On Liberty — Page 15
In the tract on _Liberty_, Mill is advocating the rights of the individual as against Society at the very opening of an era that was rapidly coming to the conclusion that the individual had no absolute rights against Society.
Dans le traité sur la _Liberté_, Mill défend les droits de l'individu face à la Société au tout début d'une ère qui en venait rapidement à la conclusion que l'individu n'avait aucun droit absolu face à la Société.
The eighteenth century view is that individuals existed first, each with their own special claims and responsibilities; that they deliberately formed a Social State, either by a contract or otherwise; and that then finally they limited their own action out of regard for the interests of the social organism thus arbitrarily produced.
La conception du dix-huitième siècle est que les individus ont existé en premier, chacun avec ses propres revendications et responsabilités particulières ; qu'ils ont délibérément formé un État Social, soit par un contrat, soit autrement ; et qu'ils ont finalement limité leur propre action par égard pour les intérêts de l'organisme social ainsi arbitrairement produit.
This is hardly the view of the nineteenth century.
Ce n'est guère là la conception du dix-neuvième siècle.
It is possible that logically the individual is prior to the State; historically and in the order of Nature, the State is prior to the individual.
Il est possible que logiquement l'individu soit antérieur à l'État ; historiquement et dans l'ordre de la Nature, l'État est antérieur à l'individu.
In other words, such rights as every single personality possesses in a modern world do not belong to him by an original ordinance of Nature, but are slowly acquired in the growth and development of the social state.
En d'autres termes, les droits que possède chaque personnalité individuelle dans le monde moderne ne lui appartiennent pas en vertu d'une ordonnance originelle de la Nature, mais sont lentement acquis au cours de la croissance et du développement de l'état social.
It is not the truth that individual liberties were forfeited by some deliberate act when men made themselves into a Commonwealth.
Il n'est pas vrai que les libertés individuelles aient été perdues par quelque acte délibéré lorsque les hommes se sont constitués en République.
Vocabulary
- Dans
- In, within, inside
- le
- The (masculine singular article)
- traité
- Treatise, treaty, agreement
- sur
- On, about, over, concerning
- la
- The (feminine singular article)
- Liberté
- Freedom, liberty
- défend
- Defends, argues for, protects
- les
- The (plural article)
- droits
- Rights, entitlements, privileges
- de
- Of, from, belonging to
- individu
- Individual, person, human being
- face
- Face, facing, in opposition to
- Société
- Society, social group, association
- au
- To the, at the (contraction)
- tout
- All, everything, whole, entire
- début
- Beginning, start, outset
- une
- A, an (feminine singular article)
- ère
- Era, age, period of time
- qui
- Who, which, that (relative pronoun)
- en
- In it, from it, some, any
- venait
- Was coming, came (imperfect tense)
- rapidement
- Rapidly, quickly, fast
- conclusion
- Conclusion, end, result
- que
- That, which, whom (conjunction)
- avait
- Had (past tense)
- aucun
- No, none, not any
- droit
- Right, law, entitlement
- absolu
- Absolute, complete, unconditional
- La
- The (feminine singular article)
- conception
- Conception, idea, understanding
- du
- Of the, from the (contraction)
- dix-huitième
- Eighteenth (ordinal number)
- siècle
- Century, age, era
- est
- Is (present tense of être)
- individus
- Individuals, persons, people
- ont
- Have (present tense of avoir)
- existé
- Existed, lived, were present
- premier
- First, foremost, primary
- chacun
- Each one, everyone, everybody
- avec
- With, accompanied by, together with
- ses
- His, her, its (possessive plural)
- propres
- Own, proper, clean, suitable
- revendications
- Claims, demands, assertions
- et
- And (conjunction)
- responsabilités
- Responsibilities, accountability, duties
- particulières
- Particular, specific, special, individual
- ils
- They (masculine plural pronoun)
- délibérément
- Deliberately, intentionally, on purpose
- formé
- Formed, shaped, created
- un
- A, an (masculine singular article)
- État
- State, condition, status
- Social
- Social, relating to society
- soit
- Either, be, that may be
- par
- By, through, via, by means of
- contrat
- Contract, agreement, covenant
- autrement
- Otherwise, else, in another way
- finalement
- Finally, ultimately, eventually
- limité
- Limited, restricted, bounded
- leur
- Their, to them (pronoun)
- propre
- Own, proper, suitable, clean
- action
- Action, activity, deed, share
- égard
- Regard, consideration, respect
- pour
- For, in order to, during
- intérêts
- Interests, benefits, stakes
- organisme
- Organism, organization, body
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way
- arbitrairement
- Arbitrarily, without reason
- produit
- Produced, created, resulted in
- Ce
- This, that (demonstrative pronoun)
- guère
- Hardly, scarcely, little
- là
- There, over there, at that place
- dix-neuvième
- Nineteenth (ordinal number)
- Il
- He, it (masculine singular pronoun)
- possible
- Possible, feasible, able
- logiquement
- Logically, reasonably, rationally
- antérieur
- Earlier, previous, prior, anterior
- historiquement
- Historically, from a historical perspective
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