“It is a beautiful attribute of our nature, a privilege granted to man exclusively, and before all the other creatures of this world, that he ever feels that he can by forethought and determination control and govern every physical influence, however mighty it may be. An inward voice proclaims to him that he is free and independent; it imputes to him good and evil, and in the judgments which he passes on himself, which must always be more severe and strict than those of others, he must entirely throw out of sight all physical influences. Man is subject to two distinct laws, that of dependence and that of freedom, and the conflict is not to be settled by the mere understanding. In the visible world all things seem to be so connected together, that, if we were acquainted with all possible circumstances — the most minute and most remote — it looks as if we could show that man at any moment could not avoid acting exactly as he did. And yet there is always the feeling within us, that if we did but will it, we could grasp the revolving wheel, and free ourselves from the chain that binds us to it. In this consciousness of his freedom lies the true dignity of man.”
