Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/145



HUMAN LIBERTY. 139

which belongs to it naturally. When, therefore, it acts through a power outside itself^ it does not act of itself, but through another, that is, as a slave. But man is by nature rational. When, therefore, he acts according to_Â£eason, he acts of himself and according to his free "will; an 3 lJus"T s" liberty. Whereas, when he sins, he acts in opposition to reason, is moved by another, and is the victim of foreign misapprehensions. Therefore, Whoso- ever committeth sin is the slave of sin." Even the heathen philosophers clearly recognized this truth, especially they who held that the wise man alone is free; and by the term "wise man" was meant, as is well known, the man trained to live in accordance with his nature, that is, in justice and virtue.

Such then being the condition of human liberty, it necessar ily stan d s in need of light and strength to dire ct. its actions to good and to restrain them from evil. With- | J out this the freedom of ou r will would be ou r ruin. First ' of all there must be law; that is, a fixed rule of teaching what is to be done and what is to be left undone. This rule cannot affect the lower animals in any true sense, since they act of necessity, following their natural in- stinct, and cannot of themselves act in any other way. On the ot her hand, as was said above, he who i s free can either act or not act, can do this or do that, as he-pleaseSy_ because his judgment precedes his choice. And his judgment not only decides what is right or wrong of its own nature, but also what is practically good and there- fore to be chosen, and what is practically evil and there- fore to be avoided. In other words the reason prescribes \ to the will what it should seek after or shun, in order to the ' eventual attainment of man's last end, for the sake of which all his actions ought to be performed. This ordi- / nation of reason is called law. In man's free will, there- -~^ fore, or in the moral necessity of our voluntary acts being in accordance with reason, lies the very root of the neces- sity of law. Nothing more foolish can be uttered or

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