“ freedom, not power, is the greatest good. That man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires. ”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, or On Education (1762). copy citation
| Author | Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
|---|---|
| Source | Emile, or On Education |
| Topic | freedom power |
| Date | 1762 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Barbara Foxley |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5427/pg5427-images.html |
Context
“You will be no better served, you will be none the less robbed and deceived, you will be no nearer absolute power. You will say continually, "It is our will," and you will continually do the will of others.
There is only one man who gets his own way—he who can get it single-handed; therefore freedom, not power, is the greatest good. That man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires. This is my fundamental maxim. Apply it to childhood, and all the rules of education spring from it.
Society has enfeebled man, not merely by robbing him of the right to his own strength, but still more by making his strength insufficient for his needs.” source
There is only one man who gets his own way—he who can get it single-handed; therefore freedom, not power, is the greatest good. That man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires. This is my fundamental maxim. Apply it to childhood, and all the rules of education spring from it.
Society has enfeebled man, not merely by robbing him of the right to his own strength, but still more by making his strength insufficient for his needs.” source
Meaning and analysis
