Neither disease, indigence, nor any evil of the same kind is more contrary to nature than appropriating or desiring to appropriate the property of another to our own use.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) The natural law recognizes the right of property as so fundamental that its violation is worse than any natural misfortune — no condition of want or hardship justifies the taking of another's property, and government is no exception: the power of eminent domain, taxation, or regulatory seizure without the owner's consent and just compensation is a trespass upon a right that precedes all civil institutions.

Where this applies

• A city argues it can seize a widow's home to build a parking lot because the community needs it, but the maxim holds that no public need justifies taking her property without consent and just compensation.
• A government claims that a national emergency allows it to commandeer private warehouses without paying the owners, but natural law says coveting another's property is worse than any calamity.
• A desperate man argues he should be allowed to take food from a neighbor's garden because he is starving, but the law holds that want does not justify violating another's property rights.