Rights and Liberty, defined.



§1. We have spoken of the rights of men, and of laws as designed to
secure to men the free enjoyment of their rights. But a more particular
definition of rights and laws will be useful to young persons just
commencing the study of civil government.

§2. A _right_ means ownership, or the just claim or lawful title which a
person has to anything. What we have acquired by honest labor, or other
lawful means, is rightfully our own; and we are justly entitled to the
free use and enjoyment of it. We have a right also to be free in our
actions. We may go where we please, and do what ever we think necessary
for our own safety and happiness; provided we do not trespass upon the
rights of others; for it must be remembered that others have the same
rights as ourselves.

§3. The rights here mentioned are _natural_ rights. They are so called
because they are ours by nature or by birth; and they can not be justly
taken from us or alienated. Hence they are also called _inalienable_. We
may, however, forfeit them by some offense or crime. If, for example, a
man is fined for breaking a law, he loses his right to the money he is
obliged to pay. By stealing, he forfeits his liberty, and may be justly
imprisoned. By committing murder, he forfeits his right to life, and may
be hanged.

§4. Rights are also called personal, political, civil, and religious.
_Personal rights_, or the _rights of persons_, are rights belonging to