Philosophical spirit

Try to imprint in him a philosophical spirit, so that he [the child] never desires to become a professional philosopher. May your main law be freedom and dependence on oneself, uncompelled self-observation, and independence from others’ judgment. Everything that the philosophers teach and cannot do, those do who are closest to nature, the simple country-dwellers. These are the greatest observers of nature, in their serfdom the freest people, who despise the tyrant honor, who never let others’ judgment take precedence over their own. In short, O philosopher, go to the country and learn the way of the farmers, refine this picture into an ideal, and overthrow the unphilosophical manner of living, overthrow the idol which shows you philosophy as corruption of the world, but not through philosophy.