“ It is reasonable to love virtue, to esteem good deeds, to be grateful for good from whatever source we may receive it, and, often, to give up some of our comfort in order to increase the honor and advantage of some man whom we love and who deserves it. ”
Étienne de La Boétie, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (1576). copy citation
| Author | Étienne de La Boétie |
|---|---|
| Source | Discourse on Voluntary Servitude |
| Topic | comfort virtue |
| Date | 1576 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Harry Kurz |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Discourse_on_Voluntary_Servitude |
Context
“or rather, instead of being amazed or saddened, consider patiently the evil and look forward hopefully toward a happier future.
Our nature is such that the common duties of human relationship occupy a great part of the course of our life. It is reasonable to love virtue, to esteem good deeds, to be grateful for good from whatever source we may receive it, and, often, to give up some of our comfort in order to increase the honor and advantage of some man whom we love and who deserves it. Therefore, if the inhabitants of a country have found some great personage who has shown rare foresight in protecting them in an emergency, rare boldness in defending them, rare solicitude in governing them, and if, from that point on, they contract the habit of obeying him and depending on him to such an extent that they grant him certain prerogatives, I fear that such a procedure is not prudent, inasmuch as they remove him from a position in which he was doing good and advance him to a dignity in which he may do evil.”
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