complaine
before he consults with the Law, he does unjustly, and bewrayeth a
disposition rather to vex other men, than to demand his own right.

By Letters Patent, And Publique Seale

If the question be of Obedience to a publique Officer; To have seen his
Commission, with the Publique Seale, and heard it read; or to have
had the means to be informed of it, if a man would, is a sufficient
Verification of his Authority. For every man is obliged to doe his best
endeavour, to informe himself of all written Lawes, that may concerne
his own future actions.

The Interpretation Of The Law Dependeth On The Soveraign Power

The Legislator known; and the Lawes, either by writing, or by the
light of Nature, sufficiently published; there wanteth yet another
very materiall circumstance to make them obligatory. For it is not the
Letter, but the Intendment, or Meaning; that is to say, the authentique
Interpretation of the Law (which is the sense of the Legislator,) in
which the nature of the Law consisteth; And therefore the Interpretation
of all Lawes dependeth on the Authority Soveraign; and the Interpreters
can be none but those, which the Soveraign, (to whom only the
Subject oweth obedience) shall appoint. For else, by the craft of an
Interpreter, the Law my be made to beare a sense, contrary to that of
the Soveraign; by which means the Interpreter becomes the Legislator.

All Lawes Need Interpretation

All Laws, written, and unwritten, have need of Interpretation.
The unwritten Law of Nature, though it be easy to such, as without
partiality, and passion, make use of their naturall reason, and
therefore leaves the violators thereof without excuse; yet considering
there be very few, perhaps none, that in some cases are not blinded by
self love, or some other passion, it is now become of all Laws the most
obscure; and has consequently the greatest need of able Interpreters.
The written Laws, if they be short, are easily mis-interpreted, from the
divers significations of a word, or two; if long, they be more obscure
by the diverse significations of many words: in so much as no written
Law, delivered in few, or many words, can be well understood, without a
perfect understanding of the finall causes, for which the Law was
made; the knowledge of which finall causes is in the Legislator. To him
therefore there can not be any knot in the Law, insoluble; either by
finding out the ends, to undoe it by; or else by maki