A human being is unfree only to the extent that he considers his animal nature to constitute his life.
They say that freedom is the human being’s greatest good. If freedom is a good, then a free human being cannot be unhappy. Therefore, if you see an unhappy, suffering person, know that this person is unfree—he is certainly enslaved by someone or something.
If freedom is a good, then a free human being cannot be a voluntary slave. And therefore, if you see a person humiliating himself before others, flattering them, know that this person is likewise not free. He is a slave trying to get his dinner, or a lucrative position, or something else, and in general trying to control something that does not belong to him.
A free human being controls only that which can be controlled without hindrance. And the only thing that can be controlled wholly without hindrance is one’s self. And therefore, if you see a person who wants to control other people rather than himself, know that he is not free: he has become a slave of his desire to rule over others.
— Epictetus
Without inward, spiritual freedom, outward liberty is of little worth. What benefit is it to me that I am crushed by no foreign yoke, if, through ignorance and vice, through selfishness and fear, I want the command of my own mind? I call that mind free which is not imprisoned in itself or in a sect, which conquers pride, anger, and sloth, and offers itself up a willing victim to the cause of mankind.
— Channing
Nothing can be accomplished without faith. Doubt destroys a human being, it destroys nations. Why is the liberation of nations so difficult, so arduous, why does it take so long? Because they have no faith in their right, in the invincible power of their right. Why do the oppressed classes everywhere groan in anticipation of relief, which does not come? Because they have neither faith in themselves, nor in God, who is always ready to save them, but not without their participation, because it is the privilege of free beings to be that which they wish to be, just as it is their punishment to be that which others wish to turn them into when they obediently bow down before the whip of injustice and oppression. But even then God does not abandon them. To awaken them he sends the messengers of his mercy, places his word in them, envelops them with his power—and the world trembles around them, crowds rush to hear them, nations grow excited and begin to rise like fermented dough; they see a hazy vision of a better future. Upon seeing it they tremble, they are permeated by a feeling of an abundance of life.
But now come the oppressors, the Pharisees and the scribes. Embarrassed, alarmed, trembling for their shaken power, they either strangle the envoys of the Heavenly Father or, if they can, slander both their teaching and their deeds; they really do find pretexts to condemn the envoys’ good deeds. They say: “True, we cannot deny that these people banish demons, but they banish them using the power of the devil.” Raise, raise your heads, and in the east, above the darkness that these hypocrites are trying to thicken around you, you will see the sun that is already rising, which will soon illuminate you with its full light and warm you with its rays.
— Lamennais
To become truly free, you must always be ready to return to God the things you have received from him. You must merge your will with the will of God. A human being can only be unfree in that which is contrary to the will of God. If you only desire the things that God desires—truth and love—you cannot be unfree. There is no situation in which you cannot manifest truth and love, and therefore there is no situation that can deprive you of freedom. But if you do not want this, then you will remain a slave among slaves for the rest of your life, even if you have every kind of worldly honor, even if you become a king.
— After Epictetus
Where there is no freedom, life is reduced to that of an animal.
— Giuseppe Mazzini
Do not be a slave to one or to a few. By making yourself a slave to everyone, you become everyone’s friend.
— After Cicero
Human dignity and freedom are essential to us. Let us protect them or die with dignity.
— Cicero
If you feel that you are unfree, seek the cause in yourself.
