation, which we muſt keep between nimium and parum, in doing of Juſtice; then we offend in one extreme, when we give too much; then in the other, when we give too little.
NOW Juſtice taken in this Senſe is twofold, either commutative or diſtributive,Juſtice is either Commutative or Diſtributive. or as ſome learned Men affect to call it, Juſtitia expletrix or aſſignatrix; here by the way, we may take notice of a vanity in many great Scholars, of innovating the ordinary and known names, under which things have paſſed; thus Mr. Hobbes hath been thought as the prodigy of the age, as very a deviſer, as if he had found out Gunpowder, or Printing, only for dreſſing common acknowledged things in new Phraſes, and then trimming them up for new Diſcoveries; So Ramus is notoriouſly Guilty of this fault, who ſtriving to bring all Arts into a new Order and Method, hath ſo changed their antient Names both in Grammar, Logick, and Mathematical Science; that it is a great part of Learning to underſtand his new Language, and ſome have been known, who well underſtood theſe Sciences in the common Speech, to have been more troubled to underſtand 'em in his new-fangled Cant, than they were at firſt in their ordinary Dialect; for as my Lord Bacon wiſely obſerves, nothing hath more hindred the Growth of Learning, than Peoples ſtudying of new Words, and ſpending their time in Chaptring, Modelling, and Marſhalling of Sciences.
THE learned Author of this new Language of Expletrix and Aſſignatrix, inſtead of the old Dialect of Commutative and Diſtributive Juſtice, may take his ſhare patiently in this reproof.
Firſt, COMMUTATIVE Juſtice,What Commutative Juſtice is. is that Juſtice, wherein we give by way of exchange, one thing for another; as when a Shoomaker gives Shooes, and the Huſbandman Corn, thus naturally did all Men Traffick, ware for ware, one commodity for another, which we call Trucking or Bartering: But becauſe this manner of dealing proved full of inconveniences; for avoiding theſe, Men have found out another way of exchange by Money, which by a univerſal agreement, is made the common meaſure of all things, paſſable by way of Bargain and Sale; now Money receiveth valuation and price, by the poſition of the Prince and State, or the mutual Convention of Men, things moſt alterable upon every occaſion; therefore the Grecians do term foreign, becauſe it conſiſteth foreign, not foreign, as being nothing in Deed and Nature, but wholly depending upon the voluntary Inſtitution of Men.
WHOSOEVER invented it, did Mankind a great piece of Service, and freed them from that cumberſom way of changing ware for ware: For in the Firſt place, Money is of eaſie portage; ſo that bearing about with us a little in our Purſes, we have the price of all things to be bought by Money. 2. It is made of Gold and Silver, in this proportion, that one Ounce of the former, is equivalent to twelve Ounces of the latter; which proportion to one another theſe Metals have born from the beginning: And of theſe Metals, mankind have made choice, becauſe tho they are procured by tedious and difficult Voyages, yet they may be had, and that in ſome abundance; for had they pitcht upon Lead, Braſs, Copper, Iron, or any other more ignoble Earth, it had been liable to many inconveniences, chiefly two; Firſt the abuſe of Coinage; 2. The burden of Carriage; every one would coin 'em at his pleaſure, becauſe they may be had every where, and at a cheap Rate; every one would complain of its weight; therefore I yourgus, the Founder of the Spartan Republick, that he might perſuade his Citizens out of their love of Money, by a new kind of Argument, eſtabliſhed a Law, that it ſhould be made of Iron; inſomuch that when they went to their Markets, they were forc'd to convey it in Wagons, by reaſon of the weight, and the vaſtneſs of the pieces: And we read, that the Romans uſed Braſs for their Money, in whoſe Language Aes & Aerarium, ſignifies Money and the Treaſury, and effe in aere alieno, is to be in Debt: This was as great an inconvenience to theſe People, as it was to the Spartans; for their As, which is but half-penny-Farthing in our Money, with them weigh'd a Pound; whence comes the phraſe Aes grave ſo often met withal; wherefore about the time of the firſt Punick War they brake their Aſſes, which were before Librales, into Semiſſes, juſt half ſo much; thus by degrees they made uſe of ſmaller portions, until greater quantity of Gold and Silver came in; which by conſent, were made the common meaſure of all things paſſable by exchange; ſo became the beſt and fitteſt inſtrument of Commutative Juſtice.
THE Rule,Severus his Rule of Juſtice by which we are to exerciſe this Juſtice, is that, which Severus the Emperour wrote upon his Palace, quod tibi fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris; whatſoever we would that Men ſhould do unto us, do we even ſo to them; this Sentence ſhould be writ on our Houſes Tops and on our Exchanges: The meaning of which is this, that we ought to put our ſelves into the circumſtances of every Man, with whom we deal; that then which we deſire, he ſhould do to us; that do we to him; and that which we would be unwilling he ſhould do to us; do we not to him.
NOW this is an exact Rule; and it is plain and eaſie: Many men cannot find out what the Law is, or the Right in ſuch a Caſe; it is ſo entangled in long and intricate Rolls of Parchment; many men cannot deduce the Laws of Nature one from another; but there is no Man, but can tell, what it is, that he would have another man do to him; every one can take his own actions, and put them into the other Scale, and can ſuppoſe, if this, that he does now to another, were to be done to himſelf, ſhould he be contented with it: And thus by changing the Scales, the very Self-intereſt, which makes a man Covetous, and inclines him to injure another for his advantage, makes him likewiſe unwilling that another ſhould wrong him.
IT muſt be confeſſed in matters of Contract and Commerce; many Queſtions ariſe, which it is hard for one to decide, who is unacquainted with theſe affairs, the neceſſities of things, or the hidden reaſons of ſome kinds of dealing: However this is a general Rule, in making Contracts we muſt deal fairly and truly; in performing them we muſt ſatisfie the engagements,Ʋnskilfulneſs or ignorance are not to be impoſed upon. we have made; for ſo we would have all Mankind to treat us: Hence we are obliged not to impoſe upon any Man's ignorance or unskilfulneſs; we may ſet a juſt value upon our Goods, but we are not to ſet a Price upon another man's Head, nor to Tax his ignorance; therefore no advantage muſt ever be made of Children, or any other incompetent Perſons: And it is ſinful to diſparage another man's Commodities, or to raiſe our own above the truth, that we may thereby lead a man into errour, or draw on a Bargain the more eaſily.
MATTERS of rarity and fancy have no certain Eſtimation; therefore we muſt be moderate in the price that we put upon them; ſo much the rather, becauſe in theſe things we are left to be our own Judges, Neither ſhould we venture ſo far, as to go to the utmoſt limits of what is Lawful; for he, that will walke upon the very brink, the leaſt ſtep awry will tumble him down; ſo he, who will do the utmoſt of what he may do, will ſometime or other be tempted to what he ſhould not act; for it is a ſhort and eaſie paſſage from the edges of what is lawful, to what is unlawful and evil; Therefore in that latitude which Trading Men have of Gain, they are bound by this Rule of Juſtice to ſhew favour to the Poor and Neceſſitous; to practice Ingenuity towards the ignorant or unskilful, and moderation towards all Men.
WHERE they have any doubt about the equity of their dealings, they ſhould chooſe the ſafeſt part; for not only a good Conſcience, but a quiet one is to be valued above Gain; therefore in Matters of Duty they ought to do the moſt; in diviſions of Right and proportions of Lucre, where there is any Diſpute, they ought to chooſe the leaſt; for this is always the ſafeſt courſe: Now the circumſtances, that vary Caſes, are infinite; ſo that when all is done, much muſt be left to the equity and chancery of our own Breaſts: Neither can it be determined, how much a Man may get in the Pound and no more; for he may make a greater Gain at one time, than another, of the ſame thing; he may take thoſe advantages, which the change of things, and the Providence of God gives him; he may take more of ſome Perſons, than others; provided, he uſe all men righteouſly, he may uſe ſome favorably. I ſhall not deſcend to any more Particulars on this Head; for the ſake of Sir Thomas More's Obſervation of the Caſuiſts in his time, that they did not teach Men not to Sin, but did ſhew them, how near they might come to Sin and not commit it.
THE ſecond Species of particular Juſtice, we call Diſtributive Juſtice,Diſtributive Juſtice adjuſts due Rewards and Puniſhments. which is concerned in adjuſting due Rewards and Puniſhments; and in dealing with every Man according to his deſert: For many Men doing the ſame thing do not deſerve alike; great Perſons and private Men, carry not away the ſame reward of their Actions: The Husbandman ſells his Corn at the ſame Rate to the Prince and to the Beggar; but the ſame Action of the King, and of the mean Perſon, is not rewarded in the ſame meaſure: Seeing therefore doing of Juſtice is nothing elſe, but dealing equally with all Parties as near as we can, that all things may come to equality, or which is the ſame, to equity, we are to obſerve, that there are two ways, which we are to take in all our Actions, of doing Juſtice:
Firſt, ONE is called medium Rei, which is always the ſame, and is that medium Arithmeticum, which Ariſtotle and other Moraliſts talk of at large.
Secondly, THE other is medium rationis vel proportionis and is called medium Geometricum, which is not always the ſame, but varies according to perſons, times, occaſions, and other circumſtances.
NOW the principal thing, which is to be reſpected in the doing Juſtice; is that, which we call equity;How Equity and Juſtice differ. as it ſtands in oppoſition to the rigour or ſtrictneſs of Law. And here we muſt obſerve, that there is ſome difference between Juſtice and Equity; tho ſometimes they are put together and are taken for the ſame thing; what the Laws and common Reaſon will allow, that we call juſt; but equity conſiders the circumſtances of the Caſe, and will grant allowance, if they do require it; for equity doth moderate the Rigour of the Law; ſometimes there may be, what is juſt, and no equity in the Caſe, but ſometimes there is both juſt and equal in the ſame matter; now whereſoever there is equity againſt ſtrict Juſtice; there equity ought to take place:
AND when we conſider, how much we are beholden to the Mercies of God for our Being and daily Maintenance; we ſhall not think it ſafe to appear in the defence of ſtrict Juſtice, not to ſtand upon all,Strict Juſtice not to be ſtood upon. that the rigour of the Law can deſire; For this is the Apoſtles Rule, Let your moderation, that is, your Clemency and Compaſſion be known unto all men; it being a Habit, whereby a Man is enabled and inclined to deal according to the equitable ſenſe of the Law, and is placed betwixt the two Extremes, foreign Rigour, or ſummum jus on the one hand, inſiſting too much on the Letter, and relaxatio nimia, remitting too much from the true ſenſe of it on the other ſide; Now both theſe Extremes, the exceſs and the defect being evidently Vices, it muſt follow, that the Medium betwixt them muſt be a Virtue, and have in it the Obligation of a Duty.
AND if we do not act, as it commands us; we ſhall not only depart from the Nobleneſs of a Chriſtian Spirit, but we ſhall take ſuch a courſe, as that a cancell'd Obligation may return upon us, as it did upon that wicked Servant in Saint Matthew; who, becauſe He did not forgive his Brother a ſmall Debt, after his Lord had ſo freely forgiven him a great one, was afterwards taken and caſt into Priſon, becauſe he had not compaſſion on his Fellow-ſervant, as his Lord had pity on him.
IN all our humble Applications to God Almighty we both hope and pray, that He would not be extreme to mark, what we have done amiſs, but overlook our manifold Infirmities; And I dare ſay, He is very unmindful of Humane Nature it ſelf, who can harden himſelf againſt all Compaſſion to his Brethren, when at any time they are miſtaken or ſurprized.
THEREFORE let Juſt and Equal be thus ſtated; What common Reaſon or the letter of the Law will admit, may be accounted juſt; but equal conſiders all Circumſtances, and allows for Errours or any unavoidable Accidents; To be juſt, is to demean our ſelves according to the Laws of the Place, wherein we live; To be equal, is to conſider all things, that are reaſonable, and to act accordingly.
FOR this temper of Mind will render us gracious and merciful; conſequently moſt like unto God, who is juſt and Righteous in all his ways, full of mercy and compaſſion; For it is every ones Tenure and ſecurity; where this Virtue doth not take place; there will be nothing but Fraud and Cozenage, and every man will be unſafe; it ſupports Human Society, which otherwiſe would ſoon fall into Strife and confuſion; it is agreeable to the principles of our Natures; We were made to theſe things, and we force our ſelves, and offer violence to our Faculties, whenever we do an unjuſt Action, that is cruel or unrighteous: It is the Right of every caſe, and a man's greateſt Wiſdom is ſeen in finding that out, and his goodneſs, in complying with it; And if we keep to this Rule of doing always what is Right and Fit, we ſhall be juſtified, whenever we are ſummoned to give an account of our Actions: we ſhall be delivered from the ſeverity of Puniſhment, the end of which is either to ſupport Right, or to be exemplary, that others may be withheld from following bad Examples; In fine, the practice of this Virtue will remove from us all ſuſpicion of Arbitrarineſs; which is the fouleſt Imputation, that can be put upon any man, that he affects to maintain Self-will; but to live in the practice of Equity, gives eaſe to the Mind, and to do thus is ever well-pleaſing in the ſight of God.
WHEREAS He, who is diſpoſed to follow the heels of the Law, may, as the Proverb warns him, have his Teeth ſtruck out, For Summum jus eſt ſumma injuria; upon many emergent and unforeſeen occaſions, and as the circumſtances of things alter, ſo doth the Law; and many times it ſo falls out, that whoſo keeps moſt ſtrictly to the letter of it, is in danger of committing the groſſeſt Iniquities.
HITHERTO we have placed the whole ſum and ſtreſs of Common Juſtice in theſe two words, Suum cuique; yet it is moſt true, that He, who puts into a Madman's Hand his own Sword, is certainly the madder Perſon of the two: To murther ones own Siſter, or Mother, is the blackeſt Crime, and the moſt Savage of any, man can be guilty of; yet Horatius Cocles and Oreſtes deſerved their Pardons: Thus a thouſand Circumſtances may ariſe to mollifie the four Precepts of the Law; by reaſon of which its ſtrictneſs, may in ſome caſes be diſpenſed with.
WHEREFORE in many Commonwealths, Law and Equity have diſtinct Courts, and Supreme Powers have always challenged a Prerogative to temper the rigour of Laws; and the Style of the Chancery Court in England is Teſte me ipſo; by which the Prince reſerves to himſelf the moderation of the Law; therefore it is called the King's Conſcience, tho in the keeping of the Chancellour. And it is abſolutely neceſſary this ſhould be ſo, that through a dark and long Journey full of Briars and Brambles, we may at length come at Equity; For Law ſuits muſt be uncertain, ſo long as the Lawyers ſeek not for their Judgments in their own Breaſts, but in the Precedents of former Judges; as the Ancient Judges ſought the ſame, not in their own Reaſon, but in the Laws of the Empire; beſides there is ſcarce any thing ſo clearly written, that when the cauſe thereof is forgotten, may not be wreſted by an Ignorant Grammarian or a Cavelling Logician, to the injury, or the deſtruction of an Honeſt Man.
THIS hath made Juſtice appear ſo perplexed a thing;The reaſon why Juſtice hath appeared ſo perplexed a matter. the mighty Commentaries upon it have brought a Cloud upon that, which elſe would ſhine forth in all the brightneſs of Truth and Sincerity: Thus the Scripture it ſelf hath ſuffered by Expoſitions, and the ways of Juſtice by the craft of Advocates and Clerks have been made to look like thoſe of Fraud, myſterious and crooked: Thus Judgment is turned into Wormwood: for it is embittered by injuſtice, and delays make it ſour. But that Juſtice, whoſe Character we give now, is a ſweet and tender Virtue, as much an Enemy to hard Conſtructions and ſtrained Inferences, as it is to Tortures and Racks: Patience and Gravity always attend it; which prepare its way to a juſt Sentence, as God uſeth to prepare his, by raiſing Valleys, and taking down Hills; ſo doth Justice encourage the modeſt, and ſuppreſſes the preſumptuous and bold; chiefly thoſe, who are contentious, and ſuch, as are full of Shifts and Tricks, whereby they would pervert her direct Courſes and ſtrive to bring her into oblique Lines and Labyrinths: For theſe Men would make her Courts like to the Buſh in the Fable, to which while the Sheep fly for ſhelter in bad Weather, they are ſure to loſe part of their Fleece: but where untainted Juſtice prevails, there undoubtedly is true Policy; which are ſo far from having an Antipathy to each other, that they are like the Spirits and the Sinews, one moves with the other continually: And that Throne, which hath theſe two for its Supporters, muſt be like Solomon's, ſupported by Lyons on both ſides, Creatures moſt vigilant againſt all On-ſets, and moſt couragious, to reſiſt them.
Atheiſts make Juſtice an Artificial thing.BUT Atheiſtical Politicians make Juſtice an artificial thing, framed only by Men and Civil Laws; as if it was the peculiar priviledg of Mankind, to be born free from all Duty and Morality: Thus they ſlander Human Nature, and make a Villain of it. For if there be nothing in its own Nature unlawful or unjuſt, then muſt the lawfulneſs or the unlawfulneſs of all Actions depend upon a Man's Will; But by this means no Laws could ever be eſtabliſhed in the World; becauſe a man might by his Will diſoblige himſelf, and make an unlawful Action lawful, as he pleaſes: Beſides, if nothing is unjuſt by Nature, then there can be no Laws of Nature; and if there be none of theſe,No Covenants without natural Juſtice. then there can be no Covenants; becauſe Covenants without natural Juſtice are meer words and breath; And if there are no Covenants founded upon natural Juſtice, it is as impoſſible to gather mankind into Bodies Politick, as it is to tie knots in the Wind or the Water.
MOREOVER, If the real Obligation to obey the Laws of Juſtice, be only from the Fear of puniſhment, then might men juſtly break any Laws, for their own advantage, if they can reaſonably promiſe themſelves Impunity: And whenever they have Power, they may oppoſe Civil Authority, which according to this Hypotheſis is an artificial thing and nothing elſe but Force: If it be ſo, then there could never be any Government, which violence cannot, but ſome Natural Bond muſt hold together: which Bond can be no other, than Natural Juſtice; which is not a Creature of the People, and of men's Wills, but hath a ſtamp of the Divinity upon it: For had not God and Nature made a City, had not they made Superiority and Subjection with their reſpective Duty and Obligation; neither Art, nor Force could ever have done it: Wherefore to deny the mutual reſpects and rationes rerum to be unchangeable, will ſpoil God himſelf of that univerſal Rectitude, which is the greateſt perfection of his Nature; For then Juſtice, Faithfulneſs, Mercy and Goodneſs, will be but contingent and arbitrary Iſſues of the divine Will; But if Juſtice be, as moſt certainly it is, an indiſpenſible Perfection in God, then there is an Eternal Relation of Right and Equity betwixt every Being, and the giving it that, which is its propriety; if Faithfulneſs, then there is an indiſpenſible agreement betwixt a Promiſe, and the performance of it; if Mercy, then there is an unalterable Suitableneſs or Harmony betwixt an indigent Creature and Pity; if Goodneſs and Bounty, then there is an everlaſting proportion, between fulneſs, and its ſpreading it ſelf abroad for the benefit of the Creation. If theſe things be not Eternal and indiſpenſible Perfections; then their Contraries, injuſtice, unfaithfulneſs, cruelty, malice, and whatever goes to the conſtitution of Hell it ſelf, might have been made the higheſt Perfections of the Divine Nature; which is ſuch a Blaſphemy, as cannot be named without trembling.
To conclude; Should we endeavour to deliver, what Ariſtotle hath left us concerning this Virtue, having ſpent about Juſtice alone the whole fifth Book of his Ethicks, we might prove tedious, if not infinite; much more, ſhould we follow thoſe endleſs Diſcourſes, which men have put together by way of Comment upon the Text of their Civil Law: The infinite Comments upon Juſtice condemned.The Wiſe Emperour, who was the founder of their Law, as foreſeeing the miſchiefs, that would thence ariſe, ſtrictly commanded, that nothing ſhould be written by way of Expoſition, but only as he called them, Paratitla: long time was this Charge obſerved, ere there was any line written upon this Subject; but as ſoon as ſome forward Men had broken up the Banks, that were ſet them, there iſſued forth ſuch a Torrent of Writers, as (Divinity only excepted) have been hardly found in any other Science. It is not much more, than 400 years, ſince that Irnerius and Accurſius began to write; but there followed upon them ſuch a Rabble of Scriblers, that our whole Libraries have been too little to hold them; ſo fertile have their wits been, either in opening the paths of Juſtice, or in contriving by-ways to injuſtice: if therefore you would hear more concerning Juſtice, I muſt recommend you to Ariſtotle, or to the Interpreters of the Law, if at leaſt their multitude do not confound you: But this obſervation we may make in the courſe of common Juſtice, that the written Law is like to a ſtiff Rule of Steel or Iron, which will not be applied to the faſhion of the Stone or Timber, whereunto it is laid; and Equity (as Ariſtotle ſaith well) is like to the leaden Rule of the Lesbian Artificers, which they might at pleaſure bend to every Stone of whatſoever figure: And that we may conclude this Head in the Language of Ariſtotle, out of an Arithmetical Government (as we may call it) by rigour of Law, and that Geometrical Judgment at the pleaſure of a Chancellour, well tempered together, the ſweeteſt harmony of Juſtice muſt needs ariſe.