Filippo Mazzei

All men are by nature equally free and independent.

Filippo Mazzei (December 25, 1730 – March 19, 1816), also known in English as Philip Mazzei, with the surname sometimes erroneously cited as Mazzie, was an Italian physician, philosopher, diplomat, winemaker, merchant, and author. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, he was a strong supporter of the American Revolution and the American colonies' war for independence from Britain.

Quotes

• Tutti gli uomini sono per natura egualmente liberi e indipendenti. Quest'eguaglianza è necessaria per costituire un governo libero. Bisogna che ognuno sia uguale all'altro nel diritto naturale.
  • All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government. All men must be equal to each other in natural law.
  • In The Virginia Gazette (1774), as translated by Thomas Jefferson. According to John F. Kennedy, in A Nation of Immigrants (1958), ch. 3, the phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence — "All men are created equal" — was paraphrased from Mazzei's words
  • Alberto Aquarone (ed.) Memorie della Vita e delle Peregrinazioni del Fiorentino Filippo Mazzei (Milan, 1970), p. 214
  • Cf. omnes homines natura aequales sunt

See also

• Ulpian (Digesta)

External links

• Michael A. Musmanno, The Story of the Italians in America (1965), p. 36
• Margherita Marchione (tr.) Philip Mazzei, Jefferson's "Zealous Whig" (1975), p. 18