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My Translation of a Key Sentence in Emer de Vattel’s 1758 Treatise on Natural Law in Section 212 -“Des citoyens et naturels”
The Post & Email Newspaper ^ | 15 Apr 2023 | CDR Charles Kerchner (Ret)

Posted on 04/15/2023 5:13:14 PM PDT by CDR Kerchner

(Apr. 15, 2023) — The key sentence in the original 1758 French edition written by Vattel:

“Les naturels, ou indigénes, sont ceux qui sont nés dans le pays, de parents citoyens.”

First let’s do a direct translation of the key sentence using this online French to English site:

https://translate.yandex.com/?source_lang=fr&target_lang=en&text=Les%20naturels%2C%20ou%20indigenes%2C%20sont%20ceux%20qui%20sont%20nes%20dans%20le%20pays%2C%20de%20parents%20citoyens

The key sentence translated to English by that online translation site is:

“The natural, or indigenous, are those who were born in the country, from citizen parents.”

... continue reading at: https://www.thepostemail.com/2023/04/15/my-translation-of-a-key-sentence-in-emer-de-vattels-1758-treatise-on-natural-law-in-section-212-des-citoyens-et-naturels/

(Excerpt) Read more at thepostemail.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Miscellaneous; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: naturalborncitizen; naturallaw; naturels; vattel
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Analysis and translation of the key sentence regarding natural born citizens written in French in 1758 by Emer de Vattel in his legal treatise on Natural Law.
1 posted on 04/15/2023 5:13:14 PM PDT by CDR Kerchner
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To: CDR Kerchner

Oh crap. Would you just give it up. Or maybe quit being descriptive, and translate the next paragraph, about those other places, like ENGLAND???


2 posted on 04/15/2023 5:17:20 PM PDT by Penelope Dreadful (And there is Pansies, that's for Thoughts. +Sodomy & Abortion are NOT cornerstones of Civilization! )
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To: Penelope Dreadful

Deceptive not descriptive


3 posted on 04/15/2023 5:18:09 PM PDT by Penelope Dreadful (And there is Pansies, that's for Thoughts. +Sodomy & Abortion are NOT cornerstones of Civilization! )
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To: CDR Kerchner

I get, eat, drink and be merry.


4 posted on 04/15/2023 5:19:47 PM PDT by Fuzz (. )
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To: CDR Kerchner
Still trying to nullify Obama's presidency, I see.

Every man should have his hobbies.

5 posted on 04/15/2023 5:23:28 PM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President 2024. A real conservative.)
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To: CDR Kerchner

Sheridan`s 1791 defines “Natural, ,,,, native, original inhabitant”


6 posted on 04/15/2023 5:58:01 PM PDT by bunkerhill7 (goosedown is up)
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To: CDR Kerchner

That is what it was in the US until it needed to be scrapped for Obama. Now “natural born citizen can include anyone on the planet. He would probably need to visit America a couple of times and exhibit his Marxist bona fides for the benefit of the Deep State to run for election.


7 posted on 04/15/2023 5:58:46 PM PDT by arthurus (covfefe )
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To: CDR Kerchner

Vattel’s book “The Law of Nations” is on my list of important works that needs to be (fully) recorded as an audiobook. Not sure when I’ll get it done though.


8 posted on 04/15/2023 7:34:18 PM PDT by ProgressingAmerica (The historians must be stopped. They're destroying everything.)
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To: CDR Kerchner

Everyone with a half a brain and the willingness to research history knows the gold standard of natural born citizen was conveyed only upon those born in country of citizen parents -- the right of soil and the right of blood. But so many are dimwitted or intentionally obtuse that this is an uphill battle even as we see first-hand the havoc an unqualified candidate in office can wreak. Stiff upper lip and carry on, sir.


9 posted on 04/15/2023 8:04:09 PM PDT by so_real ( "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.")
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To: Drew68

Of course it doesn’t “nullify” Obama’s Presidency. But the fact that legitimate objections to Obama’s eligibility were not raised on the basis of this work on Natural Law and John Jay’s correspondence shows how far we have drifted politically and linguistically from the society that wrote the Constitution, and how restoring that Constitution would require upending an enormous amount of current law and current received opinion.


10 posted on 04/15/2023 8:08:48 PM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens" )
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To: so_real
Everyone with a half a brain and the willingness to research history knows the gold standard of natural born citizen was conveyed only upon those born in country of citizen parents -- the right of soil and the right of blood. But so many are dimwitted or intentionally obtuse that this is an uphill battle even as we see first-hand the havoc an unqualified candidate in office can wreak. Stiff upper lip and carry on, sir.

Much confusion on the issue was created by William Rawle in his book "A View of the Constitution." He explicitly said that just being born in the country made you a citizen.

He was lying. I researched it quite a bit, and that is the only conclusion I can come to. The entire Supreme Court of Pennsylvania told him he was wrong about this, but that's what he wrote in his book anyway.

If you want to know who screwed up our understanding of the meaning of "natural born citizen", it was William Rawle.

11 posted on 04/15/2023 9:31:18 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: pierrem15
I guess you have no further interest in discussing the cause of the Civil War?

Of course it doesn’t “nullify” Obama’s Presidency. But the fact that legitimate objections to Obama’s eligibility were not raised on the basis of this work on Natural Law and John Jay’s correspondence shows how far we have drifted politically and linguistically from the society that wrote the Constitution, and how restoring that Constitution would require upending an enormous amount of current law and current received opinion.

And about this you are exactly right. People today do not care what the truth is, and the same can be said of the Civil War. They don't care what the truth is.

12 posted on 04/15/2023 9:33:36 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Drew68

I love reading their comments. It is like having a front-row seat at the Sovereign Citizen Sanitarium! Yeah, I know it is like paying 10 cents to see the Reptile Girl at the freak show, and I should be ashamed of myself, but they are such a bunch of entertaining loonies! I keep waiting for one of the nincompoops to come out with -”I read a dictionary, and it said “natural” meant nekkid!” Sooo, only nekkid people can be president!”


13 posted on 04/15/2023 11:19:44 PM PDT by Penelope Dreadful (And there is Pansies, that's for Thoughts. +Sodomy & Abortion are NOT cornerstones of Civilization! )
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To: DiogenesLamp

You are correct that William Rawles, a person who became a prominent Pennsylvania lawyer was responsible for what today we call misinformation about original intent and meaning regarding the constitutional term of “natural born Citizen”. He did not serve militarily in the revolution and was too young, still too unknown, and on the wrong side of events to participate in the Constitutional Convention. He advocated the enforcement of British statutes and British common law in PA. He wanted to have enforced in Pennsylvania things such as his opinion on the meaning of “natural born Citizen” (nbC) that one only had to be born in the USA without regards to the citizenship of the parents. He was a person who was raised by a somewhat infamous Loyalist family who was totally against the revolution and aided and abetted the British while they occupied Philadelphia during the war. However being a clever lawyer wanting to advance his legal career in the new nation, he saddled up with a lot of Patriots to further his career after the British lost. He was quite a successful lawyer in Philadelphia PA but he was not at all successful in selling a lot of his still lingering loyalties to, and arguments and opinions on British statutes and common law, in cases before the Judges of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially on the “natural born Citizen” subject. They did not buy his argument at all on that issue. You can read about it in this linked to report prepared for the Judges of the [PA] Supreme Court in 1817 by Samuel Roberts: https://archive.org/details/digestofselectbr00robe However, even though he lost in the PA courts with his opinions and arguments as to enforcing British laws on the (nbC) term, he continued to write about his losing idea and argument for years after losing in the courts. So he wrote that work of his and left his losing thoughts and ideas on (nbC) for the Progressives leftists of today to hang their hats on.


14 posted on 04/15/2023 11:54:33 PM PDT by CDR Kerchner (natural born Citizen, natural law, Emer de Vattel, naturels, presidential, eligibility, kamalaharris)
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To: DiogenesLamp; CDR Kerchner
I agree with you both.

IMO, the biggest difference between Rawle's and the other 3 Views is that he tried to make Allegiance emanate from citizenship, while the others understood that citizenship comes from Allegiance.

15 posted on 04/16/2023 6:08:16 AM PDT by MamaTexan (I am a person as created by the Law of Nature, not a person as created by the laws of Man.)
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To: CDR Kerchner

If there is another side to this debate, I’d like to hear it. Otherwise, case closed. Obama’s Presidency was illegitimate. Some others who aspire today to become President are not eligible.


16 posted on 04/16/2023 6:09:25 AM PDT by ChessExpert (Required for informed consent: "We have a new, experimental vaccine.")
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To: CDR Kerchner
A good analysis of what should be a simple concept.

Yet I've seen people try to argue that the 'or' in the sentence is used as an either or, indicating two different types of 'natural born' citizens, the first merely being born IN a country while the second was born OF it.

17 posted on 04/16/2023 6:41:59 AM PDT by MamaTexan (I am a person as created by the Law of Nature, not a person as created by the laws of Man.)
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To: CDR Kerchner
I wish to add that I have done a lot of research on how William Rawle got it so wrong on the issue of natural born citizen.

He was deliberately lying. He had been told by the judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that he was wrong, "Negro Flora v. Joseph Graisberry".

Why did he persist? Well I think i've found the answer. If he could convince everyone to adopt the idea that being born on the soil would make you a citizen, every slave would have to be set free on this basis.

He was a prominent abolitionist and became president of the Pennsylvania abolition society.

He wasn't arguing for jus soli because he knew it to be correct, he was arguing for it in an effort to free slaves.

He was lying for what he believed to be a just cause.

18 posted on 04/16/2023 8:51:28 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Penelope Dreadful
I love reading their comments. It is like having a front-row seat at the Sovereign Citizen Sanitarium! Yeah, I know it is like paying 10 cents to see the Reptile Girl at the freak show, and I should be ashamed of myself, but they are such a bunch of entertaining loonies! I keep waiting for one of the nincompoops to come out with -”I read a dictionary, and it said “natural” meant nekkid!” Sooo, only nekkid people can be president!”

Mockery? And have you bothered to do some research yourself?

19 posted on 04/16/2023 8:52:27 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: MamaTexan
Mama Texan! Where have you been? Good to see you again! I thought something had happened to you.

It is good to see you posting again.

20 posted on 04/16/2023 8:54:07 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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