Pope Leo XIII on Reason and Freedom

Pope Leo XIII, Libertas (#6), June 20, 1888: “… man is by nature rational. When, therefore, he acts according to reason, he acts of himself and according to his free will; and this is liberty.  Whereas, when he sins, he acts in opposition to reason, is moved by another, and is the victim of foreign misapprehensions. Therefore, `Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin’ (John 8:34).  Even the heathen philosophers clearly recognized this truth, especially they who held that the wise man alone is free; and by the term ‘wise man’ was meant, as is well known, the man trained to live in accordance with his nature, that is, in justice and virtue.”