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Lysander Spooner Quotes
Lysander Spooner Quotes
Lysander Spooner
American
Philosopher
Born:
Jan 19
,
1808
Died:
May 14
,
1887
Any
Government
Law
Man
Men
Rights
Related authors:
Allan Bloom
Deepak Chopra
George Herbert Mead
John Dewey
Judith Butler
Robert M. Pirsig
Robert Nozick
William James
Legislators and judges are necessarily exposed to all the temptations of money, fame, and power, to induce them to disregard justice between parties, and sell the rights, and violate the liberties of the people. Jurors, on the other hand, are exposed to none of these temptations.
Lysander Spooner
Justice
Rights
People
Money
Power
Other
Liberties
Temptations
Between
Induce
Parties
Judges
None
Hand
Sell
Fame
Legislators
Them
Exposed
Disregard
Violate
Necessarily
If two individuals enter into a contract to commit trespass, theft, robbery or murder upon a third, the contract is unlawful and void, simply because it is a contract to violate natural justice, or men's natural rights.
Lysander Spooner
Justice
Rights
Natural
Men
Unlawful
Enter
Void
Simply
Individuals
Robbery
Because
Contract
Commit
Theft
Natural Rights
Violate
Two
Third
The right of revolution, which tyrants, in mockery, accord to mankind, is no legal right under a government; it is only a natural right to overturn a government.
Lysander Spooner
Government
Legal
Natural
Revolution
Tyrants
Only
Accord
Overturn
Mockery
Legal Right
Which
Mankind
Natural Right
Right
If a jury have not the right to judge between the government and those who disobey its laws, and resist its oppressions, the government is absolute, and the people, legally speaking, are slaves.
Lysander Spooner
Government
People
Judge
Those
Laws
Absolute
Between
Legally
Jury
Disobey
Speaking
Who
Right
Resist
Slaves
It is with government paper, and bank paper, as it is with the paper of private persons; that is, it is worth just what can be delivered in redemption of it, and no more. We all understand that the notes of the Astors, and Stewarts, and Vanderbilts, though issued by millions, and tens of millions, are really worth their nominal values.
Lysander Spooner
Government
Worth
Values
Paper
Though
More
Delivered
Tens
Tens Of Millions
Nominal
Redemption
Understand
Private
Bank
Just
Notes
Persons
Really
Millions
There can be no criminal intent in resisting injustice.
Lysander Spooner
Injustice
Criminal
Intent
Resisting
Even if the Constitution of the United States had intended to recognize slavery, as a constitutional state institution, such intended recognition would have failed of effect, and been legally void, because slavery then had no constitutional existence to be recognized.
Lysander Spooner
Constitution
State
States
Recognition
Recognize
Recognized
Would
Constitution Of The United States
Constitutional
Void
Had
Failed
Institution
Because
Been
Existence
Effect
Intended
Legally
Then
Even
United
United States
Slavery
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.
Lysander Spooner
Positive
Legal
Natural
Law
Aid
Only
Gives
Legislation
Sanction
Custom
Slavery
It is perfectly clear, in the first place, that the constitution of the United States did not, of itself, create or establish slavery as a new institution; or even give any authority to the state governments to establish it as a new institution. The greatest sticklers for slavery do not claim this.
Lysander Spooner
Constitution
First
State
State Governments
States
Claim
Constitution Of The United States
Give
Clear
Perfectly
Perfectly Clear
New
Institution
First Place
Greatest
Governments
Itself
Authority
Did
Any
Establish
Place
Create
Even
United
United States
Slavery
Slavery is a wrong to each individual enslaved; and not merely to the first of a series. Natural law, therefore, as much forbids the enslaving of the child, as if the wrong of enslaving the parent had never been perpetrated.
Lysander Spooner
Natural
Law
First
Enslaved
Parent
Individual
Never
Had
Wrong
Merely
Been
Child
Much
Therefore
Series
Each
Each Individual
Slavery
Any government, that is its own judge of, and determines authoritatively for the people, what are its own powers over the people, is an absolute government of course. It has all the powers that it chooses to exercise. There is no other or at least no more accurate definition of a despotism than this.
Lysander Spooner
Government
People
Judge
Own
Other
Despotism
Definition
Determines
More
Absolute
Over
For The People
Powers
Course
Exercise
Least
Than
Accurate
Any
Chooses
All, or nearly all, the advantage there is in fixing any constitutional limits to the power of a government, is simply to give notice to the government of the point at which it will meet with resistance.
Lysander Spooner
Government
Will
Power
Meet
Constitutional
Give
Point
Simply
Advantage
Limits
Fixing
Any
Which
Notice
Nearly
Resistance
Doing a thing by law, or according to law, is only carrying the law into execution. And punishing a man by, or according to, the sentence or judgment of his peers, is only carrying that sentence or judgment into execution.
Lysander Spooner
Man
Law
Judgment
Peers
Punishing
Carrying
Only
Execution
Doing
His
According
Sentence
Thing
All legitimate government is a mutual insurance company, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties to it, for the protection of their rights against wrong-doers. In its voluntary character it is precisely similar to an association for mutual protection against fire or shipwreck.
Lysander Spooner
Government
Character
Rights
Protection
Fire
Mutual
Similar
Voluntarily
Voluntary
Parties
Insurance
Shipwreck
Precisely
Legitimate
Against
Company
Agreed
Association
When a man says he is building a house for himself and his posterity, he does not mean to be understood as saying that he has any thought of binding them, nor is it to be inferred that he is so foolish as to imagine that he has any right or power to bind them, to live in it.
Lysander Spooner
Saying
Man
Thought
Power
Building
Live
Says
Posterity
Foolish
He
House
Himself
Does
Understood
His
Nor
Any
Mean
Them
Bind
Binding
Right
Imagine
What is the motive to the secret ballot? This, and only this: Like other confederates in crime, those who use it are not friends, but enemies; and they are afraid to be known, and to have their individual doings known, even to each other.
Lysander Spooner
Enemies
Crime
Other
Secret
Those
Only
Individual
Like
Known
Ballot
Motive
Friends
Afraid
Use
Who
Even
Each
It is a natural impossibility for any man to make a binding contract, by which he shall surrender to others a single one of what are commonly called his 'natural, inherent, inalienable rights.'
Lysander Spooner
Man
Surrender
Rights
Natural
Single
Others
Shall
He
Make
His
Impossibility
Contract
Any
Which
Commonly
Inalienable
Inherent
Binding
Practically and commercially speaking, a dollar is not necessarily a specific thing, made of silver, or gold, or any other single metal, or substance. It is only such a quantum of market value as exists in a given piece of silver or gold.
Lysander Spooner
Value
Made
Single
Other
Market
Silver
Given
Only
Piece
Practically
Quantum
Metal
Dollar
Exists
Commercially
Any
Substance
Gold
Speaking
Specific
Thing
Necessarily
Money is the great instrumentality for manufacturing.
Lysander Spooner
Great
Money
Manufacturing
If it be said that the consent of the strongest party in a nation, is all that is necessary to justify the establishment of a government that shall have authority over the weaker party, it may be answered that the most despotic governments in the world rest upon that very principle, viz.: the consent of the strongest party.
Lysander Spooner
Government
World
Rest
Party
Nation
Despotic
Weaker
Viz
Strongest
Shall
Over
Most
Principle
Said
Answered
Governments
Very
Authority
May
Establishment
Justify
Necessary
Consent
Majorities, as such, afford no guarantees for justice. They are men of the same nature as minorities. They have the same passions for fame, power, and money, as minorities; and are liable and likely to be equally - perhaps more than equally, because more boldly - rapacious, tyrannical and unprincipled, if intrusted with power.
Lysander Spooner
Nature
Justice
Money
Men
Power
Liable
Tyrannical
Minorities
Unprincipled
More
Perhaps
Likely
Equally
Because
Passions
Fame
Than
Afford
Same
Boldly
Guarantees
Doubtless the most miserable of men, under the most oppressive government in the world, if allowed the ballot, would use it, if they could see any chance of thereby ameliorating their condition.
Lysander Spooner
Government
World
Men
Miserable
Would
See
Could
Allowed
Most
Ballot
Condition
Oppressive
Any
Doubtless
Use
Thereby
Chance
The rescue of a person, who is assaulted, or restrained of his liberty, without authority of law, is not only morally, but legally, a meritorious act; for every body is under obligation to go to the assistance of one who is assailed by assassins, robbers, ravishers, kidnappers, or ruffians of any kind.
Lysander Spooner
Obligation
Liberty
Law
Every
Kind
Restrained
Morally
Only
Without
Go
His
Person
Authority
Legally
Any
Body
Act
Rescue
Who
Assassins
Assaulted
Assistance
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.
Lysander Spooner
Politics
Religion
Man
Honesty
Men
Stronger
Evidence
Give
Only
Martyrdom
Could
He
Mistaken
Sort
Although
Opinions
Been
Themselves
Therefore
Believed
Suffered
Right
Jesus never instructed men to do what was right because it was right; yet this is the true reason why they should do it.
Lysander Spooner
Men
Never
True
Instructed
Because
Should
Reason
Why
Right
Jesus
There is perhaps not an enlightened Christian in America who, notwithstanding he may believe that, at the time of Jesus, men were possessed of devils, believes that they ever have been in any other instance, either before or since.
Lysander Spooner
Time
Men
Before
Believe
Christian
Other
Possessed
Instance
He
Since
Devils
Perhaps
Were
Been
America
Any
May
Either
Notwithstanding
Who
Ever
Believes
Jesus
Enlightened
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