Sect. 22. THE natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule. The liberty of man, in society, is to be under no other legislative power, but that established, by consent, in the commonwealth; nor under the dominion of any will, or restraint of any law, but what that legislative shall enact, according to the trust put in it. Freedom then is not what Sir Robert Filmer tells us, Observations, A. 55. a liberty for every one to do what he lists, to live as he pleases, and not to be tied by any laws: but freedom of men under government is, to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power erected in it; a liberty to follow my own will in all things, where the rule prescribes not; and not to be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary will of another man: as freedom of nature is, to be under no other restraint but the law of nature.
22. Natural liberty means freedom from any superior power on earth. It means not being subject to another person's will or legislative authority. Instead, one's rule is only the law of nature. In society, liberty means being subject to no legislative power except the one created by consent in the commonwealth. It also means not being under the domination of any private will. Nor under any law except those the legitimate legislature enacts according to the trust given it. Freedom then is not what Sir Robert Filmer tells us, Observations, A. 55. He defines it as a liberty for everyone to do what they please and live without laws. Freedom under government means having a standing rule to live by, common to everyone in that society. That rule must be made by the legislature established there. It also means the liberty to follow my own will where that rule does not prescribe. And it means not being subject to another person's inconstant, uncertain, unknown, or arbitrary will. This mirrors natural freedom, which is to be restrained only by the law of nature.
Sect. 23. This freedom from absolute, arbitrary power, is so necessary to, and closely joined with a man’s preservation, that he cannot part with it, but by what forfeits his preservation and life together: for a man, not having the power of his own life, cannot, by compact, or his own consent, enslave himself to any one, nor put himself under the absolute, arbitrary power of another, to take away his life, when he pleases. No body can give more power than he has himself; and he that cannot take away his own life, cannot give another power over it. Indeed, having by his fault forfeited his own life, by some act that deserves death; he, to whom he has forfeited it, may (when he has him in his power) delay to take it, and make use of him to his own service, and he does him no injury by it: for, whenever he finds the hardship of his slavery outweigh the value of his life, it is in his power, by resisting the will of his master, to draw on himself the death he desires.
23. This freedom from absolute, arbitrary power is essential to a person's preservation. It is so closely linked to survival that a person cannot give it up without also forfeiting their life. A person who does not have power over their own life cannot, by agreement or consent, enslave themselves to another. They cannot place themselves under the absolute, arbitrary power of someone who can kill them whenever they please. No one can give more power than they have. A person who cannot take their own life cannot give that power to another. If someone commits an act that deserves death, he forfeits his life by his own fault. The person entitled to that life may, when he has him in his power, delay taking it. He may use him for his own service, and he does him no injury by doing so. If the hardships of slavery become greater than the value of his life, the slave may resist his master. By resisting, he can bring about the death he desires.
Sect. 24. This is the perfect condition of slavery, which is nothing else, but the state of war continued, between a lawful conqueror and a captive: for, if once compact enter between them, and make an agreement for a limited power on the one side, and obedience on the other, the state of war and slavery ceases, as long as the compact endures: for, as has been said, no man can, by agreement, pass over to another that which he hath not in himself, a power over his own life.
24. This is the perfect condition of slavery. It is nothing else but the state of war continued between a lawful conqueror and a captive. They can make a compact and agree that one side will have limited power while the other gives obedience. Then the state of war and slavery ends while the compact lasts. As I have said, no one can give to another, by agreement, what he does not have himself. He cannot give another a power over his own life.
I confess, we find among the Jews, as well as other nations, that men did sell themselves; but, it is plain, this was only to drudgery, not to slavery: for, it is evident, the person sold was not under an absolute, arbitrary, despotical power: for the master could not have power to kill him, at any time, whom, at a certain time, he was obliged to let go free out of his service; and the master of such a servant was so far from having an arbitrary power over his life, that he could not, at pleasure, so much as maim him, but the loss of an eye, or tooth, set him free, Exod. xxi.
I confess we find among the Jews and other nations that people sold themselves. But it is clear this was only to drudgery, not to slavery. The person sold was not under absolute, arbitrary, despotic power. The master could not kill him at any time. He was obliged to free him after a set time of service. The master had no arbitrary power over the servant's life. He could not, at will, even maim him. The loss of an eye or a tooth set him free, Exod. xxi.