Men, _as individuals_, may rightfully _compel_ each other to obey this one law of justice. And it is the only law which any man can rightfully be compelled, _by his fellow men_, to obey. All other laws, it is optional with each man to obey, or not, as he may choose. But this one law of justice he may rightfully be compelled to obey; and all the force that is reasonably necessary to compel him, may rightfully be used against him.
But the right of every man to do anything, and everything, _which justice does not forbid him to do_, is a natural, inherent, inalienable right. It is his right, as against any and all other men, whether they be many, or few. It is a right indispensable to every man's highest happiness; and to every man's power of judging and determining for himself what will, and what will not, promote his happiness. Any restriction upon the exercise of this right is a restriction upon his rightful power of providing for, and accomplishing, his own well-being.
Sir, these natural, inherent, inalienable, _individual_ rights are sacred things. _They are the only human rights._ They are the only rights by which any man can protect his own property, liberty, or life against any one who may be disposed to take it away. Consequently they are not things that any set of either blockheads or villains, calling themselves a government, can rightfully take into their own hands, and dispose of at their pleasure, as they have been accustomed to do in this, and in nearly or quite all other countries.
Sir, I repeat that individual rights are the only human rights. _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_." The term "the public" is an utterly vague and indefinite one, applied arbitrarily and at random to a greater or less number of individuals, each and every one of whom have their own separate, individual rights, _and none others_. And the protection of these separate, _individual_ rights is the one only legitimate purpose, for which anything in the nature of a governing, or coercive, power has a right to exist. And these separate, individual rights all rest upon, and can be ascertained only by, the one science of justice.