Rethinking America's modernity: Natural law, natural rights and the character of James Wilson's liberal republicanism

Polity

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 193-220

  Velásquez, Eduardo A ^a  

^a WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 0030525180     PISSN: 00323497     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3235300     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. 1. Larry Arnhart, "The Darwinian Biology of Aristotle's Political Animals," American Journal of Political Science, 38 (May 1994): 479. See also Roger D. Masters, The Nature of Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), and Beyond Relativism: Science and Human Values (Hanover: University of New England Press, 1993).
2. 1. Larry Arnhart, "The Darwinian Biology of Aristotle's Political Animals," American Journal of Political Science, 38 (May 1994): 479. See also Roger D. Masters, The Nature of Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), and Beyond Relativism: Science and Human Values (Hanover: University of New England Press, 1993).
3. 1. Larry Arnhart, "The Darwinian Biology of Aristotle's Political Animals," American Journal of Political Science, 38 (May 1994): 479. See also Roger D. Masters, The Nature of Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), and Beyond Relativism: Science and Human Values (Hanover: University of New England Press, 1993).
4. 2. Wilson has yet to receive the attention he deserves, especially in light of his numerous and important contributions to the founding of the American republic. He was a revolutionary pamphleteer of some note and served in the Continental Congress for three periods: 1775-1777, 1782-1783, and 1785-1787. He was one of only six men to have signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787. He was instrumental in securing the ratification of the Constitution in his home state of Pennsylvania, and was appointed by George Washington to the first Supreme Court of the United States.
5. 3. There are, of course, important differences between the terms "law of nature" and "natural law." As F. C. Coppleston argues, the "term 'natural law' does not bear the same sense. . . that is borne by the term 'law of nature' when the law of gravitation, for example, is spoken of as a law of nature or as a natural law. Irrational things do indeed reflect the eternal law in their activities and behaviors; but if we talk about them obeying a natural law the word 'law,' insists Aquinas, is used analogically. For law is defined as an ordinance of reason, and irrational creatures, being irrational, cannot recognize and promulgate to themselves any natural law. Human beings, however, can do so. And the term 'natural law' is applicable in the strict sense, not to the natural tendencies and inclinations of man on which his reason reflects, but to the precepts which his reason enunciates as the result of this reflection." See F. C. Coppleston, Aquinas (New York: Penguin Books, 1986), pp. 221-22. Wilson, however, uses the terms interchangeably, for reasons which will become clear as we proceed.
6. 4. All references to Wilson's writings are taken from Robert G. McClosky, The Works of James Wilson, 2 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967), cited by volume and page number. Wilson's spelling is not modernized.
7. 5. The most notable Thomistic interpreters of Wilson thought are: Charles Page Smith, James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 319; William F. Obering, The Philosophy of Law of James Wilson: A Study in Comparative Jurisprudence (Washington, DC: Issued by the Office of the Secretary of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1936), pp. 6, 49, and 62; Homer T. Rosenberg, "James Wilson's Theories of Punishment," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 73 (1949): 47; Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930), p. 7; and Arnaud B. Leavelle, "James Wilson and the Relation of Scottish Metaphysics to American Political Thought," Political Science Quarterly, 57 (1957): 402.
8. 5. The most notable Thomistic interpreters of Wilson thought are: Charles Page Smith, James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 319; William F. Obering, The Philosophy of Law of James Wilson: A Study in Comparative Jurisprudence (Washington, DC: Issued by the Office of the Secretary of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1936), pp. 6, 49, and 62; Homer T. Rosenberg, "James Wilson's Theories of Punishment," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 73 (1949): 47; Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930), p. 7; and Arnaud B. Leavelle, "James Wilson and the Relation of Scottish Metaphysics to American Political Thought," Political Science Quarterly, 57 (1957): 402.
9. 5. The most notable Thomistic interpreters of Wilson thought are: Charles Page Smith, James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 319; William F. Obering, The Philosophy of Law of James Wilson: A Study in Comparative Jurisprudence (Washington, DC: Issued by the Office of the Secretary of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1936), pp. 6, 49, and 62; Homer T. Rosenberg, "James Wilson's Theories of Punishment," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 73 (1949): 47; Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930), p. 7; and Arnaud B. Leavelle, "James Wilson and the Relation of Scottish Metaphysics to American Political Thought," Political Science Quarterly, 57 (1957): 402.
10. 5. The most notable Thomistic interpreters of Wilson thought are: Charles Page Smith, James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 319; William F. Obering, The Philosophy of Law of James Wilson: A Study in Comparative Jurisprudence (Washington, DC: Issued by the Office of the Secretary of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1936), pp. 6, 49, and 62; Homer T. Rosenberg, "James Wilson's Theories of Punishment," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 73 (1949): 47; Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930), p. 7; and Arnaud B. Leavelle, "James Wilson and the Relation of Scottish Metaphysics to American Political Thought," Political Science Quarterly, 57 (1957): 402.
11. 5. The most notable Thomistic interpreters of Wilson thought are: Charles Page Smith, James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 319; William F. Obering, The Philosophy of Law of James Wilson: A Study in Comparative Jurisprudence (Washington, DC: Issued by the Office of the Secretary of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1936), pp. 6, 49, and 62; Homer T. Rosenberg, "James Wilson's Theories of Punishment," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 73 (1949): 47; Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930), p. 7; and Arnaud B. Leavelle, "James Wilson and the Relation of Scottish Metaphysics to American Political Thought," Political Science Quarterly, 57 (1957): 402.
12. 6. George W. Carey argues that "Just as Wilson could see a compatible and mutually supporting relationship between reason, common sense, and conscience, so too he sees a symbiotic relationship between these and revelation" in "James Wilson's Political Thought and the Constitutional Convention," Political Science Reviewer, 17 (Fall 1987): p. 57. This opinion is shared by Jean-Marc Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson: 1742-1798 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1991), p. 54. Thomas L. Pangle, The Spirit of Modern Republicanism: The Moral Vision of the American Founders and the Philosophy of Locke (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 122-25, was an exception, but in The Ennobling of Democracy: The Challenge of the Postmodern Age (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), pp. 115-17, he sides with the Thomists.
13. 6. George W. Carey argues that "Just as Wilson could see a compatible and mutually supporting relationship between reason, common sense, and conscience, so too he sees a symbiotic relationship between these and revelation" in "James Wilson's Political Thought and the Constitutional Convention," Political Science Reviewer, 17 (Fall 1987): p. 57. This opinion is shared by Jean-Marc Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson: 1742-1798 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1991), p. 54. Thomas L. Pangle, The Spirit of Modern Republicanism: The Moral Vision of the American Founders and the Philosophy of Locke (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 122-25, was an exception, but in The Ennobling of Democracy: The Challenge of the Postmodern Age (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), pp. 115-17, he sides with the Thomists.
14. 6. George W. Carey argues that "Just as Wilson could see a compatible and mutually supporting relationship between reason, common sense, and conscience, so too he sees a symbiotic relationship between these and revelation" in "James Wilson's Political Thought and the Constitutional Convention," Political Science Reviewer, 17 (Fall 1987): p. 57. This opinion is shared by Jean-Marc Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson: 1742-1798 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1991), p. 54. Thomas L. Pangle, The Spirit of Modern Republicanism: The Moral Vision of the American Founders and the Philosophy of Locke (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 122-25, was an exception, but in The Ennobling of Democracy: The Challenge of the Postmodern Age (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), pp. 115-17, he sides with the Thomists.
15. 6. George W. Carey argues that "Just as Wilson could see a compatible and mutually supporting relationship between reason, common sense, and conscience, so too he sees a symbiotic relationship between these and revelation" in "James Wilson's Political Thought and the Constitutional Convention," Political Science Reviewer, 17 (Fall 1987): p. 57. This opinion is shared by Jean-Marc Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson: 1742-1798 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1991), p. 54. Thomas L. Pangle, The Spirit of Modern Republicanism: The Moral Vision of the American Founders and the Philosophy of Locke (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 122-25, was an exception, but in The Ennobling of Democracy: The Challenge of the Postmodern Age (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), pp. 115-17, he sides with the Thomists.
16. 7. Although Hobbes argues that "A LAW OF NATURE, (lex naturalis), is a Precept, or generall Rule, found out by reason," there is no doubt that this reason is founded in the passions. According to Hobbes, "The passions that encline men to Peace, are Feare of Death; Desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a Hope by their Industry to obtain them. And Reason suggesteth convenient Articles of Peace, upon which men may be drawn to agreement. These Articles, are they, which otherwise are called the Lawes of Nature. . . ." See Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Richard Tuck (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 90-91, chs. 13-14.
17. 8. The most recent attempt to link Wilson to the Scottish Enlightenment is the work of Stephen A. Conrad. See his "Polite Foundation: Citizenship and Common Sense in James Wilson's Republican Theory," Supreme Court Review (1984): 359-88; "Metaphor and Imagination in Wilson's Theory of Federal Union," Law and Social Inquiry, 13 (1988): 1-70; and "James Wilson's 'Assimilation of the Common Law Mind,' " Northwestern University Law Review, 84 (1990): 186-219. His reading of "sociability" as explicitly anti-liberal is shared by Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 176-77, and Mary T. Delahanty, The Integralist Philosophy of James Wilson (New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1969), p. 4.
18. 8. The most recent attempt to link Wilson to the Scottish Enlightenment is the work of Stephen A. Conrad. See his "Polite Foundation: Citizenship and Common Sense in James Wilson's Republican Theory," Supreme Court Review (1984): 359-88; "Metaphor and Imagination in Wilson's Theory of Federal Union," Law and Social Inquiry, 13 (1988): 1-70; and "James Wilson's 'Assimilation of the Common Law Mind,' " Northwestern University Law Review, 84 (1990): 186-219. His reading of "sociability" as explicitly anti-liberal is shared by Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 176-77, and Mary T. Delahanty, The Integralist Philosophy of James Wilson (New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1969), p. 4.
19. 8. The most recent attempt to link Wilson to the Scottish Enlightenment is the work of Stephen A. Conrad. See his "Polite Foundation: Citizenship and Common Sense in James Wilson's Republican Theory," Supreme Court Review (1984): 359-88; "Metaphor and Imagination in Wilson's Theory of Federal Union," Law and Social Inquiry, 13 (1988): 1-70; and "James Wilson's 'Assimilation of the Common Law Mind,' " Northwestern University Law Review, 84 (1990): 186-219. His reading of "sociability" as explicitly anti-liberal is shared by Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 176-77, and Mary T. Delahanty, The Integralist Philosophy of James Wilson (New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1969), p. 4.
20. 8. The most recent attempt to link Wilson to the Scottish Enlightenment is the work of Stephen A. Conrad. See his "Polite Foundation: Citizenship and Common Sense in James Wilson's Republican Theory," Supreme Court Review (1984): 359-88; "Metaphor and Imagination in Wilson's Theory of Federal Union," Law and Social Inquiry, 13 (1988): 1-70; and "James Wilson's 'Assimilation of the Common Law Mind,' " Northwestern University Law Review, 84 (1990): 186-219. His reading of "sociability" as explicitly anti-liberal is shared by Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 176-77, and Mary T. Delahanty, The Integralist Philosophy of James Wilson (New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1969), p. 4.
21. 8. The most recent attempt to link Wilson to the Scottish Enlightenment is the work of Stephen A. Conrad. See his "Polite Foundation: Citizenship and Common Sense in James Wilson's Republican Theory," Supreme Court Review (1984): 359-88; "Metaphor and Imagination in Wilson's Theory of Federal Union," Law and Social Inquiry, 13 (1988): 1-70; and "James Wilson's 'Assimilation of the Common Law Mind,' " Northwestern University Law Review, 84 (1990): 186-219. His reading of "sociability" as explicitly anti-liberal is shared by Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 176-77, and Mary T. Delahanty, The Integralist Philosophy of James Wilson (New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1969), p. 4.
22. 9. Most notably Garry Wills, Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978), pp. 168-80. For correctives to Wills's thesis upon which this article builds, see Frank D. Balog, "The Scottish Enlightenment and the Liberal Political Tradition," in Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism. . . , ed. Allan Bloom (Washington, DC: The American Enterprise Institute, 1990), pp. 191-208; Ronald Hamowy, "Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Wills' Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 36 (October 1979): 503-23; and Richard C. Sinopoli, The Foundations of American Citizenship: Liberalism, the Constitution, and Civic Virtue (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 70-71.
23. 9. Most notably Garry Wills, Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978), pp. 168-80. For correctives to Wills's thesis upon which this article builds, see Frank D. Balog, "The Scottish Enlightenment and the Liberal Political Tradition," in Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism. . . , ed. Allan Bloom (Washington, DC: The American Enterprise Institute, 1990), pp. 191-208; Ronald Hamowy, "Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Wills' Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 36 (October 1979): 503-23; and Richard C. Sinopoli, The Foundations of American Citizenship: Liberalism, the Constitution, and Civic Virtue (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 70-71.
24. 9. Most notably Garry Wills, Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978), pp. 168-80. For correctives to Wills's thesis upon which this article builds, see Frank D. Balog, "The Scottish Enlightenment and the Liberal Political Tradition," in Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism. . . , ed. Allan Bloom (Washington, DC: The American Enterprise Institute, 1990), pp. 191-208; Ronald Hamowy, "Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Wills' Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 36 (October 1979): 503-23; and Richard C. Sinopoli, The Foundations of American Citizenship: Liberalism, the Constitution, and Civic Virtue (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 70-71.
25. 9. Most notably Garry Wills, Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978), pp. 168-80. For correctives to Wills's thesis upon which this article builds, see Frank D. Balog, "The Scottish Enlightenment and the Liberal Political Tradition," in Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism. . . , ed. Allan Bloom (Washington, DC: The American Enterprise Institute, 1990), pp. 191-208; Ronald Hamowy, "Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Wills' Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 36 (October 1979): 503-23; and Richard C. Sinopoli, The Foundations of American Citizenship: Liberalism, the Constitution, and Civic Virtue (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 70-71.
26. 10. A useful guide to the various claims made by the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment is Alasdair MacIntyre, Whose Rationality? Whose Justice? (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988).
27. 11. John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. and Introduction and Notes by Peter Laslett (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), Second Treatise, p. 275, Sec. 12.
28. 11. John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. and Introduction and Notes by Peter Laslett (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), Second Treatise, p. 275, Sec. 12.
29. 12. Cf. David Hume, A Treatise on Human Nature, 2nd ed. with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 471; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. II; and David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, 3rd ed., with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 293; "Appendix I," Sec. 244. An often useful guide that highlights Wilson's liberal use of passages from various Scottish Enlightenment texts is Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 48-111.
30. 12. Cf. David Hume, A Treatise on Human Nature, 2nd ed. with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 471; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. II; and David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, 3rd ed., with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 293; "Appendix I," Sec. 244. An often useful guide that highlights Wilson's liberal use of passages from various Scottish Enlightenment texts is Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 48-111.
31. 12. Cf. David Hume, A Treatise on Human Nature, 2nd ed. with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 471; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. II; and David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, 3rd ed., with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 293; "Appendix I," Sec. 244. An often useful guide that highlights Wilson's liberal use of passages from various Scottish Enlightenment texts is Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 48-111.
32. 13. Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, p. 48; ST I-II, Q. 84, A. 2. References to Aquinas are taken from a compilation of the Summas found in St. Thomas Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, ed. and Intro. William P. Baumgrath and Richard J. Regan, S.J. (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1988). I cite this anthology by page number first, and then provide the references to the Summa Theologiae (ST).
33. 13. Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, p. 48; ST I-II, Q. 84, A. 2. References to Aquinas are taken from a compilation of the Summas found in St. Thomas Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, ed. and Intro. William P. Baumgrath and Richard J. Regan, S.J. (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1988). I cite this anthology by page number first, and then provide the references to the Summa Theologiae (ST).
34. 14. Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, p. 48; ST 1-II, Q. 94, A. 2.
35. 15. Cf. Hume, Treatise, pp. 455-70; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. I; and Reid, Inquiry into the Human Mind and the Principles of Common Sense, pp. 57-58; Ch. V, Sec. VII, in Thomas Reid, Inquiry and Essays, ed. E. Beanblossom and Keith Lehrer (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1983). See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 62-64.
36. 15. Cf. Hume, Treatise, pp. 455-70; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. I; and Reid, Inquiry into the Human Mind and the Principles of Common Sense, pp. 57-58; Ch. V, Sec. VII, in Thomas Reid, Inquiry and Essays, ed. E. Beanblossom and Keith Lehrer (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1983). See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 62-64.
37. 15. Cf. Hume, Treatise, pp. 455-70; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. I; and Reid, Inquiry into the Human Mind and the Principles of Common Sense, pp. 57-58; Ch. V, Sec. VII, in Thomas Reid, Inquiry and Essays, ed. E. Beanblossom and Keith Lehrer (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1983). See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 62-64.
38. 15. Cf. Hume, Treatise, pp. 455-70; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. I; and Reid, Inquiry into the Human Mind and the Principles of Common Sense, pp. 57-58; Ch. V, Sec. VII, in Thomas Reid, Inquiry and Essays, ed. E. Beanblossom and Keith Lehrer (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1983). See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 62-64.
39. 16. Cf. Francis Hutcheson, A System of Moral Philosophy (New York: Agustus M. Kelly, Publishers, 1968), p. 38; Bk. I, Ch. III, Sec. I.
40. 17. Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics, p. 5; ST I-II, Q. 19, AA. 5-6.
41. 18. Cf. Hume, Enquiries, p. 293; "Appendix I," Sec. 244.
42. 19. Cf. Hutcheson, System, p. 129; Book II, Ch. 17, Sec. 7. See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 76-78.
43. 19. Cf. Hutcheson, System, p. 129; Book II, Ch. 17, Sec. 7. See also Pascal, The Political Ideas of James Wilson, pp. 76-78.
44. 20. The failure to read the appeal to Cicero in context leads to the mistaken interpretation of Wilson as a classical republican. See Richard, The Founders and the Classics, pp. 176-77.
45. 21. See Hugo Grotius, The Rights of War and Peace, trans. A. C. Campbell, Intro. David J. Hill (Westport, CT: Hyperion Press, n.d.), p. 25; Bk. 1, Sec. 14.
46. 22. Richard H. Cox, Locke on War and Peace (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960), provides a useful analysis of the relation between the law of nature and the law of nations, which may be applied to the study of Wilson. Of the Lockean law of nations, Cox writes that "it is a doctrine which necessarily partakes of all the singular characteristics of his general theory of natural law: his law of nature, viewed as a law of nations, is not a body of law strictly speaking, but rather a body of theoretical principles regarding the abstract rights and duties of sovereign bodies, just as the law of nature is such a body of principles with respect to individual men living in a state of nature" (p. 138).
47. 23. Hobbes, Leviathan, p. 92; ch. XIV.
48. 24. Hobbes, Leviathan, p. 92; ch. XXVI.
49. 25. I owe this insight concerning the modern transformation of the Biblical Golden Rule to the illuminating discussion by Joseph Cropsey in Polity and Economy: An Interpretation of the Principles of Adam Smith (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977), pp. 1-55.
50. 26. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 270-71; Sec. 62E
51. 27. Locke, Second Treatise, p. 272; Sec. 8.
52. 28. Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, p. 25; Pt. I, Ch. V, Sec. 5, emphasis added.
53. 29. Cf. Locke, Second Treatise, p. 320; Sec. 80.
54. 30. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 319-20; Secs. 78-79. See also Reid, Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind, pp. 145-48; Essay III, Ch. IV.
55. 30. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 319-20; Secs. 78-79. See also Reid, Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind, pp. 145-48; Essay III, Ch. IV.
56. 31. Cf. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, p. 10; Pt. I, Ch. I, Sec. 5. Smith writes: "Pity and compassion are words appropriated to signify our fellow - feeling with the sorrow of others. Sympathy, though its meaning was, perhaps, originally the same, may now, without much impropriety, be made use of to denote our fellow-feeling with any passion whatever." Sympathy is not benevolence.
57. 32. Cf. Thomas Reid, Practical Ethics Being Lectures and Papers on Natural Religion, Self-Government, Natural Jurisprudence, and the Law of Nations, ed. from the Manuscripts with an Introduction and a Commentary by Knud Haakonssen (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990), p. 249; Lecture XVI.
58. 33. Cf. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 320-21; Sec. 80.
59. 34. Cf. Aristotle, Politics, trans. and with an Introduction, Notes, and Glossary by Carnes Lord (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1984), p. 37; 1253a19-29.
60. 35. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 330-31; Sec. 95, and Hobbes, Leviathan, p. 120; ch. XVII.
61. 35. Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 330-31; Sec. 95, and Hobbes, Leviathan, p. 120; ch. XVII.
62. 36. Locke, Second Treatise, p. 269; Sec. 4.
63. 37. Hume, Treatise, pp. 477-84; Bk. III, Pt. II, Sec. I.
64. 38. Hume, Treatise, p. 484; Bk. III, Pt. II, Sec. I.
65. 39. Hume, Treatise, pp. 499-500; Bk. III, Pt. I, Sec. II.
66. 40. Reid, Practical Ethics, pp. 190-91; Lecture X.
67. 41. Hutcheson, System, pp. 281-99; Bk. II, Ch. IV.
68. 42. "Of the Original Contract," in Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, pp. 465-87.
69. 43. Reid, Practical Ethics, p. 269; Lecture XVII.
70. 44. Francis Hutcheson, A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy in The Collected Works of Francis Hutcheson, Facsimile Editions by Bernhard Fabian, Vol. 4 (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsburchhandlong, 1969), p. 83; Bk. I, Ch. 6.
71. 45. Hutcheson, Short Introduction, pp. 93-95.
72. 46. Reid, Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind, pp. 132-33; Essay III, Ch. II.
73. 46. Reid, Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind, pp. 132-33; Essay III, Ch. II.
74. 47. Reid, Essays, p. 134.
75. 48. Reid, Essays, pp. 134-35, emphasis added.
76. 49. Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments, p. 83; Pt. II, Ch. II, Sec. I.
77. 50. See Cropsey, Polity and Economy, pp. 1-55.
78. 51. Cf. Hamilton, Federalist, no. 27, in The Federalist, edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Jacob E. Cooke (Wesleyan University Press, 1961), pp. 173-74.
79. 52. Madison, Federalist, No. 10, p. 61.
80. 53. Cf. "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth," in Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, pp. 512-29. A useful examination of the relation between the social passions and Wilson's federalism is found in Samuel H. Beer, To Make a Nation: The Rediscovery of American Federalism (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), pp. 341-77.
81. 53. Cf. "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth," in Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, pp. 512-29. A useful examination of the relation between the social passions and Wilson's federalism is found in Samuel H. Beer, To Make a Nation: The Rediscovery of American Federalism (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), pp. 341-77.
82. 54. Hamilton, Federalist, No. 1, p. 3, emphasis added.
83. 55. Hamilton, Federalist, No. 39, p. 250.