# First Memoir explained — What Is Property?

> Chapter companion for What Is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.

## What happens

The First Memoir opens with an epigraph from the Law of the Twelve Tables, setting a tone of eternal opposition against the enemy. The chapter likely begins Proudhon's inquiry into the nature and legitimacy of property, framing it as a fundamental social and legal question.

## Key lines

> Adversus hostem aeterna auctoritas esto.

Against an enemy, the right to claim property is eternal.

_This epigraph from the Law of the Twelve Tables introduces the theme of perpetual property rights against adversaries._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se/chapters/first-memoir
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se/chapters