--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nature has made men free and equal. The…" description: "\"Nature has made men free and equal. The distinctions necessary for social order are only founded on general utility.\" — Marquis de Lafayette" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/marquis-de-lafayette-9735_equality_nature-has-made-men-free-and-equal-the-d_1079383.jpg" --- # Nature has made men free and equal. The distinctions… ![“Nature has made men free and equal. The distinctions necessary for social order are only founded on general utility.” quote by Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/marquis-de-lafayette-9735_equality_nature-has-made-men-free-and-equal-the-d_1079383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/marquis-de-lafayette-9735_equality_nature-has-made-men-free-and-equal-the-d_1079383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/marquis-de-lafayette-9735_equality_nature-has-made-men-free-and-equal-the-d_1079383.jpg) > “Nature has made men free and equal. The distinctions necessary for social order are only founded on general utility.” [Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-lafayette/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom and equality are natural; social hierarchies exist only for practical purposes. **In simple terms:** Equality is natural; hierarchy is utilitarian. Key Takeaway Question the necessity of social distinctions. Themes equality utility social order Mood thoughtful critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - community organization Key Concepts political philosophy human rights Questions to Reflect On - Are all social distinctions truly utilitarian? - How can equality be ensured without sacrificing order? A Different Perspective Utility arguments can justify inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) ## Related quotes > [All men are free and equal in the grave, if it comes to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/all-men-are-free-and-equal-in-the-grave-if-it-comes-to-that/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Everyone is born free and equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisol-nichols/everyone-is-born-free-and-equal/) [Marisol Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisol-nichols/) > [By nature, men desire the beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/by-nature-men-desire-the-beautiful/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [By nature, men love newfangledness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/by-nature-men-love-newfangledness/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“When it comes to creating things, I compete with nature not with men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/when-it-comes-to-creating-things-i-compete-with-nature-not-with-men/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Before Man made us citizens, great Nature made us men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/before-man-made-us-citizens-great-nature-made-us-men/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“It is in the nature of men to do their best and deepest thinking when the sun’s going down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sherriff-2/it-is-in-the-nature-of-men-to-do-their-best-and-deepest-thinking-when/) R.C. Sherriff > [By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/by-nature-men-are-nearly-alike-by-practice-they-get-to-be-wide-apart/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“The nature of men is such that they find themselves obligated as much for the benefits they confer as for those they receive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-nature-of-men-is-such-that-they-find-themselves-obligated-as-much/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Nothing is lost upon a man who is bent upon growth; nothing wasted on one who is always preparing for - life by keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-wright-mabie/nothing-is-lost-upon-a-man-who-is-bent-upon-growth-nothing-wasted-on/) [Hamilton Wright Mabie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-wright-mabie/) > [“States are built not on the ideals but on the nature of men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/states-are-built-not-on-the-ideals-but-on-the-nature-of-men/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [In other living creatures the ignorance of themselves is nature, but in men it is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/in-other-living-creatures-the-ignorance-of-themselves-is-nature-but/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [It is not in human nature for all men to tread the same path of development, as animals do of a single species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-in-human-nature-for-all-men-to-tread-the-same-path-of/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/never-may-an-act-of-possession-be-exercised-upon-a-free-being-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [All films are born free and equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-bazin/all-films-are-born-free-and-equal/) [Andre Bazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-bazin/) ## More by Marquis de Lafayette > [May the friends of America rejoice! 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Each citizen has some property, and all citizens have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-lafayette/in-america-there-are-none-poor-and-none-even-that-can-be-called/) [Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-lafayette/) > [May the States be so bound to each other as forever to defy European politics. 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