Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence, with Selections from Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations

by Christian Thomasius, Thomas Ahnert

Overview

Christian Thomasius’s natural jurisprudence is essential to understanding the origins of the Enlightenment in Germany, where his importance was comparable to that of John Locke’s in England.

First published in 1688, Thomasius’s Institutiones jurisprudentiae divinae (Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence) attempted to draw a clear distinction between natural and revealed law and to emphasize that human reason was able to know the precepts of natural law without the aid of Scripture. Thomasius also argued that his orthodox Lutheran opponents had failed to understand this distinction and thereby had confused reason and Scripture.

This volume also contains significant selections from his Fundamenta juris naturae et gentium(Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations), published in 1705. In Foundations Thomasius significantly revised the theory he had put forward in the Institutes, and much of the Foundations therefore is a paragraph-by-paragraph commentary on his earlier ideas.

Christian Thomasius (1655–1728) was a German philosopher and legal theorist.

Thomas Ahnert is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Edinburgh.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865975187
Publisher:	Liberty Fund, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/28/2011
Series:	Natural Law and Enlightenment Classics
Pages:	690
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction xi
Note on the Text xxv
Acknowledgments xxvii

INSTITUTES OF DIVINE JURISPRUDENCE

Introductory Dissertation, Addressed to My Audience 1

Book I

CHAPTER I: On Jurisprudence in General 61
CHAPTER II: On Divine Jurisprudence 88
CHAPTER III: On the Interpretation of Divine Laws in
General and on Practical Principles 114
CHAPTER IV: On the Interpretation of Divine Laws
in Particular, That Is, on the First Principles of Natural
Law and Positive Universal Law 128
CHAPTER V: On the Duties of Man Toward God 144

Book II

CHAPTER I: On the Duty of Man Toward Himself 153
CHAPTER II: On the Duty of Man Toward Others, in
Particular on Preserving Equality Among Humans 178
CHAPTER III: On Avoiding Pride 183
CHAPTER IV: On Not Harming Others and on
Compensating for Harm That Has Been Done 187
CHAPTER V: On the Various Duties of Humanity 195
CHAPTER VI: On the Duty of Persons Forming
an Agreement 205
CHAPTER VII: On the Duty of Man Concerning
Speech 226
CHAPTER VIII: On the Duty of Those Taking an Oath 241
CHAPTER IX: On the Duty Concerning Things and
Their Ownership 259
CHAPTER X: On the Duty Concerning the Prices
of Things 299
CHAPTER XI: On the Interpretation of Divine and
Human Will Insofar as It Is Expressed in Words 311

Book III

CHAPTER I: On the Duty of Man Toward Fellow
Humans in General 354
CHAPTER II: On the Duty of Man with Regard to
Conjugal Society 367
CHAPTER III: On the Positive Laws Concerning the
Duties of Marriage 412
CHAPTER IV: On the Duties of Parents and Children 461
CHAPTER V: On the Duties of Lords and Servants 475
CHAPTER VI: On the Duties of Those Living in
a Commonwealth 480
CHAPTER VII: On the Duties of Citizens in States
Concerning Punishments 512
CHAPTER VIII: On the Duties of Confederates 539
CHAPTER IX: On the Duties Toward Legates 544
CHAPTER X: On the Duties Toward the Dead 560
CHAPTER XI: On the Application of Divine Laws 566

Selections from
Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER: The Reason for This Work 571

Book I

CHAPTER I: On the Moral Nature of Man 581
CHAPTER V: On the Law of Nature and Nations 607

Bibliography 623
Index 635

Editorial Reviews

The Midwest Book Review
February 2012

There are laws that are laws just beyond the state saying so. Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence with Selections from Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations is a republication of famed jurist and philosopher Christian Thomasius who throughout the seventeenth century contributed greatly to the discussion of law and its meaning and purpose. A major force in the enlightenment, Thomasius's thoughts on natural law remain important reading, and Liberty Fund presents it for the first time in English, expertly done by Thomas Ahnert. Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence is a strongly recommended addition to any law or philosophy collection.

From the Publisher