Thelawofnatureexcepted，itbelongedtotheessenceofallotherlawstobemadeknowntoeverymanthatshallbeobligedtoobeythem，eitherbyword，orwriting，orsomeotheractknowntoproceedfromthesovereignauthority。Forthewillofanothercannotbeunderstoodbutbyhisownword，oract，orbyconjecturetakenfromhisscopeandpurpose；whichinthepersonoftheCommonwealthistobesupposedalwaysconsonanttoequityandreason。Andinancienttime，beforeletterswereincommonuse，thelawsweremanytimesputintoverse；thattherudepeople，takingpleasureinsingingorrecitingthem，mightthemoreeasilyretaintheminmemory。AndforthesamereasonSolomonadvisethamantobindtheTenCommandmentsuponhistenfingers。*AndfortheLawwhichMosesgavetothepeopleofIsraelattherenewingoftheCovenant，hebiddeththemtoteachittheirchildren，bydiscoursingofitbothathomeandupontheway，atgoingtobedandatrisingfrombed；andtowriteituponthepostsanddoorsoftheirhouses；*2andtoassemblethepeople，man，woman，andchild，tohearitread。*3
Norisitenoughthelawbewrittenandpublished，butalsothattherebemanifestsignsthatitproceedethfromthewillofthesovereign。Forprivatemen，whentheyhave，orthinktheyhave，forceenoughtosecuretheirunjustdesigns，andconvoythemsafelytotheirambitiousends，maypublishforlawswhattheyplease，withoutoragainstthelegislativeauthority。Thereisthereforerequisite，notonlyadeclarationofthelaw，butalsosufficientsignsoftheauthorandauthority。TheauthororlegislatorissupposedineveryCommonwealthtobeevident，becauseheisthesovereign，who，havingbeenconstitutedbytheconsentofeveryone，issupposedbyeveryonetobesufficientlyknown。Andthoughtheignoranceandsecurityofmenbesuch，forthemostpart，asthatwhenthememoryofthefirstconstitutionoftheirCommonwealthiswornout，theydonotconsiderbywhosepowertheyusetobedefendedagainsttheirenemies，andtohavetheirindustryprotected，andtoberightedwheninjuryisdonethem；yetbecausenomanthatconsiderscanmakequestionofit，noexcusecanbederivedfromtheignoranceofwherethesovereigntyisplaced。Anditisadictateofnaturalreason，andconsequentlyanevidentlawofnature，thatnomanoughttoweakenthatpowertheprotectionwhereofhehathhimselfdemandedorwittinglyreceivedagainstothers。Thereforeofwhoissovereign，noman，butbyhisownfaultwhatsoeverevilmensuggest，canmakeanydoubt。Thedifficultycocsistethintheevidenceoftheauthorityderivedfromhim；theremovingwhereofdependethontheknowledgeofthepublicregisters，publiccounsels，publicministers，andpublicseals；bywhichalllawsaresufficientlyverified；verified，Isay，notauthorized：fortheverificationisbutthetestimonyandrecord；
nottheauthorityofthelaw，whichconsistethinthecommandofthesovereignonly。
Ifthereforeamanhaveaquestionofinjury，dependingonthelawofnature；thatistosay，oncommonequity；thesentenceofthejudge，thatbycommissionhathauthoritytotakecognizanceofsuchcauses，isasufficientverificationofthelawofnatureinthatindividualcase。Forthoughtheadviceofonethatprofesseththestudyofthelawbeusefulfortheavoidingofcontention，yetitisbutadvice：itisthejudgemusttellmenwhatislaw，uponthehearingofthecontroversy。
Butwhenthequestionisofinjury，orcrime，uponawrittenlaw，everymanbyrecoursetotheregistersbyhimselforothersmay，ifhewill，besufficientlyinformed，beforehedosuchinjury，orcommitthecrime，whetheritbeaninjuryornot；nay，heoughttodoso：forwhenamandoubtswhethertheacthegoethaboutbejustorunjust，andmayinformhimselfifhewill，thedoingisunlawful。Inlikemanner，hethatsupposethhimselfinjured，inacasedeterminedbythewrittenlaw，whichhemaybyhimselforothersseeandconsider；ifhecomplainbeforeheconsultswiththelaw，hedoesunjustly，andbewrayethadispositionrathertovexothermenthantodemandhisownright。
Ifthequestionbeofobediencetoapublicofficer，tohaveseenhiscommissionwiththepublicseal，andhearditread，ortohavehadthemeanstobeinformedofit，ifamanwould，isasufficientverificationofhisauthority。Foreverymanisobligedtodohisbestendeavourtoinformhimselfofallwrittenlawsthatmayconcernhisownfutureactions。
Thelegislatorknown，andthelawseitherbywritingorbythelightofnaturesufficientlypublished，therewantethyetanotherverymaterialcircumstancetomakethemobligatory。Foritisnottheletter，buttheintendment，ormeaning；thatistosay，theauthenticinterpretationofthelawwhichisthesenseofthelegislator，inwhichthenatureofthelawconsisteth；andthereforetheinterpretationofalllawsdependethontheauthoritysovereign；andtheinterpreterscanbenonebutthosewhichthesovereign，towhomonlythesubjectowethobedience，shallappoint。
Forelse，bythecraftofaninterpreter，thelawmaybemadetobearasensecontrarytothatofthesovereign，bywhichmeanstheinterpreterbecomesthelegislator。
Alllaws，writtenandunwritten，haveneedofinterpretation。Theunwrittenlawofnature，thoughitbeeasytosuchaswithoutpartialityandpassionmakeuseoftheirnaturalreason，andthereforeleavestheviolatorsthereofwithoutexcuse；yetconsideringtherebeveryfew，perhapsnone，thatinsomecasesarenotblindedbyself-love，orsomeotherpassion，itisnowbecomeofalllawsthemostobscure，andhasconsequentlythegreatestneedofableinterpreters。Thewrittenlaws，iflaws，iftheybeshort，areeasilymisinterpreted，forthediversesignificationsofawordortwo；iflong，theybemoreobscurebythediversesignificationsofmanywords：insomuchasnowrittenlaw，deliveredinfewormanywords，canbewellunderstoodwithoutaperfectunderstandingofthefinalcausesforwhichthelawwasmade；theknowledgeofwhichfinalcausesisinthelegislator。Tohimthereforetherecannotbeanyknotinthelawinsoluble，eitherbyfindingouttheendstoundoitby，orelsebymakingwhatendshewillasAlexanderdidwithhisswordintheGordianknotbythelegislativepower；whichnootherinterpretercando。
TheinterpretationofthelawsofnatureinaCommonwealthdependethnotonthebooksofmoralphilosophy。Theauthorityofwriters，withouttheauthorityoftheCommonwealth，makethnottheiropinionslaw，betheyneversotrue。ThatwhichIhavewritteninthistreatiseconcerningthemoralvirtues，andoftheirnecessityfortheprocuringandmaintainingpeace，thoughitbeevidenttruth，isnotthereforepresentlylaw，butbecauseinallCommonwealthsintheworlditispartofthecivillaw。Forthoughitbenaturallyreasonable，yetitisbythesovereignpowerthatitislaw：otherwise，itwereagreaterrortocallthelawsofnatureunwrittenlaw；whereofweseesomanyvolumespublished，andinthemsomanycontradictionsofoneanotherandofthemselves。
Theinterpretationofthelawofnatureisthesentenceofthejudgeconstitutedbythesovereignauthoritytohearanddeterminesuchcontroversiesasdependthereon，andconsistethintheapplicationofthelawtothepresentcase。Forintheactofjudicaturethejudgedothnomorebutconsiderwhetherthedemandofthepartybeconsonanttonaturalreasonandequity；andthesentencehegivethisthereforetheinterpretationofthelawofnature；whichinterpretationisauthentic，notbecauseitishisprivatesentence，butbecausehegivethitbyauthorityofthesovereign，wherebyitbecomesthesovereign’ssentence；whichislawforthattimetothepartiespleading。
Butbecausethereisnojudgesubordinate，norsovereign，butmayerrinajudgementequity；ifafterwardinanotherlikecasehefinditmoreconsonanttoequitytogiveacontrarysentence，heisobligedtodoit。Noman’serrorbecomeshisownlaw，norobligeshimtopersistinit。Neither，forthesamereason，becomesitalawtootherjudges，thoughsworntofollowit。Forthoughawrongsentencegivenbyauthorityofthesovereign，ifheknowandallowit，insuchlawsasaremutable，beaconstitutionofanewlawincasesinwhicheverylittlecircumstanceisthesame；yetinlawsimmutable，suchasarethelawsofnature，theyarenolawstothesameorotherjudgesinthelikecasesforeverafter。Princessucceedoneanother；andonejudgepasseth，anothercometh；nay，heavenandearthshallpass；butnotonetittleofthelawofnatureshallpass；foritistheeternallawofGod。Thereforeallthesentencesofprecedentjudgesthathaveeverbeencannotalltogethermakealawcontrarytonaturalequity。Noranyexamplesofformerjudgescanwarrantanunreasonablesentence，ordischargethepresentjudgeofthetroubleofstudyingwhatisequityinthecaseheistojudgefromtheprinciplesofhisownnaturalreason。Forexamplesake，itisagainstthelawofnaturetopunishtheinnocent；andinnocentishethatacquittethhimselfjudiciallyandisacknowledgedforinnocentbythejudge。Putthecasenowthatamanisaccusedofacapitalcrime，andseeingthepowerandmaliceofsomeenemy，andthefrequentcorruptionandpartialityofjudges，runnethawayforfearoftheevent，andafterwardsistakenandbroughttoalegaltrial，andmakethitsufficientlyappearhewasnotguiltyofthecrime，andbeingthereofacquittedisneverthelesscondemnedtolosehisgoods；
thisisamanifestcondemnationoftheinnocent。Isaythereforethatthereisnoplaceintheworldwherethiscanbeaninterpretationofalawofnature，orbemadealawbythesentencesofprecedentjudgesthathaddonethesame。Forhethatjudgeditfirstjudgedunjustly；andnoinjusticecanbeapatternofjudgementtosucceedingjudges。Awrittenlawmayforbidinnocentmentofly，andtheymaybepunishedforflying：butthatflyingforfearofinjuryshouldbetakenforpresumptionofguilt，afteramanisalreadyabsolvedofthecrimejudicially，iscontrarytothenatureofapresumption，whichhathnoplaceafterjudgementgiven。YetthisissetdownbyagreatlawyerforthecommonlawofEngland：
“Ifaman，“saithhe，“thatisinnocentbeaccusedoffelony，andforfearflyethforthesame；albeithejudiciallyacquittethhimselfofthefelony；yetifitbefoundthathefledforthefelony，heshall，notwithstandinghisinnocency，forfeitallhisgoods，chattels，debts，andduties。Forastotheforfeitureofthem，thelawwilladmitnoproofagainstthepresumptioninlaw，groundeduponhisflight。“Hereyouseeaninnocentman，judiciallyacquitted，notwithstandinghisinnocencywhennowrittenlawforbadehimtofly
afterhisacquittal，uponapresumptioninlaw，condemnedtoloseallthegoodshehath。Ifthelawgrounduponhisflightapresumptionofthefact，whichwascapital，thesentenceoughttohavebeencapital：thepresumptionwerenotofthefact，forwhatthenoughthetolosehisgoods？ThisthereforeisnolawofEngland；noristhecondemnationgroundeduponapresumptionoflaw，butuponthepresumptionofthejudges。Itisalsoagainstlawtosaythatnoproofshallbeadmittedagainstapresumptionoflaw。Foralljudges，sovereignandsubordinate，iftheyrefusetohearproof，refusetodojustice：forthoughthesentencebejust，yetthejudgesthatcondemn，withouthearingtheproofsoffered，areunjustjudges；andtheirpresumptionisbutprejudice；whichnomanoughttobringwithhimtotheseatofjusticewhatsoeverprecedentjudgementsorexamplesheshallpretendtofollow。Therebeotherthingsofthisnature，whereinmen’sjudgementshavebeenpervertedbytrustingtoprecedents：butthisisenoughtoshowthatthoughthesentenceofthejudgebealawtothepartypleading，yetitisnolawanyjudgethatshallsucceedhiminthatoffice。
Inlikemanner，whenquestionisofthemeaningofwrittenlaws，heisnottheinterpreterofthemthatwritethacommentaryuponthem。
Forcommentariesarecommonlymoresubjecttocavilthanthetext，andthereforeneedothercommentaries；andsotherewillbenoendofsuchinterpretation。Andthereforeunlesstherebeaninterpreterauthorizedbythesovereign，fromwhichthesubordinatejudgesarenottorecede，theinterpretercanbenootherthantheordinaryjudges，inthesamemannerastheyareincasesoftheunwrittenlaw；andtheirsentencesaretobetakenbythemthatpleadforlawsinthatparticularcase，butnottobindotherjudgesinlikecasestogivelikejudgements。Forajudgemayerrintheinterpretationevenofwrittenlaws；butnoerrorofasubordinatejudgecanchangethelaw，whichisthegeneralsentenceofthesovereign。
Inwrittenlawsmenusetomakeadifferencebetweentheletterandthesentenceofthelaw：andwhenbytheletterismeantwhatsoevercanbegatheredfromthebarewords，itiswelldistinguished。Forthesignificationsofalmostallareeitherinthemselves，orinthemetaphoricaluseofthem，ambiguous；andmaybedrawninargumenttomakemanysenses；butthereisonlyonesenseofthelaw。Butifbytheletterbemeanttheliteralsense，thentheletterandthesentenceorintentionofthelawisallone。