§. 128. For in the state of Nature to omit the liberty he has of innocent
delights, a man has two powers. The first is to do whatsoever he thinks fit for
the preservation of himself and others within the permission of the law of
Nature; by which law, common to them all, he and all the rest of mankind are
one community, make up one society distinct from all other creatures, and were
it not for the corruption and viciousness of degenerate men, there would be no
need of any other, no necessity that men should separate from this great and
natural community, and associate into lesser combinations. The other power a
man has in the state of Nature is the power to punish the crimes committed
against that law. Both these he gives up when he joins in a private, if I may
so call it, or particular political society, and incorporates into any
commonwealth separate from the rest of mankind.
