Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the
master of others, and still remains a greater
slave than they. How did this change come about? I do not know. What can make it
legitimate? That question I think I can answer.
If I took into
account only
force, and the effects derived from it, I should say: "As long as a people is compelled to
obey, and obeys, it does well; as soon as it can shake off the
yoke, and shakes it off, it does still better; for, regaining its
liberty by the same
right as took it away, either it is justified in resuming it, or there was no
justification for those who took it away." But the
social order is a
sacred right which is the
basis of all other rights. Nevertheless, this
right does not come from
nature, and must therefore be founded on conventions. Before coming to that, I have to
prove what I have just asserted.