Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence

(with Selections from Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations)

By Colleen A. Sheehan and Gary L. McDowell

$8.70


Publication Date: September 2011

About this book

Natural law, human reason, and Scripture.

Christian Thomasius’s natural jurisprudence is essential to understanding the origins of the Enlightenment in Germany, where his importance was comparable to that of John Locke’s in England.

First published in 1688, Thomasius’s Institutiones jurisprudentiae divinae (Institutes of Divine Jurisprudence) attempted to draw a clear distinction between natural and revealed law and to emphasize that human reason was able to know the precepts of natural law without the aid of Scripture. Thomasius also argued that his orthodox Lutheran opponents had failed to understand this distinction and thereby had confused reason and Scripture.

This volume also contains significant selections from his Fundamenta juris naturae et gentium (Foundations of the Law of Nature and Nations), published in 1705. In Foundations Thomasius significantly revised the theory he had put forward in the Institutes, and much of the Foundations therefore is a paragraph-by-paragraph commentary on his earlier ideas.


Paperback | 690 pages | 6×9 | Published September 2011 | ISBN 978-0-86597-519-4

If you are interested in a bulk order, we offer a 50% discount and $10 shipping for orders of 10+ books OR orders containing 5+ copies of a single book. We also offer a 60% discount and free shipping for orders with a gross retail value over $500. To place a bulk order, please contact [email protected].


Davenant and Liberty Fund Partnership

In 2024, the Davenant Institute partnered with Liberty Fund to highlight some of history’s greatest works of political theology. Forgotten today, these works by the likes of Samuel Pufendorf and Emer De Vattel have been hugely significant throughout the centuries. With Protestant political retrieval on the rise, it is the perfect time to rediscover these foundational texts, all sold at a generous discount of up to 40% via the Davenant bookstore.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

xi

Introduction

xiv

Note on the Text

xxvii

Acknowledgements

1

Introductory Dissertation Addressed to My Audience

41

On Jurisprudence in General

78

On Divine Jurisprudence

114

On the Interpretation of Divine Laws in General and on Practical Principles

168

On the Interpretation of Divine Laws in Particular, That Is, on the First Principles of Natural Law and Positive Universal Law

169

On the Duty of Man Toward Himself

178

On the Duty of Man Toward Others, in Particular on Preserving Equality Among Humans

185

On Avoiding Pride

189

On Not Harming Others and on Compensating for Harm That Has Been Done

199

On the Various Duties of Humanity

207

On the Duty of Persons Forming an Agreement

224

On the Duty of Man Concerning Speech

246

On the Duty of Those Taking an Oath

278

On the Duty Concerning Things and Their Ownership

299

On the Duty Concerning the Prices of Things

312

On the Interpretation of Divine and Human Will Insofar as It Is Expressed in Words

324

On the Duty of Man Toward Fellow Humans in General

367

On the Duty of Man with Regard to Conjugal Society

406

On the Positive Laws Concerning the Duties of Marriage

446

On the Duties of Parents and Children

471

On the Duties of Lords and Servants

486

On the Duties of Those Living in a Commonwealth

490

On the Duties of Citizens in States Concerning Punishments

499

On the Duties of Confederates

544

On Duties Toward Legates

563

On Duties Toward the Dead

566

On the Application of Divine Laws

570

The Reason for This Work

581

On the Moral Nature of Man

607

On the Law of Nature and Nations

613

Bibliography

633

Index

About the Author and Editor


Christian Thomasius (1655–1728) was a German philosopher and legal theorist.

Thomas Ahnert is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Edinburgh.

RELATED TITLES

If you’re interested in this, check out some of our other publications

Get In touch

Have questions about our resources or programs? Fill out this contact form or email us at the address below.

[email protected]

reCAPTCHA is required.