from Dr. Bill [wwh]:

When people were few, they had freedom,
but it didn't mean much. When people became numerous,
customs had to be developed to prevent any one individual
from being free to injure any other individual. Customs
eventually became laws that limited our freedom.
The rights that were left were liberties.

P.S. Dr. Bill thinks this is "not profound enough to post", but, I, for one, disagree. At least, he says it better than I did -- altho not necessarily better than Lincoln. [What's "profound" about "natual justice" anyway? It's just ordinary "do unto others" fairness, isn't it?]