First of all, there is the suspensive freedom that comes by walking, even a simple short stroll: throwing of the burden of cares, forgetting business for a time. You choose to leave the once behind, go out, stroll around, think about other things. With a longer excursion of several days, the process of self-liberation is accentuated: you escape the constraints of work, throw of the yoke of routine.
 • Chapter 2: Freedoms
“

D’abord, il y a la liberté suspensive offerte par la marche, ne serait-ce qu’une simple promenade : se délester du fardeau des soucis, oublier un temps ses affaires. On choisit de ne pas emporter son bureau avec soi : on sort, on flâne, on pense à autre chose. Avec la randonnée longue de plusieurs jours, s’accentue le mouvement de déprise : on échappe aux contraintes du travail, on se libère du carcan des habitudes.

— Frédéric Gros

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "D’abord, il y a la liberté suspensive offerte par la marche, ne serait-ce qu’une simple promenade : se délester du fardeau des soucis, oublier un temps ses affaires. On choisit de ne pas emporter son bureau avec soi : on sort, on flâne, on pense à autre chose. Avec la randonnée longue de plusieurs jours, s’accentue le mouvement de déprise : on échappe aux contraintes du travail, on se libère du carcan des habitudes." in the context of "First of all, there is the suspensive freedom that comes by walking, even a simple short stroll: throwing of the burden of cares, forgetting business for a time. You choose to leave the once behind, go out, stroll around, think about other things. With a longer excursion of several days, the process of self-liberation is accentuated: you escape the constraints of work, throw of the yoke of routine.
 • Chapter 2: Freedoms" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Frédéric Gros" (Quotes, A Philosophy of Walking (2008):  Gros, Frédéric; Howe, John (trans.). 2014. A philosophy of walking. London; New York: Verso. ISBN 978-1-78168-270-8. (2014 English translation by John Howe, from the original 2008 French book)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About Frédéric Gros

Frédéric Gros (born 30 November 1965) is a French philosopher.