. . . But although this conduct of
yours does not hurt me, yet, for your own sake, I advise you, respect virtue.
Believe those who having long followed her call, that what they follow is a
thing of might, and daily appears mightier.
Reverence her as you would the gods,
and reverence her followers as you would the priests of the gods, and whenever
any mention of sacred writings is made, favor us with your tongues. Favor is
not derived, as most people imagine, from applause, but commands silence, so that
divine service may be performed without being interrupted by any words of evil
omen. It is much more necessary that you should be ordered to do this so that
whenever utterance is made by that oracle, you may listen to it with attention
and in silence.
Whenever anyone beats a sistrum,
pretending to do so by divine command, anyone proficient in grazing his own
skin covers his arms and shoulders with blood from light cuts, anyone crawls on
his knees howling along the street, or any old man clad in linen comes forth in
daylight with a lamp and laurel branch and cries out that one of the gods is
angry, you crowd round him and listen to his words, and each increases the
other's dumb amazement by declaring him to be divinely inspired!
—Seneca
the Younger, On the happy life,
Chapter 26 (tr Stewart)
There
are times for making a joyful sound, but I have always thought that respect is
best practiced in silence. This is not just a question of good manners, but
rather an expression of humility in the face of what we hold dear. If I am full
of sound and fury, I hear only my own words, and I draw attention only to my
own spectacle. I am hardly pointing to what is greater than myself, and I am
only trying to make myself greater. I am unable to listen over my own noise.
Virtue
is worthy of reverence, because it is the path to our happiness. Virtue is also
divine, not only in a poetic sense, but by participating in the unity of all
that is good. Man improves himself through his own judgment and action, by so
doing he plays his special part in the perfection of the whole of Nature, and
thereby he shows his reverence to Providence.
We will
recognize those who seek virtue by the way they empty themselves of all
diversion, just as we will recognize those who shun virtue by the way they fill
themselves with vanity. Part of my daily struggle is to listen more than I
speak, to give more than I receive, and to show respect instead of demanding
it.
Making a
show of things can so easily become an act of arrogance. When I was in college,
I remember that far too many of the students in the Honors Program were less
interested in learning, and more interested in constantly speaking about how
much they already knew. When I went to work, I saw the domination of those
gifted at glorifying themselves. When I have tried to worship, I see far more
performance than I do piety.
I have
already wasted too much of my life deluded by appearances, and neglecting the
improvement of my own heart and mind. I thought for too long that beautiful
things, things worthy of admiration, had to be exciting to the senses and
enticing to the passions. I was ignoring that a person is beautiful because of
character, not because of display.
Practicing
the art of silent reverence can be quite demanding in a world so full of flashy
images, constantly telling us to pose and consume, but I find more and more
that I can’t love virtue if I am distracted by mere impressions.
Written in 1/2002
Image: Eugene Delacroix, Lycurgus Consulting the Pythia (c. 1840)
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