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Forgotten Gems of Liberty
This List Is By:
Liberty Fund Staff
Liberty Fund, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Over the course of time some particularly noteworthy essays, chapters or sections of books are forgotten. This section is an attempt to revive these “forgotten gems” of liberty. They are in chronological order.
Boetie on Voluntary Servitude (1576)
Estienne de la Boétie, The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, trans. Harry Kurz (1942).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2250 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Overton fires an Arrow from Prison against all Tyrants (1646)
Richard Overton, An Arrow against all Tyrants (1646)
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2252 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Blackstone on the Absolute Rights of Individuals (1753)
Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books. Notes selected from the editions of Archibold, Christian, Coleridge, Chitty, Stewart, Kerr, and others, Barron Field’s Analysis, and Additional Notes, and a Life of the Author by George Sharswood. In Two Volumes. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1893). Vol. 1 - Books I & II. Chapter: CHAPTER I.: OF THE ABSOLUTE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2140/198653 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Blackstone on Property (1753)
Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books. Notes selected from the editions of Archibold, Christian, Coleridge, Chitty, Stewart, Kerr, and others, Barron Field’s Analysis, and Additional Notes, and a Life of the Author by George Sharswood. In Two Volumes. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1893). Vol. 1 - Books I & II. Chapter: CHAPTER I.: OF PROPERTY, IN GENERAL.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2140/198690 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Hume on the Origin of Government (1777)
David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, Literary, edited and with a Foreword, Notes, and Glossary by Eugene F. Miller, with an appendix of variant readings from the 1889 edition by T.H. Green and T.H. Grose, revised edition (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1987). Chapter: ESSAY V: OF THE ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/704/137486 on 2009-10-16
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Hume on the Progress of English Liberty (1778)
David Hume, The Progress of English Liberty (1778)
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2253 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Madison on Universal and Perpetual Peace (1792)
James Madison, The Writings of James Madison, comprising his Public Papers and his Private Correspondence, including his numerous letters and documents now for the first time printed, ed. Gaillard Hunt (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900). Vol. 6. Chapter: UNIVERSAL PEACE. 1
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1941/124396 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Condorcet on the Future Progress of mankind (1795)
Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet, Outlines of an historical view of the progress of the human mind, being a posthumous work of the late M. de Condorcet. (Translated from the French.) (Philadelphia, 1796). Chapter: TENTH EPOCH. Future Progress of Mankind.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1669/800 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Constant on the Liberty of the Moderns (1816)
Benjamin Constant, The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns (1816).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2251 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Say on the Right of Property (1817)
Jean Baptiste Say, A Treatise on Political Economy; or the Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Wealth, ed. Clement C. Biddle, trans. C. R. Prinsep from the 4th ed. of the French, (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1855. 4th-5th ed. ). Chapter: BOOK I, CHAPTER XIV: OF THE RIGHT OF PROPERTY.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/274/37998 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Say on Colonial Slave Labor (1817)
Jean Baptiste Say, A Treatise on Political Economy; or the Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Wealth, ed. Clement C. Biddle, trans. C. R. Prinsep from the 4th ed. of the French, (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1855. 4th-5th ed. ). Chapter: BOOK I, CHAPTER XIX: OF COLONIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/274/38017 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Macaulay on the Standard of Living under Industrialization (1830)
Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays contributed to the Edinburgh Review, 5th ed. in 3 vols. (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848). Vol. 1. Chapter: SOUTHEY’S COLLOQUIES. (Jan. 1830.)
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/362/50384 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Hodgskin on the Natural Right to Property (1832)
Thomas Hodgskin, The Natural and Artificial Right of Property Contrasted. A Series of Letters, addressed without permission to H. Brougham, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. (London: B. Steil, 1832). Chapter: LETTER THE SECOND. the NATURAL RIGHT OF PROPERTY illustrated.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/323/37830 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Spencer on the Proper Sphere of Government (1843)
Herbert Spencer, The Man versus the State, with Six Essays on Government, Society and Freedom, ed. Eric Mack, introduction by Albert Jay Nock (Indianapolis: LibertyClassics, 1981). Chapter: THE PROPER SPHERE OF GOVERNMENT
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/330/119749 on 2009-10-16
This work is copyrighted by the Institute for Humane Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and is put online with their permission.
Tocqueville on Socialism (1848)
Ralph Raico, New Individualist Review, editor-in-chief Ralph Raico, introduction by Milton Friedman (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: Tocqueville on Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2136/195263 on 2009-10-16
The copyright to this publication is held by Liberty Fund, Inc. The New Individualist Review is prohibited for use in any publication, journal, or periodical without written consent of J. M. Cobb, J. M. S. Powell, or David Levy.
Bastiat on the State (1848)
Frédéric Bastiat, Selected Essays on Political Economy, trans. Seymour Cain, ed. George B. de Huszar, introduction by F.A. Hayek (Irvington-on-Hudson: Foundation for Economic Education, 1995). Chapter: 5: The State 1
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/956/35453 on 2009-10-16
Published online with the kind permission of the copyright holders, the Foundation for Economic Education.
Spencer on the Right to Ignore the State (1851)
Herbert Spencer, Social Statics: or, The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed, (London: John Chapman, 1851). Chapter: CHAPTER XIX.: the right to ignore the state.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/273/6325 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Spooner on Taxation and the Common Law (1852)
Lysander Spooner, An Essay on the Trial by Jury (Boston: John P. Jewett and Company, 1852). Chapter: APPENDIX.: TAXATION.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2181/202927 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Spencer on the Tyranny of Fashion (1854)
Herbert Spencer, Essays on Education and Kindred Subjects, Introduction by Charles W. Eliot (London: Dent, 1911). Chapter: ON MANNERS AND FASHION 1
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2249/212798 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Spooner on Natural Law (1882)
Lysander Spooner, Natural Law; or the Science of Justice: A Treatise on Natural Law, Natural Justice, Natural Rights, Natural Liberty, and Natural Society; showing that all Legislation whatsoever is an Absurdity, a Usurpation, and a Crime. Part First. (Boston: A. Williams & Co., 1882). Chapter: NATURAL LAW.: PART FIRST.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2182/202929 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Sumner on the Forgotten Man (1883)
William Graham Sumner, The Forgotten Man and Other Essays, ed. Albert Galloway Keller (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1918). Chapter: THE FORGOTTEN MAN
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1654/108194 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Acton on the Corrupting Influence of Power (1887)
John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton, Acton-Creighton Correspondence (1887) Chapter: LETTER I.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2254/212809 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Sumner on the Conquest of the U.S. by Spain (1898)
William Graham Sumner, War and Other Essays, ed. Albert Galloway Keller (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919). Chapter: XV: THE CONQUEST OF THE UNITED STATES BY SPAIN [1898]
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/345/166277 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Oppenheimer on the Origin of the State (1922)
Franz Oppenheimer, The State: Its History and Development viewed Sociologically, authorized translation by John M. Gitterman (New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1922). Chapter: CHAPTER II: the genesis of the state
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1662/36961 on 2009-10-16
The text is in the public domain.
Chodorov on Socialism via Taxation (1946)
Frank Chodorov, Fugitive Essays: Selected Writings of Frank Chodorov, Compiled, Edited, and with an Introduction by Charles H. Hamilton (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1980). Chapter: Socialism via Taxation
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1730/141913 on 2009-10-16
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.