Punishment, Government, Authority, Superiority, Obligation, Law, Duty,--define each other; they are all different modes of regarding the same fact.
Morality is thus in every respect analagous to Civil Government, or the Law of the Land.

Nay, farther, it squares, to a very great extent, with Political Authority.

The points where the two coincide, and those where they do not coincide, may be briefly stated:-- (1) All the most essential parts of Morality are adopted and carried out by the Law of the Land.

The rules for protecting person and property, for fulfilling contracts, for performing reciprocal duties, are rules or laws of the State; and are enforced by the State, through its own machinery.

The penalties inflicted by public authority constitute what is called the Political Sanction; they are the most severe, and the most strictly and dispassionately administered, of all penalties.
(2) There are certain Moral duties enforced, not by public and official authority, but by the members of the community in their private capacity.