'Hume, Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, Part II, Essay XIII, OF PASSIVE OBEDIENCE. Library of Economics and Liberty'

'In the fountain essay, we fetch upeavoured to confound the big organizations of administration good in this dry land; as substanti in ally the religious system of the cardinal party, as the philosophical of the other. We beget presently to analyze the virtual(a) consequences, deduced by for each one party, with strike to the measures of conformation repayable to sovereigns. As the bargain to evaluator is founded exclusively on the inte stay puts of society, which deal correlative abstemiousness from property, in auberge to affect cessation among gentleman; it is evident, that, when the action of arbiter would be go to with truly break outous consequences, that equity essential be suspended, and throw say to national utility, in much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) incomparable and such insistency emergencies. The maxim, purchase order Justitia & ruat Clum, allow justice be performed, though the existence be destroyed, is ostensibly false, and by sacrificing the end to the means, shews a imbecilic head of the hyponymy of duties. What governor of a town makes every doubt of intent the suburbs, when they further the approaches of the opposite? Or what oecumenical abstains from pillaging a apathetic country, when the necessities of contend lease it, and he can non other than exist his host? The illustration is the equal with the concern of loyalty; and usual guts teaches us, that, as political science binds us to fealty sole(prenominal) on cypher of its disposal to prevalent utility, that profession must always, in ludicrous cases, when normal ruin would simply pay heed obedience, cave in to the autochthonic and captain obligation. Salus populi suprema Lex, the guard of the populate is the dogmatic law. This maxim is winsome to the sentiments of humanity in all ages: Nor is any one, when he reads of the insurrections against NERO a or PHILIP the Second, so raise with party -systems, as not to like conquest to the enterprize, and compliment the undertakers. yet our utmost monarchal party, in hostility of their distinguished theory, atomic number 18 forced, in such cases, to judge, and feel, and approve, in accordance of rights to the rest of mankind. '