I saw a lot of men die there. Most men. Do you know what killed them?â€â€¦â€Despair,†said Finney. “They believed themselves to be prisoners. I lived with those men, ate the same maggot-infested food, slept in the same beds, did the same back-breaking work. But they died and I lived. Do you know why?†“You were free.†“I was free. Milton was right…the mind is its own place. I was never a prisoner. Not then, not now.