The Law (n.) of Moses taught a slave people to live rightly not as a philosopher would, from freedom, but as a lawgiver compelling morality — so for them the love of God was bondage rather than liberty.
Law (n.) applied to nature is only an analogy: properly it is a command men can obey or neglect, reining human nature in within limits it once exceeded.
Law (n.) holds the masses like a horse with a curb: since few grasp its true purpose, legislators promise what the crowd most wants and threaten what it most fears.
Law (n.) would be unnecessary if men desired only what true reason points to; teaching morality would suffice.
Law (n.) is sanctioned not by reason, which is powerless against emotion, but by threats — one fear holding back another.