.
. . And he too who lies is guilty of impiety to the same Divinity. For the
Universal Nature is the Nature of things that are, and things that are have a
relation to all things that come into existence.
And
further, this Universal Nature is named Truth, and is the prime cause of all
things that are true.
He
then who lies intentionally is guilty of impiety, inasmuch as he acts unjustly
by deceiving.
And
he also who lies unintentionally, inasmuch as he is at variance with the Universal
Nature, and inasmuch as he disturbs the order by fighting against the Nature of
the world.
For
he fights against it, who is moved of himself to that which is contrary to
truth, for he had received powers from Nature, through the neglect of which he
is not able now to distinguish falsehood from truth. . . .
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.1 (tr
Long)
Just as we may
say we seek justice, we may say we also seek truth. But if we are to broaden
and loosen the definition of truth further and further, we may end up saying
that anything and everything is true. If we remove the order of Nature itself,
truth will only be whatever our own preference may be.
I recall how,
in the early 2000’s, I began noticing the term “integrity” more often in the
professional world, including academia, complete with corporate names, brands,
and advertising slogans. The point was, of course, about selling a product, and
so it was the appearance of truthfulness that mattered, not the reality. Something
was honest as long as it looked good, dishonest only when it looked bad.
Truthfulness is
not just putting on a show; it goes to the very heart of who we are as rational
creatures, and how we are related to the good of the whole world. To say that
something is true is more than a mere assertion, but the correspondence of the
mind to what is real, a conformity of our thoughts to the world we think about.
It is judging things as they are in themselves, and an opening of awareness to
being. The truth is in what is, not
only in what I would wish.
It is the
purpose of the mind to understand things as they are, and so when the mind
judges things as they are not, it deceives itself, and goes contrary to its own
nature.
It is further
the purpose of speech to communicate truth to others, and so when speech
expresses things as they are not, it deceives others, and goes contrary both to
its own nature and the nature of others.
True and false
are far deeper than convenience and inconvenience. Truth is a respect for the
order of Nature, and falsehood a disrespect for the order of Nature. The
dishonest man is therefore also an unjust and impious man, because he does not respect
himself, or his neighbor, or the world around him, or the very Divine source of
that world, from which all other things proceed. By affirming something that is
not, he denies the way of everything that is.
I can make all
sorts of excuses to justify a lie, but I know that whenever I have been
dishonest, it has always been a way to avoid being responsible for myself, to
deny the reality for the sake of convenience. I will prefer to appear right
than to be right, to feel good instead of doing good. That is a betrayal of my
humanity, and a betrayal of the Creator who made me human. Whether it is
intentional or unintentional, I have strayed from the path.
If it is true,
it is in harmony with Nature, and I should say yes. If it is false, it is in
conflict with Nature, and I should say no. It need be no more difficult than
that.
Written in 7/2008
IMAGE: The Goddess of Truth, Saint Petersburg Summer Garden
No comments:
Post a Comment