---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And these great natural rights may be…"
description: "\"And these great natural rights may be reduced to three principal or primary articles: the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png"
---

#  And these great natural rights may be reduced to three…

![“And these great natural rights may be reduced to three principal or primary articles: the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property; because as there is no other known method of compulsion, or of abridging man's natural free will, but by an…” quote by William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png)

> “And these great natural rights may be reduced to three principal or primary articles: the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property; because as there is no other known method of compulsion, or of abridging man's natural free will, but by an infringement or diminution of one or other of these important rights, the preservation of these, inviolate, may justly be said to include the preservation of our civil immunities in their largest and most extensive sense.”

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Fundamental natural rights—security, liberty, property—must be protected; violating any infringes on civil freedoms.

**In simple terms:** Protect security, liberty, property.

Key Takeaway

Defend these rights.

Themes

rights law freedom

Mood

serious thoughtful

Type

legal philosophical

When to use this quote

- legal reforms
- human rights advocacy
- property disputes
- personal safety planning

Key Concepts

natural law civil liberties

Questions to Reflect On

- Which right is most threatened today?
- How do we balance individual liberty with collective safety?

A Different Perspective

Balancing rights with societal security is complex.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Immunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immunity/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Natural rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-rights/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Personal liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-liberty/) [Personal security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-security/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Private property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-property/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal liberty by the state which have not been justified, as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-f-stone/history-teaches-us-that-there-have-been-but-few-infringements-of/)

[Harlan F. Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-f-stone/)

> [Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/democracies-have-been-found-incompatible-with-personal-security-or/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [Civil rights, as we may remember, are reducible to three primary heads; the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-george-tucker/civil-rights-as-we-may-remember-are-reducible-to-three-primary-heads/)

[St. George Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-george-tucker/)

> [When we think in the context of the last decade's infringements upon personal liberty and the last year's revelations, it's not about surveillance. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-think-in-the-context-of-the-last-decade-s-infringements-upon/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-share-in-the-sovereignty-of-the-state-which-is-exercised-by-the-2/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-share-in-the-sovereignty-of-the-state-which-is-exercised-by-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-will-speak-until-i-can-no-longer-speak-i-will-speak-as-long-as-it/)

[Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/)

> [The union movement has achieved a huge amount in the past century or so. It has secured important rights at work, tackled unfair discrimination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/the-union-movement-has-achieved-a-huge-amount-in-the-past-century-or/)

[Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/)

> [The Second Amendment is a constitutional right. I didn't make it up, the Republican Party didn't make it up. It's in the Constitution. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/the-second-amendment-is-a-constitutional-right-i-didn-t-make-it-up/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [The duties are even more important than the rights; and in the long run I think that the reward is ampler and greater for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-duties-are-even-more-important-than-the-rights-and-in-the-long/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

> [The most important of all rights is the right to life, and I cannot foresee a day when domesticated animals will be granted that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/the-most-important-of-all-rights-is-the-right-to-life-and-i-cannot/)

[J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/)

> [“Because the American federal government uses mercenaries in warfare and American state governments pay corporations to run prisons, the use of violence in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/because-the-american-federal-government-uses-mercenaries-in-warfare/)

[Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/)

> [Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/hence-it-is-that-such-democracies-have-ever-been-spectacles-of/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [A pure Democracy, by which I mean a Society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the Government in person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/a-pure-democracy-by-which-i-mean-a-society-consisting-of-a-small/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [In a world where lifelong employment in the same job is a thing of the past, creativity is not a luxury. It is essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/in-a-world-where-lifelong-employment-in-the-same-job-is-a-thing-of/)

[Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/)

## More by William Blackstone

> [Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/upon-these-two-foundations-the-law-of-nature-and-the-law-of/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/it-is-better-that-ten-guilty-persons-escape-than-one-innocent-suffer/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [ Trial by jury is a privilege of the highest and most beneficial nature \[and\] our most important guardian both of public and private liberty.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/trial-by-jury-is-a-privilege-of-the-highest-and-most-beneficial/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [The Royal Navy of England hath ever been its greatest defense and ornament; it is its ancient and natural strength; the floating bulwark of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-royal-navy-of-england-hath-ever-been-its-greatest-defense-and/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [And, lastly, to vindicate these rights, when actually violated and attacked, the subjects of England are entitled, in the first place, to the regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-lastly-to-vindicate-these-rights-when-actually-violated-and/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [The most universal and effectual way of discovering the true meaning of law, when the words are dubious, is by considering the reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-most-universal-and-effectual-way-of-discovering-the-true-meaning/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as life and liberty, need not the aid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/those-rights-then-which-god-and-nature-have-established-and-are/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [The law, which restrains a man from doing mischief to his fellow citizens, though it diminishes the natural, increases the civil liberty of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-law-which-restrains-a-man-from-doing-mischief-to-his-fellow/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the holy scriptures.. are found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-doctrines-thus-delivered-we-call-the-revealed-or-divine-law-and/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [Herein indeed consists the excellence of the English government, that all parts of it form a mutual check upon each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/herein-indeed-consists-the-excellence-of-the-english-government-that/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's private rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/the-public-good-is-in-nothing-more-essentially-interested-than-in-the/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [No enactment of man can be considered law unless it conforms to the law of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/no-enactment-of-man-can-be-considered-law-unless-it-conforms-to-the/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [Time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/time-whereof-the-memory-of-man-runneth-not-to-the-contrary/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [Of crimes injurious to the persons of private subjects, the most principal and important is the offense of taking away that life, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/of-crimes-injurious-to-the-persons-of-private-subjects-the-most/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

> [Law is the embodiment of the moral sentiment of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/law-is-the-embodiment-of-the-moral-sentiment-of-the-people/)

[William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

[Explore all 46 William Blackstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/)

## More Articles quotes

> [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/)

[Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/)

> [The strange thing with Wikipedia is that the first article that ever gets written about you will define your Wikipedia page forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/the-strange-thing-with-wikipedia-is-that-the-first-article-that-ever/)

[Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/)

> [Some article called me the most feared man in Silicon Valley. Good Lord! Why? My teenage boys got a kick out of it: 'Dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/some-article-called-me-the-most-feared-man-in-silicon-valley-good/)

[Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/)

> [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gelman/authors-of-published-papers-and-editors-of-scientific-journals-can/)

Andrew Gelman

> [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Over immense periods of time the intellect produced nothing but errors. A few of these proved to be useful and helped to preserve the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/over-immense-periods-of-time-the-intellect-produced-nothing-but/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [I used to be a columnist for 'Golf Monthly' and have contributed articles for national newspapers based on the humour that is in abundance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-carrott/i-used-to-be-a-columnist-for-golf-monthly-and-have-contributed/)

[Jasper Carrott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-carrott/)

> [There was an interesting article in Los Angeles Magazine about women directors. A woman director makes one bad independent film and her career is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-wolf/there-was-an-interesting-article-in-los-angeles-magazine-about-women/)

[Dick Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-wolf/)

> [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/)

[Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/)

> [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize,... The people are confirmed by the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tench-coxe/as-civil-rulers-not-having-their-duty-to-the-people-duly-before-them/)

[Tench Coxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tench-coxe/)

> [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/)

[Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/)

> [I have always loved to read, and now that I have penned 10 novels and a few magazine articles, I have fallen seriously in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-benton-frank/i-have-always-loved-to-read-and-now-that-i-have-penned-10-novels-and/)

[Dorothea Benton Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-benton-frank/)

> [The definition of the right of suffrage is very justly regarded as a fundamental article of republican government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-definition-of-the-right-of-suffrage-is-very-justly-regarded-as-a/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

Browse all 893 Articles quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And these great natural rights may be reduced to three principal or primary articles: the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property; because as there is no other known method of compulsion, or of abridging man's natural free will, but by an infringement or diminution of one or other of these important rights, the preservation of these, inviolate, may justly be said to include the preservation of our civil immunities in their largest and most extensive sense.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Blackstone"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-reduced-to-three-principal-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Articles"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-reduced-to-three-principal-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/william-blackstone-14453_articles_and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-re_2259450.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And these great natural rights may be reduced to three principal or primary articles: the right of personal…” — William Blackstone",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "William Blackstone",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And these great natural rights may...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-reduced-to-three-principal-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-these-great-natural-rights-may-be-reduced-to-three-principal-or/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
