Right of self-defence
idea · 2 works · 3 mentions · 5 anchored passages
right of self-defence · self-defence · the natural right of self-defence · the privilege of self-defence
in the texts
The Rights of War and Peace
The right to kill an aggressor to preserve one's own life, and its limits.
Thomas Aquinas, if taken in a right sense, has justly observed, that in actual self-defence no man can be said to be purposely killed.
It admits of some doubt, whether those, who unintentionally obstruct our defence, or escape, which are necessary to our preservation, may be lawfully maimed or killed.
Wherefore though he may be clear of guilt, as for instance a soldier in actual service, mistaking my person for that of another, or a madman in his frenzy, or a man walking in his sleep, none of these cases deprive me of the right of self-defence against those persons.
Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated
A natural right, prior to all political power, by which societies and nations may act to protect themselves against danger, invoked as the ultimate justification for the slave-holding states' position.
and it must be admitted, that the right of self-defence applies to that situation, of the necessity for which the parties exposed to the danger are the natural judges: