沃尔特·惠特曼/Walter Whitman
It is not only true that most people entirely misunderstand Freedom,but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly understa nds it.The whole Universe is absolute Law.To the degraded or undevelop ed-and even to too many others-the thought of freedom is a thought of escaping from law-which,of course,is impossible.More precious than a ll worldly riches is Freedom-freedom from the painful constipation and poor narrowness of ecclesiasticism-freedom in manners,habiliments,fur niture,from the silliness and tyranny of local fashions-entire freedom from party rings and mere conventions in Politics-and better than all,a general freedom of oneself from the tyrannic domination of vices,habi ts,appetites,under which nearly every man of us,(often the greatest b rawler for freedom) is enslaved.
Can we attain such enfranchisement-the true Democracy,and the heig ht of it?While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law,enclosing every movement and minute,we yet escape,by a paradox,i nto true free will.Strange as it may seem,we only attain to freedom by a knowledge of,and implicit obedience to Law.Great-unspeakably great-is the Will!The free Soul of man!At its greatest,understanding and obeying the laws,it can then,and then only,maintain true liberty.For there is to the highest,that law as absolute as any-more absolute than any-the Law of Liberty.The shallow,as intimated,consider liberty a r elease from all law,from every constraint.The wise see in it,on the c ontrary,the potent law of Laws,namely,the fusion and combination of t he conscious will,or partial individual law,with those universal,eter nal,unconscious ones,which run through all Time,pervade history,prov e immortality,give moral purpose to the entire objective world,and the last dignity to human life.
大部分人不仅彻底曲解了“自由”的含义，更可怕的是，我有时觉得还没有见过一个能恰当了解“自由”的人。整个宇宙是一个亘古不变的法则。对于堕落和愚昧无知的人，甚至芸芸众生来说，自由就是避开法律，而这肯定是不能实现的。比世俗的所有财富更珍贵的是自由，自由意味着从教会神学的痛苦禁闭和悲观的狭隘中脱离出来；自由意味着在礼仪、服饰、家具上的随心所欲；自由意味着从地方流行的愚蠢和束缚中脱离出来；自由意味着彻彻底底从党派小圈子和政治运作的旧例中脱离出来；其中最为重要的是，当我们每个人差不多都（我们常常大声叫喊着要自由）受控于罪恶、恶习、欲望时，自由意味着自我从奴役的严酷压迫中彻底脱离出来。