133 BOOK II. OF A NATION CONSIDERED IN ITS RELATION TO OTHERS. CHAP. I. BOOK II. the common duties of nations. OF THE COMMON DUTIES OF A NATION TOWARDS OTHERS; OR, 1. Foun- THE following maxims will appear very strange to cabinet dation of politicians; and such is the misfortune of mankind, that, to and mutual many of those refined conductors of nations, the doctrine of this chapter will be a subject of ridicule. Be it so; but we will, nevertheless, boldly lay down what the law of nature prescribes to nations. Shall we be intimidated by ridicule, when we speak after Cicero? That great man held the reins of the most powerful state that ever existed; and in that station he appeared no less eminent than at the bar. The punctual observance of the law of nature he considered as the most salutary policy to the state. In my preface, I have already quoted this fine passage-Nihil est quod adhuc de republica putem dictum, et quo possim longius progredi, nisi sit confirmatum, non modo falsum esse illud, sine injuria non posse, sed hoc verissimum, sine summa justitia rempublicam regi non posse.* I might say on good grounds, that, by the words summa justitia, Cicero means that universal justice which consists in completely fulfilling the law of nature. But in another place he explains himself more clearly on this head, and gives us sufficiently to understand that he does not [134] confine the mutual duties of men to the observance of justice, properly so called. "Nothing," says he, "is more agreeable to nature, more capable of affording true satisfaction, than, in imitation of Hercules, to undertake even the most arduous and painful labours for the benefit and preservation of all nations." Magis est secundum naturam, pro omnibus gentibus, si fieri possit, conservandis aut juvandis, maximos labores molestiasque suscipere, imitantem Herculem illum, quem hominum fama, beneficiorum memor, in concilium cœlestium collocavit, quam vivere in solitudine, non modo sine Fragm. ex lib. ii. De Republica. ullis molestiis, sed etiam in maximis voluptatibus, abundantem omnibus copiis, ut excellas etiam pulchritudine et viribus. Quocirca optimo quisque et splendidissimo ingenio longe illam vitam huic anteponit. In the same chapter, Cicero expressly refutes those who are for excluding foreigners from the benefit of those duties to which they acknowledge themselves bound towards their fellow-citizens. Qui autem civium rationem dicunt habendam, externorum negant, hi dirimunt communem humani generis societatem; qua sublata, beneficentia, liberalitas, bonitas, justitia, funditus tollitur; quæ qui tollunt, etiam adversus Deos immortales impii judicandi sunt; ab iis enim constitutam inter homines societatem evertunt. And why should we not hope still to find, among those who are at the head of affairs, some wise individuals who are convinced of this great truth, that virtue is, even for sovereigns and political bodies, the most certain road to prosperity and happiness? There is at least one benefit to be expected from the open assertion and publication of sound maxims, which is, that even those who relish them the least are thereby laid under a necessity of keeping within some bounds, lest they should forfeit their characters altogether. To flatter ourselves with the vain expectation that men, and especially men in power, will be inclined strictly to conform to the laws. of nature, would be a gross mistake; and to renounce all hope of making impression on some of them, would be to give up mankind for lost. Nations, being obliged by nature reciprocally to cultivate human society (Prelim. § 11), are bound to observe towards each other all the duties which the safety and advantage of that society require. BOOK II. CHAP. I. ty, and Offices The offices of humanity are those succours, those duties, ? 2. which men owe to each other, as men,—that is, as social be- of humaniings formed to live in society, and standing in need of mu- their fountual assistance for their preservation and happiness, and to dation. enable them to live in a manner conformable to their nature. Now, the laws of nature being no less obligatory on nations than on individuals (Prelim. § 5), whatever duties each man owes to other men, the same does each nation, in its way, owe to other nations (Prelim. § 10, &c.). Such is the foundation. of those common duties of those offices of humanity-to which nations are reciprocally bound towards each other. They consist, generally, in doing every thing in our power [135] for the preservation and happiness of others, as far as such conduct is reconcilable with our duties towards ourselves. The nature and essence of man, who, without the assist-3. Geneance of his fellow-men, is unable to supply all his wants, to ral principle preserve himself, to render himself perfect, and to live hap- mutual u *De Officiis, lib. iii. cap. 5. of all the ties of ations. I. BOOK II. pily, plainly show us that he is destined to live in society, in CHAP. I the interchange of mutual aid; and, consequently, that all men are, by their very nature and essence, obliged to unite their common efforts for the perfection of their own being and that of their condition. The surest method of succeeding in this pursuit is, that each individual should exert his efforts first for himself and then for others. Hence it follows, that, whatever we owe to ourselves, we likewise owe to others, so far as they stand in need of assistance, and we can grant it to them without being wanting to ourselves. Since, then, one nation, in its way, owes to another nation every duty that one man owes to another man, we may confidently lay down this general principle:—one state owes to another state whatever it owes to itself, so far as that other stands in real need of its assistance, and the former can grant it without neglecting the duties it owes to itself. Such is the eternal and immutable law of nature. Those who might be alarmed at this doctrine, as totally subversive of the maxims of sound policy, will be relieved from their apprehensions by the two following considerations: 24. Duties 1. Social bodies or sovereign states are much more capable of supplying all their wants than individual men are; and mutual assistance is not so necessary among them, nor so frequently required. Now, in those particulars which a nation can itself perform, no succour is due to it from others. 2. The duties of a nation towards itself, and chiefly the care of its own safety, require much more circumspection and reserve than need be observed by an individual in giving assistance to others. This remark we shall soon illustrate. for the pre- its state. servation of others. Of all the duties of a nation towards itself, the chief obof a nation ject is its preservation and perfection, together with that of The detail given of them in the first book of this work may serve to point out the several objects in relation to which a state may and should assist another state. Every nation ought, on occasion, to labour for the preservation of others, and for securing them from ruin and destruction, as far as it can do this without exposing itself too much. Thus, when a neighbouring nation is unjustly attacked by a powerful enemy who threatens to oppress it, if you can defend it, without exposing yourself to great danger, unquestionably it is your duty to do so. Let it not be said, in objection to this, that a sovereign is not to expose the lives of his soldiers for the safety of a foreign nation with which he has not contracted a defensive alliance. It may be his own case to stand in need of assistance; and, consequently, he is acting for the safety of his own nation in giving energy to the spirit and dispo[136]sition to afford mutual aid. Accordingly, policy here coincides with and enforces obligation and duty. It is the interest of princes to stop the progress of an ambitious monarch, who aims at aggrandizing himself by subjugating his neighbours. A powerful league was formed in favour of the United Provinces, when threatened with the yoke of Louis XIV.* When the Turks laid siege to Vienna, the brave Sobieski, king of Poland, saved the house of Austria,† and possibly all Germany, and his own kingdom. BOOK II. CHAP. I. nation afflicted with For the same reason, if a nation is afflicted with famine, 2 5. It ought all those who have provisions to spare ought to relieve her to assist a distress, without, however, exposing themselves to want. (89) But, if that nation is able to pay for the provisions thus fur- famine or nished, it is perfectly lawful to sell them to her at a reason- any other able rate; for they are not bound to furnish her with what calamities. she is herself capable of procuring; and, consequently, there is no obligation of gratuitously bestowing on her such things as she is able to purchase. To give assistance in such extreme necessity is so essentially conformable to humanity, that the duty is seldom neglected by any nation that has received the slightest polish of civilization. The great Henry the Fourth could not forbear to comply with it in favour of obstinate rebels who were bent on his destruction.I Whatever be the calamity with which a nation is afflicted, the like assistance is due to it. We have seen little states in Switzerland order public collections to be made in behalf of towns or villages of the neighbouring countries, which had been ruined by fire, and remit them liberal succours; the dif ference of religion proving no bar to the performance of so humane a deed. The calamities of Portugal have given England an opportunity of fulfilling the duties of humanity with that noble generosity which characterizes a great nation. On the first intelligence of the disastrous fate of Lisbon, the parliament voted a hundred thousand pounds sterling for the relief of an unfortunate people; the king also added considerable sums: ships, laden with provisions and all kinds of succours, were sent away with the utmost despatch; and their arrival convinced the Portuguese that an opposition in belief and worship does not restrain the beneficence of those who understand the claims of humanity. On the same occasion, likewise, the king of Spain signally displayed his tenderness for a near ally, and exerted, in a conspicuous manner, his humanity and generosity. A nation must not simply confine itself to the preservation ? 6. It ought of other states; it should likewise, according to its power and to contribute their want of its assistance, contribute to their perfection. to the per * In 1672. He defeated the Turks, and obliged them to raise the siege of Vienna, in 1683. (89) Ante, Prelim. 14. Upon this principle, during the late war with France, when the French troops were extensively afflicted with a disorder which would have occasioned more de- At the famous siege of Paris. fection of other states. CHAP. I. BOOK II. We have already shown (Prelim. § 13) that natural society imposes on it this general obligation. We are now come to [137] the proper place for treating of the obligation somewhat more in detail. A state is more or less perfect, as it is more or less adapted to attain the end of civil society, which consists in procuring for its members every thing of which they stand in need, for the necessities, the conveniences, and enjoyments of life, and for their happiness in general,-in providing for the peaceable enjoyment of property, and the safe and easy administration of justice, and, finally, in defending itself against all foreign violence (Book I. § 15). Every nation therefore, should occasionally, and according to its power, contribute, not only to put another nation in possession of these advantages, but likewise to render it capable of procuring them itself. Accordingly, a learned nation, if applied to for masters and teachers in the sciences, by another nation desirous of shaking off its native barbarism, ought not to refuse such a request. A nation, whose happiness it is to live under wise laws, should, on occasion, make it a point of duty to communicate them. Thus, when the wise and virtuous Romans sent ambassadors to Greece to collect good laws, the Greeks were far from rejecting so reasonable and so laudable a request. (90) ? 7. But not by force. But, though a nation be obliged to promote, as far as lies in its power, the perfection of others, it is not entitled forcibly to obtrude these good offices on them. Such an attempt would be a violation of their natural liberty. In order to compel any one to receive a kindness, we must have an authority over him; but nations are absolutely free and independent (Prelim. § 4). Those ambitious Europeans who attacked the American nations, and subjected them to their greedy dominion, in order, as they pretended, to civilize them, and cause them to be instructed in the true religion,-those usurpers, I say, grounded themselves on a pretext equally unjust and ridiculous. It is strange to hear the learned and judicious Grotius assert that a sovereign may justly take up arms to chastise nations which are guilty of enormous transgressions of the law of nature, which treat their parents with inhumanity like the Sogdians, which eat human flesh as the ancient Gauls, fc.* (91) What led him into this error, was, De Jure Belli et Pacis, lib. ii. cap. xx. 2 11. (90) See the conduct of Charlemagne but otherwise it requires prudential and Alfred the Great. Hume Hist. checks.-C. The ancient policy was to withhold any communication or information in improvements which might diminish our home manufactures; but the restrictions upon the exportations of artificers and machinery were removed by 5 Geo. 4, c. 97. If there be reciprocity on the part of the other nation, the indulgence of this liberal policy must be desirable; (91) And see the absurdity of such interference sarcastically well exemplified by Cervantes in his Don Quixote, releasing the refractory apprentice and compelling his master to beg pardon, thereby occasioning the former an infinitely more severe chastisement.-C. |