John Locke, Second Treatise on Civil Government: Section 17
He that, in the state of nature, would take away the freedom that belongs to any one in that state, must necessarily be supposed to have a design to take away every thing else, that freedom being the foundation of all the rest; as he that, in the state of society, would take away the freedom belonging to those of that society or commonwealth, must be supposed to design to take away from them every thing else, and so be looked on as in a state of war.
Themes
John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, 1632-1704, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. An early British empiricist, he also contributed to social contract theory, epistemology, and political philosophy. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory inspired the phrase, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," found in the United States Declaration of Independence.