ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the philosophical content and historical importance of Natural Law in Western thought, up to the time of Edmund Burke. The Natural Law was an eternal, unchangeable, and universal ethical norm or standard, whose validity was independent of man's will; therefore, at all times, in all circumstances and everywhere it bound all individuals, races, nations, and governments. The historical significance of Natural Law is barely suggested in its various manifestations throughout the literature and philosophy of ancient, medieval, and modern writers. The canonists of the Catholic Church transformed the Natural Law through the spiritual principles of Christianity, and their baptism of Natural Law gave it an unparalleled clearness, unity, and force. Christianity and Roman law, combined to make the practical application of Natural Law flexible and adaptable to various historical circumstances. Natural Law provided a rational basis for faith and harmonized human and Christian values.
