BOOK III PART II
ity, and coued never be a violation of prop-
erty. Were men, therefore, to take the liberty
of acting with regard to the laws of society, as
they do in every other affair, they would con-
duct themselves, on most occasions, by par-
ticular judgments, and would take into con-
sideration the characters and circumstances of
the persons, as well as the general nature of
the question. But it is easy to observe, that
this would produce an infinite confusion in hu-
man society, and that the avidity and partial-
ity of men would quickly bring disorder into
the world, if not restrained by some general
and inflexible principles. Twas, therefore, with
a view to this inconvenience, that men have
established those principles, and have agreed
to restrain themselves by general rules, which
are unchangeable by spite and favour, and by
particular views of private or public interest.