"No matter how much one might want to confuse independence and freedom, these two things are so different that they even exclude each other. When everyone does what they please, they often do what displeases others, and that is not called a free state. Freedom consists less in doing one's will than in not being subject to that of others; it also consists in not submitting the will of others to one's own; whoever is master cannot be free, and to reign is to obey. (…) I know of no truly free will except that to which no one has the right to oppose resistance; in common freedom, no one has the right to do what the freedom of another forbids them, and true freedom is never self-destructive. Thus, freedom without justice is a true contradiction; for however one goes about it, everything hinders the execution of a disordered will.
There is therefore no liberty without Laws, nor where someone is above the Laws: in the very state of nature, man is free only by virtue of the natural law which commands all; a free people obeys, but it does not serve; it has leaders, and not masters; it obeys the Laws, but it obeys only the Laws and it is by the force of the Laws that it does not obey men. All the barriers which are given in Republics to the power of magistrates are established only to guarantee the sacred enclosure of the Laws from their attacks: they are their Ministers, not their arbiters, they must guard them, not infringe them. A People is free, whatever form its Government may take, when in the one who governs it it does not see the man, but the organ of the Law. In a word, liberty always follows the fate of the Laws, it reigns or perishes with them; I know of nothing more certain.
You have laws that are good and wise, either in themselves or simply because they are laws. Any condition imposed on everyone by everyone cannot be onerous to anyone, and the worst law is even better than the best master; for every master has preferences, and the law never does.
J.J. ROUSSEAU "Letters Written from the Mountain" 1764
Thank you for these words . I am going through difficult times. I have been asked difficult questions about me . Who am I ? I graduated from a high school that used the motto “ to thine own self be true !” Even then I was like “ what does that mean , what self should I be true to ? When I don’t know myself ? Even now ! I’m 72 , retired and should be enjoying ( I think ) my retirement and old age . But I’ve made decisions recently that have been very poor in hindsight , and caused chaos in my life . I am going to go back and read your previous posts. Sometimes I skip over them because of just too many emails . But the words you posted today resonated with me at a ( I hope ) perfect time in my evolving life . 🙏
Good morning, I’ve been following your Channel for a few months now. I find the posts very valuable to me. Some strike me this much, I copy them into my journal to ancher their meaning into my knowing. It hits me, I have talked about them with some old friends, as the questions can seam easy but the answers never are… Thank you for sharing this message, it has helped me quiet a lot. All the best, Katrien
"No matter how much one might want to confuse independence and freedom, these two things are so different that they even exclude each other. When everyone does what they please, they often do what displeases others, and that is not called a free state. Freedom consists less in doing one's will than in not being subject to that of others; it also consists in not submitting the will of others to one's own; whoever is master cannot be free, and to reign is to obey. (…) I know of no truly free will except that to which no one has the right to oppose resistance; in common freedom, no one has the right to do what the freedom of another forbids them, and true freedom is never self-destructive. Thus, freedom without justice is a true contradiction; for however one goes about it, everything hinders the execution of a disordered will.
There is therefore no liberty without Laws, nor where someone is above the Laws: in the very state of nature, man is free only by virtue of the natural law which commands all; a free people obeys, but it does not serve; it has leaders, and not masters; it obeys the Laws, but it obeys only the Laws and it is by the force of the Laws that it does not obey men. All the barriers which are given in Republics to the power of magistrates are established only to guarantee the sacred enclosure of the Laws from their attacks: they are their Ministers, not their arbiters, they must guard them, not infringe them. A People is free, whatever form its Government may take, when in the one who governs it it does not see the man, but the organ of the Law. In a word, liberty always follows the fate of the Laws, it reigns or perishes with them; I know of nothing more certain.
You have laws that are good and wise, either in themselves or simply because they are laws. Any condition imposed on everyone by everyone cannot be onerous to anyone, and the worst law is even better than the best master; for every master has preferences, and the law never does.
J.J. ROUSSEAU "Letters Written from the Mountain" 1764
Someone worth following isn’t the one with the most answers — it’s the one asking the questions you didn’t think to.
And they don’t just ask, they make you want to find out with them.
📌 Curiosity scales better than certainty.
⬖ Asking better questions about influence at Frequency of Reason: bit.ly/4jTVv69
Thank you for these words . I am going through difficult times. I have been asked difficult questions about me . Who am I ? I graduated from a high school that used the motto “ to thine own self be true !” Even then I was like “ what does that mean , what self should I be true to ? When I don’t know myself ? Even now ! I’m 72 , retired and should be enjoying ( I think ) my retirement and old age . But I’ve made decisions recently that have been very poor in hindsight , and caused chaos in my life . I am going to go back and read your previous posts. Sometimes I skip over them because of just too many emails . But the words you posted today resonated with me at a ( I hope ) perfect time in my evolving life . 🙏
Good morning, I’ve been following your Channel for a few months now. I find the posts very valuable to me. Some strike me this much, I copy them into my journal to ancher their meaning into my knowing. It hits me, I have talked about them with some old friends, as the questions can seam easy but the answers never are… Thank you for sharing this message, it has helped me quiet a lot. All the best, Katrien