“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”— Frederic Bastiat
“It is not true that the legislator has absolute power over our persons and property. The existence of persons and property preceded the existence of the legislator, and his function is only to guarantee their safety.”— Frederic Bastiat
“All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.”— John Locke
“There can be no prescription old enough to supersede the law of nature and the grant of God Almighty, who has given to all men a natural right to be free.”— James Otis
“Rights are not gifts from the state; they are inherent in our nature as human beings.”— Tom G. Palmer
“A man's natural rights are his own, against the whole world; and any infringement of them is equally a crime.”— Lysander Spooner