balance Natural Rights
Rights inherent to all humans by nature
format_quote Quotes
"If we speak of human dignity, we must be able to say what it is grounded in. It cannot be grounded in mere membership in a biological species. It must be grounded in what is specifically human — in those capacities by which the human being rises above the rest of nature while remaining part of it."
menu_book What Is Distinctive to Man
View Full Quote"The prince is not the owner of the private property of his subjects. To impose new taxes or to increase old ones without the consent of the people is an act of tyranny, contrary to natural law and destructive of the commonwealth."
menu_book De Rege et Regis Institutione (On the King and the Royal Institution)
View Full Quote"When a prince seizes sovereign power by force and arms without any legal title, without popular consent, and without the approval of the better part of the commonwealth, he may be killed by any man whatsoever — for he is a public enemy who has broken the bond that holds human society together."
menu_book De Rege et Regis Institutione (On the King and the Royal Institution)
View Full Quote"Private ownership of goods is not contrary to natural law, but was introduced by human reason for the utility of human life. For natural law does not forbid private possession; rather, it requires that what is acquired by legitimate means be respected as belonging to its possessor."
menu_book De Iustitia et Iure (On Justice and Law)
View Full Quote"Not every kind or degree of wrong is sufficient justification for war. The degree of the punishment must be in proportion to the degree of the fault."
menu_book De Indis (On the Indians)
View Full Quote"The barbarians undoubtedly possessed true dominion, both public and private, before the arrival of the Spaniards among them, just as Christians possess it. Neither their princes nor private persons could be despoiled of their property on the ground that they were not true owners."
menu_book De Indis (On the Indians)
View Full Quoteauto_stories Books
Book of Exodus
The second book of the Bible, recounting the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses and the covenant at Mount Sinai. It contains the T...
Read MoreDe Indis (On the Indians)
Francisco de Vitoria's landmark 1532 lecture at the University of Salamanca, laying the groundwork for international law and natural rights theory....
Read MoreThe Ethics of Liberty
Comprehensive philosophical treatise establishing a natural rights foundation for libertarianism, deriving property rights from self-ownership and ...
Read MoreWhat Is Distinctive to Man
Brague's inquiry into what distinguishes the human being from all other animals. Drawing on philosophy, biology, and theology, he examines the capa...
Read MoreTwo Treatises of Government
Foundational work of liberal political philosophy establishing natural rights, the social contract, and the right to revolution against tyrannical ...
Read More