Jean-Jacques Rousseau · Complete work
Book I, Chapter 8
Book I, Chapter 8 of 49. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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De l’état civil.
Ce passage de l’état de nature à l’état civil produit dans l’homme un changement très rémarquable, en substituant dans sa conduite la justice à l’instinct, & donnant à ses actions la moralité qui leur manquoit auparavant. C’est alors seulement que la voix du devoir succédant à l’impulsion physique & le droit à l’appetit, l’homme, qui jusque là n’avoit regardé que lui-même, se voit forcé d’agir sur d’autres principes, & de consulter sa raison avant d’écouter ses penchans. Quoiqu’il se prive dans cet état de plusieurs avantages qu’il tient de la nature, il en regagne de si grands, ses facultés s’exercent & se développent, ses idées s’étendent, ses sentimens s’ennoblissent, son ame tout entiere s’éleve à tel point, que si les abus de cette nouvelle condition ne le dégradoient souvent au dessous de celle dont il est sorti, il devroit bénir sans cesse l’instant heureux qui l’en arracha pour jamais, & qui, d’un animal stupide & borné, fit un être intelligent & un homme.
Reduisons toute cette balance à des termes faciles à comparer. Ce que l’homme perd par le contract social, c’est sa liberté naturelle & un droit illimité à tout ce qui le tente & qu’il peut atteindre; ce qu’il gagne, c’est la liberté civile & la propriété de tout ce qu’il possede. Pour ne pas se tromper dans ces compensations, il faut bien distinguer la liberté naturelle qui n’a pour bornes que les forces de l’individu, de la liberté civile qui est limitée par la volonté générale, & la possession qui n’est que l’effet de la force ou le droit du premier occupant, de la propriété qui ne peut être fondée que sur un titre positif.
On pourroit sur ce qui précede ajouter à l’acquis de l’état civil la liberté morale, qui seule rend l’homme vraiment maitre de lui; car l’impulsion du seul appetit est esclavage, & l’obéissance à la loi qu’on s’est prescrite est liberté. Mais je n’en ai déjà que trop dit sur cet article, & le sens philosophique du mot liberté n’est pas ici de mon sujet.
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.
Of the Civil State.
The passage from the state of nature to the civil state brings about a remarkable change in man, substituting justice for instinct in his conduct and giving his actions the moral quality they previously lacked. Only then, when the voice of duty succeeds physical impulse and right succeeds appetite, does man, who until then had looked only to himself, find himself compelled to act on other principles and to consult his reason before listening to his inclinations. Although in this state he deprives himself of several advantages he derives from nature, he gains others so great in return—his faculties are exercised and developed, his ideas broadened, his feelings ennobled, his whole soul raised to such a height—that if abuses of this new condition did not often degrade him below the one he left, he should forever bless the happy moment that drew him from it for good and made an intelligent being and a man out of a stupid, limited animal.
Let us reduce this whole balance to terms easily compared. What man loses through the social pact is his natural freedom and an unlimited right to everything that tempts him and lies within his reach; what he gains is civil freedom and ownership of everything he possesses. To avoid mistakes in weighing these exchanges, we must carefully distinguish natural freedom, bounded only by the individual's strength, from civil freedom, limited by the general will; and possession, which is merely the effect of force or the right of the first occupant, from property, which can be founded only on a positive title.
To what has gone before, one might add moral freedom to the gains of the civil state; this alone makes man truly his own master. For the impulse of appetite alone is slavery, and obedience to a law one has prescribed for oneself is freedom. But I have already said more than enough on this point, and the philosophical meaning of the word freedom does not belong to my subject here.
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 Civil Society.
The move from the state of nature to civil society brings about a remarkable change in a person. Justice takes the place of instinct in his conduct, and his actions gain a moral quality that they lacked before. Only then does the voice of duty replace physical impulse, and right replace appetite. Until that time he had looked only to himself. Now he must act on other principles and consult his reason before listening to his inclinations. In this condition he gives up several advantages he had by nature, but he gains such great advantages in return: his abilities are exercised and developed, his ideas broaden, his feelings become nobler, and his whole spirit rises. If abuses of this new condition did not often lower him beneath the condition he had left, he would constantly bless the happy moment that took him out of it forever and turned a limited, unthinking animal into an intelligent being and a human being.
Let us put the two sides of this comparison in simple terms. Through the social pact, a person loses his natural freedom and an unlimited right to everything that attracts him and that he can get. He gains civil freedom and ownership of everything he possesses. To judge these gains and losses correctly, we must distinguish natural freedom, limited only by a person's own strength, from civil freedom, limited by the general will. We must also distinguish possession, which results only from force or the claim of the first occupant, from ownership, which can rest only on a recognized legal title.
To these gains from civil society we could add moral freedom, which alone makes a person truly his own master. For to be driven only by appetite is slavery, while to obey a law one has set for oneself is freedom. But I have already said more than enough on this matter, and the philosophical meaning of the word freedom is not my subject here.