Dominion acquired by conquest,or victory in war,is that which some writers call despotical from Despotes,which signifieth a lord or master,and is the dominion of the master over his servant.And this dominion is then acquired to the victor when the vanquished,to avoid the present stroke of death,covenanteth,either in express words or by other sufficient signs of the will,that so long as his life and the liberty of his body is allowed him,the victor shall have the use thereof at his pleasure.And after such covenant made,the vanquished is a servant,and not before:for by the word servant (whether it be derived from servire,to serve,or from servare,to save,which I leave to grammarians to dispute)is not meant a captive,which is kept in prison,or bonds,till the owner of him that took him,or bought him of one that did,shall consider what to do with him:for such men,commonly called slaves,have no obligation at all;but may break their bonds,or the prison;and kill,or carry away captive their master,justly:but one that,being taken,hath corporal liberty allowed him;and upon promise not to run away,nor to do violence to his master,is trusted by him.
It is not therefore the victory that giveth the right of dominion over the vanquished,but his own covenant.Nor is he obliged because he is conquered;that is to say,beaten,and taken,or put to flight;but because he cometh in and submitteth to the victor;nor is the victor obliged by an enemy's rendering himself,without promise of life,to spare him for this his yielding to discretion;which obliges not the victor longer than in his own discretion he shall think fit.
And that which men do when they demand,as it is now called,quarter (which the Greeks called Zogria,taking alive)is to evade the present fury of the victor by submission,and to compound for their life with ransom or service:and therefore he that hath quarter hath not his life given,but deferred till further deliberation;for it is not a yielding on condition of life,but to discretion.And then only is his life in security,and his service due,when the victor hath trusted him with his corporal liberty.For slaves that work in prisons,or fetters,do it not of duty,but to avoid the cruelty of their task-masters.
The master of the servant is master also of all he hath,and may exact the use thereof;that is to say,of his goods,of his labour,of his servants,and of his children,as often as he shall think fit.For he holdeth his life of his master by the covenant of obedience;that is,of owning and authorising whatsoever the master shall do.And in case the master,if he refuse,kill him,or cast him into bonds,or otherwise punish him for his disobedience,he is himself the author of the same,and cannot accuse him of injury.
In sum,the rights and consequences of both paternal and despotical dominion are the very same with those of a sovereign by institution;and for the same reasons:which reasons are set down in the precedent chapter.So that for a man that is monarch of diverse nations,he hath in one the sovereignty by institution of the people assembled,and in another by conquest;that is by the submission of each particular,to avoid death or bonds;to demand of one nation more than of the other,from the title of conquest,as being a conquered nation,is an act of ignorance of the rights of sovereignty.For the sovereign is absolute over both alike;or else there is no sovereignty at all,and so every man may lawfully protect himself,if he can,with his own sword,which is the condition of war.
By this it appears that a great family,if it be not part of some Commonwealth,is of itself,as to the rights of sovereignty,a little monarchy;whether that family consist of a man and his children,or of a man and his servants,or of a man and his children and servants together;wherein the father or master is the sovereign.But yet a family is not properly a Commonwealth,unless it be of that power by its own number,or by other opportunities,as not to be subdued without the hazard of war.For where a number of men are manifestly too weak to defend themselves united,every one may use his own reason in time of danger to save his own life,either by flight,or by submission to the enemy,as he shall think best;in the same manner as a very small company of soldiers,surprised by an army,may cast down their arms and demand quarter,or run away rather than be put to the sword.And thus much shall suffice concerning what I find by speculation,and deduction,of sovereign rights,from the nature,need,and designs of men in erecting of Commonwealths,and putting themselves under monarchs or assemblies entrusted with power enough for their protection.
Let us now consider what the Scripture teacheth in the same point.