§11. The object of the people in forming a state association, or, as is sometimes said, of entering into civil society, is to promote their mutual safety and happiness. In uniting for this purpose, they agree to be governed by certain established rules and principles; and the governing of the people of a state or nation according to these rules, is called _civil government_. The word _government_ also signifies the rules and principles themselves by which the people are governed; and sometimes the persons who administer the government--that is those who make the laws of a state and carry them into effect--are called _the government_. Chapter II. Rights and Liberty, defined. §1. We have spoken of the rights of men, and of laws as designed to secure to men the free enjoyment of their rights. But a more particular definition of rights and laws will be useful to young persons just commencing the study of civil government. §2. A _right_ means ownership, or the just claim or lawful title which a person has to anything. What we have acquired by honest labor, or other lawful means, is rightfully our own; and we are justly entitled to the free use and enjoyment of it. We have a right also to be free in our actions. We may go where we please, and do what ever we think necessary for our own safety and happiness; provided we do not trespass upon the rights of others; for it must be remembered that others have the same rights as ourselves. §3. The rights here mentioned are _natural_ rights. They are so called because they are ours by nature or by birth; and they can not be justly taken from us or alienated. Hence they are also called _inalienable_. We may, however, forfeit them by some offense or crime. If, for example, a man is fined for breaking a law, he loses his right to the money he is obliged to pay. By stealing, he forfeits his liberty, and may be justly imprisoned. By committing murder, he forfeits his right to life, and may be hanged. §4. Rights are also called personal, political, civil, and religious. _Personal rights_, or the _rights of persons_, are rights belonging to persons as individuals, and consist of the right of _personal security_, or the right to be secure from injury to our bodies, or persons, or our good names; the right of _personal liberty_, or the liberty of moving, acting, or speaking without unjust restraint; and the _right of property_, or the right to acquire and enjoy property. The terms _rights of person_ and _rights of persons_, or _personal rights_, have not the same meaning. The rights of person, as the term is generally used, does not include the right of property; personal rights include both the right of property and the rights of person.