What makes someone truly free and in control of themselves? Money doesn't do it. Neither does being a consul, governing a province, or having royal power. There must be something else. What makes us free and unhindered when we write? Knowing how to write. What about playing the lute? Knowing how to play the lute. So in life, it's knowing how to live. You've heard the general idea. Now let's look at the details. Can someone who wants things that depend on other people be free from obstacles? No. Can they be unhindered? No. So they can't be free. Think about this: Do we have nothing that's entirely our own? Do we have everything? Or do we have some things that are ours and some that belong to others?
What then is that which makes a man free from hindrance and makes him his own master? For wealth does not do it, nor consulship, nor provincial government, nor royal power; but something else must be discovered. What then is that which when we write makes us free from hindrance and unimpeded? The knowledge of the art of writing. What then is it in playing the lute? The science of playing the lute. Therefore in life also it is the science of life. You have then heard in a general way; but examine the thing also in the several parts. Is it possible that he who desires any of the things which depend on others can be free from hindrance? No. Is it possible for him to be unimpeded? No. Therefore he cannot be free. Consider then, whether we have nothing which is in our own power only, or whether we have all things, or whether some things are in our own power, and others in the power of others.