Jean-Louis de Lolme

... it is a fundamental principle with the English lawyers, that Parliament can do every thing, except making a Woman a Man, or a Man a Woman.

Jean-Louis de Lolme or Delolme (1740 – 16 July 1806) was a Swiss and English political theorist and writer on constitutional matters, born in the then semi-independent city of Geneva. As an adult he moved to England, and became a British subject.

Quotes

• I have studied History and seen most of the Republics of Europe, and I do not hesitate to affirm that there is, or has been, no Government upon Earth where the property, and especially the person, of the Subject, is by far so secure as it is among us. [i.e. in England]
  • A Parallel between the English Constitution and the former Government of Sweden (London, 1772) p. 26

Constitution de l'Angleterre (1771)

• What then is Liberty? Liberty, I would answer, so far as it is possible for it to exist in a Society of Beings whose interests are almost perpetually opposed to each other, consists in this, that, every Man, while he respects the persons of others, and allows them quietly to enjoy the produce of their industry, be certain himself likewise to enjoy the produce of his own industry, and that his person be also secure. But to contribute by one’s suffrage to procure these advantages to the Community,—to have a share in establishing that order, that general arrangement of things, by means of which an individual, lost as it were in the croud, is effectually protected,—to lay down the rules to be observed by those who, being invested with a considerable power, are charged with the defence of individuals, and provide that they should never transgress them,—these are functions, are acts of Government, but not constituent parts of Liberty.
  • The Constitution of England, 4th ed. (London, 1784), ch. 5, pp. 245–6

• ... it is a fundamental principle with the English lawyers, that Parliament can do every thing, except making a Woman a Man, or a Man a Woman.
  • The Constitution of England, 4th ed. (London, 1784), ch. 10, p. 134, footnote

• Réfugiée comme dans une Citadelle, elle y regne sur une Nation d'autant plus digne de la posseder, qu'elle cherche à étendre son Empire, & porte partout, avec elle, l'égalité, l'industrie. Environnée, pour me servir des expressions de Chamberlayne, d'un profond fosse qui est l'Océan, entourée d'ouvrages extérieurs qui sont ses vaisseaux, & défendue par le courage de ses matelots, elle conserve ce secret important au genre humain, ce feu sacré, & difficile à être allumé, & qui, s'il s'éteignoit, ne le sauroit peut-être plus Lorsque les conquérans auront bouleversé la terre, elle enseignera, de nouveau, aux hommes, non-seulement le principe qui doit les unir, mais, ce qui n'est pas moins important, la forme sous laquelle il faut qu'ils se rassemblent. Et le Philosophe, lorsqu'il réfléchit aux causes puissantes qui font du despotisme, le résultat presque nécessaire des sociétés; & que l'homme aimant son semblable ne cherche à s'en approcher que pour se trouver enveloppé sans remede, se rassure en voyant que la liberté a enfin trouvé un asyle.
  • Being sheltered, as it were, within a Citadel, she there reigns over a Nation which is the better entitled to her favours as it endeavours to extend her Empire, and carries with it, to every part of its dominions, the blessings of industry and equality. Fenced in on every side, to use the expressions of Chamberlayne, with a wide and deep ditch, the sea, guarded with strong outworks, its ships of war, and defended by the courage of her Seamen, she preserves that important secret, that sacred fire, so difficult to be kindled, and which, if it were once extinguished, would perhaps never be lighted again. When the World shall have again been laid waste by Conquerors, she will still continue to shew Mankind, not only the principle that ought to unite them, but what is of no less importance, the form under which they ought to be united. And the Philosopher, when he considers the constant fate of civil Societies amongst Men, and observes the numerous and powerful causes which seem as it were unavoidably to conduct them all to a state of incurable political Slavery, takes comfort in seeing that Liberty has at length disclosed her secret to Mankind, and secured an Asylum to herself.
  • Constitution de l'Angleterre (Amsterdam, 1771), ch. 24, pp. 307–8
  • The Constitution of England, 4th ed. (London, 1784), ch. 21, pp. 539–40