Are laws above kings?

OCR: 12 cited passage(s) are machine-read (OCR) text of old printings; quotations reproduce the stored OCR text, misreadings included.

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that sovereign power resided in assemblies or diets, not in kings alone, suggesting that laws and institutions can constrain or supersede royal authority. This is evident from his discussion of various historical governments where the power of kings was limited or checked by other bodies. (key quote above) [1]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings, as he argued that the power to make, abrogate, change, correct, and interpret laws has been in the same authority as the general assemblies of nations, and that kings have been rejected or deposed when necessary. He emphasized that this power is not subject to any power under Heaven. "But in what hands foever it is, the power of making, abrogating, changing, correct- ing and intepreting Laws, has bin in the fame ; Kings have bin rejected or depos'd ; the Succeflion of the Crown fettled,regulated or chang'd" [2]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings, as he argued that in a regular monarchy, kings cannot make or change laws, and that the power of kings is limited by law. This is grounded in his view that the power of kings is not inherent but delegated and must be regulated. [3]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that there can be no stability in a king's will, laws, or actions if there is no stability in his person, implying that laws cannot be above a king who lacks personal stability. This is grounded in his argument that the qualities required in a king are rarely found, leading to instability in governance. "there can be no ftability in his Will, Laws or Actions, who has none in his Perfon." [4]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that kings are subject to laws, because they can make no law and have no power but what is given by the laws. He argues that kings are not above laws, as their power comes from the laws to which they have sworn. [5]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believes that laws are above kings. He argues that no man can be a rightful king except by law, and if a king's power is found to be overgreat, the law that gave it must have been before that which was to moderate or restrain it. "no man can be a rightful King except by Law, nor have any juft Power but from the Law, if that Power be found to be overgreat, the Law that gave it muft have bin before that which was to moderate or reftrain it" [6]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that kings were under a law of equality with the rest of the people, as shown by his argument that even the best kings of Israel and Judah were not subject to any law but did whatever they pleased, and that the law of retaliation applied to them. He also emphasized that the people had a law of liberty directly opposite to the necessity of submitting to the will of a man. "This was a Gift beftow'd by God upon his Children and People ; whereas flavery was a great part of the Curfe denounc'd againft Cham for his wickednefs, and perpetually incumbent upon his Pofterity." [7]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings. He argued that kings are under the law and cannot change or disregard it, and that the law, not the king, establishes the rules for succession and governance. [8]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings. He argued that the King cannot stop suits or invalidate judgments, and that the Law is above him, regulating his proceedings rather than the King's will regulating the Law. "Thefe limits arefix'd by the Law, the Law therefore is above him." [9]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings. He argued that a king governing in a settled kingdom becomes a tyrant when he ceases to rule according to his laws, and that the power to alter laws is inseparable from the power to make them, which belongs to the Parliament, not the king. [10]

What cuts against it

• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that kings are not bound by the positive laws of any nation and that they are above the laws. "That Kings are not bound by the pofitive Laws of any Nation." [11]

• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing): Algernon Sidney believed that the King must be above the Law in a monarchy, as it is necessary for the existence of sovereign majesty and the preservation of the people's liberty. "In Ariflocracys the Noblemen are above the Law ; in Democra-cys the People : By the. like reafonin a Monarchy, the Kjng mu/l of necejjity be above the Law." [12]

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Algernon Sidney argued that laws are above kings, as kings are subject to laws and cannot make or change laws without the authority of the law. [8]

2. He further stated that the power of kings is not inherent but delegated and must be regulated by law. [3]

3. Sidney emphasized that the King cannot stop suits or invalidate judgments, and that the Law is above him, regulating his proceedings rather than the King's will regulating the Law. [9]

4. However, he also acknowledged that in a monarchy, the King must be above the Law to preserve the people's liberty, which introduces a tension in his argument. [12]

5. This tension is further complicated by his belief that there can be no stability in a king's will, laws, or actions if there is no stability in his person, implying that laws cannot be above a king who lacks personal stability. [4]

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: DIRECT

Algernon Sidney directly addressed the question of whether laws are above kings. He argued that laws are indeed above kings, as kings are subject to laws and cannot make or change laws without the authority of the law. However, he also acknowledged that in a monarchy, the King must be above the Law to preserve the people's liberty, which introduces a tension in his argument.

Extrapolation: Algernon Sidney believed that laws are above kings, but he also recognized the necessity of a king being above the law in a monarchy to preserve the people's liberty. This creates a tension in his argument, as he acknowledges the need for a king to be above the law in certain contexts while also asserting that laws are generally above kings.

Competing readings: The record supports the reading that laws are above kings, but it also supports the reading that in a monarchy, the King must be above the Law to preserve the people's liberty. This competing reading is supported by the record itself, as Sidney acknowledged both positions.

Confidence: Moderate, as the record directly addresses the question but introduces a tension in the argument that complicates the interpretation.