Section 138
Original German
138 Diese Subjectivität als die abstracte Selbstbestimmung und reine Gewißheit nur ihrer selbst, verflüchtigt eben so alle Bestimmtheit des Rechts, der Pflicht und des Daseyns in sich, als sie die urtheilende Macht ist, für einen Inhalt nur aus sich zu bestimmen, was gut ist und zugleich die Macht, welcher das zuerst nur vorgestellte und seyn sollende Gute eine Wirklichkeit verdankt.
Das Selbstbewußtseyn, das überhaupt zu dieser absoluten Reflexion in sich gekommen ist, weiß sich in ihr als ein solches, dem alle vorhandene und gegebene Bestimmung nichts anhaben kann noch soll. Als allgemeinere Gestaltung in der Geschichte (bey Sokrates, den Stoikern u. s. f.) erscheint die Richtung, nach Innen in sich zu suchen und aus sich zu wissen und zu bestimmen, was recht und gut ist, in Epochen, wo das, was als das Rechte und Gute in der Wirklichkeit und Sitte gilt, den bessern Willen nicht befriedigen kann; wenn die vorhandene Welt der Freyheit ihm ungetreu geworden, findet er sich in den geltenden Pflichten nicht mehr, und muß die in der Wirklichkeit verlorne Harmonie nur in der ideellen Innerlichkeit zu gewinnen suchen. Indem so das Selbstbewußtseyn sein formelles Recht erfaßt und erworben, kommt es nun darauf an, wie der Inhalt beschaffen ist, den es sich giebt.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from Hegel's German in the Berlin Nicolai first edition, dated 1821. Complete preface, introduction and sections 1–360, including the author's remarks and notes; no later Gans additions.
138 This subjectivity, as abstract self-determination and pure certainty of itself alone, dissolves within itself all determinacy of right, of duty, and of existence, just as it is the judging power that determines, for a content, solely out of itself what is good, and at the same time the power to which the good, at first only represented and something that ought to be, owes an actuality.
Self-consciousness, having come to this absolute reflection into itself, knows itself in it as something that no existing and given determination can or should touch. As a more general shape in history (in Socrates, the Stoics, and so on) the turn inward, to seek within oneself and to know and determine out of oneself what is right and good, appears in epochs when what counts in actuality and custom as right and good cannot satisfy the better will; when the existing world of freedom has become unfaithful to it, it no longer finds itself in the duties that hold, and must try to win the harmony lost in actuality only in ideal inwardness. Now that self-consciousness has thus grasped and acquired its formal right, everything depends on the character of the content which it gives itself.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted Plain English translation made directly from the German first-edition source, not from the Musean edition or an existing English translation. Complete preface, introduction and sections 1–360 with the author's remarks and notes.
138 This subjectivity is abstract self-determination and pure certainty of itself alone. It dissolves all definiteness of right, of duty and of existence within itself. It is the judging power, which decides purely out of itself, for a given content, what is good. And it is at the same time the power to which the good, at first only imagined and something that ought to be, owes its actuality.
Self-consciousness that has come to this absolute reflection into itself knows itself in it as something that no existing or given determination can or should affect. The turn inward, to look within oneself and to know and decide out of oneself what is right and good, appears as a more general phenomenon in history (with Socrates, the Stoics and so on). It appears in times when what counts as right and good in actual practice and custom cannot satisfy the better will. When the existing world of freedom has become unfaithful to that will, it no longer finds itself in the duties that are in force. It must then try to win, only in ideal inwardness, the harmony that has been lost in actuality. Once self-consciousness has grasped and won its formal right in this way, everything depends on the nature of the content that it gives itself.
About this section
Section 138 is part of Elements of the Philosophy of Right by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. This page sets the German original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 140 of 362 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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