- Contents
- Preface
- Lecture 1
- Lecture 2
- Lecture 3
- Lecture 4
- Lecture 5
- Lecture 6
- Lecture 7
- Lecture 8
- Lecture 9
- Lecture 10
- Lecture 11
- Lecture 12
- Lecture 13
- Lecture 14
- Lecture 15
- Lecture 16
- Lecture 17
- Lecture 18
- Lecture 19
- Lecutre 20
- Lecture 21
- Lecture 22
- Lecture 23
- Lecture24
- Lecture 25
- Lecture 26
- Lecture 27
- Lecture 28
- Lecture 29
- Lecture 30
- Lecture 31
- Lecture 32
- Lecture 33
- Lecture 34
- Lecture 35
- Lecture 36
- Lecture 37
- Lecture 38
- Lecture 39
- Lecture 40
- Lecture 41
- Lecture 42
Lecture 34 Lecture XXXIV.
Moral Government.–No. 13.
Governmental Principles.
l. The precept of the law must be intelligible.
2. That obedience shall be practicable.
3. That it shall be for the highest good of the subjects.
4. That it shall be impartial, and not contrary to the law of nature.
5. That the law-giver shall express in the sanctions the amount of his regard to the precept.
6. That perfect obedience shall be rewarded with the perpetual favour and protection of the law-giver.
7. That one breach of the precept shall incur the penalty of law.
8. That law makes no provision for repentance or forgiveness.
9. That a leading design of penal sanctions is prevention.
10. That disobedience cannot be pardoned unless some equally efficient preventive be substituted for the execution of law.
11. That where this can be done, pardon is in strict accordance with the perfection of government.
12. That in all cases of disobedience the executive is bound to inflict the penalty of the law, or see that some equivalent is rendered to public justice.
13. The only equivalent that can be rendered to public justice is some governmental measure that will as fully illustrate and manifest the righteousness of the government, as the execution of law would do.
14. The execution of law acts as a preventive, by demonstrating the righteousness of the law-giver, and thus begetting confidence and heart obedience.
15. That any act on the part of the government that will upon the whole set the character of the governor in as impressive and influential a light as the execution of the law would do, is a full satisfaction to public justice, and renders pardon not only proper but highly beneficial.