← Second Treatise of Government

Second Treatise of Government — Page 7

English → De Book II Level 9/10

Every one, as he is bound to preserve himself, and not to quit his station wilfully, so by the like reason, when his own preservation comes not in competition, ought he, as much as he can, to preserve the rest of mankind, and may not, unless it be to do justice on an offender, take away, or impair the life, or what tends to the preservation of the life, the liberty, health, limb, or goods of another.

Jeder ist, so wie er verpflichtet ist, sich selbst zu erhalten und seinen Platz nicht mutwillig zu verlassen, aus demselben Grunde, wenn seine eigene Erhaltung nicht in Konkurrenz tritt, gehalten, so weit er kann, den Rest der Menschheit zu erhalten, und darf nicht, es sei denn, um Gerechtigkeit an einem Übeltäter zu üben, das Leben oder das, was zur Erhaltung des Lebens, der Freiheit, der Gesundheit, der Glieder oder des Eigentums eines anderen beiträgt, wegnehmen oder beeinträchtigen.

Sect. 7. And that all men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, and the law of nature be observed, which willeth the peace and preservation of all mankind, the execution of the law of nature is, in that state, put into every man's hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree, as may hinder its violation: for the law of nature would, as all other laws that concern men in this world be in vain, if there were no body that in the state of nature had a power to execute that law, and thereby preserve the innocent and restrain offenders.

§ 7. Und damit alle Menschen davon abgehalten werden, in die Rechte anderer einzugreifen und einander Schaden zuzufügen, und damit das Naturgesetz beachtet wird, welches den Frieden und die Erhaltung der gesamten Menschheit gebietet, ist die Vollstreckung des Naturgesetzes in jenem Zustand in die Hände eines jeden Mannes gelegt, wodurch jeder das Recht hat, die Übertreter dieses Gesetzes in dem Maße zu bestrafen, wie es nötig ist, um dessen Verletzung zu verhindern: denn das Naturgesetz wäre, wie alle anderen Gesetze, die die Menschen in dieser Welt betreffen, vergeblich, wenn es niemanden gäbe, der im Naturzustand die Macht hätte, dieses Gesetz zu vollstrecken und dadurch die Unschuldigen zu schützen und die Übeltäter zu zügeln.

Vocabulary

Jeder
Every person, each individual without exception
ist
Is; third person singular of 'sein' (to be)
so
So, thus, in such a way
wie
As, like, how; used for comparisons
er
He; third person singular masculine pronoun
verpflichtet
Obligated, bound by duty or law
sich
Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
selbst
Himself, oneself; used for emphasis or reflexivity
zu
To, toward; also used as infinitive marker
erhalten
To preserve, maintain, or receive something
und
And; basic coordinating conjunction
seinen
His; possessive pronoun in accusative masculine
Platz
Place, spot, position assigned to someone
nicht
Not; basic negation particle in German
mutwillig
Willfully, deliberately, without justification or cause
verlassen
To leave, abandon, or desert a place
aus
From, out of; preposition indicating origin or reason
demselben
The same; dative form of 'derselbe'
Grunde
Reason, ground, basis for an argument
wenn
When, if; introduces conditional or temporal clauses
seine
His; possessive pronoun in nominative feminine/plural
eigene
Own; emphasizing personal possession or identity
Erhaltung
Preservation, maintenance, self-preservation of life
in
In, into; preposition of location or direction
Konkurrenz
Competition, conflict, rivalry between interests
tritt
Steps, enters; third person singular of 'treten'
gehalten
Held, obliged; past participle of 'halten'
weit
Far, wide; indicating extent or distance
kann
Can, is able to; modal verb of ability
den
The; definite article in accusative masculine
Rest
Rest, remainder, the remaining part of something
der
The; definite article, also relative pronoun
Menschheit
Humanity, mankind, the whole of human beings
darf
May, is allowed to; modal verb of permission
es
It; neuter third person singular pronoun
sei
Be; subjunctive form of 'sein', used in clauses
denn
For, then, unless; conjunction or particle
um
In order to, around, about; preposition or conjunction
Gerechtigkeit
Justice, fairness, righteousness in moral or legal sense
an
At, on, to; preposition of position or direction
einem
A, one; indefinite article in dative case
Übeltäter
Wrongdoer, criminal, evildoer who commits offenses
üben
To practice, exercise, or administer something
das
The; definite article for neuter nouns
Leben
Life; existence of a living being
oder
Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction
was
What; interrogative or relative pronoun
zur
To the; contraction of 'zu der'
des
Of the; genitive definite article form
Lebens
Of life; genitive case of 'Leben'
Freiheit
Freedom, liberty; absence of restriction or constraint
Gesundheit
Health; state of physical and mental wellbeing
Glieder
Limbs, members; body parts or group members
Eigentums
Of property; genitive case of 'Eigentum'
eines
Of a; genitive form of indefinite article
anderen
Another's, of others; genitive of 'andere'
beiträgt
Contributes to; third person singular of 'beitragen'
wegnehmen
To take away, remove, deprive someone of something
beeinträchtigen
To impair, harm, negatively affect something
Und
And; coordinating conjunction beginning a sentence
damit
So that, with that; conjunction of purpose
alle
All, every; referring to an entire group
Menschen
People, humans; plural of 'Mensch'
davon
From it, thereof; pronominal adverb of separation
abgehalten
Deterred, prevented; past participle of 'abhalten'
werden
To become; auxiliary verb for passive or future
die
The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
Rechte
Rights; entitlements or legal claims of persons
anderer
Of others; genitive plural of 'andere'
einzugreifen
To interfere, encroach; infinitive of 'eingreifen'
einander
Each other, one another; reciprocal pronoun
Schaden
Harm, damage, injury caused to someone
zuzufügen
To inflict, cause harm to someone else
Naturgesetz
Law of nature; natural moral or physical law
beachtet
Observed, respected; past participle of 'beachten'
wird
Becomes, will; auxiliary or main verb form
welches
Which; relative or interrogative neuter pronoun
Frieden
Peace; absence of conflict, harmony among people
gesamten
Entire, whole; adjective in dative or genitive form
gebietet
Commands, dictates; third person singular of 'gebieten'
Vollstreckung
Enforcement, execution; carrying out of laws or sentences
Naturgesetzes
Of the law of nature; genitive of 'Naturgesetz'
jenem
That; dative form of demonstrative pronoun 'jener'
Zustand
State, condition, situation of affairs
Hände
Hands; plural of 'Hand', used figuratively here
jeden
Every, each; accusative masculine of 'jeder'
Mannes
Of a man; genitive singular of 'Mann'
gelegt
Placed, laid; past participle of 'legen'
wodurch
Whereby, through which; relative adverb
jeder
Every, each; nominative masculine indefinite pronoun
Recht
Right, law; legal entitlement or justice
hat
Has; third person singular of 'haben'
Übertreter
Transgressor, violator of a law or rule
dieses
Of this, this; genitive of demonstrative 'dieses'
Gesetzes
Of the law; genitive singular of 'Gesetz'
dem
The; dative definite article masculine or neuter
Maße
Degree, measure, extent; dative of 'Maß'
bestrafen
To punish; to impose penalty for wrongdoing
nötig
Necessary, needed; required for a purpose
dessen
Whose, of which; genitive relative pronoun
Verletzung
Violation, injury, infringement of a law or right
verhindern
To prevent, stop something from happening
wäre
Would be; subjunctive II form of 'sein'
Gesetze
Laws; plural of 'Gesetz', legal rules
dieser
Of this, this; genitive or nominative demonstrative
Welt
World; the earth or human society at large
betreffen
To concern, affect, pertain to something
vergeblich
In vain, futile, without achieving desired result
niemanden
Nobody, no one; accusative of 'niemand'
gäbe
Would give, there would be; subjunctive II of 'geben'
im
In the; contraction of 'in dem'
Naturzustand
State of nature; society without government or laws
Macht
Power, authority, force to act or enforce
hätte
Would have; subjunctive II form of 'haben'
Gesetz
Law; rule established by authority or nature
vollstrecken
To enforce, execute, carry out a law or sentence
dadurch
Thereby, through that; pronominal adverb of means
Unschuldigen
The innocent; accusative of 'Unschuldige'
schützen
To protect, shield from harm or danger
zügeln
To restrain, curb, rein in someone or something
← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →