And this will thus pass from the
threefold division into sovereign, nobles, and people, to the
twofold and only natural division into sovereign and people.
No individual in the state can indeed be entirely without dignity;
for he has at least that of being a citizen, except when he has lost
his civil status by a crime. As a criminal he is still maintained in
life, but he is made the mere instrument of the will of another,
whether it be the state or a particular citizen. In the latter
position, in which he could only be placed by a juridical judgement,
he would practically become a slave, and would belong as property
(dominium) to another, who would be not merely his master (herus)
but his owner (dominus). Such an owner would be entitled to exchange
or alienate him as a thing, to use him at will except for shameful
purposes, and to dispose of his powers, but not of his life and
members. No one can bind himself to such a condition of dependence, as
he would thereby cease to be a person, and it is only as a person that
he can make a contract. It may, however, appear that one man may
bind himself to another by a contract of hire, to discharge a
certain service that is permissible in its kind, but is left
entirely undetermined as regards its measure or amount; and that as
receiving wages or board or protection in return, he thus becomes only
a servant subject to the will of a master (subditus) and not a slave
(servus).
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