Refutation of Divine Rights

The First Treatise is dedicated to a refutation of divine rights. Divine rights, or the absolute authority of monarchs is the belief that monarchs are descended from God and thus empowered to rule over other men. Sir Robert Filmer wrote the Patriarcha in support of divine rights based on the paternal power of Adam. He claimed that rulers were descended from Adam and thus empowered to rule. This threw Filmer into the controversy between the king and the Commons over who does and doesn't have the right to rule.

Locke refutes Filmer's theory, who he usually refers to as "our author." Locke says that there is no where in the Bible where Adam is given the right to rule or to even have power over Eve. Parents have a duty to their children to care for them and to manage their property until the children...