. . . You have, therefore, no grounds
for misunderstanding the honorable, brave, and spirited language that you hear
from those who are studying wisdom, and first of all observe this, that a
student of wisdom is not the same thing as a man who has made himself perfect
in wisdom.
The former will say to you, "In my
talk I express the most admirable sentiments, yet I am still weltering amid
countless ills. You must not force me to act up to my rules; at the present
time I am forming myself, molding my character, and striving to rise myself to
the height of a great example. If I should ever succeed in carrying out all
that I have set myself to accomplish, you may then demand that my words and
deeds should correspond."
But he who has reached the summit of
human perfection will deal otherwise with you, and will say, "In the
first place, you have no business to allow yourself to sit in judgment upon
your betters."
I have already obtained one proof of my
righteousness, in having become an object of dislike to bad men. However, to give
you a rational answer, which I grudge to no man, listen to what I declare, and
at what price I value all things.
Riches, I say, are not a good thing,
for if they were, they would make men good. Now since that which is found even
among bad men cannot be termed good, I do not allow them to be called so.
Nevertheless, I admit that they are
desirable and useful and contribute great comforts to our lives.
—Seneca
the Younger, On the happy life,
Chapter 24 (tr Stewart)
Those
who despise a life measured by virtue will immediately condemn those of us who
struggle to live well. They will attack our weakness, and not the strength of
what we seek. They will tell us how often we fail, while ignoring the very
thing we are working toward. They revel in our imperfection, even as we try to
make ourselves better.
To say
that the goal cannot be achieved because I have not yet achieved it is much
like saying that a journey is pointless because it has not yet been completed.
Do not be deceived. Those who discourage you from what is true and good in life
do so precisely because they are convinced that the things they possess define
them. They mock you because they think life is about wealth and recognition,
they degrade you because they think that life is about power and influence, and
they mistreat you because they think that life is about conflict and conquest.
They are
misguided, because they assume that wealth or power are themselves good things,
failing to see that they can only become good when directed by wisdom and
virtue. Money can be very harmful, since it can be abused, but virtue is always
beneficial, since it always gives right purpose to what is used.
Do not
fight on their terms. Love them, and teach them what is right, in word and by
example. You will often think that you have failed, but you have already succeeded
within yourself just by acting with charity in the face of hatred.
I have
absolutely no right to consider myself better than any other man, because I am
not yet a good man. I hope and pray that I may one day be so. In the meantime,
I would prefer assistance to rejection. I am learning, step by painful step, to
extract myself from the illusion that being rich in the world will make me good
in my soul.
Yet I
have known others who are indeed wise and good, and they are priceless examples
to follow. I have often found such people in the most unlikely of places. They
are rarely recognized for what they are, because most of us are still working
from a clouded perspective on life. You will see no glamor, no sales pitch, and
no vanity. You will see only a humble and faithful commitment to character. You
will see someone who cares about you for your sake, and nothing more.
Don’t
condemn the student because he is not yet a master. The student is striving to
be a master, simply by learning to rule himself. The student will know he has
become a master when he sees everything through the eyes of Nature, not through
the demands of Fortune. Then he may rightly say that he is better.
Written in 5/2004
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