The least that is expected of a writer worthy of the name is to consider as an insult the mere conjecture of these adepts of modern social engineering, who think they have the right and the power to determine how others should express themselves. Because this is exactly what the language police deserve: absolute and utter contempt, which must be extended to the writer who submits to it, who humiliates himself by adapting to the sudden and delirious dictates of half a dozen clowns who believe they are powerful enough to subordinate literary traditions that go back centuries and will go on for many more.
The Free Man and The Slave
Lavelle makes an interesting distinction between the free man and the slave, identifying the former as the one who makes joy coincide with his most habitual activity, and the latter as the one who separates them. Thus, what distinguishes them is the satisfaction in what they do, which goes beyond the circumstances to which they are subjected. Of all the things that flow from this vision, this is perhaps the most important: sometimes it takes little to be free, and sometimes one is a slave without knowing it.
Sometimes It Is Very Difficult to Detect…
Sometimes it is very difficult to detect falsehood when analyzing just words, but it is always possible to assume how much the sender gains from uttering them. In other words, we can always measure their impact on his personal interests. None of this is new; however, this little-practiced exercise is great for classifying those who demand caution, and those whose speech authenticity can be trusted.
The Most Obvious Distinction…
Another one by Lavelle:
Toute notre responsabilité porte donc sur l’usage des puissances qui nous appartiennent en propre. Nous pouvons les laisser perdre ou les faire fructifier. Ainsi notre vocation ne peut être maintenue que si nous restons perpétuellement à son niveau, si nous nous montrons toujours digne d’elle. Le rôle de notre volonté est plus modeste qu’on ne croit ; c’est seulement de servir notre génie, de détruire devant lui les obstacles qui l’arrêtent, de lui fournir sans cesse un nouvel aliment : ce n’est point de modifier son train naturel ni de lui imprimer une direction qu’elle a choisie.
The most obvious distinction for he who seriously discusses topics such as vocation, happiness, and fulfillment is to use words such as responsibility, effort, and duty. The “will”, therefore, can never be understood as an inclination toward the pleasant, the pleasurable, the Freudian infantile pleasure, but only as an effective commitment to overcoming obstacles, as a resistance that prevents the individual from moving away from his own center, and does so only by stimulating him to be what he is.