1998
by Hooker, Richard
1998. Legal Classics Library, 1998. Legal Classics Library, 1998. Hooker, Richard. Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. Books I-IV. London: J. M. Dent & Co, and in New York by E.P. Dutton & Co., [n.d.]. xix, 429 pp. Reprinted 1998 by the Legal Classics Library. Calf, decorative gilt stamping, raised bands, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon marker. Bookplate on inside front cover, else fine. $85. * Hooker's best-known work, The Laws, is remembered not only for its stature as a monumental work of Anglican thought, but also for its influence in the development of theology, political theory, and English prose. In political philosophy, Hooker is best remembered for his account of law and the origins of government in Book One of the Politie. Drawing heavily on the legal thought of Thomas Aquinas, Hooker distinguishes seven forms of law: eternal law ("that which God hath eternally purposed himself in all his works to observe"), celestial law (God's law for the angels), nature's law (that part of God's eternal law that governs natural objects), the law of reason (dictates of Right Reason that normatively govern human conduct), human positive law (rules made by human lawmakers for the ordering of a civil society), divine law (rules laid down by God that can only be known by special revelation), and ecclesiastical law (rules for the governance of a church). Like Aristotle, whom he frequently quotes, Hooker believes that humans are naturally inclined to live in society. Governments, he claims, are based on both this natural social instinct and on the express or implied consent of the governed.
(Inventory #: 75437)