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Of POLITY and OECONOMICS.

M

AN only, of all other Creatures, Man a Soci-
is endow'd with Faculties that ren- able Creature.
der him a Social Being, or capa-
ble of Converfe, Commerce, Go-
vernment, Law, the Rules and

Notions of Right and Wrong, and

the Sanctions of Rewards and Punifoments. Accordingly Mankind have univerfally, from the firft Ages of the World, ufed to affociate themfelves together, to form Companies, and to unite in Societies.

SOCIETY therefore is a Property of Human Society, what. Nature, as confifting of a certain Number of Perfons who all agree and combine mutually to conferve, defend, promote, and enjoy one common Intereft, according to certain Terms, Orders and Regulations firft ftipulated and agreed upon mutually by the whole Society.

Kinds.

ACCORDING to this Definition of a Society, The feveral 'tis plain they may be infinitely various, as they confift of various Numbers of Members, purfue different Interefts and Views, and are founded on and regulated by divers Inftitutions and Rules. I fhall here only take notice of thofe Societies which pass under the three following remarkable Denominations, viz. (1.) A Family. (2.) A City: and (3.) A Republic, Commonwealth, or Nation.

A FAMILY is an Houfhold of Perfons, or 4 Family. thofe who live together in one House; and are generally of three Sorts of Perfonages; as (1.) Parents, or those who beget and bear Children,

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with

A City.

A Republic or Nation.

with us call'd Fathers and Mothers.

These are faid to be the Stock and Heads of Families. (2.) Children, which are begotten and born of the Parents; and as they are Male or Female, are call'd Sons and Daughters. (3.) Servants, which are those who serve or do the Work of the Family, on Conditions of Advantage or Profit, call'd Wages or Hire. By the Word Family is fometimes meant the Genealogy, Pedigree, Lineage, or Defcent of a particular Family from the first of the Race, and in this Senfe they are call'd Kindreds; but this is foreign to our Purpose here, and therefore fhall pass it by.

A CITY is a Society of People incorporated into a Body enjoying certain peculiar Privileges, Liberties, and Immunities; living in a large wall'd Town, or the Liberties thereof, where there is a Cathedral Church, and a Bishop's See; and are all govern'd by the fame Laws. If the Town be not wall'd about, nor hath a Cathedral or Bishop's See, it is call'd a Town Corporate, or a Corporation, but not a City, of which there are abundance in England. A City therefore confifts of divers Families, and hath the fame Relation thereto as a Whole to its Parts.

A REPUBLIC, Commonwealth, or Ntion, is a Multitude or Society of People inhabiting the fame Land, having the fame Name, fpeaking the fame Language, and enjoying the fame Laws, Religion and Government: Though the Words Republic and Commonwealth respect the Form of Government rather than the Sula, or People. As Cities and Towns confift of Fami lies or Houfes, fo a Nation is made up of Citie and Towns, as alfo of many Villages and partice lar Horfes fituated over the Face of all the open Country of that Nation.

ALL

ALL thofe Societies, as has been faid, are Bo- The Requifites dies Politic, or fubject to certain Orders, Rules, to conftitute a Society. Laws, and Government; and in order to conftitute fuch a Society or Body Politic, the following Things are neceffary. (1.) Such a Community or Society must confift of Men, or rational, not irrational Beings. (2.) There must be a Plurality or Multitude of them, viz. of Perfons, Houfes, or Cities. (3.) They must affociate and unite together; for they make up this Body not feverally, but as join'd together in one. (4.) They must enjoy a Community or Participation of many particular Things, and one general Interest, common to the Whole. (5.) It must be inftituted by the general Confent of a free People, and therefore it is voluntary. (6.) It must be juft and reasonable; for there can be no honourable and true Society or Commonwealth of Men bent on wicked Purposes; as Thieves, Pirates, Confpirators, Murtherers, feditious Perfons, &c. for they are fuppofed to be bound to obferve certain Rules of eternal Juftice and Reafon, and therefore the Things wherein they unite, and the Manner of their uniting must be both just; and the more they are fo, the more excellent and perfect the Commonwealth and Ordination thereof will be.

GOVERNMENT, or that Form and Or- Government, der of Rules and Laws by which the Affairs of what. Societies are adminifter'd, regulated, and directed, is various according to the Nature of the Society, the Relation of the Members to each other, the Perfon or Perfons who adminifter the Republic, and the Manner of the Inftitution.

A HOUSE or FAMILY being in Nature Oeconomy, prior to all other Societies, I fhall begin with the wha Government thereof firft: This in regard of the Houfe the Greeks call'd Economy, and the Arts which deliver'd Rules thereof they call'd Econo

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mics;

ufed for cutting away the fractur'd Parts of 1 Bone, particularly of the Scull. (28.) Vestis, ufed as a Supporter or Prop in reducing diflocated, or fetting fractur'd Bones,

THERE are divers other Chirurgical Intru ments, of which I know not the Names, befides the divers Sorts of Knives, Saws, Sciffars, &c. in common Ufe, which are too well known, to need Defcription.

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of

Dictates of Reafon and Prudence. (4.) That he keep his plighted Faith in allowing her the fole Property and Ufe of his Body, and abstaining religiously from all adulterous Commerce with any other of her Sex. (5.) That he teach and inftruct her in the Duties of Religion, and the more difficult Affairs of Life, when the appears to need it. (6.) That, laftly, he rule and govern her by the Laws of Prudence and Reafon, and in fuch a Manner, that more of Love, Humanity and Kindness may appear, than of Power and fovereign Authority. In fhort, every Act of the Husband fhould be fuch as might tend to demonftrate, that he is not willing to fhew himself fo much her ruling Lord, as her loving Husband; and more defirous of her Love, Affection and Efteem, than her Fear and Submiffion.

The Duties and Offices of a Wife towards her The Duties of Husband are, for the most part, the fame as thofe a Wife. juft enumerated of the Husband towards the Wife; but particularly, that she love, honour, and affift him, not only in bearing Children and educating them, but in taking on her a Part of the Administration of domeftic Affairs; and moreover, that fhe be modeft, chafte, and fubmiffive in all Cafes where the fuperior Wisdom and Judgment of the Husband fhall require it. And on the Side both of Man and Wife the Nature of fuch a strict Conjunction requires that they be mutually Partakers of each other's Fortune whether profperous or adverse, and to comfort each other in their Calamity; and that they fhould both fo attemperate their Behaviour and Manners with Prudence and Wisdom, as should best conduce to Peace, Harmony, and mutual Forbearance, in refpect of which however it is adjudged moft becoming the Wife to yield.

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