Cumberland Richard (1631–1718), English philosopher and bishop. He wrote a Latin Treatise of the Laws of Nature (1672), translated twice into English and once into French. Admiring Grotius, Cumberland hoped to refute Hobbes in the interests of defending Christian morality and religion. He refused to appeal to innate ideas and a priori arguments because he thought Hobbes must be attacked on his own ground. Hence he offered a reductive and naturalistic account of natural law. The one basic moral law of nature is that the pursuit of the good of all rational beings is the best path to the agent’s own good. This is true because God made nature so that actions aiding others are followed by beneficial consequences to the agent, while those harmful to others harm the agent. Since the natural consequences of actions provide sanctions that, once we know them, will make us act for the good of others, we can conclude that there is a divine law by which we are obligated to act for the common good. And all the other laws of nature follow from the basic law. Cumberland refused to discuss free will, thereby suggesting a view of human action as fully determined by natural causes. If on his theory it is a blessing that God made nature (including humans) to work as it does, the religious reader must wonder if there is any role left for God concerning morality. Cumberland is generally viewed as a major forerunner of utilitarianism. See also GROTIUS , HOBBES, NATURAL LAW. J.B.S.