Society the Redeemed Form of Man

free at the same time to do the exact contrary thing, I would not call this latter faculty by the sacred name of freedom, but by that of bondage, since it can be exercised only at the expense of renouncing one's manhood. My moral manhood depends, and de pends absolutely, upon my felt freedom always to take the side of good in preference to evil whenever and wherever I find them conflicting, and never the side of evil in preference to good. Thus if in case of conflict I actually choose evil, or prefer it to good, my moral or provisional manhood not only turns out an actual sham, but by the foreclosure of the condition on which its entire possibility was based, sinks below animality even, and becomes frankly evil or diabolic. It is true, I may not in so doing recognize that I am incurring a forfeiture of all human possibilities, and probably shall not, going on indeed to prate of my superb and lustrous manhood even after I have shut myself up in hell. But this will be simply because manhood is an inward not an outward form or quality, and therefore only to be inwardly dis cerned, whereas I in the circumstances supposed am really or inwardly knavish not human, and rec ognize manhood therefore only as accomplished knavery.

Letter 28 · p. 454 · line 14583