BYcivillaws，Iunderstandthelawsthatmenarethereforeboundtoobserve，becausetheyaremembers，notofthisorthatCommonwealthinparticular，butofaCommonwealth。Fortheknowledgeofparticularlawsbelongethtothemthatprofessthestudyofthelawsoftheirseveralcountries；buttheknowledgeofcivillawingeneral，toanyman。TheancientlawofRomewascalledtheircivillaw，fromthewordcivitas，whichsignifiesaCommonwealth：andthosecountrieswhich，havingbeenundertheRomanEmpireandgovernedbythatlaw，retainstillsuchpartthereofastheythinkfit，callthatpartthecivillawtodistinguishitfromtherestoftheirowncivillaws。ButthatisnotitIintendtospeakofhere；mydesignbeingnottoshowwhatislawhereandthere，butwhatislaw；asPlato，Aristotle，Cicero，anddiverseothershavedone，withouttakinguponthemtheprofessionofthestudyofthelaw。
Andfirstitismanifestthatlawingeneralisnotcounsel，butcommand；noracommandofanymantoanyman，butonlyofhimwhosecommandisaddressedtooneformerlyobligedtoobeyhim。Andasforcivillaw，itaddethonlythenameofthepersoncommanding，whichispersonacivitatis，thepersonoftheCommonwealth。
Whichconsidered，Idefinecivillawinthismanner。CivillawistoeverysubjectthoseruleswhichtheCommonwealthhathcommandedhim，byword，writing，orothersufficientsignofthewill，tomakeuseofforthedistinctionofrightandwrong；thatistosay，ofthatiscontraryandwhatisnotcontrarytotherule。
Inwhichdefinitionthereisnothingthatisthatisnotatfirstsightevident。Foreverymanseeththatsomelawsareaddressedtoallthesubjectsingeneral；sometoparticularprovinces；sometoparticularvocations；andsometoparticularmen；andarethereforelawstoeveryofthosetowhomthecommandisdirected，andtononeelse。Asalso，thatlawsaretherulesofjustandunjust，nothingbeingreputedunjustthatisnotcontrarytosomelaw。Likewise，thatnonecanmakelawsbuttheCommonwealth，becauseoursubjectionistotheCommonwealthonly；andthatcommandsaretobesignifiedbysufficientsigns，becauseamanknowsnototherwisehowtoobeythem。Andtherefore，whatsoevercanfromthisdefinitionbynecessaryconsequencebededuced，oughttobeacknowledgedfortruth。NowIdeducefromitthisthatfolloweth。
1。ThelegislatorinallCommonwealthsisonlythesovereign，beheoneman，asinamonarchy，oroneassemblyofmen，asinademocracyoraristocracy。Forthelegislatorishethatmakeththelaw。AndtheCommonwealthonlyprescribesandcommandeththeobservationofthoseruleswhichwecalllaw：thereforetheCommonwealthisthelegislator。ButtheCommonwealthisnoperson，norhascapacitytodoanythingbutbytherepresentative，thatis，thesovereign；andthereforethesovereignisthesolelegislator。Forthesamereason，nonecanabrogatealawmade，butthesovereign，becausealawisnotabrogatedbutbyanotherlawthatforbiddethittobeputinexecution。