Many people think: A duty restricts me. It takes away some of my freedom.

That is only partly true. What does duty restrict? Only whim. Only the drives that pull me this way and that. And only the empty brooding that never comes to a deed.

Where does the liberation lie?

First, duty frees me from the power of my drives. I am no longer their plaything.

Second, it frees me from endless back and forth. I do not have to work out anew every morning what is good.

Third, it brings me to action. Without it I would stay stuck inside myself.

An example:

A doctor is on night duty. She would rather sleep. But she has a duty. In this very duty she is free. She is not simply at the mercy of her tiredness. She does what she wants to be as a doctor.

Someone who says “I want to be free and have no duty” wants an empty freedom. In duty, by contrast, he gains real freedom.

Summary: Duty restricts only whim and empty inwardness. In truth, it sets us free. In duty, a person gains real freedom.