e very curious. Every
one appeals to right and liberty, and naturally thinks of himself
first, without perceiving that in continually claiming his proper
rights, he tramples under foot those of others. How beautiful are
these words Rights and Liberty! But in everyday life in what an
uncompromising way they oppose each other! To give satisfaction to my
rights and liberty, the right of complete development, according to my
natural sentiments, is a thing which is perfectly impossible; or, is
only practicable by constantly infringing the right and liberty of my
fellow beings.

Nevertheless people keep harping on this theme; with the exalted tone
of intimate conviction they inveigh against our social organization,
cursing the malice of others, but show themselves perfectly incapable
of resolving the contradictions which gave rise to their thirst for
liberty and justice.

The cry of despair addressed to right and liberty by modern society is
nothing else than the expression of the instinctive sentiment of anger
and revolt produced by the natural evolution of our phylogeny. The
savage instincts, still considerable in the hereditary foundation of
human nature (the mneme), revolt against the straight-jacket placed on
them by social life, and against the want of liberty on the earth,
which is already too small for humanity.

The natural man is eager for expansion and liberty, and accustoms
himself with difficulty to the severe restrictions which social
necessities impose upon him. His nature is still that of a
semi-nomadic animal, living as an autocrat with his family, possessed
of a number of egoistic wants, and, wherever he goes, opposing the
rights, liberties and desires of other men, who generally compel him
to subordinate his desires to theirs. This is the true reason of this
impotent cry of vexation and anger against the malice of others and
the defectiveness of social organization. And yet this cry is
absolutely necessary, in order that we may find and put in practice a
social formula as tolerable as possible for the future. But, if we
except the question of capital and labor, there is no domain in which
social hindrance is so cruelly felt as in the sexual.

What is human right? Apart from formally admitted distinctions we
shall divide what is called right from the psychological and human
point of view into two categories of ideas; _natural rights_ and
_conventional rights_.

=Natural Rights. Right of the Stronger.=