What is being human? / Wat is de mens? (5)

The above picture is an image of the first National Assembly in The Netherlands in 1796, during the Batavian Revolution that took place in The Netherlands from 1794 to 1799. This period was fundamental for the evolution of the Dutch society from a theocratic nation to a free thinking country. A new governmental form was established and the purpose of the assembly was to design the first Dutch constitution.

Article 1 of the current Dutch constitution is still about the equality of people. Just before the Batavian Revolution began, the chairman of the assembly published a book [1] in 1793, that is about the equality of people. Currently I'm in a process of translating this book into modern languages (English and Dutch).

I'm posting one translated sentence from the book every single day. The following quote is one of the starting sentences in the first chapter.

If someone assigns himself more than someone else, then the superior right has to be proved. Such proof can not be located in the moral base, nature or value of these two people, since those are the same in both.

Als iemand aan zichzelf meer toekent dan aan een ander, dan moet er voor het meerdere recht bewijs worden gegeven. Zodanig bewijs kan in de aard, natuur of waarde van deze twee mensen niet gelegen zijn, aangezien die in beiden dezelfde zijn.

[1] Pieter Paulus, 1793, Verhandeling over de vrage: in welken zin kunnen de menschen gezegd worden gelyk te zyn? En welke zyn de regten en pligten, die daaruit voordvloeien?Link.