LIBERTY denotes a state of freedom, in contradistinction to slavery or restraint, and may be considered either as natural or as civil.

The absolute rights of man, considered as a free agent, endowed with a discernment to distinguish good from evil, and with a power of choosing those measures which appear to him to be most desirable, are usually summed up in one general appellation, and denominated the natural liberty of manhind. This natural liberty consists properly in a power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, unless by the law of nature; being a right inherent in us by birth, and one of the gifts of God to man at his creation, wnen he endowed him with the faculty of free-will. But every man, when he enters into society, gives up a part of his natural liberty, as the price of so valuable a purchase; and, in consideration of receiving the advantages of mutual commerce and of protection, obliges himself to conform to those laws which the community has thought proper to establish. This species of legal obedience and conformity is therefore infinitely more desirable than that wild and savage liberty which is sacrificed to obtain it. For no man, who considers for a moment, would wish to retain the absolute and uncontrolled power of doing whatever he pleased, because every other man would have the same power, and then there would be no security to individuals in any of the enjoyments of life.

Civil liberty, therefore, which is that of a member of society, is no other than natural liberty, restrained by human laws, as far as is necessary and expedient for the advantage of the public. Hence we may collect, that the law, which restrains a man from doing mischief to his fellow-citizens, though it diminishes the natural, increases the civil liberty of mankind; but every wanton and causeless restraint of the will of the subject, whether practised by a monarch, a nobility, or a popular assembly, is a degree of tyranny. Even laws themselves, whether made with or without our consent, if they regulate and constrain our conduct in matters of mere indifference, without any good end in view, are laws destructive of liberty; but if any public advantage can arise from observing such precepts, the control of our private inclinations, in one or more points, will conduce to preserve our general freedom in others of more importance, by supporting that state of society which alone can secure our independence. Thus [7:13:272]the statute of Edward IV. which forbade the fine gentlemen of his time to wear pikes upon their shoes or boots of more than two inches in length, was a law that savoured of oppression, because, however ridiculous the fashion then in use might appear, the restraining it by pecuniary penalties could serve no purpose of general utility. But the statute of Charles II. which prescribed a thing apparently as indifferent, viz. a dress for the dead, who were ordered to be buried in woollen, was a law consistent with public liberty; for it encouraged the staple trade, on which in great measure depended the prosperity of the nation. Hence laws, when prudently framed, are by no means subversive, but rather introductive, of liberty; for, as Mr Locke has well observed, where there is no law there is no freedom. But then, on the other hand, that system of laws is alone calculated to maintain civil liberty, which leaves the subject entire master of his own conduct, excepting as to those points in which the public good requires some direction or restraint.

The idea and practice of this civil liberty flourish in their highest vigour in these kingdoms, where it falls little short of perfection, and can only be lost or destroyed by the folly or demerits of its owner; the legislature, and of course the laws of Britain, being peculiarly adapted to the preservation of this inestimable blessing even in the meanest subject. And this spirit of liberty is so deeply iir 1 - planted in our constitution, and rooted even in our very soil, that a slave or a negro, the moment he lands in Britain, falls under the protection of the laws, and so far becomes a freeman, though his master’s right to his service may possibly still continue.

The absolute rights of every Briton, as they are founded on nature and reason, so they are coeval with our form of government, though subject at times to fluctuation and change; their establishment, excellent as it is, being still human. At some periods we have seen them depressed by overbearing and tyrannical princes; at others, so luxuriant as even to tend to anarchy, a state worse for the time than tyranny itself, as any government is better than none at all. But the vigour of our free constitution has always delivered the nation from these embarrassments; and, as soon as the convulsions consequent orr the struggle have ceased, the balance of our rights and liberties has settled at its proper level; whilst their fundamental articles have been asserted in parliament, asofteħ as they were thought to be in danger. See the articles Government and Legislation. Liberty and Necessity. See Metaphysics.