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.
E se chiunque nello stato di natura può punire un altro per qualsiasi male che abbia commesso, ognuno può farlo: poiché in quello stato di perfetta uguaglianza, dove naturalmente non vi è superiorità né giurisdizione di uno sull'altro, ciò che chiunque può fare nel perseguimento di quella legge, ognuno deve necessariamente avere il diritto di fare.
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.
Sez. 8. E così, nello stato di natura, un uomo acquisisce un potere su un altro; ma non un potere assoluto o arbitrario, per trattare un criminale, quando lo ha nelle sue mani, secondo gli ardori passionali o la stravaganza senza limiti della propria volontà; bensì soltanto per retribuirgli, nella misura in cui la ragione serena e la coscienza dettano, ciò che è proporzionato alla sua trasgressione, che è quanto può servire per la riparazione e il contenimento: poiché queste due sono le sole ragioni per cui un uomo può lecitamente fare del male a un altro, il che è ciò che chiamiamo punizione.
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.
Nel trasgredire la legge di natura, il trasgressore dichiara di voler vivere secondo una regola diversa da quella della ragione e dell'equità comune, che è la misura che Dio ha stabilito per le azioni degli uomini, per la loro reciproca sicurezza; e così egli diventa pericoloso per l'umanità, poiché il vincolo che dovrebbe proteggerli dal danno e dalla violenza viene da lui trascurato e infranto.
Vocabulary
- se
- se — Conjunction meaning 'if', introducing a conditional clause.
- chiunque
- ki·un·que — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'anyone' or 'whoever'.
- nello
- nel·lo — Contraction of 'in' and 'lo', meaning 'in the'.
- stato
- sta·to — Noun meaning 'state' or 'condition'; past participle of 'essere'.
- natura
- na·tu·ra — Noun meaning 'nature', the natural world or essence.
- può
- pwò — Third person singular of 'potere', meaning 'can' or 'is able to'.
- punire
- pu·ni·re — Verb meaning 'to punish' someone for wrongdoing.
- altro
- al·tro — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'another' or 'other'.
- qualsiasi
- kwal·sia·si — Adjective meaning 'any' or 'whatever kind of'.
- male
- ma·le — Noun meaning 'evil' or 'harm'; also 'badly' as adverb.
- abbia
- ab·bia — Subjunctive form of 'avere', meaning 'has' or 'may have'.
- commesso
- kom·mes·so — Past participle of 'commettere', meaning 'committed' a wrongdoing.
- ognuno
- o·gnу·no — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'everyone' or 'each one'.
- farlo
- far·lo — Infinitive 'fare' plus clitic 'lo', meaning 'to do it'.
- poiché
- poi·ké — Conjunction meaning 'since' or 'because', indicating reason.
- quello
- kwel·lo — Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'that' or 'that one'.
- perfetta
- per·fet·ta — Adjective meaning 'perfect' or 'complete', feminine form.
- uguaglianza
- u·gwa·ljan·tsa — Noun meaning 'equality', the state of being equal.
- dove
- do·ve — Adverb meaning 'where', indicating place or condition.
- naturalmente
- na·tu·ral·men·te — Adverb meaning 'naturally' or 'of course'.
- vi
- vi — Pronoun or adverb meaning 'there' or 'to it'.
- superiorità
- su·pe·rio·ri·tà — Noun meaning 'superiority', being higher in rank or power.
- né
- né — Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor'.
- giurisdizione
- dʒu·ris·di·tsjo·ne — Noun meaning 'jurisdiction', legal authority over a territory.
- sull'
- sul·l' — Contraction of 'su' and 'il/la', meaning 'on the'.
- ciò
- tʃò — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'that thing'.
- perseguimento
- per·se·gwi·men·to — Noun meaning 'pursuit' or 'prosecution' of a goal or person.
- quella
- kwel·la — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that', feminine singular form.
- legge
- led·dʒe — Noun meaning 'law', a rule established by authority.
- deve
- de·ve — Third person singular of 'dovere', meaning 'must' or 'has to'.
- necessariamente
- ne·tʃes·sa·rja·men·te — Adverb meaning 'necessarily', as an unavoidable consequence.
- diritto
- di·rit·to — Noun meaning 'right' or 'law'; adjective meaning 'straight'.
- così
- ko·zì — Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'in this way'.
- uomo
- wò·mo — Noun meaning 'man' or 'human being', masculine singular.
- acquisisce
- ak·kwi·ziʃ·ʃe — Third person singular of 'acquisire', meaning 'acquires' or 'gains'.
- potere
- po·te·re — Noun meaning 'power'; verb meaning 'to be able to'.
- assoluto
- as·so·lu·to — Adjective meaning 'absolute', unconditional or unlimited in scope.
- arbitrario
- ar·bi·tra·rjo — Adjective meaning 'arbitrary', based on personal whim not reason.
- trattare
- trat·ta·re — Verb meaning 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.
- criminale
- kri·mi·na·le — Adjective or noun meaning 'criminal', relating to crime.
- quando
- kwan·do — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'.
- mani
- ma·ni — Noun meaning 'hands', plural of 'mano'.
- secondo
- se·kon·do — Preposition meaning 'according to'; adjective meaning 'second'.
- ardori
- ar·do·ri — Noun meaning 'ardors' or 'passionate impulses', plural form.
- passionali
- pas·sjo·na·li — Adjective meaning 'passionate' or 'driven by strong emotion'.
- stravaganza
- stra·va·gan·tsa — Noun meaning 'extravagance' or 'whimsical excess' of behavior.
- senza
- sen·tsa — Preposition meaning 'without'.
- limiti
- li·mi·ti — Noun meaning 'limits' or 'boundaries', plural of 'limite'.
- propria
- pro·prja — Adjective meaning 'one's own', feminine singular reflexive possessive.
- volontà
- vo·lon·tà — Noun meaning 'will' or 'desire', personal determination.
- bensì
- ben·sì — Conjunction meaning 'but rather' or 'on the contrary'.
- soltanto
- sol·tan·to — Adverb meaning 'only' or 'solely'.
- retribuirgli
- re·tri·bu·ir·ʎi — Verb plus pronoun meaning 'to repay him' or 'to recompense him'.
- misura
- mi·zu·ra — Noun meaning 'measure' or 'extent', degree of something.
- cui
- ku·i — Relative pronoun meaning 'which', 'whom', or 'whose'.
- ragione
- ra·dʒo·ne — Noun meaning 'reason' or 'rational thought'.
- serena
- se·re·na — Adjective meaning 'calm' or 'serene', free from agitation.
- coscienza
- ko·ʃen·tsa — Noun meaning 'conscience' or 'consciousness', moral awareness.
- dettano
- det·ta·no — Third person plural of 'dettare', meaning 'dictate' or 'prescribe'.
- proporzionato
- pro·por·tsjo·na·to — Adjective meaning 'proportionate' or 'commensurate' to something.
- trasgressione
- tras·gres·sjo·ne — Noun meaning 'transgression' or 'violation' of a rule or law.
- quanto
- kwan·to — Adverb or pronoun meaning 'how much' or 'as much as'.
- servire
- ser·vi·re — Verb meaning 'to serve' or 'to be useful for'.
- riparazione
- ri·pa·ra·tsjo·ne — Noun meaning 'reparation' or 'repair', making amends for harm.
- contenimento
- kon·te·ni·men·to — Noun meaning 'containment' or 'restraint' of harmful behavior.
- queste
- kwes·te — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these', feminine plural form.
- sole
- so·le — Adjective meaning 'sole' or 'only'; noun meaning 'sun'.
- ragioni
- ra·dʒo·ni — Noun meaning 'reasons', plural of 'ragione'.
- lecitamente
- le·tʃi·ta·men·te — Adverb meaning 'lawfully' or 'legitimately', in a permitted manner.
- chiamiamo
- kja·mja·mo — First person plural of 'chiamare', meaning 'we call'.
- punizione
- pu·ni·tsjo·ne — Noun meaning 'punishment', penalty for a wrongdoing.
- trasgredire
- tras·gre·di·re — Verb meaning 'to transgress' or 'to violate' a rule or law.
- trasgressore
- tras·gres·so·re — Noun meaning 'transgressor', one who violates a rule or law.
- dichiara
- di·kja·ra — Third person singular of 'dichiarare', meaning 'declares' or 'states'.
- voler
- vo·ler — Truncated infinitive of 'volere', meaning 'to want' or 'to wish'.
- vivere
- vi·ve·re — Verb meaning 'to live'.
- regola
- re·go·la — Noun meaning 'rule' or 'norm' guiding behavior or action.
- diversa
- di·ver·sa — Adjective meaning 'different' or 'diverse', feminine singular.
- equità
- e·kwi·tà — Noun meaning 'equity' or 'fairness', impartial treatment.
- comune
- ko·mu·ne — Adjective meaning 'common' or 'shared'; noun meaning 'municipality'.
- Dio
- di·o — Noun meaning 'God', the divine being.
- stabilito
- sta·bi·li·to — Past participle of 'stabilire', meaning 'established' or 'set'.
- azioni
- a·tsjo·ni — Noun meaning 'actions' or 'deeds', plural of 'azione'.
- uomini
- wò·mi·ni — Noun meaning 'men' or 'humans', plural of 'uomo'.
- loro
- lo·ro — Pronoun or possessive meaning 'their', 'them', or 'they'.
- reciproca
- re·tʃi·pro·ka — Adjective meaning 'mutual' or 'reciprocal', acting both ways.
- sicurezza
- si·ku·ret·tsa — Noun meaning 'security' or 'safety', freedom from danger.
- egli
- e·ʎi — Personal pronoun meaning 'he', formal or literary usage.
- diventa
- di·ven·ta — Third person singular of 'diventare', meaning 'becomes'.
- pericoloso
- pe·ri·ko·lo·so — Adjective meaning 'dangerous' or 'hazardous'.
- umanità
- u·ma·ni·tà — Noun meaning 'humanity', humankind or the quality of being human.
- vincolo
- vin·ko·lo — Noun meaning 'bond' or 'tie', something that binds or constrains.
- dovrebbe
- do·vreb·be — Conditional form of 'dovere', meaning 'should' or 'ought to'.
- proteggerli
- pro·tedʒ·dʒer·li — Verb plus pronoun meaning 'to protect them' from harm.
- danno
- dan·no — Noun meaning 'damage' or 'harm'; also 'they give' (verb).
- violenza
- vjo·len·tsa — Noun meaning 'violence', physical force intended to harm.
- viene
- vje·ne — Third person singular of 'venire', meaning 'comes' or 'is'.
- trascurato
- tras·ku·ra·to — Adjective meaning 'neglected' or 'disregarded', past participle.
- infranto
- in·fran·to — Past participle of 'infrangere', meaning 'broken' or 'shattered'.
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