-By Henry Blair Graybil
Some people think that liberty means no control -that a free person is one who can do as he pleases, that he is not like a horse or an ox in being held back or pushed forward or turned this way or that. It liberty means license, the chance to do as you please, then there is no such thing as liberty in all the world.
In a state of anarchy with no laws, police, or government, you may come or go, work or loaf, steal or kill, but you have no real liberty. You are in constant fear that someone may stop you or rob you or even kill you. In a savage land where there are no rules of any kind, or on a lonely island where there is no one to oppose you, your liberties are almost all lost; you can do nothing worth while; your circle of freedom is useless because it is so small. On the other hand, one's opportunities are greatest in some place where government is strong and laws are many and officers are strict.
Liberty, then, is not license. License is the opportunity to act regardless of other people; liberty is the opportunity to act in such a way as not to interfere with the opportunity of others. When license increases, liberty decreases. It is, then, very important that all people should understand and value liberty, but fight against license and the disregard of the rights of others as they would fight against a cruel invader.
参考中文译文
作者：亨利·布莱尔·格雷比尔
有些人认为“自由”意味着无拘无束——一个自由人可以为所欲为，不像牛、马一样受人牵制或驱策。如果自由意指放纵的话，那么全世界就没有自由这种东西了。
在无政府状态之下，没有法律、警察或政府，你可以任意来去、工作或游荡、偷窃或杀戮，但是你没有真正的自由。你处于持续的恐惧中，担心受到阻拦、抢掠，甚至被杀。在一片荒芜的土地上，没有任何法规，或者在偏僻的小岛上，没有人会阻碍你，你几乎失去所有的自由；你无法做什么有意义的事情；你的自由范围渺小到毫无用途。反过来说，在某些政府健全、法律繁多而官员严峻的地方，一个人才可拥有最大的机会。
因此，自由不是放纵。放纵是行动时罔顾别人；自由是行动时以一种不妨害别人机会的方式为之。当放纵增加时，自由就减少了。所以，最重要的事情是，每个人都应该了解并珍惜自由，同时像抗拒残酷的入侵者一样，反对放纵以及忽视他人权力的行为。