civil rights, foundations may be laid for that fecurity and tranquillity, which the children unborn may have cause to rife up and bless your names and memories for. Take it in good part; I mean nothing but juftice and peace to all; and fo conclude myself,

Your honeft monitor, and Old England's

true friend,

PHILANGLUS.

ONE

ONE PROJECT

FOR THE

GOOD OF ENGLAND:

THAT IS,

Our CIVIL UNION is our CIVIL SAFETY.

Humbly dedicated to the

GREAT COUNCIL, the PARLIAMENT

O F

ENGLAND.

Published in the Year 1679.

ELIGION, as it is the noblest end of man's

R life, fo it were the beft bond of human fociety,

provided men did not err in the meaning of that excellent word. Scripture interprets it to be " loving "God above all, and our neighbours as ourselves; but practice teacheth us, that too many merely refolve it into opinion and form; in which, not the text, but the comment, too often prevails: whence it comes to pass, that those bodies of men, who have but one common civil interest, are miserably distracted in favour of their adopted notions, upon which they are impatient to bestow an earthly crown. And this is the reason of that mifchief and uncertainty that attend government. No fooner one opinion prevails upon

another,

another, (though all hold the text to be facred) but human fociety is fhaken, and the civil government must receive and fuffer a revolution; infomuch, that when we confider the fury and unnaturalness of some people for religion, (which fhews they have none that is true, religion making men moft natural as well as divine) we have reafon to bewail the mif-understanding, as well as mif-living, of that venerable word.

But fince it is fo hard to difabuse men of their wrong apprehenfions of religion, and the true nature and life of it, and confequently as yet too early in the day to fix fuch a religion upon which mankind will readily agree as a common basis for civil fociety, we must recur to fome lower, but true, principle for the prefent, and I think there will be no difficulty of fucceeding.

It is this,That civil intereft is the foundation and end of civil government; and where it is not main<tained intire, the government muft needs decline.' The word INTEREST has a good and bad acceptation: when it is taken in an ill fenfe, it fignifies a pursuit of advantage without regard to truth or justice; which I mean not: the good fignification of the word, and which I mean, is a legal endeavour to keep rights, or < augment honeft profits,' whether it be in a private perfon or a fociety. By GOVERNMENT, I understand a just and equal conftitution,' where might is not right, but laws rule, and not the wills or power of men; for that were plain tyranny.

This government must have a fupreme authority in itself to determine, and not be fuperfeded or controuled by any other power; for then it would not be a government, but a subjection; which is a plain contradiction.

Having thus explained the terms of the principle I have laid down, I repeat it, viz. That civil intereft is the foundation and end of civil government,' and prove it thus: the good of the whole is the rife and end of government: but the good of the whole must needs be the intereft of the whole; and confequently the intereft of the whole, is the reafon and end of govern

ment.

ment. None can stumble at the word good; for every man may easily and fafely interpret that to himself, fince he must needs believe, it is good for him to be preferved in an undisturbed poffeffion of his civil rights, according to the free and juft laws of the land; and the construction he makes for himself will ferve his neighbour, and fo the whole fociety.

But as the good of the people is properly the civil intereft of the people, and that the reason and end of government; fo is the maintenance of that civil intereft intire, the prefervation of government. For where people are fure of their own, and are protected from violence or injury, they cheerfully yield their obedience, and pay their contribution to the support of that government. But, on the contrary, where men are infecure of their civil rights, nay, where they are daily violated, and themselves in danger of ruin, and that for no fin committed against the nature of civil intereft, (to preferve which, government was instituted) we ought to fuppofe their affections will flag, that they will grow dead-hearted, and that what they pay or do, may go against the grain: and, to fay true, fuch unkindnefs is ready to tempt them to believe they should not of right contribute to the maintenance of fuch governments, as yield them no fecurity or civil protection. Which unhappy flaw in the civil intereft, proves an untoward crack in the government; men not being cordially devoted to the profperity of that government that is exercifed in their deftruction; and how far that fraction upon the common interest of the people may affect the government I cannot tell, but to be fure it is infecure to any government, to have the people (its ftrength) divided, as they will be, where their intereft is fo difjointed by the government; one protected, the other expofed. Wherefore, wife governments have ever taken care to preferve their people, as knowing they do thereby preserve their own intereft, and that how numerous their people, fo large their interest. For not only Solomon has told us, "That the honour VOL. IV. " of

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