The Ruins; Or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires and the Law of Nature

t is s

er the clauses of an expressed or tacit contract,

social virt

the kinds of actions useful to society;

hat fundamen

h alone comprises all

ce is the fundamental and al

charity, humanity, probity, love of one's country, sincerity, generosity, simplicity of manners, and modesty, are only varied forms and d

law of nature pr

tributes, inherent in t

re those

uality, libert

ity a physical

aking use of them, in order to live, have, by this reason alone, an equal right to l

equally, see equally, feel equally,

g-sighted; that one eats much, another little; that one has mild, another violent pa

therefore, re

dimensions; nor are the weight and value equal. Our language possesses no one word capable of expressing the identity of nature, and the diversi

ty a physical a

his ear to hear, his mouth to eat, his feet to walk-they are all, by this very reason, constituted naturall

rong, has he a natural rig

it is an abusive extension of his strength; and here an abuse is made of the

rty a physical

ther, and consequently independent and free, each is the absolute ma

derived from these

for it; or inasmuch as the balance of what is given is in equilibrium with what is returned: and it is this equality, this equilibrium which is called justice, equit

brium, aequalitas,

mi