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Assoc. Prof. H. Onal, PhD, cand.

LAW: THE ROAD MAP TO HAPPINESS

LAW is a road map to happiness. It maps out the direction humans acts must take if they are to
reach their roper goal. But maps are the products of minds. They are the work of intelligence, a work
of reason. Before a map can exist, there must be a mind capable of recognizing destinations and the
road or roads that lead to them. So it is with the map of human life. There must be a mind capable of
recognizing the true goals of human life and the roads that lead to those goals. Law then is always a
command or a direction of reason ordering a human act to its proper goal.
THE GOAL OF ALL HUMAN ACTS is happiness. In this life the happiness of the
individual person consists in the pursuit of truth ad goodness. In the next life individual happiness
consists principally in the vision of God, Who is all Truth and all Goodness. But man as we know him
does not work for happiness simply as an individual. He is a social being. He seeks his happiness in
and through society. Man works with and through his fellow men to achieve the goals of human life. It
is the function of society- or the union of men working together to achieve happiness- to provide the
conditions of life in which men can work successfully to attain true happiness. Society is concerned
with the common good of all the members of the society. Society, whether it be the family, the nation
or the state – provides the means of life to all, the employment, the food and shelter, the education, the
laws and government which make social life and endeavor possible. We might say briefly that society
provides the peace and harmony which enable men and women to work together to attain the common
good of all men and women. Since the happiness of an individual is possible, in practice only through
the pursuit of the common good of the whole community, law will be concerned always with the
common good of all the members of the community.
IT FOLLOWS THEREFORE that the making of law is a right of the members of the
community. They may entrust this right to a king or to an elected legislature. But in that case the rulers
or government are only exercising the right which society or the community has given.
AGAIN, A LAW IS A DIRECTION for human activity. As such it is useless unless it is
obeyed. But men and women must know it, if they are to obey it. Lawmakers must make the laws
known to those who are to obey the law. To make the law known to those who must keep it is to
promulgate the law. Promulgation is not a part of the essence of a law, but is a necessary condition for
the effectiveness of a law.
WE CAN DEFINE A LAW THEN as a rule or direction of reason for the common good
made by the one who has charge of the community, and promulgated to the subjects of the law.
THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LAW directing human activity to the goal of
happiness. There is the Eternal Law in the Mind of God, the Natural Law of reason, Divine Positive
Law and the Human Positive Law.
AS WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN, the whole world is ruled by the Providence of God. It is
God Who has made every creature and shaped it to the purpose for which He created it. It is the Divine
Mind which directs all the activities and movements of all creation to the purpose wich God made the
world. But this direction of all things is eternal in the mind of God. In God then there is an Eternal Law
directing the affairs of the whole world.
EVERYTHING THAT TAKES PLACE in the world is subject to this Eternal Law. The
movement of the electrons and protons in the atom, the majestic courses of the stars in space, the
growth of plants, the behaviour of animals, the actions of human being, all these come under the
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Assoc. Prof. H. Onal, PhD, cand.

Eternal Law in the Mind of God. It is clear that only God Himself, Who is infinitely knowing,
comprehends this Eternal Law perfectly. The saints in Heaven, who are already in possession of the
vision of God, can see this Eternal Law directly, although not perfectly. But here on earth we can only
observe the effects of this law. We cannot see it directly.
BUT SINCE it is the Divine Mind which has determined the goals of all creatures and the
roads to these goals, it follows that all other laws will be based on the Eternal Law in the Mind of God.
THE NATURAL LAW OF REASON is man’s participation in the Eternal Law of God. It is
the Eternal Law of God which imprints in creatures their inclination to their proper goals. But human
being is a rational creature. His reason can recognize his own proper goal and the road that leads to it.
Through his reason then man shares in the Mind of God. Man’s share in the Eternal Law of God is
called the Natural Law of reason.
THE NATURAL LAW IS BASED on man’s recognition of the fact that the natural
inclination of every creature is an inclination to good. Recognizing this, human reason sees the first
precept of law, that good is to be done and evil to be avoided. All other precepts of the natural law are
based on this first precept of the Natural Law. All other laws are intended to achieve the goal of this
first law- the attainment of good and the avoidance of evil.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS , as they are called, are secondary or derived principles of
the Natural Law. They are basic principles regulating human behaviour in relation to God and to
human beings.
BECAUSE HUMAN NATURE is the same in all human beings, the basic principles of the
natural law are the same for all humans. But law deals with the details of human action. Hence the
general principles of the natural law must be applied to particular actions. In the majority of cases they
may be applied to particular actions. In the majority of cases they may be applied exactly. But in
particular cases the concrete conditions of human actions may change the application of the law.
Ordinarily, property should be given or restored to its rightful owner. But it would be foolish to restore
a gun to a man who intended to kill you with it.
THE NATURAL LAW IS FOUND IN ALL HUMAN BEINGS. All human beings
recognize the for of the first precept of Natural Law-do good and avoid evil. Some of the secondary
precepts of the Natural Law may not be recognized by all men. Ignorance or passion may prevent men
from applying the law in particular action. But the basic precept of the Natural Law re recognized by
all.
THE LIFE OF HUMAN BEINGS IN SOCIETY is a complicated process. The almost
infinite number of human actions, the bewildering conflict of human desires and ambitions, the various
tasks necessary to attain the common good of all, in a word, the complexity of social life demands a
lawto regulate the actions of men and direct them to the common good of society as a whole. The laws
which men make to direct the conduct of the members of human society constitute human positive law.
HUMAN POSITIVE LAW is derived from the Natural Law. The precept “Thou shalt not
steal” is a general principle for human behaviour. But the concrete conditions in which property is
acquiredm retained or transferred are so complex that men must make more particular determinations
of law to regulate, for example the making of contracts, the payment of debts, the arrangements of
bankcruptcy proceedings and so forth. Human positive law is a particular determination of the Natural
Law to regulate the concrete condition of human acts in society.
IT IS THEREFORE A MEANS to achieve the goal of Natural Law, which is the attainment
of true happiness. It must foster religion, which unites human beings to God. It must provide for the
common welfare of society.
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SINCE HUMAN POSITIVE LAW has for its own proper goal the common welfare of the
members of society, human laws should be made for the benefit of all, and not just for the benefit of
private individuals. As a consequence, whereas Natural Law forbids all vices and sins, human positive
law will forbid only those vices which disturb the common good of society. Similarly human law will
command only those virtues which work for the common good of all.
WHEN HUMAN LAWS ARE JUST, they bind human beings in conscience. A human law is
just if it fulfills the following conditions: It is directed to the common good, it does not exceed the
power of the lawmaker, and the burdens that it imposes on the citizens are distributed with
proportionate equality.
SINCE THE PURPOSE OF ALL LAW is the direction of human actions to their proper
goals, it is clear that law may be subject to change. It is important though to know what laws are
subject to change. The basic precepts of the Natural Law are based on man’s recognition of the
essential purpose of human life, namely the pursuit of good or happiness. These basic principles if law
can never be changed.. They are as unchangeable as human nature. The Eternal Law in the Mind of
God is eternal and unchangeable. But positive law, whether human or divine can be subject to change.
Such changes may take place when the law no longer provides for the common good of all or when an
old law might prove to be injurious to society. The laws, for example traffic regulations should be
changed according to traffic conditions, the capabilities of cars, their drivers, etc. In short. The Eternal
Law of God and the primary principles of the Natural Law can never be changed because they are
based on the unchangeable natures of man and God. But the positive laws that are concerned with the
changing conditions of human life can be changed to meet the actual conditions of life.
SINCE ALL OF HUMAN’S NATURAL ACTIONS are directed either by Natural Law or
human positive law, it might seem that these laws would provide man with sufficient guidance in all
human activity. But God has called humans to a goal which is beyond the power of purely natural
activity. Man is called to enjoy the vision of God to reveal to humans the law which would direct
human activity to this supernatural goal. This revealed law is the divine positive law.
GOD REVEALED THIS LAW to human beings gradually. He gave it to them in two stages.
Through Moses God gave what is called the “Old Law” to the Jews. Lastly, through Christ, He gave to
al humans the “New Law” or the “Law of the Gospel.”
GOD GAVE THE OLD LAW TO THE JEWS to prepare the world for the coming of Christ,
the Redeemer of humankind. The Old Law then was a preparatory Law. It was not intended to be
permanent in all its prescriptions. It was meant to be fulfilled by the New Law which Christ would
bring to all humans.
THE OLD LAW CONTAINED moral, ceremonial and judicial precepts. The moral precepts
of the Old Law were chiefly called the Ten Commandments of God. These ten commandments are
really the secondary precepts of the Natural Law. But God gave them to humans by way of revelation
to make sure that they would not forget them or remain in ignorance of them. As precepts of the
Natural Law as well as of divine positive law they are binding on all humans in all times.
THE CEREMONIAL PRECEPTS OF THE OLD LAW were intended to regulate the
actions of men in the worship of God. Because man is not just a spirit, but also a bodily or corporeal
being, and because man is a social being, he must worship God in and by external actions. His external
actions must express suitably his internal acts of divine worship. The ceremonial precepts provided for
suitable acts of divine worship.
THE JUDICIAL PRECEPTS of the Old Law were particular determinations of the general
precepts of the justice to be observed by men in their dealings with one another. The judicial precepts
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thus included directions to be observed in the relation between the rulers and the citizens of the Jewish
nation, in the relations between Jews and those who were not Jews and lastly in the relations between
the members of the same household.
THE OLD LAW THEN like all law , directed the actions of men in relation to God,
themselves and their fellowmen. But, most importantly, the Old Law was in God’s plan, a preparation
for the coming of Christ, the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world. Its moral precepts were to last
forever, because they were dictates of the Natural Law. But its ceremonial and judicial precepts were
only a preparation for the New Law to be given men by Christ, God incarnate among humans.
THE NEW LAW GIVEN THE WORLD by Christ is God’s final law for all human beings. It
is the road-map to the vision of God. It is then the perfect law, for it will bring men and women to their
true goal, happiness. The efficiency of the New Law in leading men and women to the vision of God is
derived from the grace of the Holy Spirit which is given the human beings through faith in Christ. It is
this supernatural gift of grace which puts man on the road to the blessed vision of God. What this grace
is and how it is to be attained will be considered later. Now it is sufficient to note that the grace of the
Holy Spirit enables men and women to reach God through human activity it is true that the New Law
of Christ contains precepts just as all law does. It reaffirms the moral precepts of the Old Law and of
the Natural Law. It imposes the precepts relating to divine worship through the seven sacraments. But
all these precepts derived their efficiency in leading men to God from the grace of the Holy
Spirit. Hence this New Law is also called the Law of Grace. For it is grace which makes men’s actions
equal to the attainment of the vision of God. With the New Law man can rise above the world of
nature to the throne of the God who created nature.
THE BENEFIT OF ALL LAW in human life should be easy to see, in the bewildering
complexity of human life man needs intelligent direction in his activities. Law gives him this direction.
The natural law and human positive law enable man to direct his activity to the attainment of the
natural good of the individual and of society. The New Law of Christ enables men to direct their
actions to the attainment of the vision of God.
LAW IS NOT, then, a ball and chain dragging at the eager footsteps of human liberty. It is a
light enabling humans to step forward surely and easily on the right road of happiness. Without law
man is a weary, uncertain traveler, halting at each cross-road of life, then stumbling on in twilight or
darkness over roads not familiar to his feet nor clearly seen by his vision. Without law man is a slave
to the whims, fancies or fears that afflict those who travel in darkness over unknown roads. But with
law man is a sure traveler, moving forward in the daylight of human reason and the Divine Mind over
a road that is clearly marked to a destination to which he really wants to go. Law gives freedom to
human action-the only freedom that really matters, the freedom to seek happiness and to be happy.

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Reference: Walter Farrell, OP, STM and Martin J. Healy, STD My Way of Life Pocket Edition of St. Thomas The Summa
Simplified for Everyone.