But, in my supposed case, the people, after all, are not free. They have wants. They are under the necessity of feeding, clothing, and sheltering themselves. To the extent of their actual wants, they are not free. Every limitation is a master.
Every finite being is a prisoner, and no man has ever yet looked above or beyond the prison walls.
Our highest conception of liberty is to be free from the dictation of fellow prisoners. To the extent that we have wants, we are not free. To the extent that we do not have wants, we do not act. If we are responsible for our thoughts, we ought not only to know how they are formed, but we ought to form them. If we are the masters of our own minds, we ought to be able to tell what we are going to think at any future time.