--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All men, among themselves, are by nature…" description: "\"All men, among themselves, are by nature equal. The inequality we now discern hath its spring from the civil law.\" — Thomas Hobbes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/thomas-hobbes-1127_equal_all-men-among-themselves-are-by-nature-e_2609096.jpg" --- # All men, among themselves, are by nature equal. The… ![“All men, among themselves, are by nature equal. The inequality we now discern hath its spring from the civil law.” quote by Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/thomas-hobbes-1127_equal_all-men-among-themselves-are-by-nature-e_2609096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/thomas-hobbes-1127_equal_all-men-among-themselves-are-by-nature-e_2609096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/thomas-hobbes-1127_equal_all-men-among-themselves-are-by-nature-e_2609096.jpg) > “All men, among themselves, are by nature equal. The inequality we now discern hath its spring from the civil law.” [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equality is natural; current inequality stems from civil law. **In simple terms:** Equality is natural, law creates inequality. Key Takeaway Question legal structures that create disparity. Themes politics law equality Mood critical hopeful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - legal reform - civil rights activism - educational debates Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - How does law affect equality today? - What reforms could restore natural equality? A Different Perspective Legal change can be slow and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) ## Related quotes > [Nature, with equal mind, Sees all her sons at play, Sees man control the wind, The wind sweep man away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-with-equal-mind-sees-all-her-sons-at-play-sees-man-control-the/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Imagine a day when all plants and trees go on a strike, a bandh just for a day. All of us will die for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imagine-a-day-when-all-plants-and-trees-go-on-a-strike-a-bandh-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have learned from nature that all is equal... all is equal and in balance. I see everything as fitting together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-raffael/i-have-learned-from-nature-that-all-is-equal-all-is-equal-and-in/) [Joseph Raffael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-raffael/) > [Nations, like individuals in a state of nature, are equal and independent, possessing certain rights and owing certain duties to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millard-fillmore/nations-like-individuals-in-a-state-of-nature-are-equal-and/) [Millard Fillmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millard-fillmore/) > [God has made of man and woman one complete whole. 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What neither influence can affect, nor power break, nor money corrupt: were it to be suppressed or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/just-what-is-the-civil-law-what-neither-influence-can-affect-nor/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“For there is no true equivalence between languages, and English law differs from civil law in both its genesis and its practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovan-autonoma-evi/for-there-is-no-true-equivalence-between-languages-and-english-law/) [Jovan Autonomašević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovan-autonoma-evi/) ## More by Thomas Hobbes > [“Give an inch, he'll take an ell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/give-an-inch-he-ll-take-an-ell/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Do not that to another, which thou wouldst not have done to thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/do-not-that-to-another-which-thou-wouldst-not-have-done-to-thyself/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [For it is with the mysteries of our religion, as with wholesome pills for the sick, which swallowed whole, have the virtue to cure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/for-it-is-with-the-mysteries-of-our-religion-as-with-wholesome-pills/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Intemperance is naturally punished with diseases; 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