BOOK III PART II
ply with them. But should the king, by his
unjust practices, or his attempts for a tyran-
nical and despotic power, justly forfeit his le-
gal, it then not only becomes morally lawful
and suitable to the nature of political society
to dethrone him; but what is more, we are apt
likewise to think, that the remaining members
of the constitution acquire a right of excluding
his next heir, and of chusing whom they please
for his successor. This is founded on a very
singular quality of our thought and imagina-
tion. When a king forfeits his authority, his heir
ought naturally to remain in the same situation,
as if the king were removed by death; unless by
mixing himself in the tyranny, he forfeit it for
himself. But though this may seem reasonable,
we easily comply with the contrary opinion.
The deposition of a king, in such a government
as ours, is certainly an act beyond all common