Natural Rights of Man
“[T]he sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.” (Bailyn 188) C.f. Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted (New York, 1775) in Papers of Alexander Hamilton (Harold C. Syrett, et al, eds, New York and London, 1961) I, 122
What are natural rights?
“Natural rights are those which appertain to man in right of his existence. Of this kind are all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others.” - Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 151.
Because natural rights are innate, there is no individual or multitude on earth which can claim authority to restrict them in another. Natural rights are those which a man retains even if the entire world be against him. Government, which is merely organized action by a group, cannot be construed to have such power to limit natural rights. More eloquently phrased, "[T]he power produced from the aggregate of natural rights, imperfect in power in the individual, cannot be applied to invade the natural rights which are retained in the individual.” 1. Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 152.
Because natural rights are innate, there is no individual or multitude on earth which can claim authority to restrict them in another. Natural rights are those which a man retains even if the entire world be against him. Government, which is merely organized action by a group, cannot be construed to have such power to limit natural rights. More eloquently phrased, "[T]he power produced from the aggregate of natural rights, imperfect in power in the individual, cannot be applied to invade the natural rights which are retained in the individual.” 1. Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 152.
Citations
1. Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 152.
2. Ibid. pg. 151.
3. James Madison Federalist Paper #46
2. Ibid. pg. 151.
3. James Madison Federalist Paper #46
