SOCIETY. 



without being wanting in what it owes to itfelf. Since men 

 are naturally equal, and their rights and obligations are the 

 fame, as equally proceeding from nature, nations compofed 

 of men confidered as fo many free perfons, living together 

 in a ftate of nature, are naturally equal, and receive from 

 nature the fame obligations and rights ; and hence we con- 

 clude, that what is permitted to one nation is permitted to 

 all, and what is not permitted to one is not permitted to any 

 other. The effeft of all this is the producing, at lead ex- 

 ternally, and among men, a perfetl equality of rights be- 

 tween nations, in the adminiftration of their affairs, and the 

 purfuit of their pretenfions, without regard to the intrinfic 

 juilice of their condudl, of which others have no right to 

 form a definitive judgment ; fo that what is permitted in 

 one is alfo permitted in the other ; and they ought to 

 be confidered in human fociety as having an equal right. 

 It is, therefore, neaeflary, on many occafions, that nations 

 fhould fuifer certain things to be done that are very unjuft 

 and blameable in their own nature, becaufe they cannot op- 

 pofe it by open force, without violating the liberty of fome 

 particular itate, and dellroying the foundation of natural 

 iociety. The rules that flow from this principle form what 

 Mr. Wolff calls " the voluntary law of nations." Hence 

 it follows, that all nations have a right to repel by force 

 whst openly violates the law of the fociety which nature has 

 ellablifhed among them, or that direftly attacks the welfare 

 and fafety of that fociety. At the fame time, care mull be 

 taken not to extend this law to the prejudice of the liberty 

 of nations. The general and common law of nations, with 

 refpeft to the conduft of all fovereign Itates, ought to be 

 meafured by the end of the aflociation that fubfifls between 

 them. The feveral engagements into which nations may 

 enter produce a new head of the law of nations, called " con- 

 ventional," or " of treaties." Befides, certain maxims, and 

 cuftoms confecrated by long ufe, and obferved by nations 

 between each other as a kind of law, form the " cuftomary 

 law of nations," or, " the cullom of nations." Thefe three 

 kinds of the law of nations, "voluntary," "conventional," 

 and " cuitomary," together compofe the " pofitive law of 

 nations." For they all proceed from the vohtion of na- 

 tions ; the " voluntary law," from their prefumed confent ; 

 the " conventional law," from an exprefs covenant ; and the 

 " cuitomary law," from a tacit confent. See Law of Na- 

 tieus, State, and Government. 



Of focieties we have a g-reat many kinds, dillinguifhed by 

 the different ends propofed by them : civi/ focieties, trading 

 focieties , religious focieties, literary focieties, &c. 



Society, in Trade, is a contraft or agreement between 

 two or more perfons, by which they bind themfelves together 

 for a certain time, and agree to fhare equally in the profits 

 or lodes which fliall accrue in the affairs for which the fo- 

 ciety or copartnerfhip is contratted. 



We have feveral very confiderable focieties of this kind ; 

 as the Merchant Adventurers, the Turkey, Eall India, 

 Mufcovy, Eaftland, Greenland, Spanifh, African, South 

 Sea, and Hudfon's Bay, companies : the in'titutions, po- 

 licies, &c. of whifh, fee under the article Company. 



By the Roman law, the focial contraA needs no other 

 folemnity but the fole confent of parties, without any writing 

 at all ; but among us, articles of copartnerfhip are required. 

 There is no contratl in which probity is more required than 

 in fociety ; infomuch as the laws pronounce thofe nuU that 

 are made contrary to equity, and with defign to deceive. 



The French diltinguifh three kinds of mercantile fociety ; 

 ordinary fociety, called alfo colleHive and general ; fociety in 

 commendam or coinmandity ; and anonymous fociety, called alfo 

 momentary and inconnue. 2 



The fird is, where feveral merchants aft alike in the affairs 

 of the fociety, and do all under their coUeftive names, which 

 are public, and known to every body. 



Society in commendam, &c. is that between two perfons, 

 one of whom only puts his money into flock, without doing 

 any other office of a copartner ; the other, who is called 

 the complementary of the fociety, difpatching all the bufinefs 

 under his own name. 



Anonymous fociety, is that where all the membere are em- 

 ployed, each particularly in the common interefl, and each 

 is accountable for profits, &c. to the reil, but without the 

 public's being informed of them ; fo that the feller has only 

 an aftion againil the particular buyer, no other name ap- 

 pearing. 



It is alfo called momentary, becaufe frequently made on 

 particular occafions, and ceafing with them : as in the 

 making a purchafe, felling any commodity, &c. 



Of this they diftingiufh four kinds : fociety by participation, 

 which is ufually formed by letters from one city to another, 

 where a merchandize is to be bought or fold. The fecoiid 

 is, when two or three perfons go together to fairs to buy 

 goods. The third, when two or three perfons agree to buy 

 up the whole of fome commodity in any country to fell it 

 again at their own price. And the fourth is, when three or 

 four perfons make a journey together to buy and fell the 

 fame commodity. Befide merchants, people of quality, &c. 

 are admitted into thefe anonymous focieties. 



Societies, Religious, are parties of perfons formed either 

 to live regularly together, or to promote the interefl of 

 religion, or to cultivate it in themfelves. 



Of the firfl kind are all congregations of religious ; par- 

 ticularly the Jefuits (fee Jesuits;, who are called the fo- 

 ciety of Jefus ; though they more ufually call themfelves 

 the company of Jefus ; the fociety of the Sorbonne ; the 

 fociety of St. Thomas de Villencuve, inilituted in 1660, by 

 F. Ange le Prouft ; the fociety of St. Jofeph, inflituted m 

 1638 ; the fociety of Bretagne, a reform of Benediftines, in 

 1606; and the fociety of Jefus, a religious military order, 

 inflituted by Pius II. ; the fociety of the Cord. See CoRD. 



Of the fecond kind are, the 



Society' for the Reformation of Manners, and putting in 

 execution the laws againft immorality and prophanenefs. A 

 fociety of this kind was fet on foot about the time of the 

 Revolution, by five or fix private perfons in London, and 

 was afterwards exceedingly increafed by a number of mera. 

 bers of all denominations. 



Societies for this purpofe have been occafionally eflablifil- 

 ed, not only in London, but in other principal towns, in a 

 later period. 



Societies, Friendly. See Friendly Societies. 



Societies, Friendly, in reference to Agriculture, fuch as 

 are eftablilhed for the purpofe of relieving the labouring 

 clafles during the periods of ficknefs, or when incapable of 

 working. Many focieties of this nature have been formed 

 in different parts of the kingdom within thefe few years, 

 with much fuccefs. And it has been remarked by Mr. 

 Curwen, that to encourage the people to provide means of 

 fupport for themfelves, in cafes of ficknefs and misfortune, 

 is highly defirable, both as to the cffetl it produces in 

 making them more refpeftable members of the community, 

 and in exempting parifhes from the molt enormous weio-ht of 

 poor rates. 



On this fubjeft it has been fuggelted by a late writer, 

 after obferving that fuch ellabhlliments would certainly be 

 attended with very beneficial confequences, that it might be 

 highly proper to frame a law, whereby labourers of all de- 

 icriptions fhould be compelled to aflign a portion of the fruitt 



of 



