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Quote by Lysander Spooner

“Legally speaking, the term 'public rights' is as vague and indefinite as are the terms 'public health,' 'public good,' 'public welfare,' and the like. It has no legal meaning, except when used to describe the separate, private, individual rights of a greater or less number of individuals.”

Quote by Lysander Spooner

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Work

The collected works of Lysander Spooner

The works encompass a range of topics including philosophy, law, and social issues, reflecting Spooner's advocacy for individual rights and his criticism of the institution of slavery. more

Author

Lysander Spooner

Lysander Spooner was an American philosopher, abolitionist, and legal theorist who lived from January 19, 1808, to May 14, 1887. He is recognized for his contributions to the philosophy of individual rights and his advocacy for the abolition of slavery. Spooner's work has had a profound impact on the fields of law and philosophy. more

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“Legally speaking, there are no such things as 'public rights,' as distinguished from individual rights. Legally speaking, there is no such creature or thing as 'the public.'”

Individual Rights Creatures Distinguished Individual Rights

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner

“Martyrdom is evidence only of a man's honesty - it is no evidence that he is not mistaken. Men have suffered martyrdom for all sorts of opinions in politics and in religion; yet they could not therefore have all been in the right; although they could give no stronger evidence that they believed themselves in the right.”

Men Giving Opinion Honesty Evidence Stronger Mistaken Martyrdom

Book:The Deist's Reply to the Alleged Supernatural Evidences of Christianity, Etc

Source: The Deist's Reply to the Alleged Supernatural Evidences of Christianity, Etc

“Men's moral principles are weak enough without their being made subordinate to selfishness; and their selfishness is quite active enough, without any such effort as Christianity makes to constitute it the mainspring of all their conduct.”

Men Made Enough Effort Moral Christianity Principles Weak Active Selfishness Subordinates Moral Principles

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner

“Now a slave is not 'held' by any legal contract, obligation, duty, or authority, which the laws will enforce. He is 'held' only by brute force. One person beats another until the latter will obey him, work for him, if he require it, or do nothing if he require it.”

Ifs Persons Law Force Duty Authority Beats Slave Obligation Latter Contracts Brutes Brute Force

Book:A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

Source: A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

“Now it is clear, that if the government can exclude, on account either of their opinions or feelings, any persons thus drawn by lot, the trial is no longer a trial by 'the country,' but only by a portion of the country.”

Ifs Persons Country Feelings Government Opinion Clear Accounts Trials Portions

Book:The Collected Works of Lysander Spooner: Legal writings

Source: The Collected Works of Lysander Spooner: Legal writings

“One essential of a free government is that it rest wholly on voluntary support. And one certain proof that a government is not free, is that it coerces more or less persons to support it, against their will.”

Persons Government Certain Support Essentials Proof Free Government Coerce

Book:No Treason: No. 1-

Source: No Treason: No. 1-

“Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to it no legal sanction.”

Ifs Giving Law Natural Slavery Aids Customs Legislation Sanctions Natural Law Impart

Book:The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

Source: The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

“The commerce of a free people is many times more valuable than that of slaves. Freemen produce and consume vastly more than slaves. They have therefore more to buy and more to sell. Hence the free states have a direct pecuniary interest in the civil freedom of all the other states. Commerce between free and slave states is not reciprocal or equal.”

People States Interest Produce Equal Direct Sells Slave Valuable Commerce Reciprocal Freeman Free State

Book:The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

Source: The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

“The desertion of Jesus, by his followers, furnishes an argument in support of the supposition that he attempted to be king of the Jews, rather than that he was a superior being.”

Jesus Support Kings Argument Jew Superiors Followers Supposition Desertion

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner

“The imaginations of believers have dressed up and exaggerated the excellence of the style and matter of the New Testament generally, in the same manner, in which they have the moral instructions of Jesus.”

Matter Jesus Imagination Moral Style Excellence Believer Instruction Testament New Testament Exaggerated Dressed Up

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner