Second Treatise of Government — Page 8
And if any one in the state of nature may punish another for any evil he has done, every one may do so: for in that state of perfect equality, where naturally there is no superiority or jurisdiction of one over another, what any may do in prosecution of that law, every one must needs have a right to do.
Et si quelqu'un dans l'état de nature peut punir un autre pour quelque mal qu'il a commis, chacun peut le faire : car dans cet état de parfaite égalité, où il n'existe naturellement aucune supériorité ni juridiction de l'un sur l'autre, ce que l'un peut faire en application de cette loi, chacun doit nécessairement avoir le droit de le faire.
Sect. 8. And thus, in the state of nature, one man comes by a power over another; but yet no absolute or arbitrary power, to use a criminal, when he has got him in his hands, according to the passionate heats, or boundless extravagancy of his own will; but only to retribute to him, so far as calm reason and conscience dictate, what is proportionate to his transgression, which is so much as may serve for reparation and restraint: for these two are the only reasons, why one man may lawfully do harm to another, which is that we call punishment.
Art. 8. Et ainsi, dans l'état de nature, un homme acquiert un pouvoir sur un autre ; mais non pas un pouvoir absolu ou arbitraire, pour traiter un criminel, quand il le tient entre ses mains, selon les ardeurs passionnées ou l'extravagance sans bornes de sa propre volonté ; mais seulement pour lui rétribuer, dans la mesure où la raison calme et la conscience le dictent, ce qui est proportionné à sa transgression, c'est-à-dire ce qui peut servir à la réparation et à la répression : car ces deux motifs sont les seules raisons pour lesquelles un homme peut légitimement faire du mal à un autre, ce que nous appelons la punition.
In transgressing the law of nature, the offender declares himself to live by another rule than that of reason and common equity, which is that measure God has set to the actions of men, for their mutual security; and so he becomes dangerous to mankind, the tye, which is to secure them from injury and violence, being slighted and broken by him.
En transgressant la loi de nature, le délinquant se déclare vivre selon une règle autre que celle de la raison et de l'équité commune, qui est la mesure que Dieu a fixée aux actions des hommes pour leur sécurité mutuelle ; et il devient ainsi dangereux pour l'humanité, le lien qui est censé les protéger contre le tort et la violence étant méprisé et rompu par lui.
Vocabulary
- si
- Conditional conjunction meaning 'if' or 'so'.
- quelqu'un
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'somebody'.
- état
- Noun meaning 'state' or 'condition' of something.
- nature
- Noun meaning 'nature', the natural world or condition.
- peut
- Third-person singular of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can' or 'may'.
- punir
- Verb meaning 'to punish' someone for wrongdoing.
- autre
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'.
- quelque
- Adjective meaning 'some' or 'any', used before nouns.
- mal
- Noun or adjective meaning 'evil', 'harm', or 'wrong'.
- commis
- Past participle of 'commettre', meaning 'committed' a wrong.
- chacun
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'each one' or 'everyone'.
- faire
- Verb meaning 'to do' or 'to make'.
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for', giving a reason.
- cet
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' before masculine vowel-initial nouns.
- parfaite
- Adjective meaning 'perfect' or 'complete', feminine form.
- égalité
- Noun meaning 'equality', the state of being equal.
- où
- Relative adverb meaning 'where' or 'in which'.
- existe
- Third-person singular of 'exister', meaning 'exists'.
- naturellement
- Adverb meaning 'naturally' or 'of course'.
- aucune
- Negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'none', feminine form.
- supériorité
- Noun meaning 'superiority', being higher in rank or power.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither', used in negation.
- juridiction
- Noun meaning 'jurisdiction', legal authority over something.
- application
- Noun meaning 'application' or 'enforcement' of a rule.
- loi
- Noun meaning 'law', a rule established by authority.
- doit
- Third-person singular of 'devoir', meaning 'must' or 'owes'.
- nécessairement
- Adverb meaning 'necessarily' or 'inevitably'.
- avoir
- Verb meaning 'to have', used as auxiliary or main verb.
- droit
- Noun meaning 'right' or 'law'; adjective meaning 'straight'.
- ainsi
- Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'.
- homme
- Noun meaning 'man' or 'human being'.
- acquiert
- Third-person singular of 'acquérir', meaning 'acquires' something.
- pouvoir
- Noun or verb meaning 'power' or 'to be able'.
- absolu
- Adjective meaning 'absolute', unlimited or unconditional in nature.
- arbitraire
- Adjective meaning 'arbitrary', based on personal whim or caprice.
- traiter
- Verb meaning 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.
- criminel
- Noun or adjective meaning 'criminal', relating to crime.
- quand
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'.
- tient
- Third-person singular of 'tenir', meaning 'holds' or 'keeps'.
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'.
- mains
- Noun meaning 'hands', plural of 'main'.
- selon
- Preposition meaning 'according to' or 'depending on'.
- ardeurs
- Noun meaning 'ardors', intense passions or burning feelings.
- passionnées
- Adjective meaning 'passionate' or 'impassioned', feminine plural.
- extravagance
- Noun meaning 'extravagance', excess or wildly unreasonable behavior.
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'.
- bornes
- Noun meaning 'limits' or 'bounds', boundaries of something.
- propre
- Adjective meaning 'own', 'clean', or 'proper'.
- volonté
- Noun meaning 'will' or 'desire', personal determination.
- seulement
- Adverb meaning 'only' or 'merely'.
- rétribuer
- Verb meaning 'to reward' or 'to retribute' someone's actions.
- mesure
- Noun meaning 'measure', extent, or degree of something.
- raison
- Noun meaning 'reason', rational thinking or justification.
- calme
- Adjective or noun meaning 'calm', peaceful and undisturbed.
- conscience
- Noun meaning 'conscience' or 'consciousness', moral awareness.
- dictent
- Third-person plural of 'dicter', meaning 'dictate' or 'prescribe'.
- proportionné
- Adjective meaning 'proportionate' or 'commensurate' to something.
- transgression
- Noun meaning 'transgression', violation of a law or rule.
- est-à-dire
- Expression meaning 'that is to say' or 'namely'.
- servir
- Verb meaning 'to serve' or 'to be used for'.
- réparation
- Noun meaning 'reparation', compensation for harm or damage.
- répression
- Noun meaning 'repression', suppression or restraint of wrongdoing.
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those' (plural).
- motifs
- Noun meaning 'motives' or 'reasons', plural of 'motif'.
- seules
- Adjective meaning 'only' or 'sole', feminine plural form.
- raisons
- Noun meaning 'reasons', justifications or motives, plural.
- lesquelles
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which', feminine plural form.
- légitimement
- Adverb meaning 'legitimately' or 'lawfully'.
- appelons
- First-person plural of 'appeler', meaning 'we call'.
- punition
- Noun meaning 'punishment', penalty imposed for wrongdoing.
- transgressant
- Present participle of 'transgresser', meaning 'transgressing' a rule.
- délinquant
- Noun meaning 'delinquent' or 'offender', one who breaks the law.
- déclare
- Third-person singular of 'déclarer', meaning 'declares'.
- vivre
- Verb meaning 'to live'.
- règle
- Noun meaning 'rule' or 'regulation', a governing principle.
- celle
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the one', feminine singular.
- équité
- Noun meaning 'equity' or 'fairness', impartial justice.
- commune
- Adjective meaning 'common' or 'shared', feminine form.
- Dieu
- Noun meaning 'God', the supreme divine being.
- fixée
- Past participle of 'fixer', meaning 'fixed' or 'established'.
- actions
- Noun meaning 'actions', things done or performed.
- hommes
- Noun meaning 'men' or 'human beings', plural of 'homme'.
- leur
- Possessive adjective or pronoun meaning 'their' or 'to them'.
- sécurité
- Noun meaning 'security' or 'safety'.
- mutuelle
- Adjective meaning 'mutual' or 'reciprocal', feminine form.
- devient
- Third-person singular of 'devenir', meaning 'becomes'.
- dangereux
- Adjective meaning 'dangerous', posing a risk or threat.
- humanité
- Noun meaning 'humanity', humankind or the human condition.
- lien
- Noun meaning 'bond', 'link', or 'tie' between people.
- censé
- Adjective meaning 'supposed' or 'expected' to do something.
- protéger
- Verb meaning 'to protect' from harm or danger.
- contre
- Preposition meaning 'against' or 'contrary to'.
- tort
- Noun meaning 'wrong' or 'injustice' done to someone.
- violence
- Noun meaning 'violence', physical force causing harm.
- étant
- Present participle of 'être', meaning 'being'.
- méprisé
- Past participle of 'mépriser', meaning 'scorned' or 'despised'.
- rompu
- Past participle of 'rompre', meaning 'broken' or 'severed'.
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