The Law of Nature (English Edition)

“The Law of Nature” is an excerpt from “Conscience”, a 1639 work by English Protestant theologian William Ames (1576-1633). Ames was born at Ipswich in Suffolk County, England, and educated at Christ’s College in Cambridge. At Cambridge he was remembered for delivering a 21 December 1609 sermon condemning the “heathenish debauchery” of students during the Christmas holidays. He went on to live in the Netherlands, where he became involved in theological debates between Calvinist and Arminian Protestants. In this work, Ames makes a distinction between what he calls “natural law”- the innate and unchanging law of God- and the laws enacted by people.