Question Third. On Obligations in Civil Society

309. 1. Just as from several individuals a family arises, so from many families civil society arises, which generally consists in the organically associated assembly of several families. Therefore its elements are: the people organically joined, that is, citizens; supreme power, which governs the people by suitable means for obtaining the social end and therefore is furnished with the rights which are necessary for effecting this; the social end, which consists in this, that both individuals and communities may securely enjoy their rights and attain temporal prosperity.

2. The obligations to be declared in this place exist between rulers and subjects, since the obligations which are had among the citizens themselves are referred to the seventh precept.

By rulers we mean those who possess supreme power in some civil society, whatever may be the form of government in the republic which they govern. And because now the power which in ancient times resided wholly in the ruler, according to the recent form of government, is divided among several, those who cooperate with the ruler in governing society and deputies are added.

By the name of subjects we understand citizens who in the republic are subject to legitimate civil power. Their obligations are chiefly these four: a. subjection; b. the obligation of paying taxes; c. of following military service; and d. of electing deputies to assemblies.

These are obligations of justice, and indeed those which belong to civil power are obligations of legal and distributive justice, but those which are present in citizens as subjects are obligations of legal justice.¹

¹ Cf. De principiis^9, n. 269 ss.