Jean-Jacques Rousseau · Complete work
Book II, Chapter 11
Book II, Chapter 11 of 49. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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Des divers sistêmes de Législation.
Si l’on recherche en quoi consiste précisément le plus grand bien de tous, qui doit être la fin de tout sistême de législation, on trouvera qu’il se réduit à ces deux objets principaux, la liberté, & l’égalité. La liberté, parce que toute dépendance particuliere est autant de force ôtée au corps de l’Etat; l’égalité, parce que la liberté ne peut subsister sans elle.
J’ai déjà dit ce que c’est que la liberté civile; à l’égard de l’égalité, il ne faut pas entendre par ce mot que les degrés de puissance & de richesse soient absolument les mêmes, mais que, quant à la puissance, elle soit au dessous de toute violence & ne s’exerce jamais qu’en vertu du rang & des loix, & quant à la richesse, que nul citoyen ne soit assez opulent pour en pouvoir acheter un autre, & nul assez pauvre pour être contraint de se vendre: Ce qui suppose du côté des grands modération de biens & de crédit, & du côté des petits, modération d’avarice & de convoitise.
Cette égalité, disent-ils, est une chimere de spéculation qui ne peut exister dans la pratique: Mais si l’abus est inévitable, s’ensuit-il qu’il ne faille pas au moins le regler? C’est précisément parce que la force des choses tend toujours à détruire l’égalité, que la force de la législation doit toujours tendre à la maintenir.
Mais ces objets généraux de toute bonne institution doivent être modifiés en chaque pays par les rapports qui naissent, tant de la situation locale, que du caractere des habitans, & c’est sur ces rapports qu’il faut assigner à chaque peuple un sistême particulier d’institution, qui soit le meilleur, non peut-être en lui-même, mais pour l’Etat auquel il est destiné. Par exemple le sol est-il ingrat & stérile, ou le pays trop serré pour les habitans? Tournez-vous du côté de l’industrie & des arts, dont vous échangerez les productions contre les denrées qui vous manquent. Au contraire, occupez-vous de riches plaines & des côteaux fertiles? Dans un bon terrain, manquez-vous d’habitans? Donnez tous vos soins à l’agriculture qui multiplie les hommes, & chassez les arts qui ne feroient qu’achever de dépeupler le pays, en attroupant sur quelques points du territoire le peu d’habitans qu’il a. Occupez-vous des rivages étendus & comodes? Couvrez la mer de vaisseaux, cultivez le commerce & la navigation; vous aurez une existence brillante & courte. La mer ne baigne-t-elle sur vos côtes que des rochers presque inaccessibles? Restez barbares & Ichtyophages; vous en vivrez plus tranquilles, meilleurs peut-être, & surement plus heureux. En un mot, outre les maximes communes à tous, chaque Peuple renferme en lui quelque cause qui les ordonne d’une maniere particuliere & rend sa législation propre à lui seul. C’est ainsi qu’autrefois les Hébreux & recemment les Arabes ont eu pour principal objet la Religion, les Athéniens les lettres, Carthage & Tyr le commerce, Rhodes la marine, Sparte la guerre, & Rome la vertu. L’Auteur de l’esprit des loix a montré dans des foules d’exemples par quel art le législateur dirige l’institution vers chacun de ces objets.
Ce qui rend la constitution d’un État véritablement solide & durable, c’est quand les convenances sont tellement observées que les rapports naturels & les loix tombent toujours de concert sur les mêmes points, & que celles-ci ne font, pour ainsi dire, qu’assurer accompagner rectifier les autres. Mais si le Législateur, se trompant dans son objet, prend un principe différent de celui qui nait de la nature des choses, que l’un tende à la servitude & l’autre à la liberté, l’un aux richesses l’autre à la population, l’un à la paix l’autre aux conquêtes, on verra les loix s’affoiblir insensiblement, la constitution s’altérer, & l’Etat ne cessera d’être agité jusqu’à ce qu’il soit détruit ou changé, & que l’invincible nature ait repris son empire.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity.
On the Various Systems of Legislation.
If we seek to determine precisely what constitutes the greatest good of all, which ought to be the end of every system of legislation, we shall find that it comes down to these two principal objects: liberty and equality. Liberty, because every instance of dependence on a particular person takes strength away from the body of the State; equality, because liberty cannot endure without it.
I have already said what civil liberty is. As for equality, we must not take this word to mean that the degrees of power and wealth should be absolutely the same, but rather that power should stop short of all violence and never be exercised except by virtue of office and law; and, as for wealth, that no citizen should be so rich as to be able to buy another, and none so poor as to be forced to sell himself. This presupposes, on the side of the great, moderation in possessions and influence, and on the side of the common people, moderation in greed and covetousness.
This equality, they say, is a speculative chimera that cannot exist in practice. But if abuse is inevitable, does it follow that we should not at least regulate it? It is precisely because the force of circumstances always tends to destroy equality that the force of legislation must always tend to uphold it.
But these general objects of every good institution must be adapted in each country to the relations arising both from its local situation and from the character of its inhabitants; it is on the basis of these relations that each people must be assigned a particular system of institutions, the best perhaps not in itself but for the State for which it is intended. For example, is the soil poor and barren, or the country too cramped for its inhabitants? Turn to industry and the crafts, whose products you will exchange for the provisions you lack. On the other hand, do you occupy rich plains and fertile hillsides? On good land, do you lack inhabitants? Devote all your efforts to agriculture, which multiplies men, and drive out the crafts, which would only finish depopulating the country by crowding its few inhabitants into a handful of places. Do you occupy long and accessible shores? Cover the sea with ships, cultivate trade and navigation; your existence will be brilliant and brief. Does the sea wash only almost inaccessible rocks along your coast? Remain uncivilized and fish-eating; you will live more peacefully, perhaps better, and certainly more happily. In a word, besides the principles common to all, each people has within itself some cause that gives those principles a particular direction and makes its legislation its own alone. Thus religion was once the principal object of the Hebrews, and more recently of the Arabs; letters were the object of the Athenians; commerce of Carthage and Tyre; seamanship of Rhodes; war of Sparta; and virtue of Rome. The author of The Spirit of the Laws has shown in countless examples the art by which the legislator directs institutions toward each of these objects.
What makes the constitution of a State truly solid and lasting is that circumstances are so well accommodated that natural relations and laws always converge on the same points, and the latter do no more, so to speak, than secure, accompany, and correct the former. But if the legislator mistakes his object and chooses a principle different from that born of the nature of things, if one tends toward servitude and the other toward liberty, one toward wealth and the other toward population, one toward peace and the other toward conquest, we shall see the laws imperceptibly weaken, the constitution deteriorate, and the State remain in turmoil until it is destroyed or transformed and invincible nature has reclaimed its dominion.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix.
On the Different Systems of Legislation.
If we ask what exactly makes up the greatest good of all, which should be the goal of every system of legislation, we find it comes down to two main things: freedom and equality. Freedom matters because every private dependency takes strength away from the body of the state. Equality matters because freedom cannot survive without it.
I have already explained civil freedom. As for equality, the word does not mean that everyone must have exactly the same amount of power and wealth. Regarding power, it means that power must stop short of violence and be exercised only under official rank and the laws. Regarding wealth, it means that no citizen should be rich enough to buy another and none so poor as to be forced to sell themselves. That requires the powerful to show restraint in their possessions and influence, and ordinary people to restrain their greed and desire.
People say this equality is a theoretical fantasy that cannot exist in practice. But if abuses are unavoidable, does it follow that we should not at least control them? It is precisely because events always tend to destroy equality that legislation must always try to preserve it.
Yet these general aims of every good institution must be adapted to each country. Local conditions and the character of its inhabitants produce different circumstances. Each people therefore needs its own system of institutions, one best suited perhaps not in itself, but to the state for which it is intended. Is the soil poor and barren, for example, or is the country too crowded for its inhabitants? Turn to industry and crafts, and trade their products for the foodstuffs you lack. Or do you occupy rich plains and fertile hillsides? Do you have too few inhabitants for good land? Devote all your efforts to farming, which increases the population. Drive away crafts that would only finish emptying the country by drawing its few inhabitants together in a handful of places. Do you occupy long, accessible coasts? Fill the sea with ships and develop trade and navigation. Your life as a state will be brilliant and short. Does the sea wash only against nearly inaccessible rocks along your coast? Remain uncivilized fish-eaters. You will live more peacefully, perhaps become better people, and certainly be happier. In short, besides the principles common to all, every people has something within it that calls for those principles to be applied in a particular way and makes its legislation unique. Thus the Hebrews in ancient times and the Arabs more recently made religion their chief aim; the Athenians made learning theirs, Carthage and Tyre trade, Rhodes seafaring, Sparta war, and Rome virtue. The author of The Spirit of the Laws has shown through many examples how skillfully the legislator directs institutions toward each of these goals.
A state's constitution is truly strong and lasting when its circumstances are taken so fully into account that natural conditions and the laws always work toward the same ends. Then the laws, so to speak, only reinforce, support, and correct those natural conditions. But if the legislator chooses the wrong goal and adopts a principle different from the one arising from the nature of things, one will lead toward slavery and the other toward freedom, one toward wealth and the other toward population, one toward peace and the other toward conquest. The laws will gradually weaken, the constitution will change, and the state will remain troubled until it is destroyed or transformed and irresistible nature has regained control.