Elevating the mind.

"Make for yourself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to you, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell yourself its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved.

"For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly every object which is presented to you in life, and always to look at things so as to see at the same time what kind of universe this is, and what kind of use everything performs in it, and what value everything has with reference to the whole, and what with reference to man, who is a citizen of the highest city, of which all other cities are like families; what each thing is, and of what it is composed, and how long it is the nature of this thing to endure which now makes an impression on me, and what virtue I have need of with respect to it, such as gentleness, manliness, truth, fidelity, simplicity, contentment, and the rest.

"Wherefore, on every occasion a man should say: this comes from God; and this is according to the apportionment and spinning of the thread of destiny, and such-like coincidence and chance; and this is from one of the same stock, and a kinsman and partner, one who knows not however what is according to his nature."

--Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 3 (tr Long)

I find it humbling and helpful to ask myself regularly how fully I am committed to exercising and elevating the mind. A vague promise is easy, of course, but then I can put my seriousness to the test.

How much of my time and effort have I dedicated to my property, my reputation, the pleasures and perfections of my body? In contrast, how much of my time and effort have I dedicated to the clarity of my thinking?

I can easily deceive myself, of course, by claiming that my academic or professional endeavors are improvements of my mind. No, they are dedicated to my worldly gain in glory and profit, not to wisdom and virtue. I quickly understand how much I pursue what is outside of me, and how little I attend to what is within me. It is a call to improvement.

I once knew a fellow who committed almost all of his time to bodybuilding, honing and sculpting each set of muscles in turn with elaborate workouts and a precise nutritional plan.

One day he simply stared at me and said, with serious insight and a touch of horror, "how good a man could I be if I redirected all of this work to my soul?" Wise words.

To exercise and elevate the mind, to build the habit of sound judgment is to seek the true nature of things, to define them and their purpose with distinction and clarity, to understand what they are made of, where they are coming from, and where they are going.

It is further to pursue how all these parts relate to the whole, how I am joined to Nature and to my fellow man, however ignorant he may seem, how all things point toward the guiding principles of Providence, and how I must act for the higher good. It is seeing things not as vague and separated, but as complete and united.

A student, usually quiet and seemingly disinterested, once perked up and described this as "seeing all things reflected in the face of God." Even wiser words.

Written on 4/13/2010

Image: Gustave Doré, The Empyrean (Dante and Beatrice gazing into the Highest Heaven) (1867)