--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All men have an equal right to the free…" description: "\"All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of the state; but it is no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/victor-cousin-29751_equal_all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free_373377.jpg" --- # All men have an equal right to the free development of… ![“All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of the state; but it is not true, it is against all the laws of reason and equity, it is against the eternal nature of things.” quote by Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/victor-cousin-29751_equal_all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free_373377.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/victor-cousin-29751_equal_all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free_373377.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/victor-cousin-29751_equal_all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free_373377.jpg) > “All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of the state; but it is not true, it is against all the laws of reason and equity, it is against the eternal nature of things.” [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equal rights to develop abilities and receive state protection clash with irrational claims that such rights are impossible. **In simple terms:** People deserve freedom to grow and fair protection, despite contrary arguments. Key Takeaway Defend universal rights against baseless denial. Themes rights justice state reason Mood reflective determined Type ethical political When to use this quote - legal reform - education policy - civil rights activism Key Concepts liberalism human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure equal development opportunities? - What legal safeguards protect these rights? A Different Perspective Claims of impossibility ignore fundamental human equality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties ; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free-development-of-their-2/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free-development-of-their-3/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [It is admitted that all men have an equal right to the enjoyment of their life, property and personal security; and it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/it-is-admitted-that-all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-enjoyment-of/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-true-foundation-of-republican-government-is-the-equal-right-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Every man has an equal right to the necessaries of life even as birds and beasts have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/every-man-has-an-equal-right-to-the-necessaries-of-life-even-as-birds/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The English are no nearer than they were a hundred years ago to knowing what Jefferson really meant when he said that God had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-english-are-no-nearer-than-they-were-a-hundred-years-ago-to/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The equal right of all citizens to health, education, work, food, security, culture, science, and wellbeing - that is, the same rights we proclaimed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/the-equal-right-of-all-citizens-to-health-education-work-food/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/whatever-you-want-in-life-other-people-are-going-to-want-it-too/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“All men are equal in God’s presence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/all-men-are-equal-in-god-s-presence/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Woman in the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to participate in the minutest details in the activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/woman-in-the-companion-of-man-gifted-with-equal-mental-capacities-she/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Everyone has an equal right to inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/everyone-has-an-equal-right-to-inequality/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [Every relationship requires equal efforts by both parties,equal right to be loved and cared for, equal responsibility to love and care for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-relationship-requires-equal-efforts-by-both-parties-equal-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/all-men-are-created-equal-and-have-the-right-to-life-liberty-and-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Our sexuality is fundamental to who we are, surely the crux of this debate is whether or not we accord equal right and respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wollaston/our-sexuality-is-fundamental-to-who-we-are-surely-the-crux-of-this/) [Sarah Wollaston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wollaston/) ## More by Victor Cousin > [The universal and absolute law is that natural justice which cannot be written down, but which appeals to the hearts of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/the-universal-and-absolute-law-is-that-natural-justice-which-cannot/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [Written laws are formulas in which we endeavor to express as concisely as possible that which, under such or such determined circumstances, natural justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/written-laws-are-formulas-in-which-we-endeavor-to-express-as/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [In everything the ends well defined are the secret of durable success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/in-everything-the-ends-well-defined-are-the-secret-of-durable-success/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties ; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free-development-of-their-2/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [All men have an equal right to the free development of their faculties; they have an equal right to the impartial protection of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/all-men-have-an-equal-right-to-the-free-development-of-their-3/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [True philosophy invents nothing; it merely establishes and describes what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/true-philosophy-invents-nothing-it-merely-establishes-and-describes/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [“If ignorance is bliss, there should be more happy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/if-ignorance-is-bliss-there-should-be-more-happy-people/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [Ignorance is the primary source of all misery and vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/ignorance-is-the-primary-source-of-all-misery-and-vice/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [We need religion for religions's sake, morality for morality's sake and art for art's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/we-need-religion-for-religions-s-sake-morality-for-morality-s-sake/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [Moral beauty is the basis of all true beauty. This foundation is somewhat covered and veiled in nature. Art brings it out, and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/moral-beauty-is-the-basis-of-all-true-beauty-this-foundation-is/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [Yes, gentlemen, give me the map of any country, its configuration, its climate, its waters, its winds, and the whole of its physical geography;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/yes-gentlemen-give-me-the-map-of-any-country-its-configuration-its/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [When we read with attention the poetical and philosophical monuments of the East--above all, those of India, which are beginning to spread in Europe--we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/when-we-read-with-attention-the-poetical-and-philosophical-monuments/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [Art neither belongs to religion, nor to ethics; but, like these, it brings us nearer to the Infinite, one of the forms of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/art-neither-belongs-to-religion-nor-to-ethics-but-like-these-it/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [The beautiful cannot be the way to what is useful, or to what is good, or to what is holy; it leads only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/the-beautiful-cannot-be-the-way-to-what-is-useful-or-to-what-is-good/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) > [What is philosophy? It is something that lightens up, that makes bright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cousin/what-is-philosophy-it-is-something-that-lightens-up-that-makes-bright/) [Victor Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) [Explore all 18 Victor Cousin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cousin/) ## More Equal quotes > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. 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They were always equal 50/50.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-kufrin/my-mom-and-dad-had-the-relationship-that-i-want-and-they-were/) [Becca Kufrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-kufrin/) > [Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers; Unfaith is aught is want of faith in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/faith-and-unfaith-can-ne-er-be-equal-powers-unfaith-is-aught-is-want/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/if-it-is-true-that-there-is-always-more-than-one-way-of-construing-a/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. 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