مَن يدع العالم، أو حصّته منه، يختار له خطة حياته، لا يحتاج إلى ملكة سوى ملكة التقليد القردية. أما من يختار خطته بنفسه، فإنه يستعمل ملكاته كلها: فيحتاج إلى الملاحظة ليبصر، والاستدلال والحكم ليتوقّع، والنشاط ليجمع مادة القرار، والتمييز ليقرّر، وإذا قرّر، فالثبات وضبط النفس للتمسك بقراره المتأنّي.

“He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.”John Stuart Mill — On Liberty (1865)