Here are some Lessons from the “Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen” (August 26, 1789):
The Representatives of the French people, organized
in National Assembly, considering that ignorance, forgetfulness, or contempt of
the rights of man are the sole causes of public miseries and the corruption of
governments, have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural,
inalienable, and sacred rights of man, so that this declaration, being ever
present to all the members of the social body, may unceasingly remind them of
their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, and
those of the executive power, may at each moment be compared with the aim and
of every political institution and thereby may be more respected; and in order
that the demands of the citizens, grounded henceforth upon simple and
incontestable principles, may always take the direction of maintaining the
constitution and welfare of all.
In consequence, the National Assembly recognizes
and declares, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the
following rights of man and citizen:
10. No one should be disturbed on account of his
opinions, even religious, provided their manifestation does not upset the
public order established by law.[1]
[1] Article X. – Nul ne droit être accusé, arrêté ni détenu, que dans les cas déterminés par la loi et selon les formes qu’elle
a prescrites.
Tout citoyen, appelé ou saisi par l’autorité de la loi doit obéir à l’instant; il se rend coupable par
la résistance.
For the full text of the Declaration, See The History
Guide. Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History:
www.historyguide.org/intellect/declaration.html
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