After being arrested on the orders of Angelo, Claudio uses a paradox to explain his dire predicament to his friend Lucio:
LUCIO
Why, how now, Claudio? Whence comes this
restraint?CLAUDIO
From too much liberty, my Lucio, liberty.
As surfeit is the father of much fast,
So every scope by the immoderate use
Turns to restraint.
Lucio is surprised to see that his friend Claudio has been apprehended by officers of the Duke and asks him for the cause of his “restraint” or lack of physical freedom. Claudio responds paradoxically, stating the cause of his “restraint” is that he has had “too much liberty.” Typically, restraint and liberty are thought of as opposite qualities: someone who is free is not constrained, and someone who is constrained lacks freedom. Here, Claudio’s paradoxical response contrasts two different understandings of the word “liberty” against one another: the first, liberty as freedom of movement; the second, political freedom to behave as one wishes.
Claudio’s paradox suggests that an excess of liberty can lead to a complete loss of it. In a simile, he further elaborates that just as people desire to “fast” or take a break from eating after over-eating, so too does excess always lead to restraint. Claudio’s argument contributes to the play’s ongoing interrogation of the relationship between freedom, punishment, and behavior.
