825. Are there positions in the world in which persons can flatter themselves by believing they are enjoying absolute freedom?
“No, because all of you, the least as well as the greatest, need one another.”
826. What would be a condition in which humans could enjoy absolute freedom?
“That of a hermit in the desert. As soon as two individuals are brought together, there are rights to respect and they no longer have absolute freedom.”
827. Does the duty of respecting the rights of others deprive individuals of the rights pertaining to themselves?
“Absolutely not, for they are rights that have been granted to them by nature.”
828. How can we reconcile the liberal opinions of certain men with their frequent despotism in their own homes and over their subordinates?
“In these instances, although they have an intellectual understanding of natural law, it is offset by pride and selfishness. They know what they should do, but they do not do it in practice – they make their principles a well-calculated farce.”
– Will the principles they have professed during this life be taken into account in the next?
“The more intelligence individuals have for understanding a principle, the less excusable they will be if they have not applied it to themselves. I tell you truthfully that simple but sincere persons are more advanced on God’s pathway than those who try to appear to be what they in fact are not.”
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