" And
singularly enough, the man actually lived to sit upon that very
bench as a magistrate.
Whatever theoretical conclusions logicians may have formed as to
the freedom of the will, each individual feels that practically he
is free to choose between good and evil--that he is not as a mere
straw thrown upon the water to mark the direction of the current,
but that he has within him the power of a strong swimmer, and is
capable of striking out for himself, of buffeting with the waves,
and directing to a great extent his own independent course. There
is no absolute constraint upon our volitions, and we feel and know
that we are not bound, as by a spell, with reference to our
actions. It would paralyze all desire of excellence were we to
think otherwise. The entire business and conduct of life, with its
domestic rules, its social arrangements, and its public
institutions, proceed upon the practical conviction that the will
is free. Without this where would be responsibility?--and what the
advantage of teaching, advising, preaching, reproof, and
correction? What were the use of laws, were it not the universal
belief, as it is the universal fact, that men obey them or not,
very much as they individually determine? In every moment of our
life, conscience is proclaiming that our will is free.
Pages:
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333