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Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

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Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest is a phrase in Latin. It means '"Let no man belong to another who can belong to himself."

This phrase is referenced from the Aesopian fable De ranis (Of the Frogs, Snake and Wood).[1] The fable's author is suspected to be an anonymous medeival person who may have been Gualterus Anglicus.[2] The Italian version has the title of Le rane chiedono un re.[3] The English version has the title of The Frogs Who Wished for a King.[4] The lesson of the tale is: One who may stand for oneself shall not subjugate oneself to others. In other words, one must never surrender one's autonomy to external entity.

The phrase was the personal motto of Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus) who had it inscribed, in German, to his portraits.[5]

Cicero in De re publica (book III, 28) also wrote in similar vein, «est enim genus iniustae servitutis, cum hi sunt alterius, qui sui possunt esse» (It is not just for subjects to fall into subservience who are, due to their qualities and capabilities, shall be free). It means that only in such rare case of capablity of potential independence that the slavery be considered unjust.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Targioni Tozzetti (poeta e scrittore) Ottaviano Targioni Tozzeti e Gargani Torquato Gargani (a cura di), Delle ranocchie, serpente e legno, in Favole d'Esopo volgarizzate per uno da Siena, Firenze, Felice Le Monnier, 1864, pp. 62–65.
  2. ^ Giuseppe Fumagalli, n. 798, in Chi l'ha detto?, Milano, Ulrico Hoepli Editore, 1989, p. 230, ISBN 88-203-0092-3.
  3. ^ "Fedro - Le rane chiesero un re". ilnarrastorie.it. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. ^ "The Frogs Who Wished for a King". Read.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  5. ^ Fritz Mauthner, L'ateismo e la storia in Occidente, vol. 2, Roma, Nessun dogma, 2012, p. 31, ISBN 978-88-906527-5-2.
  6. ^ Chiara Buzzacchi, Uguaglianza e gerarchia nel mondo antico, in Carmela Russo Ruggeri (a cura di), Studi in onore di Antonino Metro, tomo I, Milano, Giuffré Editore, 2009, p. 331, ISBN 9788814152511.
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