And he certainly can have no
absolute power over the whole family, who has but a very limited
one over every individual in it. But how a family, or any other
society of men, differ from that which is properly political
society, we shall best see, by considering wherein political
society itself consists.
Sec. 87. Man being born, as has been proved, with a title
to perfect freedom, and an uncontrouled enjoyment of all the
rights and privileges of the law of nature, equally with any
other man, or number of men in the world, hath by nature a power,
not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty and
estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men; but to
judge of, and punish the breaches of that law in others, as he is
persuaded the offence deserves, even with death itself, in crimes
where the heinousness of the fact, in his opinion, requires it.
But because no political society can be, nor subsist, without
having in itself the power to preserve the property, and in order
thereunto, punish the offences of all those of that society;
there, and there only is political society, where every one of
the members hath quitted this natural power, resigned it up into
the hands of the community in all cases that exclude him not from
appealing for protection to the law established by it. And thus
all private judgment of every particular member being excluded,
the community comes to be umpire, by settled standing rules,
indifferent, and the same to all parties; and by men having
authority from the community, for the execution of those rules,
decides all the differences that may happen between any members
of that society concerning any matter of right; and punishes
those offences which any member hath committed against the
society, with such penalties as the law has established: whereby
it is easy to discern, who are, and who are not, in political
society together.
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