and to render
justice to them. _Justice_ is the security of rights. A _right_ is a
well-founded claim; that is, a just claim of one person upon other
persons.

_Rights_ are the most important things that a person can possess,
because his happiness depends upon them. They are real things, for
whose protection governments are instituted. The kind and extent of
the rights recognized and protected in any country determine the form
of its government. As a rule, there is more freedom among citizens of
a republic than among those of other governments, because a republic
guarantees more rights.

RIGHTS AND DUTIES.

People have many rights, and they have as many duties. Each right
given to a person is a trust placed in his hands for him to discharge.
A right implies a duty, and a duty implies a right. Rights and duties
go hand in hand. For example, children have a right to the protection
of their parents, and this implies that it is the duty of children to
obey their parents.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--Rights and duties are civil and political.
_Civil rights_ are sometimes called _inalienable rights_, because they
can not be justly taken away except as a punishment for crime. They
are chiefly those rights with which we are endowed by nature. They are
not conferred by any earthly power, but are given to every human being
at his birth. They are called civil rights, because they belong to the
citizen in his ordinary daily life. Among civil rights are:

1. _The right to personal security_; that is, the right to be free from
attack and annoyance;

2. _The right of personal liberty_; that is, to go when and where he
pleases, provided he does not trespass upon the rights of others; and

3. _The right of private property_; that is, the right to use, enjoy,
and dispose of what he has acquired by labor, purchase, gift, or
inheritance.

The greater part of these rights belong to men whether living in
society, that is, under government, or living without government.
Their natural rights are more extensive without society than with it,
but are far less secure. Without government natural rights are
unlimited; each person may lay claim to all land and to all it
produces, provided he is strong enough to maintain his claim by force.

When men join the social compact, they agree to abandon some of their
natural rights, in order to be protected by the government in those
which they retain; that is, each person agrees tha