26.21. 21. That we should not decide by political Laws Things which belong
to the Law of Nations.
Political laws demand that every man be subject
to the natural and civil courts of the country where he resides, and to
the censure of the sovereign.
The law of nations requires that princes shall send ambassadors; and
a reason drawn from the nature of things does not permit these
ambassadors to depend either on the sovereign to whom they are sent, or
on his tribunals. They are the voice of the prince who sends them, and
this voice ought to be free; no obstacle should hinder the execution of
their office: they may frequently offend, because they speak for a man
entirely independent; they might be wrongfully accused, if they were
liable to be punished for crimes: if they could be arrested for debts,
these might be forged. Thus a prince, who has naturally a bold and
enterprising spirit, would speak by the mouth of a man who had
everything to fear. We must then be guided, with respect to ambassadors,
by reasons drawn from the law of nations, and not by those derived from
political law. But if they make an ill use of their representative
character, a stop may be put to it by sending them back. They may even
be accused before their master, who becomes either their judge or their
accomplice.
