Constitutional Principle 1

Constitutional Principle 1

The Only Reliable Basis for Sound

Government and just Human Relations

Is Natural Law

Most modern Americans have never studied Natural Law. They are therefore mystified by the constant reference to Natural Law by the Founding Fathers.  Blackstone confirmed the wisdom of the Founders by stating that it is the only reliable basis for a stable society and a system of justice. Then what is Natural Law? A good place to seek out the answer is in the writings of one of the American Founders’ favorite authors, Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cicero’s Fundamental Principles

Cicero was one of the top lawyers in the time of Rome. He even was a Roman Consular. To Cicero, the building of a society on principles of Natural Law was nothing more or nor less than recognizing and identifying the rules of “right conduct” with the laws of the Supreme Creator or the universe.

Cicero’s compelling honesty led him to conclude that once the reality of the Creator is clearly identified in the mind, the only intelligent approach to government, justice, and human relations is in terms of the laws which the Supreme Creator has already established. The Creator’s order of things is called Natural Law.

A fundamental presupposition of Natural Law is that man’s reasoning power is a special dispensation of the Creator and is closely akin to the rational or reasoning power of the Creator himself. In other words, man shares with his Creator this quality of utilizing a rational approach to solving problems, and the reasoning of the mind will generally lead to common-sense conclusions based on what Jefferson called “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” (The Declaration of Independence).

Natural Law Is Eternal and Universal

The Law of Nature or Nature’s God is eternal in its basic goodness; it is universal in its application. It is a code of “right reason” from the Creator himself. It cannot by altered. It cannot be repealed. It cannot be abandoned by legislators or the people themselves, even though they may pretend to do so. In Natural Law we are dealing with factors of absolute reality. It is basic in its principles, comprehensible to the human mind, and totally correct and morally right in its general operation.

The First Great Commandment

Cicero had comprehended the magnificence of the first great commandment to love, respect, and obey the all-wise Creator. He put this precept in proper perspective by saying that God’s law is “right reason.” When perfectly understood it is called “wisdom.” When applied by government in regulating human relations it is called “justice.” When people unite together in a covenant or compact under this law, they become a true “commonwealth,” and since they intend to administer their affairs under God’s law, they belong to his commonwealth.

The Second Great Commandment

It is interesting the Cicero, without being either a Christian or a Jew, was able to discover the power and fundamental significance of obedience, not only to the first great commandment, but to the second one as well. His great mind instinctively led him to comprehend the beauty and felicity of what Jesus had identified as the second great commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” So to Cicero, the glue which holds a body of human beings together in the commonwealth of a just society is love—love of God; love of God’s great law of Justice; and love of one’s fellow-men which provides the desire to promote true justice among mankind.

All Law Should Be Measured Against God’s Law

Cicero then set forth the means by which people may judge between good and evil laws. All laws must be measured by God’s law. Cicero also emphasizes that the essence of an evil law cannot be mended through ratifications by the legislature or by popular acclaim. Justice can never be expected from laws arbitrarily passed in violation of standards set up under the laws of Nature or the laws of the Creator.

Conclusion

The American Founders’ embraced the obvious necessity of building a highly moral and virtuous society. The Founders wanted to lift mankind from the common depravity and chicanery of past civilizations, and to lay the foundation for a new kind of civilization built on freedom for the individual and prosperity for the whole commonwealth. This is why they built their system of Natural Law.

Examples of Natural Law

The concept of UNALIENABLE RIGHTS AND DUTIES, HABEAS CORPUS, LIMITED GOVERNMENT, SEPARATION OF POWERS, CHECKS AND BALANCES, SELF-PRESERVATION, CONTRACT, JUSTICE BY REPARATION, RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS, NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.