Thomas Taylor – ser a lei para si mesmo

Hence Aristotle   in his " Politics " also says, that he who surpasses beyond all comparison the rest of his fellow-citizens in virtue, ought to be considered as a God   among men. He also observes, that such a one is no longer a part of the city, that law is not for him, since he is a law to himself, and that it would be ridiculous in any one to subject him to the laws. Let no one, however, who is not thus transcendently virtuous, fancy that law also is not for him; for this fancy in such a one is not only idle, but if not suppressed may lead to sedition, and the destruction of himself and others. In short, the man who has not completely subdued his passions, is so far from being above law, that, as Proclus   well   observes, " the universe uses him as a brute." Observe, too, that when Plotinus   calls the man who is able in this life to see divinity a God, he means that he is a God only according to similitude ; for in this way, men transcendently wise and good are called by Plato, Gods and divine.