Mankind is at its best when it is most free. This will be clear if we grasp the principle of liberty. We must recall that the basic principle of liberty is freedom of choice, which saying many have on their lips but few in their minds.

The quotation presents liberty as the condition under which human beings most fully realize their capacities: “mankind is at its best” when free. It then defines liberty not merely as political permission but as an inner power—free choice (free will)—and criticizes the gap between repeating the word “freedom” and genuinely understanding its moral implications. In Dantean terms, freedom of choice is what makes virtue, responsibility, and justice possible; without it, praise and blame lose meaning. The passage also implies that true liberty requires intellectual clarity: one must “grasp the principle” rather than treat liberty as a slogan.