d his power to
punish offences, against the law of nature, in prosecution of his own
private judgment, yet with the judgment of offences, which he has given
up to the legislative in all cases, where he can appeal to the
magistrate, he has given a right to the common-wealth to employ his
force, for the execution of the judgments of the common-wealth, whenever
he shall be called to it; which indeed are his own judgments, they being
made by himself, or his representative. And herein we have the original
of the legislative and executive power of civil society, which is to
judge by standing laws, how far offences are to be punished, when
committed within the common-wealth; and also to determine, by occasional
judgments founded on the present circumstances of the fact, how far
injuries from without are to be vindicated; and in both these to employ
all the force of all the members, when there shall be need.

Sect. 89. Where-ever therefore any number of men are so united into one
society, as to quit every one his executive power of the law of nature,
and to resign it to the public, there and there only is a political, or
civil society. And this is done, where-ever any number of men, in the
state of nature, enter into society to make one people, one body
politic, under one supreme government; or else when any one joins
himself to, and incorporates with any government already made: for
hereby he authorizes the society, or which is all one, the legislative
thereof, to make laws for him, as the public good of the society shall
require; to the execution whereof, his own assistance (as to his own
decrees) is due. And this puts men out of a state of nature into that of
a common-wealth, by setting up a judge on earth, with authority to
determine all the controversies, and redress the injuries that may
happen to any member of the commonwealth; which judge is the
legislative, or magistrates appointed by it. And where-ever there are
any number of men, however associated, that have no such decisive power
to appeal to, there they are still in the state of nature.

Sect. 90. Hence it is evident, that absolute monarchy, which by some men
is counted the only government in the world, is indeed inconsistent with
civil society, and so can be no form of civil-government at all: for the
end of civil society, being to avoid, and remedy those inconveniencies
of the state of nature, which necessarily follow from every man's being
judge in his own cas