Were it not for the corruption and viciousness of degenerate men, there would be no ... necessity that men should separate from this great and natural community, and by positive agreements combine into smaller and divided associations.
ATTRIBUTION:
John Locke (1632–1704), British philosopher. Two Treatises of Government, bk. 2, ch. 9, sect. 128, p. 352, ed. Peter Laslett, Cambridge University Press (1988).
