"I also debar from the liberal studies wrestling and all knowledge that is compounded of oil and mud; otherwise, I should be compelled to admit perfumers also, and cooks, and all others who lend their wits to the service of our pleasures.
"For what 'liberal' element is there in these ravenous takers of emetics, whose bodies are fed to fatness while their minds are thin and dull? Or do we really believe that the training which they give is 'liberal' for the young men of Rome, who used to be taught by our ancestors to stand straight and hurl a spear, to wield a pike, to guide a horse, and to handle weapons?
"Our ancestors used to teach their children nothing that could be learned while lying down. But neither the new system nor the old teaches or nourishes virtue.
"For what good does it do us to guide a horse and control his speed with the curb, and then find that our own passions, utterly uncurbed, bolt with us? Or to beat many opponents in wrestling or boxing, and then to find that we ourselves are beaten by anger?". . .
--Seneca the Younger, Moral Letters to Lucilius, 88 (tr Gummere)
When I am consumed by lofty ideology and a nostalgia for the good old times, I have this delusional sense that people were better and wiser in the past. The noble Greeks and Romans had it right, and everyone held hands in their pursuit of reason and excellence.
If you want your religion, look to the grandeur of the Middle Ages, when true faith ruled all hearts. They were all on fire with the Lord.
And those Victorians were all, obviously, the perfect gentlemen, who always acted with honor and propriety, and treated every woman with the utmost respect.
I think that the true Stoic, and the true Philosopher, understand that, through all the thick and thin, human nature remains the same. There will always be true greatness, and there will always be despicable baseness. The trappings change, but nature is always what it is.
There is a perfectly good, and right, reason for this. A creature gifted with an intellect is also a creature gifted with free will. It is our choices that will define us. Sometimes we sing with the gods, and at other times we grovel with demons. It really can't be any other way.
Seneca saw how the noble pursuit of the liberal arts was sullied in his own time, just as it is in ours. It's one thing to mouth the words, and quite another to commit to the task.
By all means, learn to be a warrior, to be physically tough, and to be skilled in those trades that can make you rich, entitled and live in luxury. How much effort, in contrast, have we spent on improving our souls?
The concept of the 'Liberal Arts' was gradually formed by the Ancients, but Seneca reminds us that the very people who praised them rarely practiced them. Little has changed now.
By the time I was in college, 'Liberal Arts' meant nothing more than a broad education, shallowly covering a variety of disciplines, intended to make the student successful in a trade or in a career.
I once experienced the horror of working with a Dean of Nursing who asked me, quite sincerely, how much philosophy, theology, history or literature her students really needed to get good jobs. She was entirely missing the point.
By all means, be a nurse. Be an accountant, an engineer, a soldier, a software designer, or even, if you must, a lawyer or a politician. But remember that this will never be who you are. Your humanity defines you, and your humanity is only measured by the content of your character.
A liberal education isn't about making you rich in physical strength, money, or status. It's about encouraging you to be you rich in virtue.
And please, let's not just pay lip service. In our hearts, we know what we truly mean. When I was a Teaching Fellow in my PhD years, I was actually honored that my name was on the 'blacklist.' The Division 1 coaches all told their jocks, their mouth-breathers, not to take my classes. I demanded rigor of thought, and I was told that this hardly fit with the life of a college athlete.
Can I write a brilliant research paper, produce a convincing legal brief, or offer a profitable business plan? There is no shame at all in being a genius in one's trade.
But have I been kind, just and loving in my actions? Have I acted to fulfill my true nature, to act with true conviction, to love my neigbor as myself? A true 'Liberal' education won't make you a good man, but it will prepare you for that very opportunity.
Written 1/2010
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