"Bravery is a scorner of things which inspire fear; it looks down upon, challenges, and crushes the powers of terror and all that would drive our freedom under the yoke. But do 'liberal studies' strengthen this virtue?
"Loyalty is the holiest good in the human heart; it is forced into betrayal by no constraint, and it is bribed by no rewards. Loyalty cries: 'Burn me, slay me, kill me! I shall not betray my trust; and the more urgently torture shall seek to find my secret, the deeper in my heart will I bury it!' Can the 'liberal arts' produce such a spirit within us?
"Temperance controls our desires; some it hates and routs, others it regulates and restores to a healthy measure, nor does it ever approach our desires for their own sake. Temperance knows that the best measure of the appetites is not what you want to take, but what you ought to take.
"Kindliness forbids you to be over-bearing towards your associates, and it forbids you to be grasping. In words and in deeds and in feelings it shows itself gentle and courteous to all men. It counts no evil as another's solely. And the reason why it loves its own good is chiefly because it will some day be the good of another.
"Do 'liberal studies' teach a man such character as this?
"No: no more than they teach simplicity, moderation and self-restraint, thrift and economy, and that kindliness which spares a neighbor's life as if it were one's own and knows that it is not for man to make wasteful use of his fellow-man." . . .
--Seneca the Younger, Moral Letters to Lucilius, 88 (tr Gummere)
In this consideration of four specific virtues, Seneca asks whether it is simply study itself that makes a man good. We may consider different virtues, if we wish, but the result should be the same.
I may read and learn about the bravery of Achilles, the loyalty of Penelope, the temperance of Socrates, or the kindliness of Lycurgus. We may consider different heroes, if we wish, but the results should be the same.
The study of virtue may indeed inspire me, but it will only be the commitment of my own heart and mind, my own judgment of what is true and good, that will breed a spirit of character.
Bravery is not necessarily what our schooling teaches us. We are regularly told that achievement only comes from taking risks. I ask only what sort of risks I should take. Are they only the convenient ones? Are they only the ones with a likelihood of success? Will I look simply at those battles I am most likely to win, and walk away from the rest?
That isn't bravery, but simple calculation. A brave man will offer everything, lose everything, even give his very life, for what he knows to be right. Now how many of us educated folks, those of us with liberal learning, have actually been brave?
Loyalty is not necessarily what our schooling teaches us. We say that we love our family, our friends, our colleagues. I ask only how far that loyalty goes. If I have a limit to my loyalty, am I still being loyal?
That isn't loyalty, but a set of conditions. Now how many of us educated folks, those of us with liberal learning, will give anything and everything for those the people we call our friends? Do we have a limit to our loyalty?
Temperance is not necessarily what our schooling teaches us. We are regularly told that we must control our desire to posses and to consume. I ask only whether we will put our money where our mouths are. Am I practicing what I preach? Am I driving that Volvo SUV, living in a million dollar home, and using my wealth to consume more and more?
That isn't temperance, but gratification. Now how many of us educated folks, those of us with liberal learning, actually live in a way where we need little, and give more? When was the last time I gave more to others than I received from others? Is our supposed temperance a charade for our gluttony?
Kindliness is not necessarily what our schooling teaches us. Love you neighbor, they say. It's funny how that love magically disappears when that neighbor doesn't do what we want him to do. Do we not dispose of those who are useless to us?
That isn't kindliness, but convenience. Now how many of us educated folks, those of us with liberal learning, have sold out another, or disposed of another? Do we confuse liking and loving?
I need to remind myself not just to think about what is good, but to do what is good.
Written 1/2010
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