[24]
But those who keep subjects in check by force
would of course have to employ severity—masters, for
example, toward their servants, when these cannot
be held in control in any other way. But those who
in a free state deliberately put themselves in a
position to be feared are the maddest of the mad.
For let the laws be never so much overborne by some
one individual's power, let the spirit of freedom be
never so intimidated, still sooner or later they assert
themselves either through unvoiced public sentiment,
or through secret ballots disposing of some high
office of state. Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never
[p. 193]
endangered. Let us, then, embrace this policy, which
appeals to every heart and is the strongest support
not only of security but also of influence and power
—namely, to banish fear and cleave to love. And
thus we shall most easily secure success both in
private and in public life.
Furthermore, those who wish to be feared must inevitably be afraid of those whom they intimidate.
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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