Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

Freedom preferred to secure confinement

freedom_preferred_to_secure_confinement

A motif of the Duality and Cosmic Opposition family, within the sub-family Freedom, necessity, and unequal power. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


daoist

  • Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer CHAPTER II. / THE IDENTITY OF CONTRARIES. / CHAPTER III. / NOURISHMENT OF THE SOUL.; lines 2016-2134 confidence: high

    Hsien sees an official who has lost a foot, asks whether it is the work of God or man, concludes it is God’s work, and compares wild fowl who prefer freedom to being fed in a cage.

    Wild fowl are said to prefer sparse food and drink in freedom over assured feeding in a cage.

    read in the book