Renunciar a la libertad es renunciar a la condición de hombre, a los derechos de la humanidad y a sus mismos deberes. No hay indemnización posible pa… - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Renunciar a la libertad es renunciar a la condición de hombre.

I can discover nothing in any mere animal but an ingenious machine, to which nature has given senses to wind itself up, and guard, to a certain degree, against everything that might destroy or disorder it.

Peki, insanın bilgeliğinin ya da gerçek mutluluğun yolu nedir? Bu yol, özellikle arzularımızı azaltmak değildir, çünkü bu arzular gücümüzün altında kalsaydı, yetilerimizin bir bölümü etkisiz kalırdı ve tüm varlığımızdan yararlanamazdık. Bu yol, yetilerimizi artırmak da değildir; çünkü arzularımız daha büyük ölçüde artsaydı, yetilerimizden yana daha yoksul olurduk: Ama bu yol, arzularımızın yetilerimizden aşırı olmasını önlemek ve güçle iradeyi tam bir dengede tutmak demektir. İşte ancak o zaman, tüm güçler etkin oldukları için, ruh huzura kavuşacak ve insan kendini derli toplu bulacaktır.

"Plato, in his Republic, which is considered so stern, teaches the children only through festivals, games, songs, and amusements. It seems as if he had accomplished his purpose when he had taught them to be happy; and Seneca, speaking of the Roman lads in olden days, says, "They were always on their feet, they were never taught anything which kept them sitting." Were they any the worse for it in manhood? Do not be afraid, therefore, of this so-called idleness. What would you think of a man who refused to sleep lest he should waste part of his life? You would say, "He is mad; he is not enjoying his life, he is robbing himself of part of it; to avoid sleep he is hastening his death." Remember that these two cases are alike, and that childhood is the sleep of reason."