--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The one who is good, is free even being a…" description: "\"The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one who is bad remains a slave even being a king.\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png" --- # The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one… ![“The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one who is bad remains a slave even being a king.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png) > “The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one who is bad remains a slave even being a king.” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral character determines true freedom; virtue frees even the enslaved, while vice enslaves the powerful. **In simple terms:** Goodness brings freedom, badness keeps you bound. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue to experience freedom. Themes ethics freedom inner liberty Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership roles - personal relationships - social hierarchies Key Concepts moral philosophy virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does freedom mean to you? - Can a bad person truly feel free? A Different Perspective Even the virtuous may be constrained by external oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/he-that-is-kind-is-free-though-he-is-a-slave-he-that-is-evil-is-a/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“The good man is free, even if he is a slave. The evil man is a slave, even if he is a king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/the-good-man-is-free-even-if-he-is-a-slave-the-evil-man-is-a-slave/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [One is and remains a slave as long as one is not cured of hoping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/one-is-and-remains-a-slave-as-long-as-one-is-not-cured-of-hoping/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [The will is truly free, when it is not the slave of vices and sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-will-is-truly-free-when-it-is-not-the-slave-of-vices-and-sins/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/there-is-no-king-who-has-not-had-a-slave-among-his-ancestors-and-no/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Look neither ahead nor behind, look into yourself, with neither fear nor regret. No one descends into himself so long as he remains a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/look-neither-ahead-nor-behind-look-into-yourself-with-neither-fear/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [Speech remains as a slave to you, but the moment it leaves your mouth, you become its slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speech-remains-as-a-slave-to-you-but-the-moment-it-leaves-your-mouth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [See, it's no in between: you're either free or you're a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rap-brown/see-it-s-no-in-between-you-re-either-free-or-you-re-a-slave/) [H. Rap Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rap-brown/) > [None can be free who is a slave to, and ruled by, his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/none-can-be-free-who-is-a-slave-to-and-ruled-by-his-passions/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [No one is truly free, they are a slave to wealth, fortune, the law, or other people restraining them from acting according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/no-one-is-truly-free-they-are-a-slave-to-wealth-fortune-the-law-or/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Try to free a slave with ignorance / Try and teach a whore about romance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-westerberg/try-to-free-a-slave-with-ignorance-try-and-teach-a-whore-about-romance/) [Paul Westerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-westerberg/) > [“If you are not strong enough to fight you have no choice but to accept the life of a slave. The hunter is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-un-mares/if-you-are-not-strong-enough-to-fight-you-have-no-choice-but-to/) [Théun Mares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-un-mares/) > [“Like a cord between us, it binds me to you, where you go I must then follow. If you go too far, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia-purdy/like-a-cord-between-us-it-binds-me-to-you-where-you-go-i-must-then/) [Alexia Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia-purdy/) > [“St John from the book of The Revelation “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-chiron/st-john-from-the-book-of-the-revelation-he-also-forced-everyone-small/) [Joseph M. Chiron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-chiron/) > [We are free when we are not the slave of our impulses, but rather their master. Taking inward distance, we thus become the authors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/we-are-free-when-we-are-not-the-slave-of-our-impulses-but-rather/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Kings quotes > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) > [ I think it is worse \[in 2015\] for a mid-list author such as myself. You either have to sell like Stephen King or go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/i-think-it-is-worse-in-2015-for-a-mid-list-author-such-as-myself-you/) [W. P. Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-p-kinsella/) > [The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-only-men-who-become-gods-even-the-sons-of-god-are-those-who-enter/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [If Jesus is king in heaven then the Kingdom of God is in heaven. If Jesus is king, reign on earth then the Kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/if-jesus-is-king-in-heaven-then-the-kingdom-of-god-is-in-heaven-if/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [ Steve \[King\] has been incredibly supportive. He's also really good about getting back to me when I have questions about plot or characterization. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/steve-king-has-been-incredibly-supportive-he-s-also-really-good-about/) [Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/) > [As a sports fan, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup makes me feel very alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-for-fighting/as-a-sports-fan-the-los-angeles-kings-winning-the-stanley-cup-makes/) Five for Fighting > [Well, I don't want to be king, I want to be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/well-i-don-t-want-to-be-king-i-want-to-be-real/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [Here will be an old abusing of God's patience and the king's English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/here-will-be-an-old-abusing-of-god-s-patience-and-the-king-s-english/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/benny-carter-came-up-to-me-and-said-to-me-you-know-in-the-whole/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the King against the Church, and urge upon him a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-child-seek-those-things-which-make-for-peace-cease-to-stir-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,009 Kings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one who is bad remains a slave even being a king.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a-slave-the-one-who-is-bad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a-slave-the-one-who-is-bad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/saint-augustine-328_kings_the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a_1225747.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The one who is good, is free even being a slave; the one who is bad remains a slave even being a king.” — Saint Augustine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saint Augustine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The one who is good, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a-slave-the-one-who-is-bad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-one-who-is-good-is-free-even-being-a-slave-the-one-who-is-bad/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```