The Story of Philosophy

by Will Durant

But among men, as mutual need begets mutual aid, this natural order of powers passes into a moral order of rights. “Since fear of solitude exists in all men, because no one in solitude is strong enough to defend himself and procure the necessaries of life, it follows that men by nature tend towards social organization.”120 To guard against danger “the force or strength of one man would hardly suffice if men did not arrange mutual aid and exchange.”121 Men are not by nature, however, equipped for the mutual forbearance of social order; but danger begets association, which gradually nourishes and strengthens the social instincts: “men are not born for citizenship, but must be made fit for it.”